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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-06-02 City Council Summary MinutesCITY COUNCIL SUMMARY MINUTES Page 1 of 11 Regular Meeting June 2, 2025 The City Council of the City of Palo Alto met on this date in the Council Chambers and by virtual teleconference at 5:30 PM. Present In Person: Burt, Lauing, Lu, Lythcott-Haims, Reckdahl, Stone, Veenker Present Remotely: None Absent: None Board and Commission Appointments 1. Appointment of Candidates to the Vacancies on the Architectural Review Board; CEQA Status - Not a Project Mahealani Ah Yun, City Clerk, described the process of board and commission appointments and announced the candidates appointed to the Architectural Review Board. Architectural Review Board First Round Voting for Three (3) vacancies (seats 1, 2, 5) on the Architectural Review Board ending March 31, 2028 Ashutosh Gupta: Lauing, Stone Bei Xu: Lu, Lythcott-Haims David Hirsch: Lauing, Stone, Lu, Veenker, Reckdahl, Burt, Lythcott-Haims Grace Lee: Burt Khelan Bhatt: Veenker Marton Jojarth: Reckdahl, Burt Naveen Govind: Sema Yavuz: Yingxi Chen: Lauing, Stone, Lu, Veenker, Reckdahl, Lythcott-Haims Candidate David Hirsch receiving seven votes is appointed to the full-term expiring March 31, 2028 (seat 2). SUMMARY MINUTES Page 2 of 11 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 06/02/2025 Candidate Yingxi Chen receiving six votes is appointed to the full-term expiring March 31, 2028 (seat 5). No other candidate received four votes required to be appointed to the full-term expiring March 31, 2028. A second round of voting is required. Second Round Voting for One (1) vacancy (seat 1) on the Architectural Review Board ending March 31, 2028 Ashutosh Gupta: Lauing, Stone Bei Xu: Lythcott-Haims, Lu Grace Lee: Khelan Bhatt: Veenker Marton Jojarth: Reckdahl, Burt Naveen Govind: Sema Yavuz: No candidate received four votes required to be appointed to the full-term expiring March 31, 2028. A third round of voting is required. Third Round Voting for One (1) vacancy (seat 1) on the Architectural Review Board ending March 31, 2028 Ashutosh Gupta: Lauing Bei Xu: Stone, Lythcott-Haims, Lu Khelan Bhatt: Marton Jojarth: Veenker, Reckdahl, Burt No candidate received four votes required to be appointed to the full-term expiring March 31, 2028. A fourth round of voting is required. Fourth Round Voting for One (1) vacancy (seat 1) on the Architectural Review Board ending March 31, 2028. Ashutosh Gupta: Bei Xu: Lu, Stone, Lythcott-Haims Marton Jojarth: Lauing, Reckdahl, Burt, Veenker Candidate Marton Jojarth receiving four votes is appointed to the full-term expiring March 31, 2028 (seat 1). Closed Session 2. CONFERENCE WITH LEGAL COUNSEL—EXISTING LITIGATION SUMMARY MINUTES Page 3 of 11 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 06/02/2025 Subject: Downtown Vibrancy v. City of Palo Alto, et al., Santa Clara County Superior Court Case No. 25CV464012 Authority: Government Code Section 54956.9(d)(1) AA1. CONFERENCE WITH REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATORS Authority: Government Code Section 54956.8 Property: 2575 East Bayshore Road; Assessor’s Parcel Number 008-03-015 Negotiating Parties: C H LLC. City Negotiators: Ed Shikada, Kiely Nose, Alan Kurotori, Sunny Tong Subject of Negotiations: Purchase and/or Lease Price and Terms of Payment MOTION: Councilmember Veenker moved, seconded by Councilmember Lu to go into Closed Session. MOTION PASSED: 7-0 Council went into Closed Session at 5:57 P.M. Council returned from Closed Session at 7:15 P.M. Mayor Lauing announced no reportable action. Agenda Changes, Additions and Deletions Ed Shikada, City Manager, announced Item 12 would be deferred to June 9 for additional work. Public Comment 1. Jeffrey S. talked about concerns raised by the Menlo Park representative at the San Francisquito Creek JPA meeting and suggested appointing an ad hoc committee to meet privately with Menlo Park’s counterparts. 2. Deborah G. spoke in appreciation of the PAPD at the protest held the past Thursday at the courthouse. 3. Carol G., producer and founder of Third Thursday California Avenue, announced and provided details about the Local Libations Wine Walk coming up on June 19. 4. Noel S. called some statistics provided from a recent poll in of Jewish Israelis bone chilling and spoke against sponsoring the Water Conference at Stanford and excessive police presence at a recent peaceful demonstration. SUMMARY MINUTES Page 4 of 11 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 06/02/2025 5. Iris B., founder of Vote 16 Palo Alto, discussed the issues 16 and 17-year-olds would vote on. The organization looked to get this on the ballot in 2026 in the form of an initiative and would appreciate any assistance that the City Council might have in fostering communication between the organization and the Palo Alto community. 6. Avram F. spoke about antisemitism issues. 7. Sven T., chemical engineer, commented about benzene resulting from natural gas contributing to cancer in children and advised making this information more available. Council Member Questions, Comments and Announcements Councilmember Stone indicated the San Francisquito Creek JPA met the previous Wednesday for a study session to discuss Reach 2 and the various alternatives being proposed. Community members were encouraged to engage in this issue. The community meeting scheduled for the following Wednesday had been delayed until likely the end of August. The next JPA meeting would happen later in June. Councilmember Burt provided an update on budget issues related to Caltrain and VTA and the prospective regional transit funding measure being considered for the November 2026 ballot. All fixed rail systems in the region have experienced significant ridership drops. Active discussions continue with the legislators on the aspects of the bill that would be necessary to recommend the Board’s participation in agency consolidation. If those agreements are met, support will be needed for that measure to mitigate transit in the Bay Area and local agencies going into a death spiral. Councilmember Lythcott-Haims clarified in response to a public comment that the City was not a cosponsor of the Water Conference. The City was asked to provide a tour to a visiting delegation. It was an official tour and was listed on the conference website. When it was brought to the City's attention that it was being conflated with cosponsorship, a request to have the City’s name removed from the conference website was made and was granted. Study Session 3. Bicycle and Pedestrian Transportation Plan (BPTP) Update: Draft Project Prioritization Framework and Prioritized Project Lists NO ACTION City Manager Ed Shikada introduced Ria Lo as the new Chief Transportation Official. SUMMARY MINUTES Page 5 of 11 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 06/02/2025 Ria Lo, Chief Transportation Official, provided details of the experience she brought to the role and was excited to be serve in Palo Alto. Ozzy Arce, Senior Transportation Manager, provided a slide presentation about the BPTP Update Project Prioritization Framework and Lists including an overview and context, meeting purpose and Council questions, current BPTP adopted in 2012, project overview and timeline, vision statement, objectives, other projects relevant to the BPTP Update and relationship of the BPTP Update to other plans. Amanda Leahy, Project Manager Consultant, resumed the presentation with the approach to the Bicycle Network development, recommendations and project lists including Bicycle Network development approach, network development: primary inputs, draft updated bicycle network map, bike network changes since 2012 map, facility selection approach, bicycle boulevards, bike lanes, protected bike lanes, shared use paths, selection guidance, bicycle facilities, changes from 2012, project lists, prioritization framework, initial evaluation, supplemental evaluation, ranked priority project list, phase 3 engagement summary, key themes from Committee and working group meetings, key themes from community workshop, key themes from interactive map, key themes from online comment box, key themes from tabling pop-ups, next steps: draft plan + public review and Council questions. Public Comment: 1. Jim F. speaking on behalf of 12 (Virginia F., Isabella L., Jo Anne M., Chuck K., Pilar M., Tom R., Rebecca S., CeCi K., Jeanne F., Mary G., Jennifer L.) supported the goals of the Bike and Pedestrian Plan. Issues raised by the group included lack of outreach, decreased safety, a dramatic policy shift and parking and lane removal. City Council was requested to look hard at changes on arterials and deletion of the proposed protected bike lanes on Middlefield. The request of the Middlefield Road Residents Association was to delete the proposed projects PBL_11a through 11d entirely from the Bike and Pedestrian Plan and revisit other portions of the plan with similar impacts on other neighborhoods. 2. Deborah G. supported the entire project with the exception of Attachment E and hoped public outreach would be revisited and the approach reassessed. 3. Arthur L., member of PABAC speaking on behalf of himself, stated the Committee would be meeting the next day to discuss the prioritization framework and prioritized project list. The BPTP Update should include the South Palo Alto Bike/Ped Connectivity Project. The update suggests many new routes and features. It was hoped Council would ask the Police Department to enforce the existing rules and explore what rules are appropriate for Palo Alto in various circumstances. 4. Rob S. represented 40 families that had submitted a petition to the City to designate traffic calming and safety on the Bryant Street Bicycle Boulevard between Embarcadero SUMMARY MINUTES Page 6 of 11 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 06/02/2025 and Forest as a top priority and initiate some intervention soon before a preventable event occurs. 5. Helene G. brought up a 311 ticket submitted regarding the intersection at Greer and Thomas where the stop signs are in the wrong direction that had received no response. A request was made to implement the red curbs before the next school year starts. Comments were made about not hiring consultants that provide designs that do not meet MUTCD design standards. 6. Sven T. was thankful for the bike boulevards and lanes. A request was submitted to have page in the documentation honoring Ellen Fletcher. 7. Eric N., member of PABAC speaking as an individual, indicated lower-cost projects need to be prioritized before federal dollars disappear. 8. Mark S. observed a key predicate to this study is the dramatically increased density we face going forward. There should be more to address the longer bike commutes between cities. The plan should do more to anticipate and promote the use of e-bikes. The signage for cross traffic on Bryant should be clearer. Flange inserts would be a big safety improvement at Churchill. 9. Penny E. (Zoom), member of PABAC speaking as an individual, explained how embracing big streets is necessary. Council was encouraged to work hard on extending and expanding the network of quiet neighborhood streets, school route improvements and bicycle boulevards to support safe and convenient bicycling in town by focusing on this network as the backbone of the bike network and improving areas where the quiet network interacts with big streets at intersections. 10. Ken K. (Zoom) supported the proposed BPTP in general and urged Council to support a serious study of protected bike lanes and road reconfiguration on Middlefield Road. A study was suggested for data and solutions. 11. Amie A. (Zoom) supported improved safety for bikes on more streets, more bike lanes in more places and providing safer facilities for pedestrians and bikes. The connections issue other had raised was echoed. 12. Randy (Zoom) addressed California Avenue space and safety concerns. Suggestions were made to consider green lanes on Cambridge or the alleys behind shops on Sherman and alleys, saving California’s open space and commuting time compromises on California Avenue. Bryna Chang, Planning and Transportation Commission Chair, remarked the PTC emphasized a network approach rather than isolated projects. The PTC echoed the concern about speeding e- SUMMARY MINUTES Page 7 of 11 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 06/02/2025 bikes and enforcement and hoped it was something City Council will emphasize. PTC is interested in exploring some innovative solutions like modal filtering and safe systems principles. PTC emphasized the need to make clear definitions of a bike boulevard. There are questions about how much of the plan will actually be staffed and funded by City Council and encouraged Council to put money behind some of the things that are high priority. PTC is excited about the pedestrian toolkit concept and suggested that perhaps there should also be a bike toolkit concept and the idea that things can be quickly built and quick hits can be tested to address some of the biggest problems in the City. That will need explicit funding as a category. It is important to make sure that the various departments are talking to each other. The Planning and Transportation Commission is positioned to see when things are in conflict between the Office of Transportation and things coming through from Planning. If the intent is to have protected bike lanes on Middlefield, special setbacks will need to be preserved. That coordination will have to happen to avoid project by project conflicts. There was significant concern from the PTC about how the bike network includes all of the arterials and that may have been in conflict with the Safe Systems approach and the Safe Streets For All Plan. In response to questions posed by Councilmember Lythcott-Haims, Mr. Arce replied the Office of Transportation is having discussions with the city manager's office and ones leading the Cal Ave and Ramona Street efforts around how to best moderate speed on Cal Ave. The resident’s concerns around the mixing of facilities or uses have been heard. Recommendations are being shaped around how to moderate speeds not just on the car-free street but also the intersections. Speed tables cannot just be installed because it is a pedestrian environment, as well. Vertical delineations on the street that potentially could be moved during special events and also alternative routes and solutions for special events are being looked at. Cambridge is being considered as an alternative only for special events. Staff has had conversations with the project team leading the Cubberley effort to ensure active transportation is considered within, through and getting to the site. They have been pointed to some of the recommendations Staff is proposing in the BPTP Update around the locations such as the Middlefield protected bike lane and calling out some of the site-specific locations that can be used to link to the existing network. City Manager Shikada responded to Councilmember Lythcott-Haims’ comments by explaining Staff had very clear direction from Council to accommodate bikes on Cal Ave. If Council were to say the car-free portion of Cal Ave is not intended to be a bike route, then Staff will figure out how to make that work. Councilmember Burt had questions to which Mr. Arce responded there is an adjacent multi-use path on Sand Hill Road so the recommendation was not to move forward with any improvements. Councilmember Burt encouraged that to be re-examined. Mr. Arce remarked the San Antonio Road proposal shifts into using San Antonio Avenue to access Alma as it nears the San Antonio Caltrain station. It was understood that the comp plan language needed to be modified this year to enable some of the modal restrictions. Staff would look into Council’s action on Chimalus Drive. It was Staff’s understanding that Council considered alternatives but did not move forward on a recommendation. One question before Council is if there are projects staff should consider that were not on the list or should be reconsidered. The project was added to the list for consideration. It is called the Bol Park Path Extension - Chimalus Drive. SUMMARY MINUTES Page 8 of 11 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 06/02/2025 Staff is trying to understand where it would fall on the priority list and Council's direction on whether or not to move forward and prioritize it. Mr. Arce answered Councilmember Lu’s questions about the quick build program in the BPTP and Safe Actions Plan explaining one is a non-ranked projects list that includes a column that calls out which projects could be quick build candidates. Staff has started to identify the projects that can start off as quick build and then look to move to more infrastructure or concrete. Some community feedback may not be appropriate for a visioning document yet need a place to facilitate that. The city's existing 311 could be a place for the review of some of those improvements. Staff is exploring best practices around how cities can collect this type of information going forward such as having an interactive map. Staff wanted to hear about any projects Council want to have considered. The City has the traffic calming program that allows neighborhoods to petition for the City to consider different improvements. A definition of bike boulevards is context-specific to what type of recommendations go on different ones. In response to Councilmember Reckdahl’s questions, Mr. Arce remarked Middlefield is a corridor that has opportunity not just to connect between regional neighboring cities but there are key destinations and schools on Middlefield. Staff sees it as a project that will bring a safe facility to Middlefield. Some of the feedback received from tabling of activities or general meetings were concerns around trying to understand where the cut-through traffic would come from trying to avoid 101. The City wants to make sure Middlefield is a neighborhood street and not necessarily used as a cut-through. Some of the other feedback received around Middlefield was concerns around loss of parking could affect service providers. It was found that protected bike lanes significantly improve ridership as well as enhance the safety. Enhancing the safety of one mode enhances the safety of all modes. Vice Mayor Veenker had questions regarding the proposed class four separated bikeway to which Mr. Arce responded that Staff is cautious to design the projects at this time and let the community know all of the elements mentioned by Vice Mayor Veenker to be transparent. Different traffic lights along with the hard infrastructure are being looked at. Part of this exercise is to develop the bicycle network map and the bicycle facilities map. That is the vision if the network was built out. Staff wants to keep that at the guiding vision map without removing or downgrading the lines. The bike lane was broke out to consider the different sections of the corridor independently. They did not score above 70 so are not moving into the ranked list. Ms. Star-Lack added Staff would not do something less than what was suggested because it was based on current safety guidelines. There are no bike lanes on Middlefield Road north of Oregon except for the little piece of California Avenue. That is a parking lane. Staff does not recommend biking there. The protected bike lane could be done in some locations. The protected bike lane at the middle school fits according to the guidelines but Staff will follow the safety guidelines. Mayor Lauing opined that one of the main goals is to get people out of cars and onto bikes. The biggest segments to target are the non-enthusiasts. Other considerations have to be taken into account and addressed to get people excited about this. Moving off the bigger streets is the SUMMARY MINUTES Page 9 of 11 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 06/02/2025 way to increase safety. Encouraging neighborhood inclusions is a good thing. For this objective, that goal is not to embrace big streets. Residents potentially giving up space to park or their trash cans inconvenienced and so on is a real issue. Things like painting red curbs are things that need to be prioritized in the shorter term. Councilmember Reckdahl thought connecting the undercrossing under the train up through the research park to Bol Park bike path was high priority. The Valley Water Easement over Matadero would be an excellent connection. Traffic calming on Bryant is a high priority. E-bikes are the biggest opportunity and the biggest challenge but need to be pursued. San Antonio is a high priority. Bike theft needs to be addressed. Canopy coverage and ped/bike collisions should be included. The percentage of the population or area within two blocks of a bike route is a good metric. Any opportunity to add bike bridges and connectivity will encourage walkers and bikers. Making Cambridge good for Cal Ave is important. Councilmember Lu agreed with Eric Nordman’s point about compiling and building on small improvements and with the Mayor that quick build projects need to be done in a way that is cost effective and does not depend on Council for permission. Requests for consistent funding for this would be welcomed in the next budget cycle. Councilmember Lu was comfortable losing parking spaces for quick build. Arterials should be avoided in general with exceptions. Councilmember Lu would love an El Camino Road diet study. Traffic calming on Middlefield is critical as well as Mayfield and Lincoln. Councilmember Lu seconded comments about crossing the rail and Creek Corridor in South Palo Alto. Councilmember Stone agreed with prioritizing Cambridge over Cal Ave. A better understanding of the Cal Ave vision would be great. Allowing bicycles on Cal Ave should not be limited to special events. Cutting it off on Friday nights and weekends would make more sense than keeping it open for commute times during the week. Councilmember Stone agreed with prioritizing adjacent streets to Middlefield and other arterials. Painting red curbs near intersections, especially in school zones, makes sense. Vice Mayor Veenker agreed with the comments about Cambridge and the east-west connections across the Caltrain corridor being a priority. It should be made obvious where bikes go. The non-arterials are preferable but can be hard to avoid. Councilmember Burt echoed there is a priority to help achieve mode shift and to provide safety for existing riders. People who are going to become riders or occasional riders are not going to be favoring the big streets. There are some circumstances where the big streets will need to have support but it should not be the priority. Councilmember Burt supported the need to prioritize other improvements on bike boulevards, specifically Bryant north of Embarcadero all the way to Menlo Park to reduce car traffic. The current recommendation from Council is to prioritize Cambridge as the through traffic bike route. Getting red painted curbs would be one of the most valuable and lowest cost safety measures along with working with Waze, Google and Apple maps making sure they are not directing cars down the bike boulevards. E-bikes are a great enabling capability but the non-pedal-assisted are problematic and need to be addressed. SUMMARY MINUTES Page 10 of 11 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 06/02/2025 Connectedness to transit is a key issue. The inability to have a safe route to the northbound trains at University Station is a problem and needs to be a priority. Validating there is no need to stop at the T intersections is important. There is ability to widen the bike and ped pass behind Pali. The data that showed the timeliness of an initial response and then the follow-up more substantive response should be embraced. Consent Calendar MOTION: Councilmember Burt moved, seconded by Councilmember Reckdahl to approve Agenda Item Numbers 4-11. MOTION PASSED: 7-0 4. Approval of Minutes from May 19, 2025 Meeting 5. Approval of and Authorization of City Manager or their Designee to Execute an Exchange Agreement with Midpeninsula Regional Open Space District for Replacement of Overhead Utility Facilities with Underground Facilities and Exchange and Transfer Real Property Interests within Monte Bello Open Space Preserve and Rancho San Antonio Open Space Preserve, Assessor’s Parcel Numbers 351-25-014, 351-06-025, 351- 09-002, and 351-12-069; CEQA Status – Exempt Under CEQA Guidelines Section 15302 6. Adoption of a Resolution Approving the Safe Streets for All (SS4A) Safety Action Plan as Recommended by the Policy & Services Committee 7. Approval of Contract Amendment Number 4 to Contract Number C16166822 with ARC Document Solutions in the Amount of $1,020,000, Bringing the New Total Not To Exceed to $3,855,340, for Copiers/Printers to increase; CEQA Status - Not a Project 8. Approval of Contract Amendment No. 2 to Contract Number C21179340 with Baker Tilly US, LLP in the Amount of $2,126,250 and to Extend Term to June 30, 2026, with Option to Extend for Two Years, for Internal Auditing Services; Revised Total Not to Exceed is $5,552,500, CEQA Status – Not a Project. 9. Approval of Construction Contract Number C25194073 with G. Bortolotto & Company Inc. in the Amount of $3,817,942 for the Fiscal Year 2025 Asphalt Paving Project; Capital Improvement Program Projects PE-86070, PE-09003, PL-12000, and PG-06001; and Authorization for the City Manager or Their Designee to Negotiate and Execute Change Orders up to a Not‐to‐Exceed Amount of $376,926; CEQA Status – Exempt under CEQA Guidelines Section 15301(c) 10. Approval of Construction Contract No. C25193583 with Stronger Building Services in the Not-to-Exceed Amount of $440,250 for the Lucie Stern Community Center Theater Roof SUMMARY MINUTES Page 11 of 11 City Council Meeting Summary Minutes: 06/02/2025 Underlayment Replacement Project as part of the Roofing Replacement Program, Capital Improvement Program PF-00006 and Authorization for the City Manager or Their Designee to Negotiate and Execute Change Orders for Related Additional but Unforeseen Work that May Develop During the Project Up to a Not-to-Exceed Amount of $44,025; CEQA status - Exempt under CEQA Guideline Sections 15301 and 15302 11. Adoption of a Resolution for Senate Bill 1, the Road Repair and Accountability Act, for Fiscal Year 2026, Providing the Project List for the Street Maintenance Project, Capital Improvement Program Project (PE-86070); CEQA Status – Not a Project City Manager Comments City Manager Shikada provided a slide presentation including mental health and wellness resources for all, community engagement for the month of June, hot weather safety tips and resources and notable tentative upcoming Council items. Action Items 12. LEGISLATIVE. Adoption of a Temporary, Emergency Ordinance Amending Title 18 and Title 21 to Reflect Changes in State Law in Accordance with Senate Bill 1123 and Related Direction to Staff Regarding Updates to the Land Use Element of the Comprehensive Plan. CEQA Status: Exempt Pursuant to Government Code Sections 65852.28 and 66499.41. Agenda Item Number 12 deferred to a future City Council meeting June 9, 2025. Adjournment: The meeting was adjourned at 9:47 PM.