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Home My WebLink About2025-11-03 City Council EmailsDOCUM ENTS IN THIS PACKET INCLUDE: LETTERS FROM CITIZENS TO THE MAYOR OR CITY COUNCIL RESPONSES FROM STAFF TO LETTERS FROM CITIZ ENS ITEMS FROM MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS ITEMS FROM OTHER COMMITTEES AND AGENC IES ITEMS FROM CITY, COUNTY, STATE, AND REGIONAL AGENCIES Prepared for: 11/3/2025 Document dates: 10/27/2025 - 11/3/2025 Note: Documents for every category may not have been received for packet reproduction in a given week. 701-32 From:Cynthia Fan To:Council, City Subject:11-3-25 agenda — Landfill city’s plastic recyclables. Reduce city’s plastic use. Date:Monday, November 3, 2025 12:05:33 PM Attachments:2025 11 03 - Palo Alto - Landfill recyclables. Reduce citys plastic use.pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Hi City Council, Today’s council meeting agenda includes an informational report that discusses the city’s plastic waste. This report is “not listed for action or discussion during this meeting’s agenda.” However, I really think this subject necessitates discussion by the council. See my attached letter. Please agendize this subject for an upcoming meeting. -Cynthia Fan Re: 11-3-25 agenda item Info Report B — Landﬁll recyclables. Reduce city’s plastic use. City Council Members, I write in regards to Information Report B of the November 3, 2025 agenda. Plastic’s lifecycle and its human and environmental health implications remain risky. Consider landﬁlling plastic recyclables for now, and increase efforts to reduce the city’s plastic use. According to the “GWPA Traceability Report -2024” attached to the item in the agenda: “At the end of 2018, Palo Alto City Council gave City staff direction to report on the intermediate and ﬁnal disposition of Palo Alto’s recovered… plastic. City staff and GWPA agreed that as a goal, GWPA would attempt to gather information on the environmental and social implications associated with the full life cycle of Palo Alto Recyclable Materials.” (Emphasis mine.) Seven years later, however, this most recent report suggests that, despite these efforts, the City hasn’t nailed down the “ﬁnal disposition” of our recovered plastics—or the “environmental and social implications” of plastic’s full lifecycle. Much of what we do know appears to come from companies with a ﬁnancial stake in portraying plastic recycling in a positive light. Meanwhile, over these seven years, independent research increasingly indicates that plastic recycling may worsen negative impacts on the environment and humans rather than reduce them. Recent studies have found that: ● Recycling facilities release large quantities of microplastics into wastewater during grinding and washing. ● Recycled plastics often contain hundreds of toxic chemicals including endocrine disruptors. Compounds identiﬁed include pesticides, pharmaceuticals, industrial chemicals, plastic additives and other harmful substances. These chemicals can leach from products, contaminating humans and the environment. ● Microplastics have been detected in human organs, where they are linked to inﬂammation and oxidative stress. ● Policy reviews conclude that plastic recycling is inherently ﬂawed because of contamination and chemical additives. In short, plastic recycling itself can be a major pollution source. I think we should seriously consider that certain plastics—or perhaps all of them—should be landﬁlled until the recycling of them and products produced with them are proven relatively safe. Given all of the above, I encourage Council to explore the following actions: 1. Document the full life cycle of plastics, not just disposal. Future annual repor ts should examine the environmental and social impacts of producing plastic, not just managing its end-of-life. As I highlighted in my introduction, the city’s intent was to examine the “full life cycle.” The city needs this information to comply with its own Environmentally Preferred Purchasing Policy (accessible from the city’s “Plans, Policies, Ordinances” page) which states that “Evaluation prices for goods and services shall factor in life-cycle costs.” 2. Reevaluate whether recycling is the best option for the plastics collected from residents and businesses. Consider whether sending some or all plastics directly to landﬁll may be the more responsible interim strategy until independent science conﬁrms that recycling processes and recycled products are truly safe. This question is not about legality—it’s about prudence. An absence of regulatory violations does not equate to safety, especially when environmental laws are often shaped by industry lobbying. Besides, there are not yet even any federal or state requirements that recyclers must track or limit the number or amount of microplastics in their wastewater eﬄuent. Does the city really want to continue supporting this risky human and environmental health experiment? Landﬁlls might be the safest place for discarded plastic. Please rethink the city’s goal of 95% diversion from landﬁlls and goal of ﬁnding domestic businesses that will let us pay them to divert waste from landﬁlls. Landﬁll diversion does not consistently support our overarching goal of reducing the environmental and human health implications of Palo Alto’s consumerism. 3. Reduce the City’s demand for nonessential plastics. Direct staff to review the City’s purchases of nonessential plastics and recommend concrete steps to phase them down over time, ensuring that the total amount used does not continue to grow. For example, Palo Alto’s four plastic turf athletic ﬁelds, if replaced on an appropriate schedule, likely require over 80 tons of plastic, for the carpet, backing, and shockpad, every eight years. For perspective, that’s as much as more than half the total plastic waste of types #2 through #7 that are annually hauled from all City residences and businesses (per page 10 of the 2024 traceability report). The City should prioritize piloting improvements to grass ﬁeld construction and maintenance to reduce the pressure to install more plastic turf and to potentially lower the city’s overall inventory of plastic ﬁelds. Thank you for considering these points as you continue your important work on waste policy and environmental stewardship. Sincerely, Cynthia Fan References [1] Stapleton et al. (2023). Science of the Total Environment. “Evaluating the generation of microplastics from an unlikely source: The unintentional consequence of the current plastic recycling process” “Large amounts of microplastics are generated during the plastic recycling process.” https://opus.lib.uts.edu.au/bitstream/10453/178141/2/1-s2.0-S0048969723047150-main.pdf [2] Brown et al. (2023). Journal of Hazardous Materials Advances. “The potential for a plastic recycling facility to release microplastic pollution” “Microplastics <5 µm were generally not removed by the ﬁltration and subsequently discharged, with 59–1184 tonnes potentially discharged annually.” https://doi.org/10.1016/j.hazadv.2023.100309 [3] Umarie & Bagastyo (2024). Journal of Ecological Engineering “Microplastics Identiﬁcation in Plastic Recycling Facility – Removal Eﬃciencies of the Treatment Plants and Its Potential Release to the Environment” “Plastic recycling facilities are one of microplastic sources that may release into the environment.” https://www.jeeng.net/pdf-191506-112829 [4] University of Gothenburg (2023). “Hundreds of Toxic Chemicals in Recycled Plastics.” “scientists will urge delegates to heed the latest science showing that because toxic chemicals are used to make all plastics, and plastics will adsorb other chemicals during use, there are no plastics that can be deemed safe or circular.” https://www.gu.se/en/news/hundreds-of-toxic-chemicals-in-recycled-plastics [5] University of Gothenburg (2025). “Recycled Plastic Can Affect Hormone Systems.” “A single pellet of recycled plastic can contain over 80 different chemicals.” https://www.gu.se/en/news/recycled-plastic-can-affect-hormone-systems [6] Greenpeace USA (2023). “Forever Toxic: The science on health threats from plastic recycling plastics are inherently incompatible with a circular economy.” “While virgin plastics contain unknown and untested harmful chemicals, studies show that recycled plastics often contain higher levels of chemicals that can poison people and contaminate communities. Chemicals in recycled plastics have been linked to cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and other health issues.” https://www.greenpeace.org/usa/forever-toxic/ [7] IPEN (2022). How Plastics Poison the Circular Economy “Toxic chemicals, that have been banned under international chemicals conventions, are being recycled from plastic waste into new consumer products, resulting in risks that are impossible to quantify because of lack of knowledge on material composition.” https://ipen.org/sites/default/ﬁles/documents/ipen-plastic-poison-circ-econ-v1_4w-en.pdf [8] European Parliament (2020). The Environmental Impacts of Plastics and Micro-Plastics Use, Waste and Pollution. “Recycling of plastic waste remains problematic because of the inherent diﬃculties with the collection and separation of the feedstocks used in the recycling process… Reducing toxic exposure to plastic waste, in all its forms, requires a plethora of solutions, both voluntary and legislative.” https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/STUD/2020/658279/IPOL_STU%282020%29658279_E N.pdf [9] Inside Climate News (2023). “Who Said Recycling Was Green? It Makes Microplastics by the Ton.” https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16052023/recycling-plastic-microplastics-waste/ Science Politics Justice & Health Fossil Fuels Clean Energy Pulitzer Prize-winning, nonpartisan reporting on the biggest crisis facing our planet.Donate Science Who Said Recycling Was Green? It Makes Microplastics By the Ton A study finds one plastics recycling plant in the U.K. produces as much as 3 million pounds of microplastics a year—and that’s with filtering. By James Bruggers May 16, 2023 Cubes of sorted compressed plastic bottles are seen at the recycling center at the Sile Integrated Waste Facility Center on March 12, 2018 in Istanbul, Turkey. Credit: Chris McGrath/Getty Images TRUMP 2.0: The Reckoning Research out of Scotland suggests that the chopping, shredding and washing of plastic in recycling facilities may turn as much as six to 13 percent of incoming waste into microplastics—tiny, toxic particles that are an emerging and ubiquitous environmental health concern for the planet and people. A team of four researchers measured and analyzed microplastics in wastewater before and after ﬁlters were installed at an anonymous recycling plant in the United Kingdom. The study, one of the ﬁrst of its kind, was published in the May issue of in the peer-reviewed Journal of Hazardous Material Advances. If the team’s calculations are ultimately found to be representative of the recycling industry as a Inside Climate News uses cookies. By continuing to use this site, you accept this policy. Learn More Accept https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16052023/recycling-plastic-microplastics-waste/11/3/25, 11:00 AM Page 1 of 6 If the team’s calculations are ultimately found to be representative of the recycling industry as a whole, the scale of microplastics created during recycling processes would be shocking—perhaps as much as 400,000 tons per year in the United States alone, or the equivalent of about 29,000 dump trucks of microplastics. The study suggests that rather than helping to solve plastics’ contribution to what the United Nations has described as a triple planetary crisis of pollution, climate change and biodiversity loss, recycling could be exacerbating the problem by creating an even more vexing conundrum. Other scientists are ﬁnding microplastics in human blood, human placentas and in virtually all corners of the planet, and the United Nations has warned that chemicals in microplastics are associated with serious health impacts including changes to human genetics, brain development and reproduction. Newsletters We deliver climate news to your inbox like nobody else. Every day or once a week, our original stories and digest of the web’s top headlines deliver the full stor y, for free. ICN Weekly Saturdays Our #1 newsletter delivers the week’s climate and energy news – our original stories and top headlines from around the web. 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Get Justice & Health The paper was published as United Nations delegates prepare to hold their second meeting to negotiate a potential global plastics treaty later this month in Paris, with one potential outcome being more plastics recycling as the chemical and plastics industry presses governments to keep plastic in the global economy. “It seems quite backward to me,” said plastics researcher Erena Brown, who led the research while she was a graduate student at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow. “With plastic recycling, we have designed and initiated it in order to start protecting our environment. I think this study has shown that we have ended up creating a diﬀerent if potentially slightly worse problem.” The recycling plant allowed researchers to measure microplastics in wastewater before and after the plant installed ﬁlters, which Brown said deﬁnitely helped to reduce microplastics. But even with ﬁlters, the study found that the mechanical recycling process that produced plastic pellets to make new plastic products could still allow as much as 75 billion particles of microplastics in a cubic meter of the plant’s wastewater. In all, they calculated the plant would annually release as much as 3 million pounds of microplastics with ﬁltration, and up to 6.5 million pounds without ﬁltration. The study measured microplastics down to a size of 1.6 microns, which Brown said was smaller than two other similar studies that the researchers found. Still, she said, with the widespread prevalence of even smaller micro and nano plastics, smaller than the study’s size limit, the researchers believe their ﬁndings underestimate the problem. “We assume that there are many, many, many particles in sizes smaller than this,” she said. The researchers also detected microplastics in the air at the recycling facility and suggested that such air emissions should be the focus of additional research since breathing microplastics is a risk to lung health. Recycling Could Create a ‘Ridiculous’ Amount of Microplastics The plastics and packaging industries have pushed recycling and consumer responsibility for decades. But plastics are made with thousands of chemicals including additives designed to give https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16052023/recycling-plastic-microplastics-waste/11/3/25, 11:00 AM Page 2 of 6 them special properties including clarity, strength, color and ﬂexibility. Many of those chemicals are toxic, and increasingly, scientists and environmental advocates have been warning that the complicated chemical nature of so many diﬀerent types of plastic is what has helped make them so diﬃcult to recycle. The world is making twice as much plastic waste as it did two decades ago, with most of the discarded materials buried in landﬁlls, burned by incinerators or dumped into the environment, according to the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development, a group that represents developed nations. Production is expected to triple by 2060. Globally, only 9 percent of plastic waste is successfully recycled, according to OECD. In the United States, the recycling rate could be less than 6 percent, according to a 2022 report by the environmental groups Beyond Plastics and The Last Beach Cleanup. Kara Pochiro, a spokesperson for the Association of Plastic Recyclers, a trade group representing the recycling industry, said “recycling is an industrial process regulated like any other industrial process in the U.S. Recyclers must conform with national, state, and local regulations regarding all aspects of the business including environmental laws.” However, Brown said she’s not aware of any requirements anywhere that recyclers must track or limit the number or amount of microplastics in their wastewater eﬄuent. And in the United States, the Environmental Protection Agency does not speciﬁcally regulate microplastic discharges from wastewater treatment plants, wastewater experts said this week. The EPA did not respond to a request for comment. Environmental advocates expressed alarm at the research ﬁndings. The research suggests that recycling plants in the United States could be “creating ridiculous amounts of microplastics,” said Jan Dell, a chemical engineer who has worked as a consultant to the oil and gas industry and founded The Last Beach Cleanup, the nonproﬁt that ﬁghts plastic pollution and waste. Dell said the study highlights a problem she said she has “been yelling about for years,” what she calls the “material waste rate” for plastic recycling, “but no one pays attention.” Her own calculations based on industry data she cited in her group’s report last year with Beyond Plastics estimated a 30 percent material loss for recycling PET plastic bottles, commonly used by beverage companies. “To make 100 bottles out of recycled plastic, 143 bottles have to be collected and processed,” she said. The Association of Plastic Recyclers estimates there are more than 100 post-consumer plastic recycling operations in the United States and Canada. Many are likely sending their wastewater to municipal wastewater treatment facilities. Generally, treatment plants are supposed to comply with rules that limit solid particles in their eﬄuent. So regulations would capture some, but not all, microplastics—and what gets through would be the smaller and more dangerous particles, Dell said. Microplastics captured in treatment end up in a plant’s biosolid byproduct, or sewage sludge, which is often spread on land as a fertilizer, allowing microplastics to contaminate the soil and wash into waterways during rain, according to a March report produced by the Minderoo-Monoco Commission on Human Health, a body of scientists assembled by the Australian-based Minderoo Foundation, and published in the Annals of Global Health, a peer-reviewed scientiﬁc journal. In fact, more microplastics are estimated to enter the soil from the use of wastewater sludge for agricultural purposes each year than microplastics entering the ocean or freshwater sediments, the commission study found. “The presence of (microplastics) in sewage sludge poses a threat to soil health and productivity and could cause harm to soil-dwelling biota,” the Minderoo-Monoco group found. “Microplastic has to go somewhere,” Dell said. “It doesn’t disappear.” Study Adds to UN Plastics Debate California is at the forefront of microplastics regulatory investigations and potential actions, and is weighing options to limit microplastics in water bodies, said Shelley Walther, an environmental scientist at the Los Angeles County Sanitation Districts. She’s also leading a task force on https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16052023/recycling-plastic-microplastics-waste/11/3/25, 11:00 AM Page 3 of 6 microplastics with the Water Environment Federation, an industry group for wastewater professionals. A 2016 study in Los Angeles found that wastewater treatment designed to collect “suspended solids” are more than 99 percent eﬀective at capturing microplastics, she said. But she also said that the study did not include the smallest of the particles. Walther said that among the challenges of curbing microplastics is that they are hard to measure. “There’s still not a lot of great technology,” Walther said. This stor y is funded by readers like you. Our nonprofit newsroom provides award-winning climate coverage free of charge and advertising. We rely on donations from readers like you to keep going. Please donate now to support our work. Donate Now She also cited ongoing uncertainty over the health threats from microplastics, pointing to a World Health Organization report from last year that called for more research to get to the bottom of concerns about microplastics. What’s needed, she said, are “data quality objectives and standardized methods” that will produce believable ﬁndings. The World Health Organization study found that there was limited data to prove that nano and microplastic particles have “adverse eﬀects in humans.” But, the WHO, which has called for a stop in the increase of plastic pollution worldwide, said its ﬁndings do not imply that exposure to microplastics is safe. And, the health body concluded, “there is increasing public awareness and an overwhelming consensus among all stakeholders that plastics do not belong in the environment, and measures should be taken to mitigate exposure” to them. The Minderoo-Monoco Commission on Human Health report, however, took a broader look at plastics throughout their lifecycle and found health and environmental impacts from production to use and disposal, including from microplastics. While acknowledging “gaps remain in knowledge about plastics’ harms to human health and the global environment,” the report identiﬁed many of the chemicals used in plastics as known toxicants. One of its lead authors, Dr. Philip J. Landrigan, a pediatrician, epidemiologist and director of Boston College’s Global Public Health Program and Global Observatory on Planetary Health, said he believes the health debate over plastics is largely resolved. “There are still details to be worked out about the exact magnitude, but there is no doubt whatsoever that plastic causes disease, disability, premature death, economic damage and damage to ecosystems at every stage of its life cycle,” he said in March. At the United Nations, countries are working to develop a treaty or agreement aimed at ending plastic pollution by 2040. Some countries are pushing to reduce and cap plastic production, which could double over the next 20 years, while others are focusing on waste management solutions, such as recycling. For their part, the authors of the recycling plant study on microplastics concluded their report provides insight into the potential for plastic recycling facilities to be signiﬁcant sources of microplastic pollution and considerations for ways to reduce that pollution through ﬁltration. More research is needed to determine whether their ﬁndings are typical and can be extrapolated across the industry, Brown said. But Brown said there could be another potential solution. It is clear, Brown said, that “we don’t know what to do with (microplastics) once we ﬁnd them.” But the recycling study “highlights to me that we just need to be making so much more eﬀort in reducing our plastic production and consumption, instead of focusing on recycling.” About This Stor y Perhaps you noticed: This story, like all the news we publish, is free to read. That’s because Inside Climate News is a 501c3 nonproﬁt organization. We do not charge a subscription fee, lock our news behind a paywall, or clutter our website with ads. We make our news on climate and the environment freely available to you and anyone who wants it. https://insideclimatenews.org/news/16052023/recycling-plastic-microplastics-waste/11/3/25, 11:00 AM Page 4 of 6 Without dramatically reducing plastic production, it will be impossible to end plastic pollution and eliminate the health threats from chemicals in plastics. Ba b i e s c h e w p l a s t i c t o y s . © p a v l a / S h u t t e r s t o c k Wa s t e s o r t i n g a t a r e c y c l i n g p l a n t , S t e r l i t a m a k , R u s s i a . 1 0 J a n u a r y 2 0 1 9 . © S h u t t e r s t o c k CONTENTS 3 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 4 DANGEROUS CHEMICALS IN RECYCLED PLASTIC: THE THREE POISONOUS PATHWAYS 7 RECYCLING PLASTICS = RECYCLING TOXIC CHEMICALS 8 THE SCIENCE ON CHEMICAL THREATS FROM PLASTIC RECYCLING: ENVIRONMENT AND FOOD 10 POISONING WORKERS AND COMMUNITIES 12 PRODUCTS POISONING CONSUMERS 14 HEALTH THREATS FROM PLASTIC RECYCLING INDUSTRY ACCIDENTS 17 ENDING THE LOVE AFFAIR WITH PLASTIC “RECYCLED CONTENT” AND FOCUSING ON REDUCING PLASTIC PRODUCTION AND USE 18 REFERENCES 19 ENDNOTES 1FOREVER TOXIC PLASTICS ARE INHERENTLY INCOMPATIBLE WITH A CIRCULAR ECONOMY © Les Stone / Greenpeace Pumpjack in Colorado © Les Stone / Greenpeace 2 FOREVER TOXIC EXECUTIVE SUMMARY The global Greenpeace1 network is advocating for an ambitious, legally binding Global Plastics Treaty that accelerates and provides the conditions needed for a just transition away from dependence on plastic. The Treaty should promote safer, toxics-free materials and reuse-based, zero-waste economies, creating new jobs to support these practices, protecting human and planetary health, minimizing resource use, and delivering a just transition for workers and affected communities across the plastics supply and waste chains. Without dramatically reducing plastic production, it will be impossible to end plastic pollution and eliminate the health threats from chemicals in plastics. The Treaty must cap and reduce plastic production, and establish a pathway to end virgin plastic production. A key obstacle is the plastics industry, including fossil fuel, petrochemical, and consumer goods companies, which continues to put forward plastic recycling and recycled content as central solutions to the plastic pollution crisis. The reality is that fewer than 10% of all plastics ever produced have been recycled.2 This revelation leads many to promote higher recycling targets as the best way to resolve the global plastic crisis. For example, the members of the U.S. Plastics Pact lobby for the recycling and “circular use” of plastics, distracting attention from the need for massive reductions in global plastic production and shifting the burden of dealing with plastic waste away from themselves as the producers and onto the public. Many consumer goods companies, including Nestlé, Unilever, and Coca-Cola, tout the use of recycled plastic in their packaging as an important part of the solution, while failing to achieve significant reductions of overall plastic use, and in some cases increasing plastic use, or meaningful gains in reuse. But the reality is that most plastics collected for recycling are never recycled – and when plastics are recycled, they contain a toxic cocktail of chemicals that makes them unfit for food-grade and other consumer uses. In fact, plastics are inherently incompatible with a circular economy. Co c a - C o l a b o t t l e s © P a u l H a m i l t o n © F a i r f a x M e d i a / G e t t y I m a g e s 3FOREVER TOXIC DANGEROUS CHEMICALS IN RECYCLED PLASTIC: THE THREE POISONOUS PATHWAYS Dangerous chemicals make their way into recycled plastic materials from a variety of sources. Since nearly all plastics are made from a combination of carbon (mainly oil/gas) and toxic chemicals, the most obvious pathway is direct contamination, as chemicals from the original plastic products simply transfer into recycled plastic. But chemicals can also enter recycled plastics in other ways, due to contamination in the plastic waste stream and the recycling process itself. The three uncontrollable poisonous pathways of plastic recycling are: 1. Toxic chemicals in new virgin plastic materials: When plastics are made with toxic chemicals and then recycled, the toxic chemicals can transfer into the recycled plastics. 2. Leaching of toxic substances into plastic waste: Numerous studies show that plastics can absorb contaminants via direct contact and through the absorption of volatile compounds.3 When plastics are tainted by toxins in the waste stream and the environment and are then recycled, they produce recycled plastics that contain a stew of toxic chemicals. For example, plastic containers for pesticides, cleaning solvents, and other toxic chemicals that enter the recycling chain can result in contamination of recycled plastic. 3. New toxic chemicals created by the recycling process: When plastics are heated in the recycling process, this can generate new toxic chemicals that make their way into the recycled plastics. For example, brominated dioxins are created when plastics containing brominated flame retardants are recycled,4 and a stabilizer used in plastic recycling can degrade to a highly toxic substance found in recycled plastics.5 Sorting challenges and the presence of certain packaging components in sorted materials can also lead to toxicity in recycled plastic. Studies have shown that benzene (a carcinogen) can be created by mechanical recycling of PET#1 plastic, even with very low rates of contamination by PVC#3 plastic, resulting in the cancer-causing chemical being found in recycled plastics.6 4 FOREVER TOXIC PLASTIC RECYCLING'S UNCONTROLABLE POISONOUS PATHWAY 1 23 1. R u b b e r D u c k © R o m a n G o r i e l o v / S h u t t e r s t o c k , 2 . In u d s t r i a l p l a s t i c s t o r a g e c o n t a i n e r s © L e i t e n b e r g e r P h o t o g r a p h y / S h u t t e r s t o c k , 3 . M e l t e d p l a s t i c . © w i t t a y a p h o t o / S h u t t e r s t o c k TOXIC CHEMICALS IN NEW VIRGIN PLASTIC MATERIALS LEACHING OF TOXIC SUBSTANCES INTO PLASTIC WASTE NEW TOXIC CHEMICALS CREATED BY THE RECYCLING PROCESS 5FOREVER TOXIC Hypothalmus Pituatary Thyroid Parathyroid Cardiovascular Mammar y Liver Adrenal Kidney Adipose tissue Pancreas Ovar y Prostate Testis Bone Pineal THE HUMAN ENDOCHRINE SYSTEM The hormones released by the endocrine system control many important functions in the body, including growth and development, metabolism, and reproduction. Because of the endocrine system’s critical role in so many important biological and physiological functions, impairments in any part of the endocrine system can lead to disease or even death. 6 FOREVER TOXIC WHEN PLASTIC WASTE IS HIGHLY TOXIC POPS WASTE Persistent organic pollutants (POPs) are among the world’s most toxic chemicals, regulated globally under the Stockholm Convention, as is waste containing POPs. The Convention sets a concentration limit for each POP, called the Low POP Content Level (LPCL), and any plastic waste that contains one or more POPs above the LPCL threshold is defined as POPs waste. Common plastics with intentionally added POPs include electronics, vehicle and aircraft plastic interiors, and synthetic textiles in furniture, carpets, and other floor coverings, among other products. Under the Convention, Parties must destroy and must not recycle POPs waste (with some exceptions if the POPs can be removed and managed separately). But current LPCLs are not strong enough to prevent recycling of plastic POPs waste, so, as several studies below show, many recycled plastic products have been found with high levels of these highly toxic POPs. RECYCLING PLASTICS Plastics are made with as many as 13,000 chemicals, and researchers say 3,200 of these are chemicals of concern (while many more have never been assessed and may also be toxic).7 While virgin plastics contain unknown and untested harmful chemicals, studies show that recycled plastics often contain higher levels of chemicals that can poison people and contaminate communities.8 Chemicals in recycled plastics have been linked to cancer, cardiovascular disease, obesity, and other health issues.9 It is important to understand that not only are people exposed to toxic chemicals from the production and use of virgin plastic, they are also exposed to toxic chemicals by plastic recycling throughout the recycling stream: • When plastics are exported under the guise of recycling, they are often dumped or burned, leading to environmental and food chain contamination. • Workers and their communities are exposed to toxic chemicals from plastics they collect, sort, and dismantle for recycling. Plastic recycling areas should be regulated as facilities that handle hazardous waste and like contaminated sites that release hazardous chemicals. • Recycled plastic products expose consumers to toxic chemicals, including chemicals that have been globally banned. Recycling can combine toxic chemicals from different plastics and create new hazardous chemicals, all of which end up in recycled plastic products. = RECYCLING TOXIC CHEMICALS In t e r i o r o f a i r p l a n e © J u a n M a n u e l A p a r i c i o D i e z . S h t t e r s t o c k 7FOREVER TOXIC THE SCIENCE ON CHEMICAL THREATS FROM PLASTIC RECYCLING: ENVIRONMENT AND FOOD A broad range of studies demonstrate how people and the environment can be poisoned by plastic recycling. RECYCLED PLASTICS CAN CONTAMINATE THE ENVIRONMENT AND FOOD CHAINS: A 2013 report10 in Nature recommended regulating plastic waste as hazardous waste, including waste presumably intended for recycling, noting threats to the environment, food chains, and health. The article noted that wildlife that consumes plastics can be harmed by toxic chemicals in these products, with previous research showing such threats to all sea turtle species, 45% of marine mammal species, and 21% of seabird species. The authors state, “As plastic (waste) breaks into smaller pieces, it is more likely to infiltrate food webs.” A 2013 study11 found harmful air-polluting chemicals around and inside plastic recycling facilities in China, with potential health impacts on workers and local residents. Concentrations of harmful chemicals near the facilities were higher than those at a reference site. Two studies12 from China found high levels of plastic flame retardant chemicals in soils, sediment, and road dust near plastic recycling facilities compared to low levels in samples from areas where no plastic recycling takes place. A 2021 study13 by the International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) and Arnika analyzed 35 pooled free- range chicken egg samples and 1 individual egg sample from 25 locations worldwide for certain persistent organic pollutants. Eggs produced around e-waste and plastic waste recycling yards were among the most contaminated samples in the study. 8 FOREVER TOXIC 1 1. Plastic wrapped apples in a Hong Kong supermarket © Patrick Cho / Greenpeace 2. Municipal collection of recycling © Dmitry Kalinovsky / Shutterstock 3.Plastic in a landfill in China © Greenpeace / Yat Yin 4. Fish that ingested microplastic © The 5 Gyres Institute 5. Garbage next to rice fields in China © Rumbo a lo desconocido / Shutterstock 6. Microplastics pollution from the river Rhine in Germany© Oliver Tjaden / Greenpeace 7. Cooking with eggs © fizkes / Shutterstock 9FOREVER TOXIC 2 4 6 5 7 3 RECYCLED PLASTICS CAN POISON WORKERS AND COMMUNITIES: A 2015 study14 found that workers in plastic recycling workshops face health risks from volatile organic compounds produced by recycling processes, with some workers facing an increased cancer risk. A 2020 study15 of plastic recycling workers (waste pickers) in the Gaza Strip found that most had been exposed to hazardous materials in the previous 12 months, and most reported occupational illnesses. A 2021 study16 of Vietnamese recycling concluded that “the typical processes for plastic recycling in craft villages come along with health risks for workers and neighbors and a high potential of environmental pollution.” A 2022 Human Rights Watch report17 documented the health impacts of plastic recycling facilities in Turkey, finding that recycling workers and nearby residents can be exposed to harmful chemicals when they inhale toxic dust or fumes. This poses risks of life-long health conditions, including cancer and reproductive harm. A 2023 IPEN study18 found the plastic flame retardant chemical Dechlorane Plus (DP) in the blood, food, and surroundings of home-based recycling workers. Blood testing of one plastic recycling worker in Thailand found a level of DP nearly 280 times higher than the trace levels found in farm workers who lived 15 km from the recycling operations. THE SCIENCE ON CHEMICAL THREATS FROM PLASTIC RECYCLING: POISONING WORKERS AND COMMUNITIES 10 FOREVER TOXIC 1 1. Recycled plastic in India © PradeepGaurs / Shutterstock 2. A trash collector working in a waste collection facility in Instanbul, Turkey.© Sahan Nuhoglu / Shutterstock 3. Electronic waste recycling plant in Turkey © OVKNHR / Shutterstock 4. Volunteer wearing gloves to handle plastic sorting work at a plastic recycling plant. © Greenpeace 11FOREVER TOXIC 2 3 4 RECYCLED PLASTIC PRODUCTS CAN POISON CONSUMERS: A 2015 study19 by researchers from Czechia and Germany found that recycled plastics used in food packaging and other products contained toxic flame retardants, including banned POPs, with potential health impacts on children and consumers. A 2017 study20 found high levels of toxic flame retardants in toys and other recycled plastic products purchased in the EU, with one child’s toy containing levels of a regulated chemical nine times higher than EU safety limits. A 2018 study by IPEN, Arnika, the Health and Environment Alliance, and BUND21 found high levels of dioxins in recycled plastic products, including toys, from seven countries on four continents. The levels were similar to those found in some hazardous wastes, such as waste incineration ash, and in half of the products exceeded proposed limits for chlorinated dioxin in hazardous waste. A 2021 IPEN study22 analyzed recycled plastic pellets purchased from 24 recycling facilities in 23 countries. Testing showed that all of the pellets contained at least one toxic chemical and 21 samples contained all three types of chemicals tested for, including endocrine- disrupting chemicals and chemicals with links to neurotoxicity, cytotoxic effects, and cardiovascular impacts. Noting that recycled pellets are often made into toys and other products for children, the report warned that its results “raise concerns about potential health impacts and exposure of vulnerable populations such as children.” A 2020 study23 found high levels of highly toxic dioxins in recycled plastic toys, three of which were found to be “as contaminated as hazardous waste” under the Stockholm Convention’s limits. It also estimated daily ingestion of toxic chemicals from children’s mouthing habits, finding that the “contribution of the ingestion of contaminated black plastic to children’s dioxin body burden is significant and often higher than the recommended TDI [tolerable daily intake].” A 2022 IPEN report24 summarized data on recycled plastic products from China, Indonesia, and Russia, finding that all of the products contained toxic chemicals, including substances banned under international conventions. All 73 products analyzed contained one or more globally banned flame retardant chemicals. A 2022 study25 found that recycled plastic bottles had higher concentrations of toxic chemicals than bottles made with new plastics, indicating that the recycling process can intensify chemical threats. A 2022 study26 by IPEN, Arnika, and partners in 11 African and Arabic countries found toxic chemicals in recycled plastic toys, kitchen utensils, and other products. Out of 83 products analyzed, 61 had levels of POPs that would define the products as POPs waste under limits proposed by African countries. A 2023 study27 from the Fraunhofer Institute and IES Landau tested post-consumer plastic recyclates from different European countries, finding 51 chemicals with intermediate to high toxicity risks and 30 that could not be identified (under EU law, only authorized substances can be used in food grade plastics28). A 2023 IPEN study of recycled plastic products purchased in Kenya29 found that 14 of the 18 products contained high levels of toxic flame retardants, exceeding a definition of hazardous POPs waste proposed by African countries. One sample, a toy car, was tested for brominated dioxins and contained the toxic chemicals at higher concentrations than levels found in ash from waste incineration. THE SCIENCE ON CHEMICAL THREATS FROM PLASTIC RECYCLING: PRODUCTS POISONING CONSUMERS 12 FOREVER TOXIC 1. Plastic ffragments © Meaw_ stocker / Shutterstock 2.Electronic waste recycling plant in Turkey © OVKNHR / Shutterstock 3. Fruit in single use plastic packaging © monticello / Shutterstock 4. Product images of plastic bottles made by Coca-Cola, Pepsi and Nestle, three of the biggest plastic polluters. © Tim Aubry / Greenpeace 5.Child chewing on plastic toy © DeymosHR / Shutterstock 1 3 4 5 2 13FOREVER TOXIC HEALTH THREATS FROM PLASTIC RECYCLING INDUSTRY ACCIDENTS As plastic stockpiles increase, the risk of large fires at recycling facilities is increasing, especially when facilities hold e-waste plastics with used batteries. A survey in the U.S. and Canada in 2022 found a record 390 fires in plastic recycling and waste facilities.30 Another project has mapped fires at plastic recycling facilities globally since 2018.31 A report from Turkey noted that the number of fires at plastic recycling facilities in that country increased from 33 in 2019 to 121 in 2021, one every three days.32 Similarly, in Malaysia a 2020 report noted a 1 14 FOREVER TOXIC 1. A fire at a plastics recycling plant in Richmond, Indiana, forced the evacuation of 2,000 nearby residents. Credit: Kevin Shook/Global Media Enterprise. 2. Fire at plastics factory, Hull, UK 3. Black smoke rises over an explosion at a plastic factory in Thailand.© Varit Soponpis / Shutterstock 2 3 doubling in fires at plastic recycling facilities over the previous year, stating that environmental health experts had warned residents that the fumes from the fires could cause respiratory problems, trigger and aggravate asthma, and cause rashes and eyesores.33 Two 2017 studies34 found that a 2015 fire at a plastic recycling facility in Greece released persistent carcinogenic compounds (dioxins and furans) and concluded that even short-duration releases could increase lifelong cancer risks for nearby residents. After another Greek plastic recycling facility fire in 2020, health experts warned residents to avoid or thoroughly wash local produce due to the toxicity of chemicals released by burning plastics.35 In the 12 months up to April 2023, large fires have been reported at plastic recycling facilities in Australia,36 Canada,37 Ghana,38 Russia,39 Southern Taiwan,40 Thailand,41 and the United Kingdom,42 and in the U.S. states of Florida,43 Indiana,44 North Carolina,45 and Nebraska46 (at a plant that was producing plastic lumber from recycled plastics).] 15FOREVER TOXIC PLASTIC PRODUCTION FORECAST TO TRIPLE BY 2060 16 FOREVER TOXIC Drinking water in plastic jugs © Sergey Ryzhov / Shutterstock ENDING THE LOVE AFFAIR WITH PLASTIC “RECYCLED CONTENT” AND FOCUSING ON REDUCING PLASTIC PRODUCTION AND USE Without dramatically reducing plastic production, it will be impossible to end plastic pollution. The existing discrepancy between the amount of plastic produced and the amount recycled is vast, with the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) estimating that only 9% of plastic waste is recycled globally. The situation is only set to get worse as plastic production is forecast to triple by 2060, with only a minimal increase in recycling predicted.47 The downstream impacts of overproduction of plastic are well documented, including harming the health of communities living near dumpsites and incinerators, evidence of prevalence of plastic in the human body, and devastation to marine life. According to UN statistics, in 2018 approximately 6 million tonnes of plastic waste were traded internationally, largely in the form of exports of unsorted mixed plastics from high- income to low-income countries, predominantly in South and South East Asia.48 A 2023 report found that this number is likely a significant underestimation, and warned that “without global policies to reduce plastic production, there will continue to be an unequal exchange of plastic wastes from high-income countries to low- and middle-income countries”49 – many of them with a lower GDP than the revenue of major plastic producing companies. Despite the devastating impacts of the overproduction of plastic and the need to accelerate refill- and reuse-based systems, the plastics industry continues to argue that the global plastic crisis can be addressed by raising national recycling targets and increasing the amount of recycled content in single-use plastic packaging. But in addition to the health concerns associated with the use of recycled plastics, increased plastic recycling means expanding toxic health and environmental threats throughout the recycling stream. These threats unequally impact the most vulnerable communities. Instead of encouraging more toxic plastic recycling, the Global Plastics Treaty must: 1 Achieve immediate, significant reductions in plastic production, establishing a pathway to end virgin plastic production. 2 Promote a shift to refill- and reuse-based economies, creating jobs and standards in new reuse industries and supporting established zero-waste practices. 3 Support a just transition for workers across the plastics supply chain, prioritizing waste pickers who collect approximately 60% of all plastic that is collected for recycling globally. 4 Promote non-combustion technologies for plastic stockpiles and waste disposal. 5 Institute the “polluter pays” principle for plastic waste management and for addressing the health and environmental costs throughout the plastics life cycle. 6 Significantly improve regulation, oversight, safety and worker protections for existing recycling facilities. 7 Require transparency about chemicals in plastics and eliminate all toxic additives and chemicals used in the plastics life cycle. 17FOREVER TOXIC 6 News. 2023. Omaha Fire Investigating Large Fire at First Star Recycling. March 30, 2023. https:// www.wowt.com/2023/03/30/ofd-investigates- large-fire-first-star-recycling/ Agence France Presse. 2022. In Turkey, Plastic Waste and Toxic Fumes. https://time.news/in- turkey-plastic-waste-and-toxic-fumes/ Ahern, T.P., Spector, L.G., Damkier, P. Esen, B.Ö., Ulrichsen, S.P., Eriksen, K., Lash, T.L. ... Cronin-Fenton, D.P. 2022. Medication-Associated Phthalate Exposure and Childhood Cancer Incidence. Journal of the National Cancer Institute 114 (6): 885–894. https://doi.org/10.1093/jnci/djac045 Al-Khatib, I.A., Al-Sari, M.I. & Kontofianni, S. 2020. Assessment of Occupational Health and Safety Among Scavengers in Gaza Strip, Palestine. Journal of Environmental and Public Health 2020: 3780431. https://doi.org/10.1155/2020/3780431 Alvarado Chacon, F., Brouwer, M. & van Velzen, E. 2020. Effect of Recycled Content and rPET Quality on the Properties of PET Bottles, Part I: Optical and Mechanical Properties. Packaging Technology and Science 33(2): 347–357. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/ pts.2490 Associated Press. 2023. “Toxic” Plastic Fire Forces 1,000 People to Evacuate in Indiana. The Guardian, April 12, 2023. https://www.theguardian.com/ us-news/2023/apr/12/toxic-indiana-plas- tic-fire-evacuation Ayamany, K. 2020. Incidence of Fire at Recycling Plants Spikes During MCO, Causing Health Hazards from Toxic Fumes. The Sun Daily, June 16, 2020. https://www.thesundaily.my/local/ incidence-of-fire-at-recycling-plants-spikes- during-mco-causing-health-hazards-from-toxic- fumes-AY2607057 Brosché, S., Strakova, J., Bell, L. & Karlsson, T. 2021. Widespread Chemical Contamination of Recycled Plastic Pellets Globally. IPEN. https://ipen.org/ documents/widespread-chemical-contamina- tion-recycled-plastic-pellets-globally Budin, C., Petrlík, J., Strakova, J., Hamm, S., Beeler, B., Behnisch, P., Besselink, H. ... Brouwer, A. 2020. Detection of High PBDD/Fs Levels and Dioxin-Like Activity in Toys Using a Combination of GC-HRMS, Rat-Based and Human-Based DR CALUX® Reporter Gene Assays. Chemosphere 251: 126579. https:// doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2020.126579 Callaghan, M.A., Alatorre-Hinojosa, S., Connors, L.T., Singh, R.D. & Thompson, J.A. 2020. Plasticizers and Cardiovascular Health: Role of Adipose Tissue Dysfunction. Frontiers in Pharmacology 11: 626448. https://doi.org/10.3389%2Ffphar.2020.626448 CEJAD, IPEN & Arnika. 2023. Hazardous Chemicals in Plastic Products and Food Chain in Kenya. https:// ipen.org/documents/hazardous-chemicals-plas- tic-products-and-food-chain-kenya CHEM Trust. 2022. CHEM Trust Newsletter: April 2022. https://us18.campaign-archive. com/?u=427121cff9f1b71a8caa3e46c&id=- 3c3a91623a Cook, E., Derks, M. & Velis, C. 2023. Plastic Waste Reprocessing for Circular Economy: A Systematic Scoping Review of Risks to Occupational and Public Health from Legacy Substances and Extrusion. Science of the Total Environment 859(2): 160385. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2022.160385 CTV News Edmonton. 2022. Fire at West-End Recy- cling Facility out After 20 Hours. https://edmonton. ctvnews.ca/fire-at-west-end-recycling-facility- out-after-20-hours-1.6043319 Dvorska, A., Strakova, J., Brosche, S., Petrlik, J., Boontongmai, T., Bubphachat, N., Thowsakul, C. ... Jeungsmarn, P. 2023. Environmental, Food and Human Body Burden of Dechlorane Plus in a Waste Recycling Area in Thailand: No Room for Exemptions. IPEN, Arnika, and EARTH. https://ipen. org/documents/environmental-food-and-human- body-burden-dechlorane-plus-waste-recycling- area-thailand-no E.hope, K. 2022. Ghana: Fire Ravages Plastic Recy- cling Factory at Kronum. AllAfrica, August 8, 2022. https://allafrica.com/stories/202208080354. html ekathimerini.com. 2020. Recycling Plant Fire Causes Dangerous Air Pollution. https:// www.ekathimerini.com/news/255937/recy- cling-plant-fire-causes-dangerous-air-pollution/ Elworthy, J. 2022. Multiple Crews Tackle Blaze at Fenland Plastics Recycling Plant. Ely Standard, July 11, 2022. https://www.elystandard.co.uk/ news/20684741.multiple-crews-tackle-blaze-fen- land-plastics-recycling-plant/ European Commission. 2011. Commission Regulation (EU) No 10/2011 of 14 January 2011 on Plastic Materials and Articles Intended to Come into Contact with Food. https://eur-lex. europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CON- SLEG:2011R0010:20111230:EN:PDF Everington, K. 2022. Video Shows Fire Break Out in Southern Taiwan Factory. Taiwan News, October 11, 2022. https://www.taiwannews.com.tw/en/ news/4682936 Gerassimidou, S., Lanska, P., Hahladakis, J., Lovat, E., Vanzetto, S., Geueke, B. ... Iacovidou, E. 2022. Unpacking the Complexity of the PET Drink Bottles Value Chain: A Chemicals Perspective. Journal of Hazardous Materials 430: 128410. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.jhazmat.2022.128410 Guzzonato, A., Puype, F. & Harrad, S.J. 2017. Evidence of Bad Recycling Practices: BFRs in Children’s Toys and Food-Contact Articles. Environmental Science: Processes & Impacts 19(7): 956-963. https://doi. org/10.1039/c7em00160f He, Z., Li, G., Chen, J., Huang, Y., An, T. & Zhang, C. 2015. Pollution Characteristics and Health Risk Assess- ment of Volatile Organic Compounds Emitted from Different Plastic Solid Waste Recycling Workshops. Environment International 77: 85–94. https://doi. org/10.1016/j.envint.2015.01.004 Heindel, J.J., Howard, S., Agay-Shay, K., Arrebola, J.P., Audouze, K., Babin, P.J., Barouki, R. … Blumberg, B. 2022. Obesity II: Establishing Causal Links Between Chemical Exposures and Obesity. Biochemical Phar- macology 199: 115015. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. bcp.2022.115015 Hromadske Int. [@Hromadske]. 2023. Twitter post, April 22, 2023. https://twitter.com/Hromadske/ status/1649723411411738628 Huang, D.-Y., Zhou, S.-G., Feng W.-F. & Tao, L. 2013. Pollution Characteristics of Volatile Organic Compounds, Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons and Phthalate Esters Emitted from Plastic Wastes Recycling Granulation Plants in Xingtan Town, South China. Atmospheric Environment 71: 327–334. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.atmosenv.2013.02.011 Human Rights Watch. 2022. “It’s as If They’re Poi- soning Us”: The Health Impacts of Plastic Recycling in Turkey. https://www.hrw.org/sites/default/files/ media_2022/09/turkey0922web_0.pdf IPEN. 2022. How Plastics Poison the Circular Economy: Data from China, Indonesia and Russia and Others Reveal the Dangers. https://ipen.org/ documents/how-plastics-poison-circular-econ- omy Karlsson, T., Dell, J., Gündoğdu, S. & Carney Almroth, B. 2023. Plastic Waste Trade: The Hidden Numbers. IPEN. https://ipen.org/documents/plastic-waste- trade-hidden-numbers Martin, L. 2022. Warehouse Fire Investigation Continues. rrspin, November 30, 2022. https:// www.rrspin.com/news/6713-warehouse-fire-in- vestigation-continues.html May, N. 2023. Huge Fire Rips Through Plastics Factory in South-East Melbourne. https://www. theguardian.com/australia-news/2023/feb/08/ huge-fire-plastics-factory-south-east-mel- bourne-keysborough McLaughlin, T. 2022. After 3-Month Closure, Escambia ECUA Recycling Facility Damaged by Fire on Reopening Week. Pensacola News Journal, October 3, 2022. https://www.pnj.com/story/news/ local/escambia-county/2022/10/03/ecua-re- cycling-center-escambia-county-hit-fire-sew- er-overflow/8168153001/ Newsflare. 2023. Fire Tears Through Plastic Recy- cling Factory in Thailand. https://www.newsflare. com/video/550931/fire-tears-through-plastic- recycling-factory-in-thailand OECD. 2022. Global Plastic Waste Set to Almost Triple by 2060. https://www.oecd.org/environment/ global-plastic-waste-set-to-almost-triple- by-2060.htm Petrlík, J., Beeler, B., Strakova, J., Allo’o Allo’o, S.M., Amera, T., Brosche, S., Gharbi, S. ... Zulkovska, K. 2022. Hazardous Chemicals in Plastic Products. IPEN & Arnika. https://ipen.org/documents/ hazardous-chemicals-plastic-products Petrlík, J., Behnisch, P., DiGangi, J., Straková, J., Fernandez, M. & Jensen, G. 2018. Toxic Soup: Dioxins in Plastic Toys. IPEN, Arnika, HEAL, and BUND. https://ipen.org/documents/toxic-soup-diox- ins-plastic-toys Petrlík, J., Bell, L., Beeler, B., Møller, M., Jopkova, M., Arisandi, P., Brabcova, K. … Skalsky, M. 2021. Plastic Waste Disposal Leads to Contamination of the Food Chain. IPEN & Arnika. https://ipen.org/documents/ plastic-waste-disposal-leads-contamina- tion-food-chain Puype, F., Samsonek, J., Knoop, J., Egelkraut-Holtus, M. & Ortlieb, M. 2015. Evidence of Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) Relevant Substances in Polymeric Food-Contact Articles Sold on the European Market. Food Additives & Contaminants: Part A 32(3): 410–426. https://doi.or g/10.1080%2F19440049.2015.1009499 Quinn, M. 2023. High Number of Facility Fires in 2022 Prompts Renewed Look at Battery Recycling Efforts. Waste Dive, March 22, 2023. https://www. wastedive.com/news/high-number-of-facility- fires-in-2022-prompts-renewed-look-at-battery- recyc/645682/ Rochman, C.M., Browne, M.A., Halpern, B.S., Hentschel, B.T., Karapanagioti, H.K., Rios-Mendoza, L.M., Takada, H. ... Thompson, R.C. 2013. Classify Plastic Waste as Hazardous. Nature 494: 169–171. https://www.nature.com/articles/494169a Rung, C., Welle, F., Gruner, A., Springer, A., Steinmetz, Z. & Munoz, K. 2023. Identification and Evaluation of (Non-)Intentionally Added Substances in Post-Consumer Recyclates and Their Toxicological Classification. Recycling 8(1): 24. https://doi. org/10.3390/recycling8010024 Salhofer, S., Jandric, A., Soudachanh, S., Xuan, T.L. & Tran, T.D. 2021. Plastic Recycling Practices in Vietnam and Related Hazards for Health and the Environment. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 18(8): 4203. https://doi. org/10.3390/ijerph18084203 Sarigiannis, D.A. 2017. Assessing the Impact of Haz- ardous Waste on Children’s Health: The Exposome Paradigm. Environmental Research 158: 531-541. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.envres.2017.06.031 and Sarigiannis, D.A., Gotti, A. & Karakitsios, S. 2017. Health Risk from Accidental Fire in a Plastics Recycling Facility. http://uest.ntua.gr/athens2017/ proceedings/presentations/16_30_Health_ risk_from_accidental_fire_in_a_plastics_recy- cling_facility.pdf Tang, Z., Huang, Q., Cheng, J., Yang, Y., Yang, J., Guo, W., Nie, Z. ... Jin, L. 2014. Polybrominated Diphenyl Ethers in Soils, Sediments, and Human Hair in a Plastic Waste Recycling Area: A Neglected Heavily Polluted Area. Environmental Science & Technology 48(3): 1508–1516. https://doi.org/10.1021/es404905u Tang, Z., Zhang, L., Huang, Q., Yang, Y., Nie, Z., Cheng, J., Yang, J. ... Chai, M. 2015. Contamination and Risk of Heavy Metals in Soils and Sediments from a Typical Plastic Waste Recycling Area in North China. Eco- toxicology and Environmental Safety 122: 343–351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoenv.2015.08.006 The Last Beach Cleanup. Fires at Plastic Recycling Facilities [Online]. https://www.lastbeachcleanup. org/fires Treasure, K. 2022. UPDATED: Bins Go out as Usual Despite Fire Gutting Hume Recycling Plant. Riotact, December 27, 2022. https://the-riotact.com/ fire-in-hume-recycling-plant-could-burn-for- days/625288 UN Environment Programme. 2021. Drowning in Plastics – Marine Litter and Plastic Waste Vital Graphics. https://www.unep.org/resources/report/ drowning-plastics-marine-litter-and-plastic- waste-vital-graphics UN Environment Programme & Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions. 2023. Chemicals in Plastics - A Technical Report. https://www.unep.org/resources/report/chemi- cals-plastics-technical-report REFERENCES 18 FOREVER TOXIC 1 References to Greenpeace in this document refer to the program- matic work of the Plastic Free Future Campaign, a global campaign involving several offices across the global Greenpeace network of 26 independent organizations, including Greenpeace USA and Greenpeace International 2 UN Environment Programme (2021) 3 See e.g. Cook et al. (2023). 4 Petrlík et al. (2022) 5 Rung et al. (2023) 6 Alvarado Chacon et al. (2020), van Velzen et al. (2020) 7 UN Environment Programme & Secretariat of the Basel, Rotterdam and Stockholm Conventions (2023) 8 CHEM Trust (2022) 9 See e.g. Ahern et al. (2022), Callaghan et al. (2020), and Heindel et al. (2022). 10 Rochman et al. (2013) 11 Huang et al. (2013) 12 Tang et al. (2014), Tang et al. (2015) 13 Petrlík et al. (2021) 14 He et al. (2015) 15 Al-Khatib et al. (2020) 16 Salhofer et al. (2021) 17 Human Rights Watch (2022) 18 Dvorska et al. (2023) 19 Puype et al. (2015) 20 Guzzonato et al. (2017) 21 Petrlík et al. (2018) 22 Brosché et al. (2021) 23 Budin et al. (2020) 24 IPEN (2022) 25 Gerassimidou et al. (2022) 26 Petrlík et al. (2022) 27 Rung et al. (2023) 28 European Commission (2011) 29 CEJAD, IPEN & Arnika (2023) 30 Quinn (2023) 31 The Last Beach Cleanup, Fires at Plastic Recycling Facilities [Online] 32 Agence France Presse (2022) 33 Ayamany (2020) 34 Sarigiannis (2017), Sarigiannis et al. (2017) 35 ekathimerini.com (2020) 36 May (2023), Treasure (2022) 37 CTV News Edmonton (2022) 38 E.hope (2022) 39 Hromadske Int. [@Hromadske] (2023) 40 Everington (2022) 41 Newsflare (2023) 42 Elworthy (2022) 43 McLaughlin (2022) 44 Associated Press (2023) 45 Martin (2022) 46 6 News (2023) 47 OECD (2022). The OECD estimates that the share of plastic waste that is recycled will increase to approximately 17% by 2060. 48 Cook et al. (2023) 49 Karlsson et al. (2023) ENDNOTES Activists from Greenpeace Africa hold banners in support of a Global Plastics Treaty. Ngong Hills, Nairobi, Kenya, 02/24/2022 © Paul Basweti / Greenpeace 19FOREVER TOXIC PUBLISHED MAY 2023 GREENPEACE, INC. 1300 Eye Street NW Suite 1100 East Washington, DC 20005 www.greenpeace.org/usa Greenpeace is a network of global, independent campaigning organizations that use peaceful protest and creative communication to expose global environmental problems and promote solutions that are essential to a green and peaceful future. SPECIAL THANKS TO Asia Arminio, Björn Beeler, Tanya Brooks, Vito Buonsante, Jan Dell, Graham Forbes, Rachel Head, John Hocevar, Jamie Kalliongis, Dr. Therese Karlsson, Charles Margulis, and Kate Melges. This report was developed in collaboration with International Pollutants Elimination Network (IPEN) and The Last Beach Cleanup. DESIGN Paul Hamilton, weareoneanother.net Greenpeace projects messages and plastic waste imagery in Uruguay as global leaders come together to discuss a Global Plastics Treaty in Punta del Este, Uruguay. © Greenpeace / Manuela Lourenço From:Clerk, City To:Council, City Subject:Public Comment Letter Date:Monday, November 3, 2025 10:46:39 AM Attachments:2025-11-03 Public Comment Letter.pdf Good morning City Councilmembers, Please find the attached public comment letter. Thank you, City Clerk’s Office From:herb To:Council, City; Clerk, City Subject:November 3, 2025 City Council Meeting, Item #4:4. Public Employee Performance Evaluations City Manage Date:Sunday, November 2, 2025 5:53:25 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. NOVEMBERF 3, 2025 CITY COUNCIL MEETING ITEM #4: PUBLIC EMPLOYEE PERFORMANCE EVALUATIONS, CITY MANAGER Last year's chair of the Council Appointed Officers Committeetold the Council on December 2, 2024 that: "There had been a closed session related to possibly setting KPIs on the objectives that were in place. There had been productive conversations with the City Manager, City Clerk, and City Attorney. It was unanimously concluded that the CAOs should identify a few of the key goals and set measurements (KPIs or metrics) for the goals, which Council would receive shortly from the outside consultant. The Council has adopted 70 objectives this year for its fourkey policies. It makes more sense to evaluate the Council Appointed Officers(CAOs) on a focused set of Goals and KPIs. The Council sets policy via legislative acts and directions toCAOs that the CAOs implement, but at a point in time the publicand Council may be focusing on only a few such policies suchas consultants and oversized vehicles. Since you will be evaluating the City Manager based on Goalsand KPIS, the only way the public can provide information toyou about the Goals and KPIs is if you disclose them now. The Goals and KPIs are identifiable public records and youshould not refuse to disclose them unless you are compelled todo so. If the Goals and KPIs are not available to the public beforeyou go into Closed Session to evaluate the City Manager, allthe public can possibly talk about are whatever of the 70objectives and policies of the moment are important to themthat might not be relevant to the Goals and KPIs. Thank you for your consideration of these comments. Herb Borock From:Jennifer Landesmann To:Clerk, City Cc:Council, City Subject:Suggestions for when the order of topics on the Agenda is changed Date:Sunday, November 2, 2025 1:47:30 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear City Clerk Team, On October 22, I scheduled myself to attend and make a public comment on Agenda Item #3; I joined the meeting 15-20 minutes earlier than the expected time for the item which I believe was 7:30 PM. When I logged in, another item was being discussed - sounded like Item #2 so I assumed the meeting was running late. I waited for #3 which never happened. I only figured out what happened when the meeting replay was available, that the entire team to present item #1 or #2 was not ready and the decision was made to switch #3 to go first almost an hour earlier than the expected time. It used to be that we didn't have approximate times, so that has been an improvement but what is missing is a real time web page to make "last minute" Agenda schedule announcements. Understood that last minute changes can happen, but they should ideally be noticed in real time so people who organize themselves for a topic can check if something is switched. There was only 1 public comment for the 10/22 #3 topic, and I wonder if others were also confused. So, my other suggestion is that when a topic is switched, for Council or your team to note on the record that the change will be cutting short public participation. I also understand that our input can go by email, but then the preparation to be thoughtful with our comments and to make them in 2 minutes or 3 is undermined. I have at times spent hours drafting something to fit 2 minutes. It's also different and sometimes more efficient to build on or add to something that is raised in the Council discussion during the meeting. Thanks for any understanding. Best, Jennifer From:Win"s Circle To:Council, City Subject:3rd Thursday - Carol Garsten Date:Sunday, November 2, 2025 1:14:58 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. i Greetings council people, I am the daughter of a former selectman in our home town. I know that these letters matter. Thank you in advance for reading it through to the end. This is what I have submitted to the Palo Alto weekly, “awaiting moderation,” it says. Wilson Farrar says: Carol G has done a brilliant job of bringing into reality 3rd Thursday! And growing it! Speaking of “Jobs” I can’t help but keep thinking of Steve Jobs, who created Apple Computer, only to be kicked out later after he was deemed “difficult to work with.” And we all know, or should, how that turned out! Apple came frightfully close to going out of business and the only one who could save it was Jobs himself! They brought him back, let him run it, and he SAVED Apple! The rest is history… Let us save ourselves all of that trouble, and peril, and hold on to Creator Carol while we can! I would appreciate it if Mr Shikada and Ms. Lythcott- Haims would work to that end: KEEP 3rd Thursday WITH CAROL, and HELP HER to work with those that were aggrieved. I can understand and appreciate the people may have different perspectives. Ending at 8, for example. These things need to be worked through. And while I don’t know all of the details, I DO know that what Carol has done is nothing short of Herculean! And everyone has their limits. Only so many hours in a day. This is a time we should be HELPING her in her efforts (not thwarting them.) Please, Counsel Members, RISE UP yo the challenge, LEAD with LOVE and WISDOM! Clearly Carol wants to keep doing it – WE want HER to keep doing it! It is HER energy, TALENT and VISION that keeps us coming back! SHE is what we need and whom we want. 3Rd Thursday is a WONDERFUL event that brings people together in joy and in music and movement, including my father 91, my nephew, who lives in Oakland, and my sister from Los Altos, among others. Let your legacy be one of diplomacy whereby we KEEP Carol AND we make the store owners happier. YOU CAN DO IT! Now where is that petition in honoring Carol? We want to sign it! Thank you! I would be happy to discuss this with you further. Kind regards, This message needs your attention This is a personal email address. This is their first email to your company. Mark Safe Report Wilson Farrar From:SiliconValleyPI.com To:Council, City Subject:Buena Vista Mobile Home Park Date:Saturday, November 1, 2025 5:24:37 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. i Dear City Councilmembers: I am writing to you concerning the Housing Authority's newly announced plan to "preserve" rather than redevelop the Park. My foremost concern is what assurances as a resident of Parcel A will I receive from the City and the Housing Authority that the preservation mode will continue into perpetuity as originally promised to the Residents when the Park was purchased from the Jissers? Again. as a Parcel A Homeowner, will I be subject to a future redevelopment effort by the Housing Authority to turn Parcel A into an income source for themselves, thus causing Parcel A residents to once again experience the threat of losing our homes? Based on past untruthfulness of the Housing Authority, it appears the abandonment of the redevelopment in favor of preservation is based on a lack of funding, apparently Federal funding that has dried up under the current administration. This leads me to be concerned that under a new administration offering readily available funding, the Housing Authority will resurrect its dream of acquiring more apartments as income sources at the expense of the Homeowners of Parcel A who are now being promised that our existing quality of life will be preserved as we desire! Besides these urgent questions, I have a few comments to share with you: Density - Residents I know are pleased that the current density is being preserved because no one wanted to live in a higher density environment in a smaller space in Parcel B. This message needs your attention This is a personal email address. Mark Safe Report Powered by Mimecast I purchased my home in 1995 precisely because it was located in Parcel A as opposed to others I looked at in Parcel B. My home was more expensive than the others I looked at in Parcel B but I was pleased that Parcel A homes were newer and the street was wider since that street had been added to the original Park in the late '50s. I am aware that there are some Barron Park neighborhood residents who were strong proponents of the proposed apartment building for Parcel A which would have necessitated the demolition of all the homes on my street. I think this is a clear case of "what is good for thee is not good for me". Relocation of Parcel B Residents - the so-called relocation "specialists" hired by the Housing Authority performed terribly with multiple failures in basic communications indicating they were not relocation specialists at all, but appeared to have been recently plucked from their fast food jobs to serve as a buffer between the Park Residents and the Housing Authority, reflecting the distaste of the Housing Authority to deal with the Residents. A new firm has been hired for the new relocation. Let's hope they are actual Relocation Specialists this time. My final comments are to describe what the Parcel A Residents have endured since the Housing Authority effectuated its Redevelopment Plan: I was informed by the Housing Authority that when the Mobile Home I have owned and resided in for 30 years was demolished to make way for an apartment building, the "lovely new home" I would be moving into would NOT be a Manufactured Home comparable to my current home, but due to being a one-bedroom resident, I could only be assigned to a Park Model RV. I encourage you to Google "Park Model RV vs. Manufactured Home" to see the huge differences. Park Model RV's are not designed for year-round, long-term living, but rather to be an easily towed, second home for vacationing. I was also informed by the Housing Authority that I would be going into debt in order to acquire this sub-standard replacement for my Manufactured Home that I have owned free and clear for thirty years. The Housing Authority informed me that I would not be allowed to choose my new lot location in Parcel B based on my seniority in the Park, but the Housing Authority would assign it to me. The Housing Authority informed me that I would not be allowed to remain in my home until the new homes in Parcel B were ready for all the homes on my street and then I could move back into my new Park Model RV in Parcel B six month later thus necessitating two moves within six months rather than one. I was told this was because it would be "too dangerous" for me to stay in my home during the redevelopment of Parcel B, even though I informed the Housing Authority that I was well aware that Parcel A is a completely separate Parcel with completely separate utilities from Parcel B. Just one example of untruthfulness during the process from the Housing Authority. These are the most serious issues I was presented with by the Housing Authority that caused me great anxiety at a time when I was hoping to enjoy my Golden Years since passing 77, until their recent announcement that they are abandoning redevelopment in favor of preservation. Phew! What a relief! In conclusion, none of the Residents that I know wanted the Park to be chopped up for an income source for the Housing Authority, necessitating jamming all Mobile Home Residents into Parcel B. At the time of the sale of the Park to the Housing Authority the Residents that I know were pleased that the new ownership would be an upgrade from the slumlord ownership we had endured for decades. The Residents that I know expected the Park to be PRESERVED AS A MOBILE HOME PARK IN PERPETUITY and upgraded to add green areas and some amenities, not to be downgraded to a single Parcel so that an income source could be added to one of the current parcels, increasing density and diminishing the quality of life for the Residents. Increasing density and diminishing our quality of life did not appear to be concerns or even within the understanding of the Housing Authority in any way. Instead we got an unwanted redevelopment plan that benefited the Housing Authority (that had no experience in ever managing a Mobile Home Park) more than the Residents. Maybe we should have expected their push to destroy our quality of life in exchange for an apartment building from a Housing Authority that does nothing but manage apartments. I guess it made perfect sense to them. Going forward it would be nice to have Resident's views and ideas included in the DECISION MAKING process as opposed to being solely dictated to by the Housing Authority but apparently since they have never dealt with HOMEOWNERS, and are just used to being typical landlords where it is their way or the highway, this inclusiveness does not appear to a part of their management style. I am forever hopeful that the Housing Authority can improve their style in dealing with Homeowners as opposed to the renters they are accustomed to. A minor example of their lack of understanding of our quality of life issues, is my request to the Housing Authority more than a year ago for them to obtain permission from the Jissers to paint a mural on the rear wall of the building bordering on and facing the homes on Parcel B. Crickets since I made the suggestion! Even existing maintenance is very slow, particularly in cutting weeds which abound in the parking areas and perpetuate a blighted appearance. Thank you all for your time. Ellen Gold Parcel A Homeowner Buena Vista Mobile Home Park Ellen Gold Ellen "Paula-Drake" Gold Your SILICON VALLEY Connection! Palo Alto, CA 94306 Phone: Celebrating 31 years serving the San Jose/San Francisco Bay Area and The World! From:Paul Cornelius To:Council, City Subject:Palo Alto Link and Sherman Avenue Garage Date:Friday, October 31, 2025 7:57:46 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Hello, I own an electric vehicle and I often rely on public charging stations. There are stations at the 350 Sherman Avenue garage on the first and second floor, operated by ChargePoint. One set of stations, on the southwest side of the second floor, is heavily used by Palo Alto Link vehicles. I have noticed that these cars frequently remain connected to the chargers long after they are fully charged. It is a parking violation for a private citizen to leave a car connected to a charging station after it's fully charged, for the obvious reason that the station could be made available to others. I fail to see why it should be different for cars owned and operated by the city. Perhaps ChargePoint would be interested in learning why their revenues from these stations are not what they could be. Today, for example, three out of four Link cars remained connected to stations although they were fully charged. One of those cars had been connected for approximately a full month, based on a timer on the station's display. As I approached my car when leaving, a Link driver appeared, sat down in the driver's seat of one of the cars, and drove off. He made no attempt to move any of the cars that were connected to the other stations. There were plenty of empty spaces in the garage and it would have taken only a few seconds to move these vehicles. I also noticed that none of the Link cars have front license plates, which is a requirement in California. Link cars should comply with parking and vehicle regulations. I think it would be a simple matter for the city council to fix this problem. Paul Cornelius From:midtowngary@me.com To:Council, City Cc:Council, City Subject:Re: October 20, 2025 Hearing on RV parking in Palo Alto Date:Friday, October 31, 2025 4:15:07 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. ! San Francisco poised to enforce 2-hour parking limit nbcbayarea.com City Council members, See attached link, San Francisco to enforce two hour parking on all RV’s. Where will they all go? Down the peninsula….to Palo Alto? I hope not but it is entirely possible with our slow reaction to this epidemic. Respectfully, Gary On Oct 17, 2025, at 2:43 PM, midtowngary@me.com wrote: City Council October 17, 2025 This message could be suspicious Similar name as someone you've contacted. This is a personal email address. Mark Safe Report I am writing as a concerned resident and taxpayer to urge the Council to take action in addressing the growing issue of long-term RV parking on our city streets. As surrounding communities have implemented restrictions or outright bans on RV parking, many of these vehicles—and their associated problems—have migrated into our neighborhoods. Unfortunately, the results are increasingly visible: blight, trash accumulation, and ongoing nuisances that negatively impact the quality of life for residents and the appearance of our city. While I understand that some individuals living in RVs may be facing difficult circumstances, allowing unrestricted RV parking is not a sustainable or fair solution. The reality is that many of these vehicles are not properly maintained, leak fluids onto the streets, generate noise and waste, have expired tags, and contribute to litter and unsanitary conditions. They also take up valuable parking spaces. This not only degrades property values but quality of life in our city. Other cities have recognized that uncontrolled RV parking leads to safety hazards, diminished public spaces, and growing costs for municipal services. As they enact bans or stricter regulations, our city has become an unintended haven for RV encampments, bringing these issues to our doorsteps. Without clear restrictions, we risk allowing the problem to grow to an unmanageable scale. I respectfully urge the City Council to consider adopting an ordinance that bans RV parking on city streets and in residential areas. Most taxpaying residents feel the same way and deserve to have their voices heard. The majority of us work hard to maintain our homes and neighborhoods, and we expect our city to take reasonable action to preserve the safety, cleanliness, and character of our community. Our community deserves clean, safe, and attractive neighborhoods. As taxpayers, we should not have to shoulder the costs or consequences of lax enforcement and policy gaps that encourage blight and disorder. Thank you for your attention to this important matter and for your continued work to protect the health, safety, and integrity of our community. Respectfully, Gary From:Deborah Goldeen To:Council, City Cc:City Mgr Subject:3rd Thursday Date:Friday, October 31, 2025 9:32:27 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. The merchants on Cal Ave act as if they own the street. What the street looks like now is a commercial venue for half a dozen restaurants. Some of the merchants are delightful people - Maico, the owners of Leaf and Petal, the owner of Joie Nail Salon. But there are some, three in particular, who are mean, petty and hostile. Are they on the list of people who complained about Carol? I bet they are. There was probably a specific problem with a specific set of merchants that could have been addressed directly by the Chamber or the City. Most people have no problem working with Carol. Some people require all their interactions to be formal and orderly. That is not how event producers operate. There is a certain personality type and skill set necessary for event production. When it comes to event producers, Carol is a saint. 3rd Thursday was a value contribution to community building in Palo Alto. Shutting it down when the problem could have been negotiated was a bad call. Deb G., From:Dave Stellman To:Steve Wong Cc:Marguerite Poyatos; Manu Kumar; peterxuvel@gmail.com; rogervernonsmith@hotmail.com; Transportation; RevColl; Patrick Kelly; Osbaldo R; Xenia Czisch; Bill McLane; Ramon Moreno; Lester Wong; Maor Greenberg; Gaines, Chantal; Cathi Lerch; Dave Stellman; City Mgr; Moffatt, Pete; Jacob@onemovemovers.com; david@paloaltoconcrete.com; nancy@drewmaran.com; Dan McKinley; McDonough, Melissa; Reifschneider, James; John Lerch; Binder, Andrew; City Attorney; Lauing, Ed; Lydia Kou; Veenker, Vicki; Council, City; Burt, Patrick; Stone, Greer; Lythcott-Haims, Julie; Staceytomson@qmsshields.com; Becchetti, Benjamin; Cally Mei; Diana Ma Subject:Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety Date:Thursday, October 30, 2025 2:04:32 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. i City of Palo Alto Attention: City Manager / City Council Subject: Urgent Request for Action on Homeless Encampments and Abandoned Vehicle Parking in the Transport/Industrial/Commercial Area Dear City Officials, I am writing to express serious concern and confirm all of the other property and business owners statements regarding the growing number of homeless encampments, RVs, and abandoned vehicles occupying our streets in the Transport, Industrial and Commercial street areas of Palo Alto. The situation has deteriorated noticeably, leading to safety hazards, unsanitary conditions, and restricted access for local businesses and employees. Many of these vehicles appear to be long-term or abandoned, and the associated debris and waste create environmental and public health concerns. Residents and business owners in the area are increasingly frustrated by the City’s lack of visible enforcement or remediation efforts. This message needs your attention This is a personal email address. This is their first mail to some recipients. Mark Safe Report We are demanding that the City of Palo Alto to take immediate and coordinated action, including: Enforcing time limits and parking regulations for oversized and inoperable vehicles. Increasing patrols and clean-up efforts in the affected zones. Providing clear updates to the community on what steps are being taken to address this escalating problem. The community deserves clean, safe, and accessible streets, and we ask the City to treat this issue as a priority. Thank you for your attention to this urgent matter. I look forward to a timely and transparent response outlining what actions will be taken. Sincerely, Dave Stellman On Oct 30, 2025, at 12:43 PM, Steve Wong <swong@wongelectric.com> wrote: Dear City of Palo Alto, I am writing to demand immediate action regarding the growing and persistent RV infestation along the 900 block of Industrial Avenue, 4000 block of Transport Street, and 800–900 block of Commercial Street in Palo Alto. This situation has gotten completely out of control and is now creating serious safety, sanitation, accessibility, and parking hazards for the many businesses and employees who operate in this area every day. Many of these RVs and motorhomes have been parked for months at a time without moving, in direct violation of the City’s own ordinance stating that “any vehicle parked on a public street must be moved every 72 hours.” It is evident that this rule is not being enforced, and the situation continues to deteriorate week after week. While community officers occasionally come by, their visits are infrequent and have not led to any lasting improvement. The impacts of this ongoing neglect are severe and escalating. Human waste and trash are being dumped on the street and sidewalks, and we can smell it. Aggressive dogs are frequently chained outside RVs, endangering anyone walking by. Verbal harassment and intimidation from some RV occupants are common. Overpowering odors from the vehicles make the area unpleasant and unsanitary. Blocked sightlines caused by oversized RVs have created dangerous traffic conditions. As someone who works in this area, I experience these issues daily. I often take walks during my lunch breaks for fresh air and exercise, but these walks have become increasingly uncomfortable and unsafe. On several occasions, I have had frightening encounters with dogs chained outside RVs or with occupants who confront me for simply walking on the public sidewalk. The stench from some of these vehicles is overwhelming, and the blocked sightlines have nearly caused traffic accidents — I personally had a close call while trying to check for oncoming cars around a parked RV (see IMG_2880). <image.png> On a recent walk through the area, I personally photographed 41 RVs and inoperable vehicles parked along these streets. This number does not include additional vehicles where RV occupants were present, making it unsafe to take photographs or even linger nearby without risk of confrontation or aggression. The sheer scale of this issue speaks for itself and clearly demonstrates a complete lack of enforcement. I also documented an RV that is parked well outside the curb’s marked parking lines, extending significantly into the street and creating a major blind spot for both drivers and pedestrians. This is not only a violation of parking regulations but a serious public safety hazard that endangers anyone trying to navigate through the area, particularly near intersections and driveways. Each RV typically occupies at least two standard parking spaces, sometimes more, due to their size and the way they are parked. If I counted 41 of these vehicles, do the math — that’s roughly 80 or more parking spaces permanently taken up by RVs, leaving little to no room for employees, business owners, customers, and delivery drivers who rely on this area daily. Many of us are forced to park blocks away from our workplaces, and worse, we are forced to walk past these eyesore, smelly, and often intimidating RVs just to get to work each day. This is unfair, unsafe, and unacceptable. The City’s failure to maintain proper parking turnover is directly impacting the productivity and accessibility of the entire business corridor. Additionally, the presence of propane and butane tanks, gas generators, and piles of combustible debris poses a significant fire hazard that threatens surrounding properties and public safety. Several of these RVs come with several vehicles that are clearly inoperable and are being used as storage units filled with trash, further compounding the risks. The City’s continued inaction has created an environment where blatant violations are ignored, and the safety and economic well-being of legitimate businesses are being sacrificed. This situation has reached a critical and unsustainable point. On behalf of the many businesses located in the Commercial–Industrial– Transport Street corridor, I am demanding that the City: 1. Enforce the 72-hour parking rule without exception. 2. Increase patrol frequency and ensure violators are cited and removed. 3. Address sanitation and public safety hazards created by these encampments. 4. Provide a clear plan and timeline for resolving this ongoing crisis. We expect to see prompt and decisive action — not temporary inspections or passive observation. The City’s failure to act is directly affecting our ability to conduct business safely and responsibly. Please respond with a clear outline of the City’s next steps and expected timeline for enforcement and cleanup. Sincerely, Steven L. Wong - President Phone: 650.813.9999 | Cell: 650.280.0160 4067 Transport Street, Palo Alto, CA 94303 Celebrating Our 47th Anniversary 1978–2025 <image.png> A Proud Member of the U.S. Green Building Council <image.png><image.png> <image.png> From: Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com> Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2025 12:37 PM To: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com>; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; peterxuvel@gmail.com <peterxuvel@gmail.com>; rogervernonsmith@hotmail.com <rogervernonsmith@hotmail.com> Cc: Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; RevColl@paloalto.gov <RevColl@paloalto.gov>; Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com>; Osbaldo R <osbaldo@or-builders.com>; Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com>; Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com>; Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com>; Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction>; Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org <chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com <Jacob@onemovemovers.com>; david@paloaltoconcrete.com <david@paloaltoconcrete.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com <nancy@drewmaran.com>; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org>; Staceytomson@qmsshields.com <Staceytomson@qmsshields.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cally Mei <cmei@wongelectric.com>; Diana Ma <dma@wongelectric.com> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety Dear City of Palo Alto, I am writing to demand immediate action regarding the growing and persistent RV infestation along the 900 block of Industrial Avenue, 4000 block of Transport Street, and 800–900 block of Commercial Street in Palo Alto. This situation has gotten completely out of control and is now creating serious safety, sanitation, accessibility, and parking hazards for the many businesses and employees who operate in this area every day. Many of these RVs and motorhomes have been parked for months at a time without moving, in direct violation of the City’s own ordinance stating that “any vehicle parked on a public street must be moved every 72 hours.” It is evident that this rule is not being enforced, and the situation continues to deteriorate week after week. While community officers occasionally come by, their visits are infrequent and have not led to any lasting improvement. The impacts of this ongoing neglect are severe and escalating. Human waste and trash are being dumped on the street and sidewalks, and we can smell it. Aggressive dogs are frequently chained outside RVs, endangering anyone walking by. Verbal harassment and intimidation from some RV occupants are common. Overpowering odors from the vehicles make the area unpleasant and unsanitary. Blocked sightlines caused by oversized RVs have created dangerous traffic conditions. As someone who works in this area, I experience these issues daily. I often take walks during my lunch breaks for fresh air and exercise, but these walks have become increasingly uncomfortable and unsafe. On several occasions, I have had frightening encounters with dogs chained outside RVs or with occupants who confront me for simply walking on the public sidewalk. The stench from some of these vehicles is overwhelming, and the blocked sightlines have nearly caused traffic accidents — I personally had a close call while trying to check for oncoming cars around a parked RV (see IMG_2880). <image.png> On a recent walk through the area, I personally photographed 41 RVs and inoperable vehicles parked along these streets. This number does not include additional vehicles where RV occupants were present, making it unsafe to take photographs or even linger nearby without risk of confrontation or aggression. The sheer scale of this issue speaks for itself and clearly demonstrates a complete lack of enforcement. I also documented an RV that is parked well outside the curb’s marked parking lines, extending significantly into the street and creating a major blind spot for both drivers and pedestrians. This is not only a violation of parking regulations but a serious public safety hazard that endangers anyone trying to navigate through the area, particularly near intersections and driveways. Each RV typically occupies at least two standard parking spaces, sometimes more, due to their size and the way they are parked. If I counted 41 of these vehicles, do the math — that’s roughly 80 or more parking spaces permanently taken up by RVs, leaving little to no room for employees, business owners, customers, and delivery drivers who rely on this area daily. Many of us are forced to park blocks away from our workplaces, and worse, we are forced to walk past these eyesore, smelly, and often intimidating RVs just to get to work each day. This is unfair, unsafe, and unacceptable. The City’s failure to maintain proper parking turnover is directly impacting the productivity and accessibility of the entire business corridor. Additionally, the presence of propane and butane tanks, gas generators, and piles of combustible debris poses a significant fire hazard that threatens surrounding properties and public safety. Several of these RVs come with several vehicles that are clearly inoperable and are being used as storage units filled with trash, further compounding the risks. The City’s continued inaction has created an environment where blatant violations are ignored, and the safety and economic well-being of legitimate businesses are being sacrificed. This situation has reached a critical and unsustainable point. On behalf of the many businesses located in the Commercial–Industrial– Transport Street corridor, I am demanding that the City: 1. Enforce the 72-hour parking rule without exception. 2. Increase patrol frequency and ensure violators are cited and removed. 3. Address sanitation and public safety hazards created by these encampments. 4. Provide a clear plan and timeline for resolving this ongoing crisis. We expect to see prompt and decisive action — not temporary inspections or passive observation. The City’s failure to act is directly affecting our ability to conduct business safely and responsibly. Please respond with a clear outline of the City’s next steps and expected timeline for enforcement and cleanup. Sincerely, Steven L. Wong - President <image.png><image.png> Phone: 650.813.9999 | Cell: 650.280.0160 4067 Transport Street, Palo Alto, CA 94303 Celebrating Our 47th Anniversary 1978–2025 <image.png> A Proud Member of the U.S. Green Building Council <image.png> From: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com> Sent: Monday, October 20, 2025 8:37 AM To: Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; peterxuvel@gmail.com <peterxuvel@gmail.com>; rogervernonsmith@hotmail.com <rogervernonsmith@hotmail.com> Cc: Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; RevColl@paloalto.gov <RevColl@paloalto.gov>; Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com>; Osbaldo R <osbaldo@or- builders.com>; Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com>; Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com>; Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com>; Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction>; Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org <chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com <Jacob@onemovemovers.com>; david@paloaltoconcrete.com <david@paloaltoconcrete.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com <nancy@drewmaran.com>; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org>; Staceytomson@qmsshields.com <Staceytomson@qmsshields.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cally Mei <cmei@wongelectric.com> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety Thank you, Manu! I am following up to include Roger & Peter in this email chain. They also are interested in rectifying this RV/parking situation. Attached is some information they had provided to us regarding a City Council meeting, which is scheduled for tonight, as well as parking regulations for neighboring cities. On Sat, Oct 18, 2025 at 9:24 AM Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com> wrote: Steve and fellow neighbors: I posted some videos from my drive home yesterday on X for everyone to see what Palo Alto really looks like. https://x.com/manukumar/status/1979554824749465636 It is abundantly clear that the City leadership is allowing the City to turn into trash/blight. The parking regulations have glaring loopholes — just drive around the block and park in a different spot… maybe we can call it Musical RVs. The laws/regulations need to be changed to ensure that such abuse of public property is not allowed altogether. Regards,-Manu Click the card above, or scan the QR code with the camera on your phone. On Tue, Oct 14, 2025 at 8:39 AM Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com> wrote: Dear City of Palo Alto, I am writing to express concern about the growing number of RVs and motorhomes parked along the 900 block of Industrial Avenue, 4000 block of Transport Street, and 800-900 block of Commercial Street in Palo Alto. The situation has gotten completely out of hand and is creating serious safety, accessibility, and parking issues for the businesses and employees who work in this area every day. Many of these large vehicles have been parked for months at a time without <Outlook- 3lhybjrb> <Outlook-logo 2 PNG.png> moving, in clear violation of the City’s own parking rule stating that “Any vehicle parked on a public street must be moved every 72 hours.” It appears this rule is not being enforced, and the problem continues to worsen week after week. There are also major safety concerns. Many of these RVs have propane tanks and running generators outside, which pose fire and explosion risks. They block visibility for drivers and pedestrians, and the growing number of them has turned these streets into unsafe and overcrowded areas. This issue has now reached a point where it’s directly impacting local workers and businesses. Parking has become extremely limited because RVs and motorhomes occupy most of the available spaces. In just the past week, we’ve seen even more of them arrive, taking over additional spots and making the situation worse. We are asking the City of Palo Alto to take immediate action to enforce existing parking laws and address this problem before it escalates further. The current situation is unsafe, unfair, and unsustainable for those who work and operate businesses in this area. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We hope the city will take swift and visible steps to resolve it. Sincerely, Steven L. Wong - President Phone: 650.813.9999 | Cell: 650.280.0160 4067 Transport Street, Palo Alto, CA 94303 Celebrating Our 47th Anniversary 1978–2025 <Outlook-Green Hear> A Proud Member of the U.S. Green Building Council <Outlook-THE> From: Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2025 12:17 PM To: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com> Cc: Osbaldo R <osbaldo@or-builders.com>; Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com>; Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com>; Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com>; Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction>; Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org <chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org>; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com <Jacob@onemovemovers.com>; david@paloaltoconcrete.com <david@paloaltoconcrete.com>; Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com <nancy@drewmaran.com>; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; Jade Jin <JJin@wongelectric.com>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org>; Staceytomson@qmsshields.com <Staceytomson@qmsshields.com> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety Please. Every one of these pictures is a Safety violation where’s Waldo Patrick Kelly From: Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2025 6:22:26 AM To: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com> Cc: Osbaldo R <osbaldo@or-builders.com>; Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com>; Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com>; Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com>; Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction>; Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org <chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org>; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com <Jacob@onemovemovers.com>; david@paloaltoconcrete.com <david@paloaltoconcrete.com>; Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com <nancy@drewmaran.com>; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; Jade Jin <JJin@wongelectric.com>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org>; Staceytomson@qmsshields.com <Staceytomson@qmsshields.com> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety Patrick Kelly From: Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com> Sent: Monday, August 18, 2025 6:37:09 AM To: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com> Cc: Osbaldo R <osbaldo@or-builders.com>; Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com>; Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com>; Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com>; Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction>; Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org <chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org>; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com <Jacob@onemovemovers.com>; david@paloaltoconcrete.com <david@paloaltoconcrete.com>; Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com <nancy@drewmaran.com>; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; Jade Jin <JJin@wongelectric.com>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org>; Staceytomson@qmsshields.com <Staceytomson@qmsshields.com> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety Hasn’t moved in a month. Visibility non existent for pedestrians. Safety issues are on your shoulders when something happens. Patrick Kelly From: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com> Sent: Friday, August 15, 2025 8:39:37 AM To: Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com> Cc: Osbaldo R <osbaldo@or-builders.com>; Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com>; Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com>; Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com>; Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction>; Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org <chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org>; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com <Jacob@onemovemovers.com>; david@paloaltoconcrete.com <david@paloaltoconcrete.com>; Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com <nancy@drewmaran.com>; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; Jade Jin <JJin@wongelectric.com>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org>; Staceytomson@qmsshields.com <Staceytomson@qmsshields.com> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety CAUTION: External Sender. Please do not click on links or open attachments from senders you do not trust. I would also like to note that the propane tank I mentioned a couple weeks ago is still sitting in the street. Is this not a safety hazard? From what I have read, they shouldn't be allowed to be kept in the street for multiple reasons. On Fri, Aug 15, 2025 at 8:34 AM Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com> wrote: The safety on this street keeps getting worse. No visibility, no concern for environmental issues. Please help. Patrick Kelly From: Osbaldo R <osbaldo@or-builders.com> Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2025 1:57:53 PM To: Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com>; Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com> Cc: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com>; Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com>; Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction>; Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org <chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org>; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com <Jacob@onemovemovers.com>; david@paloaltoconcrete.com <david@paloaltoconcrete.com>; Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com <nancy@drewmaran.com>; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; Jade Jin <JJin@wongelectric.com>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org>; Staceytomson@qmsshields.com <Staceytomson@qmsshields.com> Subject: RE: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety CAUTION: External Sender. Please do not click on links or open attachments from senders you do not trust. O.R. Builders Inc. Osbaldo Romero President 939 Industrial Ave Palo Alto, Ca. 94303 Phone: 650.938.2222 Fax: 650.938.2224 Cell: 415.215.6788 <image011.png> From: Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com> Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2025 1:53 PM To: 'Bill McLane' <bill@paloaltoglass.com> Cc: 'Marguerite Poyatos' <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com>; 'Ramon Moreno' <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com>; 'Lester Wong' <LWong@wongelectric.com>; 'Maor Greenberg' <maor@greenberg.construction>; 'Dave Stellman' <davestellman@gmail.com>; 'Patrick Kelly' <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org; osbaldo@or-builders.com; 'Manu Kumar' <manu@k9ventures.com>; 'Benjamin Becchetti' <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'Cathi Lerch' <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; 'Dave Stellman' <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; 'City Mgr' <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'Pete Moffatt' <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com; david@paloaltoconcrete.com; 'Steve Wong' <SWong@wongelectric.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com; 'Dan McKinley' <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; 'Melissa McDonough' <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'James Reifschneider' <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'Transportation' <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'John Lerch' <john@lerchconstruction.com>; 'Andrew Binder' <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'Jade Jin' <JJin@wongelectric.com>; 'City Attorney' <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'Ed Lauing' <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'Lydia Kou' <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'Vicki Veenker' <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'City Council' <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'Patrick Burt' <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'Greer Stone' <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'Julie Lythcott-Haims' <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org>; Staceytomson@qmsshields.com Subject: RE: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety Xenia Czisch Vice President of Operations phone: (650) 858-2491 mobile: (650) 804-4225 fax: (650) 858-2494 <image012.jpg> 4047 Transport St Palo Alto, CA 94303 www.qualitymetalspinning.us + Staceytomson@qmsshields.com From: Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com> Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2025 1:48 PM To: Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com> Cc: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com>; Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com>; Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction>; Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org; osbaldo@or-builders.com; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com; david@paloaltoconcrete.com; Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; Jade Jin <JJin@wongelectric.com>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Xenia Czisch Vice President of Operations phone: (650) 858-2491 mobile: (650) 804-4225 fax: (650) 858-2494 <image012.jpg> 4047 Transport St Palo Alto, CA 94303 www.qualitymetalspinning.us <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety I didn’t get my tape measure out, but I’d be willing to bet this is more than 18 inches from the curb. I believe that’s a violation of California parking laws. <image013.jpg> Bill McLane --------------------------------- Palo Alto Glass, Inc. 4085 Transport Street Palo Alto, CA 94303 650-494-7000 Office www.paloaltoglass.com On Wed, Jul 23, 2025 at 1:25 PM Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com> wrote: + staceytomson@qmsshields.com From: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com> Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2025 1:13 PM To: Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com> Cc: Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction>; Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com>; Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org; osbaldo@or- builders.com; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com; david@paloaltoconcrete.com; Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific- equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; Jade Jin <JJin@wongelectric.com>; Xenia Czisch <Xenia@qmsshields.com>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety Chantal, Please see the attached images. An enforcement officer went around this morning and gave out the 72 hour tow notices. I watched the gentleman with the Raiders RV (in attached image) remove all tow notices from his vehicles and will not move them. I will be taking pictures of his vehicles in the next coming days to show that he will be in violation of the notices. Also, he has a propane tank (also in attached image) that has been sitting in the street for a few months now. Can that be addressed? The other picture shows a tow notice sitting in the gutter, which is where many of these end up. Can there be any enforcement for littering? As others are stating, I would also hope something can be done for the safety of pedestrians. As I was walking to my car today, I was almost hit by a car because there is no visibility for cars coming down the street or pedestrians. Thank you. On Mon, Jul 21, 2025 at 12:12 PM Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com> wrote: Dear City of Palo Alto, I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the ongoing issues caused by the RV encampments in Palo Alto, which are directly impacting my business and the safety of my students and their families. As the owner of the Ramon Moreno School of Ballet, I am dedicated to maintaining a safe, clean, and welcoming environment for our students and their families. However, recent circumstances are making that increasingly difficult. One of the most pressing issues is illegal dumping. Individuals from the RV encampments have been using my business’s garbage disposal for their personal waste, resulting in contamination. Because of this, the city has refused to collect the trash, and I have now been left to clean and dispose of everything myself—at my own expense. If I don’t, I’ve been informed that I may face additional charges. This is unacceptable and places an unfair financial and operational burden on my business. I understand that I am not alone—many neighboring businesses are facing similar challenges. Additionally, the presence of these encampments has created ongoing safety concerns. Several families have shared their discomfort and hesitation about bringing their children to class, due to the unpredictable and sometimes unsafe conditions surrounding my studio. This is not just an inconvenience; it poses a direct risk to the well- being of the children, their families, my staff, and the reputation of our school. I would like to know what specific actions the city is taking to address these challenges. While I understand that this is a complex issue, local businesses should not be expected to shoulder the consequences alone. The safety of our community and the ability for small businesses to operate without disruption should be a priority. I urge the City of Palo Alto to present a clear and immediate plan of action that includes: Proper and reliable waste management enforcement Increased monitoring and enforcement of local ordinances Measures to ensure public safety for local families and business owners Attached to this email are photos documenting the contamination of my garbage disposal and the resulting conditions. I hope these images convey the seriousness of the situation and the urgent need for intervention. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your response and to seeing meaningful steps taken to support the well- being of our local business community. Sincerely, Ramon Moreno Owner & Director Ramon Moreno School of Ballet Please feel free to text or call: 650-304-1909 Thank you, Ramon Moreno www.ramonmorenoballet.com www.facebook.com/pg/RamonMorenoSchool On Thu, Mar 13, 2025 at 12:43 PM Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com> wrote: Commercial St. was cleared last night. Thank you for your efforts! Lester Wong | Vice President O: 650.813.9999 ext. 22 | C: 650.720.8455 4067 Transport Street | Palo Alto | CA 94303 Celebrating Our 46th Anniversary 1978 – 2024 A Proud Member of the U.S. Green Building Council <image014.jpg> From: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com> Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2025 12:37:47 PM To: Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction> Cc: Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com>; Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org <chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org>; osbaldo@or-builders.com <osbaldo@or-builders.com>; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com <Jacob@onemovemovers.com>; david@paloaltoconcrete.com <david@paloaltoconcrete.com>; Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com>; RamonMorenoSchool@gmail.com <RamonMorenoSchool@gmail.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com <nancy@drewmaran.com>; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; Jade Jin <JJin@wongelectric.com>; Xenia Czisch <Xenia@qmsshields.com>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety The wooden RV seems to be a severe safety issue. A former coworker spoke to the man living in it a couple years ago and was told there is a wood burning oven/stove inside the RV, which he uses. Seems like that could be a severe safety hazard not only for the man residing in it, as well as for the surrounding RV's/vehicles & businesses if it were ever to catch fire. We have had to face a number of safety hazards on this street. It is unsafe for pedestrians. We have had attempted break ins at night. We have been harassed by people associated with these RV's, as well as loose dogs, just to name a couple issues. Luckily, police officers do respond and try to help but there will be a time when they will be too late to prevent injury. The community officers coming through and putting notices on vehicles is nowhere near the solution needed for this area. The notices are thrown away and the vehicles rarely move. I believe this email string started in 2023 and we have had minimal progress with the actual issues at hand. On Thu, Mar 13, 2025 at 12:19 PM Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction> wrote: City of palo alto!! please let me know how this is Legal for driving also come and clean the street as it’s not safe see attached <image015.png> Maor Greenberg CEO maor@greenberg.construction | 650-610-7711 Greenberg.Construction | 650-600-9536 x101 | Fax 925-269-2325 908 Industrial Ave, Palo Alto 94303 <image016.png> <image017.png> <image018.png> <image019.png> <image020.png> <image021.png> From: Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2025 10:56:09 AM To: Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com> Cc: Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com>; Marguerite Poyatos <MARGUERITE@paloaltoglass.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org <chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org>; osbaldo@or-builders.com <osbaldo@or-builders.com>; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lester Wong <lwong@wongelectric.com>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com <Jacob@onemovemovers.com>; david@paloaltoconcrete.com <david@paloaltoconcrete.com>; Steve Wong <swong@wongelectric.com>; RamonMorenoSchool@gmail.com <RamonMorenoSchool@gmail.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com <nancy@drewmaran.com>; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; Jade Jin <JJin@wongelectric.com>; Xenia Czisch <Xenia@qmsshields.com>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety What is it going to take for the city of Palo Alto to catch up to the rest of the country? A lawsuit when someone in our neighborhood is injured because of the unsafe conditions that exist here? This email chain alone would be enough evidence to show the city’s knowledge of the problem and inaction. With newly enacted laws giving cities the legal right to clean up our public spaces, local cities like Mountain View, Santa Clara and San Jose have already begun the process of relocating and housing these people that need it. Why not Palo Alto? Its not a money issue here, and even if it was, wouldn’t it be less costly to tow some vehicles and help relocate them to a safer area than to pay the cost of litigation? We are asking the city to stop ignoring this issue before it becomes an even bigger problem. -- Marguerite Poyatos Palo Alto Glass, Inc. 4085 Transport Street Palo Alto CA 94303 (650) 494-7000 (650) 494-7087 (FAX) From:Miriam Gordon To:Council, City; Lu, George; Burt, Patrick; Veenker, Vicki Cc:Suparna Vashisht Subject:Re: Comments on reusable foodware policy from Reusable Santa Clara County Date:Thursday, October 30, 2025 12:54:45 PM Attachments:Foodware Reduction- Sign on Letter to Palo Alto City Council - Google Docs (3).pdf Disposable Foodware Reduction Plan 4.22.19 (1).pdf October 11, 2025 Reusable SCC letter to Climate and Sustainability Commission (2).pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Hello Members of the Climate Action and Sustainability Ad Hoc Committee: On behalf of Reusable Santa Clara County, ) sent you a letter on October 11th (attached) asking for an item to be added to your agenda on October 31st. I haven't heard back from any of you. We don't see that a meeting has been calendared for tomorrow and the meeting minutes from October 17th don't address the time and date of your next meeting. We would appreciate knowing the date and time of your next meeting and having a response to our request for an agenda item. Thank you so much. Miriam Gordon Reuse Program Director tel: 415.902.5196 www.storyofstuff.org On Sat, Oct 11, 2025 at 5:58 PM Miriam Gordon <miriam@storyofstuff.org> wrote: On behalf of Reusable Santa Clara County, I am sending the attached letter and associated documents for the Climate Action and Sustainability Commission. Thank you. Miriam Gordon Reuse Program Director tel: 415.902.5196 www.storyofstuff.org Acterra/ Action for a Healthy Planet * Break Free From Plastic * CLEAN South Bay * Compassionate Living * Just Transition Palo Alto * UPSTREAM June 3, 2019 Mayor Eric Filseth Members of the City Council of Palo Alto City of Palo Alto, Office of the City Clerk 250 Hamilton Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94301 Submitted via: city.council@cityofpaloalto.org Re: Support for Disposable Foodware Reduction Plan Policy with Strong Request to Include Additional Provisions that Strengthen the Measure Dear Mayor Filseth and Members of the City Council of Palo Alto: The undersigned write in general support of the proposed Zero Waste plan and policy regarding singleuse disposable foodware items. However, we urge the Council to incorporate various provisions anticipated in the City’s Zero Waste Plan but not included in the proposed policy. We applaud the Council for considering a measure to reduce singleuse foodware and City Staff for developing a comprehensive plan that considers the safety and health of consumers and the needs of local business to address some of the key challenges of managing litter and solid waste. Prioritizing the reduction of singleuse foodware is important because these are products that: ●are used in a matter of minutes but can persist in the environment for thousands of years (if made from nonbiodegradable plastic), ●contain a variety of toxic chemicals that migrate into food and beverages and impact human health, ●are easily littered, requiring significant city resources to remove from streets and storm drains, ●overwhelm the City’s waste management system, and are a significant cost to manage, ●are unsustainable in terms of the resources use in their production, the pollution associated with their disposal, and the climate impacts associated with their consumption. City staff have conducted a commendable scoping process gaining public input on a proposed plan to address the reduction of singleuse foodware. We agree with the framework adopted but not the delay in addressing items listed in phases II and III. We strongly urge the Council to adopt a comprehensive foodware reduction policy at this time that incorporates the first two Acterra/ Action for a Healthy Planet * Break Free From Plastic * CLEAN South Bay * Compassionate Living * Just Transition Palo Alto * UPSTREAM phases into the proposed current policy, with a phasedin implementation approach. We agree with the proposal that the ordinance immediately: (1)ban singleuse plastic straws, utensils, stirrers, plugs, picks and other drink accoutrements, and require that if offered they be compostable or reusable; (2)Ensure these items are acceptable in the City’s collection program; (3)Ensure these items are available only upon request or at a selfserve station; (4)Require that businesses provide receipts only upon request; (5)Require that produce and meat bags be reusable or compostable. However, the items in Phase II of the Plan should also be incorporated as follows. Banning the use of PFAS compounds should not be delayed it should be immediate. This class of chemicals is among the greatest threats to human health. They are highly persistent and those that have been studied are carcinogenic and endocrine disrupting at extremely low levels, plus they easily migrate from packaging into food and beverages. There are alternatives that are safer. Other cities, including San Francisco, Berkeley, and the State of Washington, have already banned the use of these chemicals in foodware. All the other measures in Phase II should be incorporated into the ordinance with a two year timeline from the date of the ordinance’s adoption. This includes the following: ●A 25 cent customer charge for singleuse takeout cups. Like singleuse grocery bags, there is an easytoadopt reusable, Bring Your Own (BYO), alternative. Many people already bring their own reusable cup. A charge would encourage a significant change in behavior. Like grocery bag charges, which have resulted in 80% transition to reusables, a charge on cups would significantly decrease the waste associated with takeout beverages, which is estimated to be 13% of the street litter on Bay Area streets. The City 1 of Berkeley already enacted a similar measure with a one year timeline. ●A charge on singleuse takeout foodware. As the City of Berkeley recognized, BYO food containers are more challenging for customers and for businesses to adapt to. Customers need to have access to reusable containers on deposit when and where they make their takeout food order, plus convenient drop off locations for the dirty containers. More time is needed for third party reusable container programs to scale in the Bay Area. 1 Clean Water Action’s Taking Out the Trash 2011 Survey. https://www.mercurynews.com/2011/06/19/surveypinpointssourcesoftrashinsanfranciscobay/ http://www.cleanwater.org/files/smeyer@cleanwater.org/FINAL%20TOTT%20Report.pdf Acterra/ Action for a Healthy Planet * Break Free From Plastic * CLEAN South Bay * Compassionate Living * Just Transition Palo Alto * UPSTREAM This ordinance could, like the Berkeley ordinance, direct the City to provide grant resources and technical assistance to help scale such programs. ●Reusable foodware for dinein. The Zero Waste Plan signals making this requirement effective within two years (2021). We urge that the City Council include this measure in phase 1, with a two year date of implementation (effective 2021). Including this measure in the ordinance puts local food businesses on notice that they will need to comply and gives them time to prepare to do so. It also signals that the City Council is serious about reducing singleuse disposable foodware. This is exactly what the City of Berkeley did in their ordinance. ●New construction food service must demonstrate adequate dishwashing capacity. t he Zero Waste Plan signals making this requirement effective within two years (2021). We urge that the City Council include this measure in the proposed ordinance with a two year date of implementation (effective 2021). Including this measure in the ordinance puts local food businesses on notice that they will need to comply and gives them time to prepare to do so. Reducing singleuse products in food service settings is not only good for the environment and saving the City money spent on cleanup and waste management. It’s good for business, as demonstrated by ReThink Disposa ble, a program being implemented by Clean Water Fund in partnership with the City. Participating businesses are saving thousands of dollars per year when 2 they implement measures to reduce singleuse packaging and transition to reusable food service. Thank you for considering this important measure. We urge you to make these changes and enact a singleuse foodware reduction policy as soon as possible. Sincerely, 1.John Muir, 111 Forest Drive, Palo Alto 2.Gloria Garcia 4186 Willmar Dr. Palo Alto 3.Tina Chow, Laguna Ave. Palo Alto 4.Karen Alter, 1141 Forest Avenue, Palo Alto 5. Janet Walworth, 332 Waverley Street. Palo Alto, CA 94301 6.Kiran Garewal, 581 Colorado Ave, Palo Alto 7.Sven Thesen 314 Stanford Ave Palo Alto CA 94306 2 www.rethinkdisposable.org Acterra/ Action for a Healthy Planet * Break Free From Plastic * CLEAN South Bay * Compassionate Living * Just Transition Palo Alto * UPSTREAM 8.Prerana Jayakumar 991 Loma Verde Ave Palo Alto CA 94303 9.Radhika Dhall 2320 Byron Street, Palo Alto 94301 10.Ethelyn Adina Gordon 899 E. Charleston Rd., G306, Palo Alto, CA 94303 11.Aditya Tadimeti 3179 Bryant Street, Palo Alto CA 94306 12.Anusha Vasudevan 829 Garland Dr, Palo Alto CA 94303 13.Vinay Gupta 1914 Channing Ave, Palo Alto CA 94303 14.Rohini Chakravarthy 1370 Pitman Ave, Palo Alto, CA94301 15.Ariane Erickson, 3181 Loma Verde Place, Palo Alto, CA 94303 16.Yifei Huang, 638 College Ave, Palo Alto, CA 94306 For more information contact Zero Waste Palo Alto at: (650) 496‐5910 or zerowaste@cityofpaloalto.org BAN REQUIRE ●Single‐use disposable foodware for take‐out.●All food service establishments required to have a dishwasher, sign‐up for a dishwasher service, or sign‐up for a reusable foodware service program. ●Reusable foodware for take-out. REQUIRE PHASE III ‐ 2025 ●Use of ﬂuorinated (PFAS or PFCs) compounds in compostable foodware. ●Disposable (plastic or compostable) foodware for dine‐in. ●All disposable plastic foodware. ●Disposable single-use foodware to be compostable. Foodware must be acceptable in the City's collection program. ●Charge for non-reusable cups and containers. ●Reusable foodware for dine‐in. ●All new construc on and tenant improvements to food service establishments required to install a dishwasher. PHASE II ‐ 2021 BAN DISPOSABLE FOODWARE REDUCTION PLAN Zero Waste Palo Alto The goal of the Disposable Foodware Reduction Plan is to reduce the amount of single‐use, disposable foodware generated in Palo Alto, encourage the use of reusable foodware, and to ensure that single‐use disposable items that are effectively recovered are either recycled or composted. The plan has a phased approach beginning with straws and other small single‐use disposable plastics. PHASE I ‐ 2019 BAN REQUIRE ●Single‐use disposable foodware items. ●Plas c produce bags. ●Plastic straws. ●Plastic utensils. ●Plastic drink stirrers. ●Plastic drink plugs. ●Plastic food and drink picks. ●Plastic drink accoutrements. ●Banned foodware, if offered, must be compostable or reusable. ●All disposable foodware must be acceptable in the City's collection program. ●Disposable foodware must be offered only upon request or via self‐serve station. ●Businesses to provide receipts only upon request. ●Produce and meat bags must be reusable or compostable. Plan date 4/22/19. Plas c Straws Plas c Utensils Plas c Beverage Plugs Plas c S rrers DISPOSABLE FOODWARE REDUCTION PLAN PHASE I ‐ 2019 BANNED FOODWARE OTHER REQUIREMENTS Foodware Items Must Be Reusable Or Compostable Must Be Accepted In City's Collection Program Disposable Foodware & Receipts Only Upon Request Other Plastic Accoutrements October 11, 2025 Dear Members of the Palo Alto Climate and Sustainability Commission: I am writing on behalf of Reusable Santa Clara County, a coalition of local organizations, reuse businesses and individuals including Save the Bay, Story of Stuff, Clean Water Action, Center for Environmental Health, Californians Against Waste, Okapi Reusables, 99 Bridges and RCup and following up on a letter I sent to Commission Veenkar and conversation that our coalition member, Suparna Vashisht had last week with her. But first, we would like to invite the Commission to an upcoming event we are hosting - a screening of “We are all Plastic People Now” followed by a panel discussion of solutions to plastic pollution. Tue, Oct 21, 2025, 6–9 PM, Los Altos Community Center- Grand Oak Ballroom. https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-plastic-inside-of-us-see-the-scary-truth-stay-for-the-solutions-s b-tickets-1689651466019 In following up on these contacts, we respectfully request an opportunity to discuss with the Commission the City's failure to follow through on its plan to reduce single-use foodware. For background, in 2018, Public Works staff conducted a public input process and developed the attached Disposable Foodware Reduction Plan. That plan broke foodware reduction policy into a 3 phase approach. The first phase involved enacting a disposable foodware ordinance that required local restaurants and other food service establishments to switch to compostables for disposable food service packaging, which increases costs for local business operators and achieves far less environmental benefits than switching from disposables to reusables. In 2019, the City Council enacted that policy. Phase II of the plan envisioned that by 2021, the City would enact policies that reduce disposable foodware, including requiring reusables for onsite dining (now a policy in 42 municipalities across N. America) and charges for non-reusable cups and containers (adopted in 18 jurisdictions). City staff inform me that they haven't moved forward on this policy due to COVID-19 delays. In the meantime, other Bay area cities have. Los Altos, Cupertino, Oakland, Albany, and all cities in Marin County (except Novato) have enacted reusable foodware policies despite the pandemic. With the attached letter, signed by a group of local organizations and Palo Alto residents, we urged the Council to step up the timeline for the reusable foodware policy. I worked for UPSTREAM at the time and was among those advocating for a stepped up timeline. I am now part of the newly launched Reusable Santa Clara County coalition and we would like very much to see stepped up action in the City of Palo Alto. Reusables are way better than compostable foodware from an economic and an environmental perspective. Reuse saves businesses money- City staff know this, having contracted with ReThink Disposable to provide technical assistance to businesses to eliminate single-use and transition to reusables for onsite dining. The program (which I founded in 2012) has worked with over 600 businesses, mostly in the Bay Area, and they always save money and reduce waste when they make the switch. Reusables also cut litter and waste at the source, and reduce the carbon footprint of food packaging- they are a great climate solution. We request that the Commission put this issue on the agenda for discussion at an upcoming meeting. The October 31st meeting would be an excellent time for us. Thank you for considering our request. Sincerely, Miriam Gordon Story of Stuff Project Reuse Program Director miriam@storyofstuff.org (415) 902-5196 From:Steve Wong To:Transportation; RevColl; Gaines, Chantal; City Mgr; McDonough, Melissa; Reifschneider, James; Binder, Andrew; City Attorney; Lauing, Ed; Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org; Veenker, Vicki; Council, City; Burt, Patrick; Stone, Greer; Lythcott-Haims, Julie; Becchetti, Benjamin; Administrative Services; Planning Enforcement; Transportation; City Mgr; Council, City; plandiv.info@paloalto.gov; Police; PWD Cc:Lester Wong; Cally Mei; Diana Ma Subject:Immediate Action Needed: Ongoing RV Infestation and Safety Hazards on Industrial, Transport & Commercial Streets Date:Thursday, October 30, 2025 12:46:16 PM Attachments:image.png image.png image.png image.png image.png CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear City of Palo Alto, I am writing to demand immediate action regarding the growing and persistent RV infestation along the 900 block of Industrial Avenue, 4000 block of Transport Street, and 800–900 block of Commercial Street in Palo Alto. This situation has gotten completely out of control and is now creating serious safety, sanitation, accessibility, and parking hazards for the many businesses and employees who operate in this area every day. Many of these RVs and motorhomes have been parked for months at a time without moving, in direct violation of the City’s own ordinance stating that “any vehicle parked on a public street must be moved every 72 hours.” It is evident that this rule is not being enforced, and the situation continues to deteriorate week after week. While community officers occasionally come by, their visits are infrequent and have not led to any lasting improvement. The impacts of this ongoing neglect are severe and escalating. Human waste and trash are being dumped on the street and sidewalks, and we can smell it. Aggressive dogs are frequently chained outside RVs, endangering anyone walking by. Verbal harassment and intimidation from some RV occupants are common. Overpowering odors from the vehicles make the area unpleasant and unsanitary. Blocked sightlines caused by oversized RVs have created dangerous traffic conditions. As someone who works in this area, I experience these issues daily. I often take walks during my lunch breaks for fresh air and exercise, but these walks have become increasingly uncomfortable and unsafe. On several occasions, I have had frightening encounters with dogs chained outside RVs or with occupants who confront me for simply walking on the public sidewalk. The stench from some of these vehicles is overwhelming, and the blocked sightlines have nearly caused traffic accidents — I personally had a close call while trying to check for oncoming cars around a parked RV (see IMG_2880). On a recent walk through the area, I personally photographed 41 RVs and inoperable vehicles parked along these streets. This number does not include additional vehicles where RV occupants were present, making it unsafe to take photographs or even linger nearby without risk of confrontation or aggression. The sheer scale of this issue speaks for itself and clearly demonstrates a complete lack of enforcement. I also documented an RV that is parked well outside the curb’s marked parking lines, extending significantly into the street and creating a major blind spot for both drivers and pedestrians. This is not only a violation of parking regulations but a serious public safety hazard that endangers anyone trying to navigate through the area, particularly near intersections and driveways. Each RV typically occupies at least two standard parking spaces, sometimes more, due to their size and the way they are parked. If I counted 41 of these vehicles, do the math — that’s roughly 80 or more parking spaces permanently taken up by RVs, leaving little to no room for employees, business owners, customers, and delivery drivers who rely on this area daily. Many of us are forced to park blocks away from our workplaces, and worse, we are forced to walk past these eyesore, smelly, and often intimidating RVs just to get to work each day. This is unfair, unsafe, and unacceptable. The City’s failure to maintain proper parking turnover is directly impacting the productivity and accessibility of the entire business corridor. Additionally, the presence of propane and butane tanks, gas generators, and piles of combustible debris poses a significant fire hazard that threatens surrounding properties and public safety. Several of these RVs come with several vehicles that are clearly inoperable and are being used as storage units filled with trash, further compounding the risks. The City’s continued inaction has created an environment where blatant violations are ignored, and the safety and economic well-being of legitimate businesses are being sacrificed. This situation has reached a critical and unsustainable point. On behalf of the many businesses located in the Commercial–Industrial–Transport Street corridor, I am demanding that the City: 1. Enforce the 72-hour parking rule without exception. 2. Increase patrol frequency and ensure violators are cited and removed. 3. Address sanitation and public safety hazards created by these encampments. 4. Provide a clear plan and timeline for resolving this ongoing crisis. We expect to see prompt and decisive action — not temporary inspections or passive observation. The City’s failure to act is directly affecting our ability to conduct business safely and responsibly. Please respond with a clear outline of the City’s next steps and expected timeline for enforcement and cleanup. Sincerely, Steven L. Wong - President Phone: 650.813.9999 | Cell: 650.280.0160 4067 Transport Street, Palo Alto, CA 94303 Celebrating Our 47th Anniversary 1978–2025 A Proud Member of the U.S. Green Building Council From:Steve Wong To:Marguerite Poyatos; Manu Kumar; peterxuvel@gmail.com; rogervernonsmith@hotmail.com Cc:Transportation; RevColl; Patrick Kelly; Osbaldo R; Xenia Czisch; Bill McLane; Ramon Moreno; Lester Wong; Maor Greenberg; Dave Stellman; Gaines, Chantal; Cathi Lerch; Dave Stellman; City Mgr; Moffatt, Pete; Jacob@onemovemovers.com; david@paloaltoconcrete.com; nancy@drewmaran.com; Dan McKinley; McDonough, Melissa; Reifschneider, James; John Lerch; Binder, Andrew; City Attorney; Lauing, Ed; Lydia Kou; Veenker, Vicki; Council, City; Burt, Patrick; Stone, Greer; Lythcott-Haims, Julie; Staceytomson@qmsshields.com; Becchetti, Benjamin; Cally Mei; Diana Ma Subject:Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety Date:Thursday, October 30, 2025 12:44:50 PM Attachments:Outlook-THE image015.png image018.png Outlook-3lhybjrb Outlook-logo 2 PNG.png image011.png Outlook-Green Hear image020.png image017.png image021.png image016.png image019.png image.png image.png image.png image.png image.png image.png image.png image.png image.png image.png CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear City of Palo Alto, I am writing to demand immediate action regarding the growing and persistent RV infestation along the 900 block of Industrial Avenue, 4000 block of Transport Street, and 800–900 block of Commercial Street in Palo Alto. This situation has gotten completely out of control and is now creating serious safety, sanitation, accessibility, and parking hazards for the many businesses and employees who operate in this area every day. Many of these RVs and motorhomes have been parked for months at a time without moving, in direct violation of the City’s own ordinance stating that “any vehicle parked on a public street must be moved every 72 hours.” It is evident that this rule is not being enforced, and the situation continues to deteriorate week after week. While community officers occasionally come by, their visits are infrequent and have not led to any lasting improvement. The impacts of this ongoing neglect are severe and escalating. Human waste and trash are being dumped on the street and sidewalks, and we can smell it. Aggressive dogs are frequently chained outside RVs, endangering anyone walking by. Verbal harassment and intimidation from some RV occupants are common. Overpowering odors from the vehicles make the area unpleasant and unsanitary. Blocked sightlines caused by oversized RVs have created dangerous traffic conditions. As someone who works in this area, I experience these issues daily. I often take walks during my lunch breaks for fresh air and exercise, but these walks have become increasingly uncomfortable and unsafe. On several occasions, I have had frightening encounters with dogs chained outside RVs or with occupants who confront me for simply walking on the public sidewalk. The stench from some of these vehicles is overwhelming, and the blocked sightlines have nearly caused traffic accidents — I personally had a close call while trying to check for oncoming cars around a parked RV (see IMG_2880). On a recent walk through the area, I personally photographed 41 RVs and inoperable vehicles parked along these streets. This number does not include additional vehicles where RV occupants were present, making it unsafe to take photographs or even linger nearby without risk of confrontation or aggression. The sheer scale of this issue speaks for itself and clearly demonstrates a complete lack of enforcement. I also documented an RV that is parked well outside the curb’s marked parking lines, extending significantly into the street and creating a major blind spot for both drivers and pedestrians. This is not only a violation of parking regulations but a serious public safety hazard that endangers anyone trying to navigate through the area, particularly near intersections and driveways. Each RV typically occupies at least two standard parking spaces, sometimes more, due to their size and the way they are parked. If I counted 41 of these vehicles, do the math — that’s roughly 80 or more parking spaces permanently taken up by RVs, leaving little to no room for employees, business owners, customers, and delivery drivers who rely on this area daily. Many of us are forced to park blocks away from our workplaces, and worse, we are forced to walk past these eyesore, smelly, and often intimidating RVs just to get to work each day. This is unfair, unsafe, and unacceptable. The City’s failure to maintain proper parking turnover is directly impacting the productivity and accessibility of the entire business corridor. Additionally, the presence of propane and butane tanks, gas generators, and piles of combustible debris poses a significant fire hazard that threatens surrounding properties and public safety. Several of these RVs come with several vehicles that are clearly inoperable and are being used as storage units filled with trash, further compounding the risks. The City’s continued inaction has created an environment where blatant violations are ignored, and the safety and economic well-being of legitimate businesses are being sacrificed. This situation has reached a critical and unsustainable point. On behalf of the many businesses located in the Commercial–Industrial–Transport Street corridor, I am demanding that the City: 1. Enforce the 72-hour parking rule without exception. 2. Increase patrol frequency and ensure violators are cited and removed. 3. Address sanitation and public safety hazards created by these encampments. 4. Provide a clear plan and timeline for resolving this ongoing crisis. We expect to see prompt and decisive action — not temporary inspections or passive observation. The City’s failure to act is directly affecting our ability to conduct business safely and responsibly. Please respond with a clear outline of the City’s next steps and expected timeline for enforcement and cleanup. Sincerely, Steven L. Wong - President Phone: 650.813.9999 | Cell: 650.280.0160 4067 Transport Street, Palo Alto, CA 94303 Celebrating Our 47th Anniversary 1978–2025 A Proud Member of the U.S. Green Building Council From: Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com> Sent: Thursday, October 30, 2025 12:37 PM To: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com>; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; peterxuvel@gmail.com <peterxuvel@gmail.com>; rogervernonsmith@hotmail.com <rogervernonsmith@hotmail.com> Cc: Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; RevColl@paloalto.gov <RevColl@paloalto.gov>; Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com>; Osbaldo R <osbaldo@or- builders.com>; Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com>; Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com>; Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com>; Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction>; Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org <chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com <Jacob@onemovemovers.com>; david@paloaltoconcrete.com <david@paloaltoconcrete.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com <nancy@drewmaran.com>; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org>; Staceytomson@qmsshields.com <Staceytomson@qmsshields.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cally Mei <cmei@wongelectric.com>; Diana Ma <dma@wongelectric.com> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety Dear City of Palo Alto, I am writing to demand immediate action regarding the growing and persistent RV infestation along the 900 block of Industrial Avenue, 4000 block of Transport Street, and 800–900 block of Commercial Street in Palo Alto. This situation has gotten completely out of control and is now creating serious safety, sanitation, accessibility, and parking hazards for the many businesses and employees who operate in this area every day. Many of these RVs and motorhomes have been parked for months at a time without moving, in direct violation of the City’s own ordinance stating that “any vehicle parked on a public street must be moved every 72 hours.” It is evident that this rule is not being enforced, and the situation continues to deteriorate week after week. While community officers occasionally come by, their visits are infrequent and have not led to any lasting improvement. The impacts of this ongoing neglect are severe and escalating. Human waste and trash are being dumped on the street and sidewalks, and we can smell it. Aggressive dogs are frequently chained outside RVs, endangering anyone walking by. Verbal harassment and intimidation from some RV occupants are common. Overpowering odors from the vehicles make the area unpleasant and unsanitary. Blocked sightlines caused by oversized RVs have created dangerous traffic conditions. As someone who works in this area, I experience these issues daily. I often take walks during my lunch breaks for fresh air and exercise, but these walks have become increasingly uncomfortable and unsafe. On several occasions, I have had frightening encounters with dogs chained outside RVs or with occupants who confront me for simply walking on the public sidewalk. The stench from some of these vehicles is overwhelming, and the blocked sightlines have nearly caused traffic accidents — I personally had a close call while trying to check for oncoming cars around a parked RV (see IMG_2880). On a recent walk through the area, I personally photographed 41 RVs and inoperable vehicles parked along these streets. This number does not include additional vehicles where RV occupants were present, making it unsafe to take photographs or even linger nearby without risk of confrontation or aggression. The sheer scale of this issue speaks for itself and clearly demonstrates a complete lack of enforcement. I also documented an RV that is parked well outside the curb’s marked parking lines, extending significantly into the street and creating a major blind spot for both drivers and pedestrians. This is not only a violation of parking regulations but a serious public safety hazard that endangers anyone trying to navigate through the area, particularly near intersections and driveways. Each RV typically occupies at least two standard parking spaces, sometimes more, due to their size and the way they are parked. If I counted 41 of these vehicles, do the math — that’s roughly 80 or more parking spaces permanently taken up by RVs, leaving little to no room for employees, business owners, customers, and delivery drivers who rely on this area daily. Many of us are forced to park blocks away from our workplaces, and worse, we are forced to walk past these eyesore, smelly, and often intimidating RVs just to get to work each day. This is unfair, unsafe, and unacceptable. The City’s failure to maintain proper parking turnover is directly impacting the productivity and accessibility of the entire business corridor. Additionally, the presence of propane and butane tanks, gas generators, and piles of combustible debris poses a significant fire hazard that threatens surrounding properties and public safety. Several of these RVs come with several vehicles that are clearly inoperable and are being used as storage units filled with trash, further compounding the risks. The City’s continued inaction has created an environment where blatant violations are ignored, and the safety and economic well-being of legitimate businesses are being sacrificed. This situation has reached a critical and unsustainable point. On behalf of the many businesses located in the Commercial–Industrial–Transport Street corridor, I am demanding that the City: 1. Enforce the 72-hour parking rule without exception. 2. Increase patrol frequency and ensure violators are cited and removed. 3. Address sanitation and public safety hazards created by these encampments. 4. Provide a clear plan and timeline for resolving this ongoing crisis. We expect to see prompt and decisive action — not temporary inspections or passive observation. The City’s failure to act is directly affecting our ability to conduct business safely and responsibly. Please respond with a clear outline of the City’s next steps and expected timeline for enforcement and cleanup. Sincerely, Steven L. Wong - President Phone: 650.813.9999 | Cell: 650.280.0160 4067 Transport Street, Palo Alto, CA 94303 Celebrating Our 47th Anniversary 1978–2025 A Proud Member of the U.S. Green Building Council From: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com> Sent: Monday, October 20, 2025 8:37 AM To: Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; peterxuvel@gmail.com <peterxuvel@gmail.com>; rogervernonsmith@hotmail.com <rogervernonsmith@hotmail.com> Cc: Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; RevColl@paloalto.gov <RevColl@paloalto.gov>; Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com>; Osbaldo R <osbaldo@or-builders.com>; Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com>; Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com>; Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com>; Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction>; Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org <chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com <Jacob@onemovemovers.com>; david@paloaltoconcrete.com <david@paloaltoconcrete.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com <nancy@drewmaran.com>; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org>; Staceytomson@qmsshields.com <Staceytomson@qmsshields.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cally Mei <cmei@wongelectric.com> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety Thank you, Manu! I am following up to include Roger & Peter in this email chain. They also are interested in rectifying this RV/parking situation. Attached is some information they had provided to us regarding a City Council meeting, which is scheduled for tonight, as well as parking regulations for neighboring cities. On Sat, Oct 18, 2025 at 9:24 AM Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com> wrote: Steve and fellow neighbors: I posted some videos from my drive home yesterday on X for everyone to see what Palo Alto really looks like. https://x.com/manukumar/status/1979554824749465636 It is abundantly clear that the City leadership is allowing the City to turn into trash/blight. The parking regulations have glaring loopholes — just drive around the block and park in a different spot… maybe we can call it Musical RVs. The laws/regulations need to be changed to ensure that such abuse of public property is not allowed altogether. Regards,-Manu Click the card above, or scan the QR code with the camera on your phone. On Tue, Oct 14, 2025 at 8:39 AM Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com> wrote: Dear City of Palo Alto, I am writing to express concern about the growing number of RVs and motorhomes parked along the 900 block of Industrial Avenue, 4000 block of Transport Street, and 800-900 block of Commercial Street in Palo Alto. The situation has gotten completely out of hand and is creating serious safety, accessibility, and parking issues for the businesses and employees who work in this area every day. Many of these large vehicles have been parked for months at a time without moving, in clear violation of the City’s own parking rule stating that “Any vehicle parked on a public street must be moved every 72 hours.” It appears this rule is not being enforced, and the problem continues to worsen week after week. There are also major safety concerns. Many of these RVs have propane tanks and running generators outside, which pose fire and explosion risks. They block visibility for drivers and pedestrians, and the growing number of them has turned these streets into unsafe and overcrowded areas. This issue has now reached a point where it’s directly impacting local workers and businesses. Parking has become extremely limited because RVs and motorhomes occupy most of the available spaces. In just the past week, we’ve seen even more of them arrive, taking over We are asking the City of Palo Alto to take immediate action to enforce existing parking laws and address this problem before it escalates further. The current situation is unsafe, unfair, and unsustainable for those who work and operate businesses in this area. Thank you for your prompt attention to this matter. We hope the city will take swift and visible steps to resolve it. Sincerely, Steven L. Wong - President Phone: 650.813.9999 | Cell: 650.280.0160 4067 Transport Street, Palo Alto, CA 94303 Celebrating Our 47th Anniversary 1978–2025 A Proud Member of the U.S. Green Building Council From: Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2025 12:17 PM To: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com> Cc: Osbaldo R <osbaldo@or-builders.com>; Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com>; Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com>; Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com>; Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction>; Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org <chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org>; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com <Jacob@onemovemovers.com>; david@paloaltoconcrete.com <david@paloaltoconcrete.com>; Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com <nancy@drewmaran.com>; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; Jade Jin <JJin@wongelectric.com>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org>; Staceytomson@qmsshields.com <Staceytomson@qmsshields.com> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety Please. Every one of these pictures is a Safety violation where’s Waldo Patrick Kelly From: Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com> Sent: Tuesday, September 16, 2025 6:22:26 AM To: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com> Cc: Osbaldo R <osbaldo@or-builders.com>; Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com>; Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com>; Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com>; Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction>; Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org <chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org>; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com <Jacob@onemovemovers.com>; david@paloaltoconcrete.com <david@paloaltoconcrete.com>; Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com <nancy@drewmaran.com>; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; Jade Jin <JJin@wongelectric.com>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org>; Staceytomson@qmsshields.com <Staceytomson@qmsshields.com> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety Patrick Kelly From: Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com> Sent: Monday, August 18, 2025 6:37:09 AM To: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com> Cc: Osbaldo R <osbaldo@or-builders.com>; Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com>; Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com>; Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com>; Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction>; Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org <chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org>; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com <Jacob@onemovemovers.com>; david@paloaltoconcrete.com <david@paloaltoconcrete.com>; Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com <nancy@drewmaran.com>; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; Jade Jin <JJin@wongelectric.com>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org>; Staceytomson@qmsshields.com <Staceytomson@qmsshields.com> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety Hasn’t moved in a month. Visibility non existent for pedestrians. Safety issues are on your shoulders when something happens. Patrick Kelly From: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com> Sent: Friday, August 15, 2025 8:39:37 AM To: Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com> Cc: Osbaldo R <osbaldo@or-builders.com>; Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com>; Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com>; Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com>; Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction>; Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org <chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org>; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com <Jacob@onemovemovers.com>; david@paloaltoconcrete.com <david@paloaltoconcrete.com>; Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com <nancy@drewmaran.com>; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; Jade Jin <JJin@wongelectric.com>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org>; Staceytomson@qmsshields.com <Staceytomson@qmsshields.com> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety CAUTION: External Sender. Please do not click on links or open attachments from senders you do not trust. I would also like to note that the propane tank I mentioned a couple weeks ago is still sitting in the street. Is this not a safety hazard? From what I have read, they shouldn't be allowed to be kept in the street for multiple reasons. On Fri, Aug 15, 2025 at 8:34 AM Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com> wrote: The safety on this street keeps getting worse. No visibility, no concern for environmental issues. Please help. Patrick Kelly From: Osbaldo R <osbaldo@or-builders.com> Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2025 1:57:53 PM To: Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com>; Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com> Cc: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com>; Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com>; Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction>; Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org <chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org>; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com <Jacob@onemovemovers.com>; david@paloaltoconcrete.com <david@paloaltoconcrete.com>; Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com <nancy@drewmaran.com>; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; Jade Jin <JJin@wongelectric.com>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org>; Subject: RE: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety CAUTION: External Sender. Please do not click on links or open attachments from senders you do not trust. O.R. Builders Inc. Osbaldo Romero President 939 Industrial Ave Palo Alto, Ca. 94303 Phone: 650.938.2222 Fax: 650.938.2224 Cell: 415.215.6788 From: Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com> Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2025 1:53 PM To: 'Bill McLane' <bill@paloaltoglass.com> Cc: 'Marguerite Poyatos' <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com>; 'Ramon Moreno' <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com>; 'Lester Wong' <LWong@wongelectric.com>; 'Maor Greenberg' <maor@greenberg.construction>; 'Dave Stellman' <davestellman@gmail.com>; 'Patrick Kelly' <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org; osbaldo@or-builders.com; 'Manu Kumar' <manu@k9ventures.com>; 'Benjamin Becchetti' <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'Cathi Lerch' <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; 'Dave Stellman' <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; 'City Mgr' <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'Pete Moffatt' <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com; david@paloaltoconcrete.com; 'Steve Wong' <SWong@wongelectric.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com; 'Dan McKinley' <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; 'Melissa McDonough' <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'James Reifschneider' <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'Transportation' <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'John Lerch' <john@lerchconstruction.com>; 'Andrew Binder' <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'Jade Jin' <JJin@wongelectric.com>; 'City Attorney' <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'Ed Lauing' <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Xenia Czisch Vice President of Operations phone: (650) 858-2491 mobile: (650) 804-4225 fax: (650) 858-2494 4047 Transport St Palo Alto, CA 94303 www.qualitymetalspinning.us 'Lydia Kou' <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'Vicki Veenker' <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'City Council' <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'Patrick Burt' <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'Greer Stone' <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; 'Julie Lythcott-Haims' <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org>; Staceytomson@qmsshields.com Subject: RE: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety + Staceytomson@qmsshields.com From: Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com> Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2025 1:48 PM To: Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com> Cc: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com>; Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com>; Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction>; Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org; osbaldo@or-builders.com; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com; david@paloaltoconcrete.com; Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; Jade Jin <JJin@wongelectric.com>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety I didn’t get my tape measure out, but I’d be willing to bet this is more than 18 inches from the curb. I believe that’s a violation of California parking laws. Bill McLane --------------------------------- Palo Alto Glass, Inc. 4085 Transport Street Palo Alto, CA 94303 650-494-7000 Office Xenia Czisch Vice President of Operations phone: (650) 858-2491 mobile: (650) 804-4225 fax: (650) 858-2494 4047 Transport St Palo Alto, CA 94303 www.qualitymetalspinning.us www.paloaltoglass.com On Wed, Jul 23, 2025 at 1:25 PM Xenia Czisch <xenia@qmsshields.com> wrote: + staceytomson@qmsshields.com From: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com> Sent: Wednesday, July 23, 2025 1:13 PM To: Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com> Cc: Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction>; Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com>; Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org; osbaldo@or-builders.com; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com; david@paloaltoconcrete.com; Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific- equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; Jade Jin <JJin@wongelectric.com>; Xenia Czisch <Xenia@qmsshields.com>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety Chantal, Please see the attached images. An enforcement officer went around this morning and gave out the 72 hour tow notices. I watched the gentleman with the Raiders RV (in attached image) remove all tow notices from his vehicles and will not move them. I will be taking pictures of his vehicles in the next coming days to show that he will be in violation of the notices. Also, he has a propane tank (also in attached image) that has been sitting in the street for a few months now. Can that be addressed? The other picture shows a tow notice sitting in the gutter, which is where many of these end up. Can there be any enforcement for littering? As others are stating, I would also hope something can be done for the safety of pedestrians. As I was walking to my car today, I was almost hit by a car because there is no visibility for cars coming down the street or pedestrians. Thank you. On Mon, Jul 21, 2025 at 12:12 PM Ramon Moreno <ramonmorenoschool@gmail.com> wrote: Dear City of Palo Alto, I am writing to express my deep concern regarding the ongoing issues caused by the RV encampments in Palo Alto, which are directly impacting my business and the safety of my students and their families. As the owner of the Ramon Moreno School of Ballet, I am dedicated to maintaining a safe, clean, and welcoming environment for our students and their families. However, recent circumstances are making that increasingly difficult. One of the most pressing issues is illegal dumping. Individuals from the RV encampments have been using my business’s garbage disposal for their personal waste, resulting in contamination. Because of this, the city has refused to collect the trash, and I have now been left to clean and dispose of everything myself—at my own expense. If I don’t, I’ve been informed that I may face additional charges. This is unacceptable and places an unfair financial and operational burden on my business. I understand that I am not alone—many neighboring businesses are facing similar challenges. Additionally, the presence of these encampments has created ongoing safety concerns. Several families have shared their discomfort and hesitation about bringing their children to class, due to the unpredictable and sometimes unsafe conditions surrounding my studio. This is not just an inconvenience; it poses a direct risk to the well-being of the children, their families, my staff, and the reputation of our school. I would like to know what specific actions the city is taking to address these challenges. While I understand that this is a complex issue, local businesses should not be expected to shoulder the consequences alone. The safety of our community and the ability for small businesses to operate without disruption should be a priority. I urge the City of Palo Alto to present a clear and immediate plan of action that includes: Proper and reliable waste management enforcement Increased monitoring and enforcement of local ordinances Measures to ensure public safety for local families and business owners Attached to this email are photos documenting the contamination of my garbage disposal and the resulting conditions. I hope these images convey the seriousness of the situation and the urgent need for intervention. Thank you for your attention to this matter. I look forward to your response and to seeing meaningful steps taken to support the well-being of our local business community. Sincerely, Ramon Moreno Owner & Director Ramon Moreno School of Ballet Please feel free to text or call: 650-304-1909 Thank you, Ramon Moreno www.ramonmorenoballet.com www.facebook.com/pg/RamonMorenoSchool On Thu, Mar 13, 2025 at 12:43 PM Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com> wrote: Commercial St. was cleared last night. Thank you for your efforts! Lester Wong | Vice President O: 650.813.9999 ext. 22 | C: 650.720.8455 4067 Transport Street | Palo Alto | CA 94303 Celebrating Our 46th Anniversary 1978 – 2024 A Proud Member of the U.S. Green Building Council From: Marguerite Poyatos <marguerite@paloaltoglass.com> Sent: Thursday, March 13, 2025 12:37:47 PM To: Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction> Cc: Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com>; Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com>; Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org <chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org>; osbaldo@or- builders.com <osbaldo@or-builders.com>; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lester Wong <LWong@wongelectric.com>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com <Jacob@onemovemovers.com>; david@paloaltoconcrete.com <david@paloaltoconcrete.com>; Steve Wong <SWong@wongelectric.com>; RamonMorenoSchool@gmail.com <RamonMorenoSchool@gmail.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com <nancy@drewmaran.com>; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; Jade Jin <JJin@wongelectric.com>; Xenia Czisch <Xenia@qmsshields.com>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety The wooden RV seems to be a severe safety issue. A former coworker spoke to the man living in it a couple years ago and was told there is a wood burning oven/stove inside the RV, which he uses. Seems like that could be a severe safety hazard not only for the man residing in it, as well as for the surrounding RV's/vehicles & businesses if it were ever to catch fire. We have had to face a number of safety hazards on this street. It is unsafe for pedestrians. We have had attempted break ins at night. We have been harassed by people associated with these RV's, as well as loose dogs, just to name a couple issues. Luckily, police officers do respond and try to help but there will be a time when they will be too late to prevent injury. The community officers coming through and putting notices on vehicles is nowhere near the solution needed for this area. The notices are thrown away and the vehicles rarely move. I believe this email string started in 2023 and we have had minimal progress with the actual issues at hand. On Thu, Mar 13, 2025 at 12:19 PM Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction> wrote: City of palo alto!! please let me know how this is Legal for driving also come and clean the street as it’s not safe see attached Maor Greenberg CEO maor@greenberg.construction | 650-610-7711 Greenberg.Construction | 650-600- 9536 x101 | Fax 925-269-2325 908 Industrial Ave, Palo Alto 94303 From: Dave Stellman <davestellman@gmail.com> Sent: Wednesday, March 12, 2025 10:56:09 AM To: Patrick Kelly <Patrick.Kelly@dmdsystems.com> Cc: Bill McLane <bill@paloaltoglass.com>; Marguerite Poyatos <MARGUERITE@paloaltoglass.com>; chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org <chantal.gaines@cityofpaloalto.org>; osbaldo@or-builders.com <osbaldo@or-builders.com>; Manu Kumar <manu@k9ventures.com>; Benjamin Becchetti <Benjamin.Becchetti@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lester Wong <lwong@wongelectric.com>; Cathi Lerch <cathi@lerchconstruction.com>; Dave Stellman <dave@paloaltoglass.com>; City Mgr <CityMgr@cityofpaloalto.org>; Pete Moffatt <pete@petemoffat.com>; Jacob@onemovemovers.com <Jacob@onemovemovers.com>; david@paloaltoconcrete.com <david@paloaltoconcrete.com>; Steve Wong <swong@wongelectric.com>; RamonMorenoSchool@gmail.com <RamonMorenoSchool@gmail.com>; nancy@drewmaran.com <nancy@drewmaran.com>; Dan McKinley <danmck@scientific-equipment.com>; Melissa McDonough <Melissa.McDonough@cityofpaloalto.org>; James Reifschneider <james.reifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org>; Transportation <transportation@cityofpaloalto.org>; John Lerch <john@lerchconstruction.com>; Andrew Binder <Andrew.Binder@cityofpaloalto.org>; Jade Jin <JJin@wongelectric.com>; Xenia Czisch <Xenia@qmsshields.com>; City Attorney <city.attorney@cityofpaloalto.org>; Ed Lauing <Ed.Lauing@cityofpaloalto.org>; Lydia Kou <Lydia.Kou@cityofpaloalto.org>; Vicki Veenker <vicki.veenker@cityofpaloalto.org>; City Council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Patrick Burt <pat.burt@cityofpaloalto.org>; Greer Stone <Greer.Stone@cityofpaloalto.org>; Julie Lythcott-Haims <Julie.LythcottHaims@cityofpaloalto.org>; Maor Greenberg <maor@greenberg.construction> Subject: Re: Industrial/Transport/Commercial Safety What is it going to take for the city of Palo Alto to catch up to the rest of the country? A lawsuit when someone in our neighborhood is injured because of the unsafe conditions that exist here? This email chain alone would be enough evidence to show the city’s knowledge of the problem and inaction. With newly enacted laws giving cities the legal right to clean up our public spaces, local cities like Mountain View, Santa Clara and San Jose have already begun the process of relocating and housing these people that need it. Why not Palo Alto? Its not a money issue here, and even if it was, wouldn’t it be less costly to tow some vehicles and help relocate them to a safer area than to pay the cost of litigation? We are asking the city to stop ignoring this issue before it becomes an even bigger problem. -- Marguerite Poyatos Palo Alto Glass, Inc. 4085 Transport Street Palo Alto CA 94303 (650) 494-7000 (650) 494-7087 (FAX) From:carol.gilbert@icloud.com To:Council, City Subject:Opinions about 660 University Date:Thursday, October 30, 2025 7:53:08 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. i What’s wrong with this property? Let me count the ways. o Doesn’t answer truly low income or elderly residents of Palo Alto. o Is too large for the property available. o Endangers the nearby Heritage Oak. o Throws tremendous amount of cars onto Byron which is already impacted. o Intrudes on light plane and privacy of neighbors. o Is not within a half mile of train depot so it doesn’t have to be 6 stories tall. o Has taken 4 years to get here because every agency has struggled with these issues to arrive at approval. You are the last resort to force some needed changes on this property and still achieve some additional housing. Carol Gilbert 555 Byron St. Palo Alto, CA 94301 650-323-2862 This message needs your attention This is a personal email address. This is their first email to you. Mark Safe Report From:Olenka S. Villarreal To:Council, City Cc:O"Kane, Kristen; Deml, Amanda; Shikada, Ed; Anne Johnston Subject:Invitations to connect with our community (in fun and magical ways!) Date:Wednesday, October 29, 2025 11:44:38 PM Attachments:Friendsgiving_Flyer_Final_2025.pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Hello Mayor Lauing, Vice Mayor Veenker and City Council members and leadership team, Friendsgiving is back (by popular demand:)) this year and we would be thrilled to have you, your families and friends join us November 16th. "I felt connected to everyone at my table, and felt more connected to Palo Alto. Dancing together after the dinner, arms connected, in a circle, unabashed, authentically ourselves, I felt alive, connected, and hopeful. I hope to attend and also help to create more community building events after seeing the magic of togetherness this evening." - Shana Segal Facebook post (after attending last year's Friendsgiving) I've attached the flyer with details and our website has many more events - like this Sunday's Community Partner Day at Palo Alto's Magical Bridge (10AM-5PM). We would all love to see you join us for more events where we celebrate our communities and thank you for your generous support. Wishing you the joy of kindness and community connections, Olenka Olenka S. Villarreal | Founder and Chief Executive Officer Magical Bridge Foundation | a 501(c)3 non-profit 650-380-1557 | magicalbridge.org Enjoy our NEW Magical Bridge Viewbook Please find us on Facebook | Instagram | LinkedIn From:jin.wong@gmail.com To:Council, City Subject:Concern About Increasing RV Parking Around East Meadow Circle Date:Wednesday, October 29, 2025 3:44:49 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. i Dear Palo Alto City Council Members, I live in the Echelon community along East Meadow Circle, and I am writing to express my deep concern about the growing number of RVs parked in our neighborhood. For the past year, I have been trying to sell my home, but this RV parking issue has made it nearly impossible. Prospective buyers are discouraged by the sight of so many RVs in and around our community. While I could sell my property at a significantly reduced price, this would not only result in a personal financial loss but would also decrease the city’s property tax revenue. This situation is detrimental both to residents and to Palo Alto as a whole. What’s especially upsetting is that today I opened my window and saw a large RV parked directly in the area that residents typically use for overflow parking — now right in my line of sight. This new RV, the 53rd one in the East Meadow Circle area, and serves as a daily reminder of how overcrowded our streets have become. East Meadow Circle is already filled with RVs, and now they are spilling over into spaces meant for residents. It’s deeply concerning to see our community spaces being taken over in this way, with more and more RVs appearing each week. I respectfully urge the City Council to take meaningful action to address this issue and help restore the quality, safety, and appearance of our neighborhood. Thank you very much for your attention and for your continued service to our community. Sincerely, Jin Wong Resident, Echelon Community, East Meadow Circle This message needs your attention This is a personal email address. Mark Safe Report Powered by Mimecast From:Laurie Girand To:Council, City Subject:For November 3, East Cresent and Southwood Intersection Pilot Installation Date:Wednesday, October 29, 2025 1:42:50 PM Attachments:Background on East CrescentSouthwood.10.23.25.pdf CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear Councilmembers, You may have received this update at your private email addresses. I came to City Hall on Monday, October 27; the website still indicated there was a City Council meeting that day, but it had been cancelled. I will come again on November 3rd to speak in the Public Comments period. As you may be aware from the prior email, I have updated the history of the pilot installation with photos, quotes from PTC showing they had no intention of making the existing pilot permanent, and a 2022 neighborhood petition demonstrating significant opposition - obtained through PRA request - that we believe the Office of Transportation has kept from PTC and the Council. To the prior email, I attached an email, with a copy of the deed, dating back to 2022 requesting Transportation keep co-owners informed of actions around the pilot installation. In three years, I have received no communications from the city on the subject, not even a postcard. I would be grateful for the full three minutes as this will be my second attempt to speak, and I will be traveling (again) to be there in person. Thank you very much for your attention to this matter. Laurie Girand 1 An Analysis of the East Crescent/Southwood Intersection Data within the Crescent Park Tra<ic Calming Project Goals Eight or more year ago, the City of Palo Alto O4ice of Transportation (OT) developed the Crescent Park Tra4ic Calming Project. There were many potential goals for the overall neighborhood Tra4ic Calming project including: - Channeling tra4ic and pedestrians to preferred alternate routes (volume) o Often referred to as reducing “cut through tra4ic” - Reducing measured speed along speciﬁc routes - Reducing measurable accidents - Reducing measurable incidents of pedestrian-vehicle conﬂicts - Reducing volume of complaints OT claimed resident concerns inspired the overall project - concerns that are not produced with a PRA request. How many concerns or complaints were made for each intersection? That information has been lost. Still, it bears questioning. Was it one? Three? Who was clamoring for changes at the East Crescent/Southwood intersection, hereafter referred to as the “EC/S Intersection,” in particular? Pedestrians? Homeowners? Drivers? For the EC/S Intersection, the subject of this document, no concrete data quantifying resident- sourced prior concerns has ever been presented or turned up in PRA requests, though we believe a single complainant is attempting to remain anonymous. In an April 9, 2025 presentation, the project goals from Middleﬁeld to Edgewood and Newell were framed to be: 2 OT measured speed and volume on East Crescent, halfway between University and Southwood, so we may assume speed and volume were relevant to its goals for the EC/S intersection, though the speed at or near the intersection or on Southwood was never measured. However, without any substantiation of unusual accidents, incidents, speeds, volumes or even documented complaints, OT targeted the EC/S Intersection, which has existed as is for over 100 years, with a specious additional goal: Given the extremely large corner radius (of more than 100 feet) prior to the pilot project, the curb extension reconfigures East Crescent Drive to create a perpendicular corner. This change… reduces the corner radius to within the range (10 feet to 20 feet) recommended for facilitating safe turning movement speeds.1 This quote is footnoted to National Association of City Transportation O4icials (NACTO) Urban Street Design Guide, p. 117. OT did not single out cut-through tra4ic as a speciﬁc problem on East Crescent; OT’s primary goal therefore appears to have been to reduce speed at the ET/S intersection and secondarily, merely for alignment with NACTO standards, established for all kinds of cities and not necessarily for residential neighborhoods, alter the radius. If OT’s primary goal had been to improve the intersection for pedestrians, OT could have merely put in less expensive crosswalks. If the primary goal had been to reduce speeds, OT could have put in less expensive speed bumps, simultaneously deterring cut-throughs. If the primary goal had been to reroute tra4ic, OT could have made East Crescent a one-way street. Oddly, given the many tools at its disposal, OT instead chose to create a massive peninsula it euphemistically refers to as a “bulb-out” or “curb extension,” covering a substantial portion of the intersection and 64 feet of the front yard of a single home – without any substantiation that it was needed or even plausibility that the peninsula would achieve the goal. Image 1: The pilot peninsula is so large that it cannot ﬁt into the entire photo when the one-car width driveway of the front yard is included 1 City of Palo Alto, PTC Regular Meeting, Supplemental Memo, 9/24/25, page 8. 3 Image 2: The pilot peninsula covers 64 feet of the front yard of 590 East Crescent. Neighborhood Response/City Engagement with Neighborhood While much has been made of the “community-wide” input sessions in the late 2010’s, the reality for this intersection is entirely di4erent. Within months of installing the pilot peninsula at the EC/S Intersection, the 85-year-old resident at 590 East Crescent Drive most a4ected by the pilot collected signatures from close residents who speciﬁcally rejected the modiﬁcations at the intersection and turned those signatures over to city sta4 shortly after September 13, 2022. Including that resident, a total of eight people insisted the pilot project be removed. It is important to note that collecting this data involved a resident with limited mobility repeatedly walking up and down East Crescent and Southwood, navigating curbs, steps and the street itself, in contrast with the city’s hands-o4 approach to surveys. After receiving the survey, it appears that OT sta4 did not show it, nor did they mention the neighborhood opposition, to PTC or City Council. Until identiﬁed in responses to a PRA request, the document was not seen again; it is now attached as Appendix A. As well, on August 23, 2021, sta4 received an email and a copy of a deed for 590 East Crescent, asking that city sta4 keep all of the owners of 590 East Crescent informed of any actions related to the pilot. City sta4 have not done so. One of the four owners has received zero communications, including postcards, from the city. 4 Results of Pre-Pilot and Post-Pilot Data Collection Unfortunately for sta4, both pre-pilot and post-pilot data collected by the city proves the EC/S Intersection never needed changes. Pre-pandemic data showed the 85th percentile speed was either 25.9 or 26.3 mph, depending on direction- in other words, within 1.3 mph of the speed limit. While post-pandemic, statistically signiﬁcant speed reductions were obtained in other parts of the Tra4ic Calming project (see Appendix B), in the middle of East Crescent, the post-pilot intervention indicated higher speeds eastbound by 1.0 mph and a 0.4 mph decrease in speed westbound. Not only was there no need for the project in the ﬁrst place, but the pilot installation failed to fulﬁll the primary goal. In fact, maps will not show that East Crescent has its own original tra4ic calming: it is a more narrow street than most in Crescent Park. As a result, when cars are parked on one side of the street, the street is not wide enough for two cars to pass without one pulling over in front of a driveway, and especially not when encountering larger vehicles such as Amazon, UPS or other delivery trucks. A History of Misleading with Statistics and Statements For reasons unknown, not only has OT refused to acknowledge the EC/S Intersection contradictions, but it has approached the pilot installation as though it were cast in stone. Repeatedly in documents, OT says the pilot installation will be up for one year. More than three years later, it is still there. In a presentation dated 9/9/2020, OT showed the following slides. The ﬁrst, showed where they had collected speed data for ﬁve streets between intersections. 5 OT must have understood that it did not have data to support that tra4ic its case on East Crescent because it removed data about it on the subsequent slide and included four locations with tra4ic measured in thousands of cars where speeds were over 30 mph. Subsequently, in a presentation on 6/14/23, OT brushed the facts about the East Crescent speeds and the EC/S Intersection under the rug, and presented to city representatives its aggregation of “averages,” crediting the amazing tra4ic calming success of its project while showing the EC/S Intersection, which did not support the claims, on the same slide: In reality, OT’s own consultants, Fehr and Peers, have indicated that the reduction in tra4ic across all of Crescent Park cannot be ascribed to the Tra/ic Calming project because of larger forces at play, particularly the pandemic. As well, Stanford relocated 2,700 sta4 out of Palo Alto in 2019. 6 In more than one document, OT has deliberately mischaracterized PTC’s response to the EC/S Intersection alterations. From a 9/18/23 City Council Sta4 Report (#2307-1777) page 3, The PTC unanimously endorsed the project and recommended to the City Council that staff be authorized to proceed with the design of permanent improvements. However, in response to concerns raised by the fronting property owners, the PTC further recommends that the staff work together with adjacent property owners… The PTC may have authorized some permanent improvements, but it speciﬁcally excluded the EC/S Intersection from moving forward without changes. The following are direct comments from the minutes of the 6/14/23 PTC meeting: “Vice Chair Chang… asked if the motion was recommending Sta> explore other options for location two.” “Vice Chair Chang wanted that to be made clear in the motion that the Commission was uncomfortable with the bulb-out design for location two.” “Commissioner Reckdahl echoed Vice-Chair Chang’s comment to include a table as to why other tra>ic calming elements were not chosen.” Chair Summa: “The improvement at location two was not acceptable, was bizarre, was too big… Also, having an empty bulb out or a tra>ic circle could result in them becoming a trash receptacle. She supported moving the project forward only if.. location two is rethought completely.” Commissioner Templeton: “…the majority of the Commission indicated loudly that it was not comfortable with the design at location two.” Commissioner Reckdahl: “… other options should be explored and whatever improvement is chosen it should be aesthetically pleasing to the neighborhood and its residents.” “Commissioner Templeton amended the motion that location two come back before the Commission with the next iteration to conﬁrm that the feedback given was incorporated.” In a 9/24/25 Sta4 Report, in its eagerness to complete the project and bolster OT’s position, OT described the history of the overall Crescent Park Tra4ic Calming project as follows: In 2022, staff collected post-installation data to evaluate their performance, which showed a significant reduction in traffic volume, cut-through behavior, and vehicle speeds—validating the effectiveness of the pilot 7 project. Over 70% of residents who responded to a neighborhood survey expressed support for making all the improvements permanent. Staff therefore collaborated with Fehr & Peers to develop permanent conceptual designs and presented them to the PTC in June 2023. The PTC recommended proceeding with the permanent improvements with additional community engagement. On November 6, 2023, City Council approved transitioning the project to a permanent installation with design refinements based on resident input. As already noted, the post-installation data did not support a signiﬁcant reduction of vehicle speed at the EC/S Intersection or on East Crescent. In the meantime, OT has used its 70% satisfaction rating as an indication of success without indicating what the total number of potential respondents was (elsewhere, OT suggests it might have been 319), what the actual number of respondents was, where the responding residents reside, whether they had served on O4ice of Transportation committees targeting the intersection, and whether they are even familiar the ET/S Intersection (for example, those on the opposite side of University do not use it). The 70% approval rate is suspiciously high because most marketing surveys about mundane topics like tra4ic rarely have a double-digit response rate, let alone a 70% approval rating. Residents were not given a choice of: “I’m less familiar with that intersection” or “Not applicable,” which would change response statistics and likely dramatically decrease the approval rating. As has been seen, PTC did NOT recommend proceeding with the permanent installation at the EC/S Intersection, speciﬁcally excluding it from moving forward without consideration of options besides the “curb extension.” Nevertheless, OT chose to characterize PCT opposition as “recommended proceeding with permanent improvements with additional community engagement.” In spite of speciﬁc PTC direction, OT has plowed ahead and used the phrase “making all the improvements permanent.” Alternatives? Since the pilot peninsula was installed, OT has never seriously considered any alternatives, only minor modiﬁcations to its original installation. It has dug in, claiming the peninsula is the “only” solution that addresses the turning radius at the intersection, an arbitrary goal OT itself selected. Demonstrating how committed OT is to the unsubstantiated and unnecessary changes, it is now saying: 8 1) that any other solution would not meet the project’s unsubstantiated speed and cut through improvements, 2) it would have to start the design process all over again, and, grasping at straws, 3) eliminating the peninsula will increase costs and reduce parking by requiring the city upgrade ramps to ADA standards, without even consulting legal counsel: “Staff considered the option of removing the pilot treatments associated with the bulbout. However, removal of the bulbout would not support the broader project goals of reducing vehicle speeds and cut through traffic along the public right of-way throughout the neighborhood. Additionally, if the bulbout were removed, the existing ramps on both sides of E. Crescent and Southwood would need to be brought up to ADA standards and based on AB 413,parking and passenger loading would not be permitted within 15-20 feet of the ramps.”2 So much for caring about safety, the purported number one goal, at the EC/S Intersection. In Summary The stated goal of reducing speed or cut throughs at the EC/S Intersection was unsubstantiated from the start of the Crescent Park Tra4ic Calming project. Once speed was measured on East Crescent, there was no evidence for targeting the EC/S Intersection with the peninsula OT chose to pilot. Post-pilot data indicates the pilot peninsula at the intersection increased speeds by more than it decreased them, albeit by a small amount. Whether an appropriately designed, accurate and unbiased survey of residents using the EC/S Intersection and a4ected by the changes would show satisfaction is highly dubious. In the face of OT steamrolling all three of the neighborhood, PTC and the City Council, the appropriate response is to remove the unnecessary and ine4ective peninsula at East Crescent and Southwood, upgrade the ADA access as legally required, and put in crosswalks. If the real goal is to e4ectively reduce speed below the stated speed limits for residential zones, speed bumps could be introduced, as they could have been introduced any time in the last eight years. Speed bumps also have the measurable e4ect of deterring/diverting drivers to non-bumped roads, i.e. reducing cut through tra4ic. 2 City of Palo Alto, PTC StaC Report, 9/24/25, Page 4 9 Meanwhile, segments of the Crescent Park Tra4ic Calming project for which there have been both substantiation and approval have languished. Given the time it would apparently take to understand how OT pushed the EC/S Intersection through City Council without the Planning Commission’s approval, and why OT exaggerates and misdirects statistics it shows to PTC and Council to support its projects, the city should move ahead with elements of the Crescent Park Tra4ic Calming project that have been substantiated by data. Laurie J Girand Co-Owner, 590 E. Crescent Dr. 10/23/25 10 Appendix A 11 12 13 14 Appendix B 10/10/22- OOice of Transportation Comparison of Fehr and Peers Studies Results The formula =(new_value-old_value)/old_value Negetive % = Volume or speeed decreased Positive %= Volume or speed increased EB WB EB WB % change EB % change WB Pre‐Pilot ADT and speed Post‐Pilot ADT and speed % change from Pre‐pilot to Post‐ pilot 24 Hour Volume 8422 9401 8660 9174 3%‐2% 17823 17834 0% 85th Percentile Speed 32.7 31.5 34.8 35.5 6% 13% 32.1 35.15 10% 24 Hour Volume 8540 9401 8961 8965 5%‐5% 17941 17926 0% 85th Percentile Speed 32.7 31.5 35.1 35.6 7% 13% 32.1 35.35 10% 24 Hour Volume 9586 10927 10226 9825 7%‐10% 20513 20051 ‐2% 85th Percentile Speed 35.2 33.1 34.9 34.8 ‐1% 5% 34.15 34.85 2% 24 Hour Volume 10926 11758 10341 10768 ‐5%‐8% 22684 21109 ‐7% 85th Percentile Speed 29.6 27.7 29.8 30.2 1% 9% 28.65 30 5% 2%‐6%‐2% 3% 10% 7% 24 Hour Volume 1927 1171 1108 820 ‐43%‐30% 3098 1928 ‐38% 85th Percentile Speed 31.2 30.9 30.6 30.5 ‐2%‐1% 31.05 30.55 ‐2% 24 Hour Volume 2199 1475 1432 1050 ‐35%‐29% 3674 2482 ‐32% 85th Percentile Speed 27.7 26.6 27.7 27 0% 2% 27.15 27.35 1% 24 Hour Volume 1881 903 885 676 ‐53%‐25% 2784 1561 ‐44% 85th Percentile Speed 29.6 29.2 28.3 26.8 ‐4%‐8% 29.4 27.55 ‐6% ‐43%‐28%‐38% ‐2%‐3%‐2% 24 Hour Volume 1480 1676 1578 1284 7%‐23% 3156 2862 ‐9% 85th Percentile Speed 24.9 26.6 23.8 24.6 ‐4%‐8% 25.75 24.2 ‐6% 24 Hour Volume 108 210 100 120 ‐7%‐43% 318 220 ‐31% 85th Percentile Speed 23.9 21.5 24.4 23.5 2% 9% 22.7 23.95 6% 24 Hour Volume 816 1035 616 1035 ‐25% 0% 1851 1651 ‐11% 85th Percentile Speed 28.4 26.6 26.7 26.6 ‐6% 0% 27.5 26.65 ‐3% 24 Hour Volume 921 321 651 265 ‐29%‐17% 1242 916 ‐26% 85th Percentile Speed 26.3 25.9 27.3 25.5 4%‐2% 26.1 26.4 1% University Avenue Corridor Hamilton Avenue Corridor Average 24 hour volume change 1 2 3 4 Hamilton Avenue between Seneca and Guinda Street Hamilton Avenue between W Crescent and Center Drive University Avenue between E Crescent Drive and Woodland Road Average 85th percentile speed change 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Lincoln Avenue between University Avenue and Hamilton Avenue W Crescent Drive between University Avenue and Hamilton Avenue Center Drive between University and Southwood Drive E Crescent Drive between University Avenue and Southwood Drive Hamilton Avenue between Lincoln Avenue and Chaucer Street Average 24 hour volume change Average 85th percentile speed change Post ‐ pilot volume and speed data Pre ‐ pilot volume and speed data University Avenue between Guinda Street and Seneca Street University Avenue between Lincoln Avenue and Palm Street University Avenue between Center Drive and W Crescent Drive From:Office of Rep. Sam Liccardo To:Council, City Subject:I Want to Answer Your Questions Tomorrow Date:Wednesday, October 29, 2025 10:17:06 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious ofopening attachments and clicking on links. REOPENING THE GOVERNMENT Should Members of Congress extend Affordable Care Tax Credits to help Americans pay less for health premiums as a condition of approving funding to reopen the Federal Government? Yes No Taking this survey will sign you up for future news and updates from our office. Dear Council,, With the government shutdown, uncertainty surrounding CalFresh, and worries about health care costs, I’m hosting a town hall to discuss what comes next. Join me TOMORROW, Thursday, October 30, at Foothill College’s Smithwick Theater in Los Altos Hills. RSVP here if you can make it. What: Town Hall Meeting When: Thursday, October 30 at 7:00 PM (doors open at 6:30 PM) Where: Foothill College, Smithwick Theater 12345 El Monte Rd, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 I look forward to seeing you there. As a reminder, though the government is shut down, my offices remain open and ready to help you with casework or answer questions. Please, don’t hesitate to contact us. Talk soon, Sam Unsubscribe from future messages. From:Office of Rep. Sam Liccardo To:Council, City Subject:I Want to Answer Your Questions Tomorrow Date:Wednesday, October 29, 2025 10:16:51 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious ofopening attachments and clicking on links. REOPENING THE GOVERNMENT Should Members of Congress extend Affordable Care Tax Credits to help Americans pay less for health premiums as a condition of approving funding to reopen the Federal Government? Yes No Taking this survey will sign you up for future news and updates from our office. Dear City, With the government shutdown, uncertainty surrounding CalFresh, and worries about health care costs, I’m hosting a town hall to discuss what comes next. Join me TOMORROW, Thursday, October 30, at Foothill College’s Smithwick Theater in Los Altos Hills. RSVP here if you can make it. What: Town Hall Meeting When: Thursday, October 30 at 7:00 PM (doors open at 6:30 PM) Where: Foothill College, Smithwick Theater 12345 El Monte Rd, Los Altos Hills, CA 94022 I look forward to seeing you there. As a reminder, though the government is shut down, my offices remain open and ready to help you with casework or answer questions. Please, don’t hesitate to contact us. Talk soon, Sam Unsubscribe from future messages. From:Madlangbayan, Marjorie To:Council, City Subject:RE: Public Comment - Employee Safety Concerns regarding RV Parking Date:Wednesday, October 29, 2025 8:36:01 AM Attachments:image002.png image003.png image004.png image005.png image006.png image007.png Importance:High CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Dear Mayor and members of the Palo Alto City Council, Please rescind my letter below. I’ve had a change of heart and would like you to please disregard the letter below. With gratitude, Maggie MAGGIE MADLANGBAYAN, MSN, RN, PHN, NPD-BC, HCIC Watson Caring Science Caritas Nurse® Nursing Professional Development Specialist II Mentorship Program Coordinator Center for Education, Research & Professional Development (CERP) Stanford Health Care 300 Pasteur Drive, MC5534 Stanford, CA 94305 cell: 650-505-7684 mmadlangbayan@stanfordhealthcare.org Top 5 Gallup CliftonStrengths: Positivity | Developer | Empathy | Connectedness | Belief For inquiries about the SHC Nursing Mentorship Program, please visit the website https://stanfordmentoring.com/SHCNursing or contact mentorship@stanfordhealthcare.org. For all other CEPD related questions, visit AskCEPD . Confidentiality notice: This communication and any attachments may contain confidential or privileged information for the use by the designated recipient(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this communication in error and that any review, disclosure, dissemination, distribution or copying of it or the attachments is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please contact me and destroy all copies of the communication and attachments. Thank you. From: Madlangbayan, Marjorie Sent: Friday, October 24, 2025 12:24 PM To: city.council@PaloAlto.gov Cc: Madlangbayan, Marjorie <mmadlangbayan@stanfordhealthcare.org> Subject: Public Comment - Employee Safety Concerns regarding RV Parking Importance: High Dear Mayor and members of the Palo Alto City Council, My name is Maggie Madlangbayan, and I am a Nursing Professional Development Specialist at Stanford Health Care, located at Palo Alto Labs on 1850 Embarcadero Road. I am writing as an individual employee who commutes to this location daily to express my support for the City's proposed oversized vehicle parking ordinance currently under consideration. I have worked at this location for over 6 years and have witnessed a significant change in conditions on the streets surrounding our workplace over the past 2 years. What were once clear, accessible sidewalks and streets have become increasingly congested and, frankly, intimidating to navigate ● I regularly drive along Faber Place and the parking situation has made it difficult for me to access the building each day I drive to and from work. I noticed many cars speeding and or being double parked, blocking sightlines. I'm very concerned for my safety. It is very dangerous and has high potential for motor vehicle accidents, including head on collisions. ● Additionally, I have changed my routine and no longer take walks during my break time in the paths behind our building alone because I feel unsafe and only walk in groups because I no longer feel safe in this area. Palo Alto is known worldwide as a hub of innovation and scientific advancement; our workplace environment should reflect that standard. I come to work every day to serve the Stanford Health Care community and support my team. I should not have to worry about my personal safety each time I drive to and from my place of work. I support the City's comprehensive approach to this issue. I understand that housing affordability is a regional challenge, and I hope the City continues developing appropriate resources for those who need them. However, basic public safety standards, clear sidewalks, sanitary conditions, and accessible streets must be maintained for all community members. I respectfully urge you to support the Policy and Services Committee's recommendations to enforce existing regulations while developing longer-term solutions. The current situation is not sustainable for employees like me who simply want safe access to our workplace. Thank you for considering my concerns and for your leadership on this difficult issue. With gratitude, Maggie MAGGIE MADLANGBAYAN, MSN, RN, PHN, NPD-BC, HCIC Watson Caring Science Caritas Nurse® Nursing Professional Development Specialist II Mentorship Program Coordinator Center for Education, Research & Professional Development (CERP) Stanford Health Care 300 Pasteur Drive, MC5534 Stanford, CA 94305 cell: 650-505-7684 mmadlangbayan@stanfordhealthcare.org Top 5 Gallup CliftonStrengths: Positivity | Developer | Empathy | Connectedness | Belief For inquiries about the SHC Nursing Mentorship Program, please visit the website https://stanfordmentoring.com/SHCNursing or contact mentorship@stanfordhealthcare.org. For all other CEPD related questions, visit AskCEPD . Confidentiality notice: This communication and any attachments may contain confidential or privileged information for the use by the designated recipient(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this communication in error and that any review, disclosure, dissemination, distribution or copying of it or the attachments is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please contact me and destroy all copies of the communication and attachments. Thank you. From:Chung, Lisa To:Council, City Subject:Shall we save a bit of sake for the toast for you? Invitation: Welcome Reception for Consul General Otsuki Kotaro – Thursday, Oct. 30 at 6PM Date:Tuesday, October 28, 2025 9:12:09 PM Attachments:Outlook-nwfwtakb.png Outlook-ami2gwdo.png Outlook-h3orvpwv.png Outlook-k2wwtxhl.png Outlook-sjwbfz4a.png CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. i Dear Mayor Lauing and esteemed members of the City Council: Earlier this month, Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga sent the invitation below requesting the pleasure of your presence at a special welcome reception in honor of the new Japanese Consul General, Otsuki Kotaro. You are invited to a special welcome reception in honor of the new Japanese Consul General, Otsuki Kotaro. This distinguished gathering is by invitation only and is co-sponsored by the Japanese American Museum of San Jose. It will take place on Thursday, October 30 from 6 to 8PM at Wesley United Methodist Church’s Fellowship Hall, 566 North Fifth Street, San Jose. The lively evening will include: Cuisine from Japantown San Jose favorites: Sushi Maru, Santo Market, Aloha Fresh, and Omogari Traditional Japanese music performed by the renowned San Jose Chidori Band - A sake toast to mark the occasion and partnership I hope you’ll join me in extending a warm welcome to Consul General Otsuki and sharing in this joyful moment with our community. This message needs your attention The subject has non-English characters. This is their first email to you. Mark Safe Report Please RSVP at this link at your earliest convenience. Cordially, We still have a little time and would love to see you. Use the link above so we will be able to introduce you properly. Warm regards, L.A. Chung, Communications Director Supervisor Margaret Abe-Koga District Five, County of Santa Clara 70 West Hedding Street | San José, CA 95110 (408) 299-5050 |(669) 353-3264 |lisa.chung@bos.sccgov.org www.supervisorabekoga.org Stay informed by following the Supervisor on socials: From:herb To:Planning Commission Cc:Council, City; Clerk, City Subject:October 29, 2025 Planning $ Transportation Commission Meeting, Item #5: Approval of 8/27/2025 Minutes Date:Tuesday, October 28, 2025 5:52:22 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. OCTOBER 29, 2025 PLANNING AND TRANSPORTATION COMMISION MEETING AGENDA ITEM #5: APPROVAL OF AUGUST 27, 2025 COMMISSION MINUTES The City Council on October 20, 2025 approved the applicationfor a Subdivision Map, although they had not yet received theapproved minutes, and although both the staff report and theRecord of Land Use Action had numerous instances where theseven-letter word "Country" and the six-letter word "County"were interchanged apparently at random to form the names Town &Country and Town # County. At the August 27 meeting of the Planning and TransportationCommission, there was a draft map available for the publicwhere the name of the subdivider was difficult to read. Thename appeared to me to be "Country" instead of "County", whilethe later version had the name in typescript as "County". Verbatim Minutes Please make the following corrections to the Verbatim Minutesthat are indicated in bold, italic, underscored type face. Line 5: "Chair Akin and Commissioners ..." Line 6: "... the tentative map, a copy of which is " Line 8: "the owner developer is Town & Country DevelopmentCompany, LLC ..." Line 12: "CEP Town & Country Development LLC,..." Commentary In the Sense Minutes and in the Verbatim Minutes, I used theseven-letter word "Country" based on my reading of the barelylegible map copy available to the public. I later learned thatcorrect word is the six-letter word "County". The correct name of the entity in Line 12 is CEP Town & CountryInvestors LLC, a Delaware corporation that is the owner of theland leased by Ellis Partners, and that I believe hasinterlocking partners with Ellis. Thank you for your consideration of these comments. Herb Borock From:Armstrong, Hilary To:Armstrong, Hilary Subject:Preventing Homelessness: Nov 13 Webinar for Elected Officials, Staff, Funders & Community Members Date:Tuesday, October 28, 2025 3:11:37 PM Attachments:image001.png CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. i What: A virtual briefing for elected officials, government officials, local partners and funders to learn more about the County of Santa Clara’s Homelessness Prevention System. We’ll give a brief overview of how we’ve launched and scaled this key intervention over the past eight years, share the most recent data and impact, highlight operational improvements from the current fiscal year, and feature partners leading this critical work on the ground. When: Thursday, November 13th; 11am-noon Where: Online - Register Here Who: Chad Bojorquez, Destination: Home Hilary Armstrong & Jessica Orozco, County of Santa Clara Cupid Alexander, City of San Jose This message needs your attention This is their first email to you. Mark Safe Report Erin Stanton, Sacred Heart Community Service Benaifer Dastoor & Jade Bradley, Bill Wilson Center Why: Preventing homelessness before it begins is one of the most effective, data-driven strategies to address our housing crisis, and it’s working. Since launching in 2017, the Homelessness Prevention System has kept thousands of community members stably housed and our system is now able to support 2,500 households per year. This briefing brings together the leadership driving this success, across the government and nonprofit sector to share progress, lessons, and the path forward. It’s an opportunity to stay aligned on what’s working, understand where investments are having the greatest impact, and see how prevention continues to evolve as an essential pillar in ending homelessness in Santa Clara County. With an increasing risk for more families in our community to be pushed into homelessness, this intervention is more critical than ever and we hope you’ll join us in learning how we can continue to protect those most vulnerable. Click Here to RSVP We look forward to seeing you on November 13th. Email hilary.armstrong@osh.sccgov.org with any questions. Hilary Armstrong (she/her) Deputy Director Office of Supportive Housing | County of Santa Clara 150 W. Tasman Drive | San Jose, CA 95134 C: 669.226.7114 From:Juan Rodriguez Gudiel To:Council, City Subject:Oversized vehicles Date:Tuesday, October 28, 2025 10:32:40 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautious of opening attachments and clicking on links. To whom it may concern, My name is Juan Rodriguez Gudiel, I am an East Palo Alto resident. I am writing to you on behalf of my family and community. The amount of oversized vehicles(RVS, campers, towed homes, etc) that have overtaken our streets has skyrocketed for the past year. These vehicles are not being compliment with the city rules. Most spend weeks in the same location and pollute our streets with trash and worst fecal matter. I’m a person who walks a lot in our streets since I have a dog and I can vouch for the smell and piles of trash around them. Furthermore, having to walk past these vehicles, specially when they part near schools and residential streets, makes it feel very unsafe. There is no way to tell who is living in these vehicles and people are at risk since the vehicle might be there today and gone tomorrow. I am employed by Stanford hospital and come into our offices located on Faber Street. This street is filled by only oversized vehicles. They set out cones which partially block the street and make getting into the parking lots really difficult bc of the limited amount of view. Walking between buildings does not feel safe and the smell and noise coming from those vehicles make it hard to work. In conclusion there are multiple cities limiting access to these vehicles due to safety and environmental hazards so the city of East Palo Alto and Palo Alto should also take action. Thank you for reading this message. Sincerely, Juan Rodriguez Juan Rodriguez From:Prior, Christine To:Sven Thesen; Council, City; Clerk, City Cc:Avroh Shah; 350-sv-palo-alto@googlegroups.com; Hodge, Bruce; David Coale Subject:RE: Slides for public comment and presentation at 3Nov2025 City Council Special Meeting; carcinogenic emissions from methane stoves & the CH4/ natural gas & tobacco industries. Date:Tuesday, October 28, 2025 7:41:36 AM Attachments:image001.png image002.png image004.png Dear Mr. Thesen, Received, thank you. The Clerk will display your slides when it is your turn to speak. Friendly reminder that public comment on items not on the agenda are accepted in person only. You are correct, public comment is estimated to take place from 4:40 – 5:10 PM. Please note, however, that listed times are estimates and subject to change. The Council may take more or less time on preceding items so public comment may not start exactly at 4:40. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns. Thank you, Christine Prior Assistant City Clerk Office of the City Clerk (650) 329-2159 | Christine.Prior@PaloAlto.gov www.PaloAlto.gov From: Sven Thesen <sventhesen@gmail.com> Sent: Saturday, October 25, 2025 8:37 PM To: Council, City <city.council@PaloAlto.gov>; Clerk, City <City.Clerk@PaloAlto.gov> Cc: Avroh Shah <avrohshah@gmail.com>; 350-sv-palo-alto@googlegroups.com; Hodge, Bruce <hodge@tenaya.com>; David Coale <david@evcl.com> Subject: Slides for public comment and presentation at 3Nov2025 City Council Special Meeting; carcinogenic emissions from methane stoves & the CH4/ natural gas & tobacco industries. CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Good People on the City Council and Support Staff, Attached please find 3 slides (in MS PowerPoint and pdf format) that I would like to present duringthe public comment period at the3Nov2025 City Council Special Meeting. I understand the meeting begins withSPECIAL ORDERS OF THE D ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ ‌ i This message needs your attention This is a personal email address. This is their first mail to some recipients. Mark Safe Report CGBANNERINDICATOR Good People on the City Council and Support Staff, Attached please find 3 slides (in MS PowerPoint and pdf format) that I would like to present during the public comment period at the 3Nov2025 City Council Special Meeting. I understand the meeting begins with SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY (4:30 - 4:40 PM) and then the public comment period at PUBLIC COMMENT (4:40 - 5:10 PM) Please let me know if the above times are incorrect or there are formatting issues with the attachments. See you all on 3 November. Best, Sven -- Sven Thesen, 415-225-7645 EV Consultant & Co-Founder, EVPlugBox.com, ProjectGreenHome.org and BeniSolSolar.com; Wonder Junkie __________________________________________________ How California Is Keeping Electric Vehicles Out Of Reach For Apartment-Dwellers Powered by Mimecast From:David Sacerdote To:Council, City Subject:Charleston Rd gates & train quiet zone Date:Tuesday, October 28, 2025 6:17:16 AM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. I urge you to fund the additional gates at Charleston which would allow the establishment of a train quiet zone, where they won't need to blow their horn. Doing this both improves safety, by imposing a physical barrier to entry onto the tracks, and would help the surrounding neighborhoods adapt to the increased train traffic that has come with electrification (and the better service that this provides) As such, doing so within the next year is the right decision Thank you David Sacedote From:Sven Thesen To:Council, City; UAC Cc:Avroh Shah; Yannai Kashtan Subject:Invitation: Nov 5, 2025, 7pm Neurological Associations with Air Pollution & Health Benefits of Building Electrification Date:Monday, October 27, 2025 10:19:52 PM CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. Palo Alto City Council and UAC Members, Given the new learnings regarding the carcinogenic and toxic emissions from natural gas stoves and other combustion sources (CH4 based water heaters, clothes dryers, furnaces etc.) we would encourage you to attend the following discussion as presented by Dr. Bret Andrews Wednesday, Nov 5, 2025, 7pm Neurological Associations with Air Pollution and Health Benefits of Building Electrification Gas home appliances produce indoor and outdoor air pollution which is associated with neurological harm. We will discuss the research evidence, and the opportunities to improve health through building electrification and other measures. Dr. Bret Andrews will share insights on the health impacts of continued natural gas use and the benefits of zero-emission home appliances. Bio, Bret Andrews, DO Neurologist, Kaiser Permanente Oakland, 2001 – present (partially retired) Former Associate Chief of Neurology, Kaiser Permanente Oakland 2021 – 2023 Faculty Affiliate with University of California, San Francisco; Kaiser Longitudinal Integrated Clerkship, 2013 -2022 Co-founder of NICHe, Neurologists Interested in Climate and Health Advocate for climate health policies and speaker to physicians, policy leaders and community members on climate health -- Sven Thesen, 415-225-7645 EV Consultant & Co-Founder, EVPlugBox.com, ProjectGreenHome.org and BeniSolSolar.com; Wonder Junkie __________________________________________________ How California Is Keeping Electric Vehicles Out Of Reach For Apartment-Dwellers From:Tavera, Samuel To:Council, City Cc:City Mgr Subject:Public Comment Letter from Joette Farrand Date:Monday, October 27, 2025 5:13:27 PM Attachments:image001.png image002.png image003.png image006.png image007.png 2025-10-27 Joette Farrand.pdf Greetings Councilmembers, Please see the scanned letter for Public Comment from Joette Farrand that we received in the mail. Thank you! Samuel Tavera Administrative Associate III Office of the City Clerk Samuel.Tavera@paloalto.gov www.paloalto.gov From:Chris Lahlouh To:Council, City Cc:cove; ali@lfrep.com Subject:Public Comment – Employee Safety Concerns regarding RV Parking Date:Monday, October 27, 2025 3:22:22 PM Attachments:image001.png image002.png image003.png Smashed windows_2024.png Somewhat obstructing bike path on main road.png CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. i Dear Mayor Ed Lauing and members of the Palo Alto City Council, My name is Chris Lahlouh, I am a Senior Marketing Communications Specialist at Gator Bio Inc., located in Palo Alto Labs on 2455 Faber Pl, Palo Alto, CA 94303. I am writing as an individual employee who carpools to work daily, to express my support for the city’s proposed oversized vehicle parking ordinance currently under consideration. My Personal Experience I’ve worked here for about 1.5 years now and this has been an ongoing issue the entire time. Faber Place road is completely overrun with RVs. It makes it challenging to pull into the office area or back onto the street safely without pulling up into the traffic area. The vehicles are obstructing the space. This area has heavy bicycle traffic as well, so it’s extra risky to allow the RVs to constrict already tight roads. Unsafe for the bicyclists and pedestrians. Not to mention the adjacent car auto mall, which means there are lots of large tow trucks always coming in and out and blocking the road. I hate to say this, but the folks residing in these vehicles come across rather sketchy and we’ve had smashed windows before. They are not simply parking once for a mere event, they are loitering and living here. Giving parking tickets doesn’t seem to dissuade them from parking here, they just shift over to the opposite street and cycle back and forth ignoring all citations. A lot of the RVs have wide-body kits installed that further take up even more space. Some have even started putting bins and solar panels on the sides placed on the road itself… They are really making themselves at home as though it’s a trailer park. In summary, it’s super annoying, sketchy, invasive/obstructive, unsafe, and I’m pretty sure somewhat illegal. Can you please help us enforce the removal of these vehicles once and for all. Thank you for your considerations. Please help us : ) This message needs your attention The subject has non-English characters. This is their first email to your company. Mark Safe Report Powered by Mimecast Respectfully, Chris Lahlouh Senior Marketing Communications Specialist Gator Bio Inc. Work email: clahlouh@gatorbio.com Chris Lahlouh Sr. MarCom Specialist 855.208.0743 Office GATORBIO.COM Gator Bio 2455 Faber Place Palo Alto, CA 94303 USA This message (including any attachments) contains confidential information intended for a specific individual and purpose and is protected by law. If you are not the intended recipient, you should delete this message. Any disclosure, copying, or distribution of this message, or the taking of any action based on it is strictly prohibited. From:Norris, Kristi To:Council, City Subject:Public Comment - Employee Safety Concerns regarding RV Parking Date:Monday, October 27, 2025 3:19:02 PM Attachments:image001.png image002.png image003.png image004.png PALO ALTO LABS - LETTER.docx CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. To whom it may concern, Please see the attached letter regarding safety concerns and RV parking along Faber Place and Embarcadero Rd. Thank you, Kristi Norris MSN, RN, NPD-BC, CMSRN Nursing Professional Development Specialist Nurse Residency Program Center for Education, Research, and Professional Development Stanford Health Care 1850 Embarcadero Road, Suite B, MC 5534, Palo Alto, CA 94303 Cell: 650-475-6784 Knorris@stanfordhealthcare.org Have a Question? Visit the new AskCEPD Confidential Information: This communication and any attachments may contain confidential or privileged information for the use by the designated recipient(s) named above. If you are not the intended recipient, you are hereby notified that you have received this communication in error and that any review, disclosure, dissemination, distribution or copying of it or the attachments is strictly prohibited. If you have received this communication in error, please contact me and destroy all copies of the communication and attachments. Thank you. Shared involvement equals collective value Dear Mayor and members of the Palo Alto City Council, My name is Kristi Norris, and I am Nursing Professional Development Specialist at Stanford Health Care, located at Palo Alto Labs on 1850 Embarcadero Rd. I am writing as an individual employee who commutes to this location daily to express my support for the City's proposed oversized vehicle parking ordinance currently under consideration. My Personal Experience I have worked at this location for over 3 years and have witnessed a significant change in conditions on the streets surrounding our workplace over the past couple of years. What were once clear, accessible sidewalks and streets have become increasingly congested and, frankly, intimidating to navigate. • I regularly walk along Faber Place whether I am going on a walk for fresh air or walking to Palo Alto labs for a meeting. I am frequently forced to walk in the street because sidewalks are either blocked with garbage/items or I do not feel safe do to claustrophobic sidewalks from the trailers. Sometimes it feels as if someone inside a trailer could open their door and grab me. This is especially concerning during early morning and evening when visibility is limited. • As someone who arrives early in the morning when its still dark outside, I have felt unsafe getting out of my car and into the building due to lack of human presence, low lighting, and possible unpredictable encounters with individuals. • I have witnessed sanitation concerns, specifically a toilet on the sidewalk and the smell of waste. I have observed hoarding with items just accumulating outside the trailers. People standing in the streets. All of these concerning behaviors make me uncomfortable accessing my workplace. • I have become increasingly concerned with the general visibility on Faber and Embarcadero. In order to exit the parking lot you have to inch forward almost halfway into the street because there is no visibility to ensure safety entering the roadway. This is the same for Embarcadero. I am very concerned I am going to cause an accident or be in an accident having to inch forward to make sure my path of travel is clear prior to entering the roadway. Why This Matters to Me: Palo Alto is known worldwide as a hub of innovation and scientific advancement; our workplace environment should reflect that standard. I come to work to educate and train Stanfords new nurses and support my organization. I should not have to worry about my personal safety simply walking to my car or my building. My Support for Balanced Solutions I support the City's comprehensive approach to this issue. I understand that housing affordability is a regional challenge, and I hope the city continues developing appropriate resources for those who need them. In this case though I feel that some of these individuals prefer this way of life as I have noticed Hummers and Cadillacs pulling trailers. People growing vegetable gardens on their back bumpers. Have solar panels out in the street to charge/power their trailers. Basic public safety standards, clear sidewalks, sanitary conditions, and accessible streets must be maintained for all community members. I respectfully urge you to support the Policy and Services Committee's recommendations to enforce existing regulations while developing longer-term solutions. The current situation is not sustainable for employees like me who simply want safe access to our workplace. Thank you for considering my concerns and for your leadership on this difficult issue. Respectfully, Kristi Norris Nursing Professional Development Specialist Stanford Health Care, Palo Alto Ca KNorris@stanfordhealthcare.org From:Tafoya, Elidia To:Council, City Subject:Public Comment - Employee Safety Concerns regarding RV Parking Date:Monday, October 27, 2025 1:17:03 PM Attachments:Outlook-egp134nb.png CAUTION: This email originated from outside of the organization. Be cautiousof opening attachments and clicking on links. i Dear Mayor and members of the Palo Alto City Council, My name is Elidia Tafoya, and I am a health care manager at Stanford Health Care, located at Palo Alto Labs on 1850 Embarcadero Road. I am writing as an individual employee who commutes to this location daily to express my support for the City's proposed oversized vehicle parking ordinance currently under consideration. My Personal Experience I have worked at this location for two and a half years and have witnessed a significant change in conditions on the streets surrounding our workplace over the past summer and fall season. What were once clear, accessible sidewalks and streets have become increasingly congested and, frankly, intimidating to navigate. I regularly walk along Faber Place to and from my parking spot, and I am frequently forced to walk in the parking lot because sidewalks are blocked. This is especially concerning when I get here in the morning and leave at night when visibility is limited and cars cannot see cars leaving through the side streets. I use the ride sharing services to and from the hospital, and the limited visibility unto the incoming traffic causes difficulty for drivers since the oversized vehicles block the road view. I have witnessed sanitation concerns/accumulated trash/concerning behavior that make me uncomfortable accessing my workplace. I no longer walk the trails due to this situation because I no longer feel safe in this area. Why This Matters to Me Palo Alto is known worldwide as a hub of innovation and scientific advancement; our workplace environment should reflect that standard. I come to work every day to contribute to important research and serve patients in the hospital, who depend on us to be present. I should not have to worry about my personal safety simply walking from my car to the building. Palo Alto is impacted already, but if you can find a solution to put these RVs somewhere else that would be ideal. The crowding of the large vehicles encompasses the entire business community. This message needs your attention This is their first email to your company. Mark Safe Report My Support for Balanced Solutions I support the City's comprehensive approach to this issue. I understand that housing affordability is a regional challenge, and I hope the City continues developing appropriate resources for those who need them. However, basic public safety standards, clear sidewalks, sanitary conditions, and accessible streets must be maintained for all community members. I respectfully urge you to support the Policy and Services Committee's recommendations to enforce existing regulations while developing longer-term solutions. The current situation is not sustainable for employees like me who simply want safe access to our workplace. Thank you for considering my concerns and for your leadership on this difficult issue. Respectfully, Elidia Tafoya Elidia Tafoya, MPH Manager, Research Implementation Stanford Health Care ETafoya@stanfordhealthcare.org Elidia V. Tafoya, MPH (She/Her) Manager | Research Implementation, Culture and Equity Representative | SoM Research Staff Community of Support Stanford Health Care Research Operations and Strategy Division Center for Education, Research, and Professional Development (CERP) 300 Pasteur Dr MC 5748 Palo Alto, CA 94303 Mobile: 650-454-9705 Etafoya@StanfordHealthCare.org Top 5 Gallup Clifton Strengths: Check out our Research Grand Rounds Webinar series (BRN CE credit offered): Save the Date. Join and Learn from our Nurses funded by the Stanford Alumnae Nurse Legacy Grant on Thur., December 11th 2025 @ 12:00PM.