| Time | Speaker | Text |
|---|---|---|
| 00:00:07.64 | Jill Hoffman | I call this meeting to order. This is the regular city council meeting of Tuesday, July 27th, 2021. We're starting at six o'clock with closed session. We will come back at seven o'clock for open session. Mr. Clerk, could you please call the roll? |
| 00:00:25.18 | Heidi Scoble | Council member Sobieski. Councilmember Blavstein? |
| 00:00:29.34 | Linda Pfeiffer | here. |
| 00:00:30.37 | Heidi Scoble | Chancellor Member Clevelette Knowles. |
| 00:00:32.23 | Linda Pfeiffer | Here. |
| 00:00:33.36 | Heidi Scoble | Vice Mayor Kellman. |
| 00:00:34.71 | Linda Pfeiffer | Thank you. |
| 00:00:34.74 | Jill Hoffman | I'm not sure. |
| 00:00:35.57 | Heidi Scoble | Mayor Hoffman. |
| 00:00:36.73 | Jill Hoffman | here. All members are present and we have a quorum. And so items D1 through D6 on our agenda tonight will be discussed in closed session. Those items are D1 is a conference with legal counsel, existing litigation, pursuant to government code section 54956 uh point one a this susan gordon and ebert titus versus caltrans in the city of sausalito Lady McNair versus Caltrans in the city of Sausalito. Rueda and George Glass versus Caltrans in the city of Sausalito. and Winston Ashmead and David Johnson versus the city of South Number two is public employment. and the title is Special Legal Counsel. Number three is conference with legal counsel, anticipated litigation, sorry, anticipated litigation, initiation of litigation pursuant to government code, section 5.4. 956.1 D for one potential case. The four is conference of legal counsel, existing litigation pursuant to California government code section 54956.1 D1. The name of the case is Sausalito Marin County chapter of the California homeless union versus the city of Sausalito. U.S. D.C. United States District Court case number 321-CV-01143-LB. The last item D5 is conference of legal counsel. Oh, sorry, it is not the last one. D5 is conference with legal counsel anticipated litigation, initiation of litigation pursuant to government code section 54956.9 D4. one potential case. and Six is public employee performance evaluation pursuant to Um, Government code section, California government code section 54957 city manager. So these items will be discussed in closed session. At this point, I will open up public comment on these six items that will be discussed in closed session. Mr. Clark, do we have any raised hands? |
| 00:02:47.06 | Heidi Scoble | Madam Mayor, there are no participants at the moment. |
| 00:02:50.28 | Jill Hoffman | Very well, then I will close public comment on closed session items. and we will adjourn to closed session. |
| 00:03:01.61 | Jill Hoffman | Good evening and welcome to the July 27th 2021 regular city council meeting. We are returning from closed session. All members of the council are present and we have a quorum. And so I reopened this meeting in open session. We have no closed session announcements. Um, Do I have a motion? to approve the agenda. |
| 00:03:30.19 | Ian Sobieski | I'll make a motion to approve the agenda. Although I would suggest that perhaps given the number of people present and the items on the agenda that we move Council member committee reports to where we have been having them in item eight or right before item eight. |
| 00:03:49.92 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, along with. Yep. Okay. |
| 00:03:52.20 | Ian Sobieski | And with that amended motion, I'll make the... My friend. |
| 00:03:54.91 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. THE END OF |
| 00:03:55.56 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 00:03:55.62 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. Yeah. And as, Yes. as with matters not on the agenda also at the end, like we have been doing So, |
| 00:04:06.25 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. |
| 00:04:06.27 | Jill Hoffman | Great, I'll second that. Okay. I think we have a motion and a second. And so then, Mr. Clark, can you please take the roll? |
| 00:04:16.01 | Heidi Scoble | member Sobieski. Yes. Council member Blaustein. |
| 00:04:21.17 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 00:04:21.19 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. |
| 00:04:21.20 | Jill Hoffman | Yes. |
| 00:04:21.61 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. |
| 00:04:22.25 | Heidi Scoble | Council member Cleveland Knowles. |
| 00:04:23.86 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. |
| 00:04:23.89 | Jill Hoffman | Yes. |
| 00:04:25.00 | Heidi Scoble | Mayor Kelman. Vice Mayor Kellman. |
| 00:04:27.70 | Jill Hoffman | Oh, yes. |
| 00:04:29.00 | Heidi Scoble | Mayor Hoffman. |
| 00:04:30.69 | Jill Hoffman | Yes. motion passes 5-0. So we'll be hearing public comment for matters not on the agenda and for our committee reports at the end of the at the end of our agenda. Um, that will be under, I believe, section eight. So those will be the first things that come up under section eight. Okay, next item on our agenda is special presentations or mayor's announcements. I don't have any presentations or announcements. We have no special presentations or announcements this evening. |
| 00:05:06.53 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, so item two is moved to the end of the agenda. That's public comment for matters not on the agenda. As I said, we'll be hearing that at the end of the agenda. And item number three, action minutes of the previous meeting We have one on our agenda tonight draft minutes at the 13 July 2021 meeting. Is there a motion? to adopt the action minutes of the previous meeting. Yeah, I'm going to try to prove |
| 00:05:37.43 | Janelle Kellman | Yeah. I'll make a motion to approve the meeting minutes unless anyone has changes. |
| 00:05:42.83 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 00:05:42.86 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 00:05:42.88 | Janelle Kellman | I'm sorry. |
| 00:05:43.08 | Ian Sobieski | All right. |
| 00:05:43.10 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. |
| 00:05:43.17 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 00:05:43.82 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. At this point, then I will- |
| 00:05:45.07 | Janelle Kellman | Bye. |
| 00:05:45.09 | Ian Sobieski | And I will take public comment. |
| 00:05:47.59 | Jill Hoffman | At this point, I'll take public comment on the motion. Do we have any public comment? I don't see any hands raised. Mr. Clerk, can you please confirm? |
| 00:05:58.73 | Heidi Scoble | Madam Mayor, you are correct. There are no raised hands at the moment. |
| 00:06:02.42 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, very good. I'll close public comment then. We have a motion on the table. Can you please call the roll? |
| 00:06:10.71 | Heidi Scoble | Council Member Sobieski. Thank you. |
| 00:06:12.16 | Joan Cox | Yes. |
| 00:06:12.56 | Heidi Scoble | Thank you. Council Member Blomstein. |
| 00:06:15.87 | Joan Cox | Yes. |
| 00:06:16.99 | Heidi Scoble | Council Member Clevon-Knowles. |
| 00:06:18.71 | Joan Cox | Yes. |
| 00:06:19.03 | Heidi Scoble | you |
| 00:06:19.09 | Joan Cox | Thank you. |
| 00:06:19.11 | Heidi Scoble | Thank you. Vice Mayor Kellman. |
| 00:06:21.52 | Jill Hoffman | Yes. |
| 00:06:22.28 | Heidi Scoble | Mayor Hoffman. |
| 00:06:23.79 | Jill Hoffman | Yes, very good, thank you. The motion passes, 5-0. Our next item is, was item number four, which is council member committee reports. That's now at the end of our agenda. So now we're moving on to item number five. This is consent calendar. Matters listed on the consent calendar are considered routine and non-controversial, require no discussion, are expected to have unanimous council support. It may be enacted by the Council in one motion. there will be no separate discussion of consent calendar items. before the council votes on the motion. Council members, city staff, or members of the public may request that specific items be removed from the consent calendar for separate actions. I am removed from the consent calendar will be discussed later on the agenda and public comment will be heard on any item that was removed from the consent calendar. Um, There are 10 items tonight on our consent calendar. 5A is to increase cost recovery staffing contract. This is adopted resolution approving amended professional services agreement with MIG for full cost recovery planning, application processing services, with full cost paid by the applicants. 5B is adopted a resolution authorizing consumption of alcoholic beverages. an outdoor dining area located on the second street in the second street public right away, adjacent to the grocery store and cafe at 221 second street 5C is update on the community forum survey. regarding outdoor activities and encroachment agreements. 5D is adopt a resolution amending resolution 6047, which is a list of projects for fiscal year 2021-22 funded by SB1 and the Road Repair and Accountability Act of 2017. 5e is consideration of fee waiver. requests of planning division application fees, 5F is Southern Marine Fire District second quarterly report for April through June of 2021. 5G is authorized staff to submit a letter of interest to the General Services Administration responding to the notice of surplus for the machine shop site at 25 Liberty Ship Way. 5H is adopted resolution authorizing city manager to execute an agreement with Pacific Gas and Electric authorizing the use of a portion of the Martin Luther King Jr. parking lot or Public Safety Power Shutoff Community Resource Center, 5I is a Marinship parking lot. update. 5J has adopted a resolution extending the Marin County abandoned vehicle registration fee until April of 2032. And so that is our consent calendar this evening. And at this point I will open up public comment on the consent calendar. Excuse me, Councilman Cleland-Knowles has her hand up, so I must've missed something. |
| 00:09:11.89 | Ian Sobieski | Oh, no, you didn't miss anything, Mayor. Thank you very much. I just, we got some public correspondence today, right, later in the day on 5D, the, Road Repair and Accountability Act from a resident who uses Edwards Avenue. And I did just wanna ask our Public Works Director if it is possible to accommodate the additional design work without amending this resolution. or whether he even recommends that we do so And if he does recommend that we do do that additional design planning on Edwards, which I know is often, you know, we get a lot of complaints about Edwards Avenue as being one of our, streets that definitely needs repair or whether we can just go ahead tonight and that work can still be included if the Public Works Department deems it advisable. So I just had that question. |
| 00:10:08.22 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, and I see our public works director, Kevin McGowan is lit up. So go ahead, Kevin. |
| 00:10:14.53 | Kevin McGowan | Good evening, Mayor, members of City Council. Nice to see you this evening. As far as Edwards Avenue, it is on our list for developing a design over the next year. And I think that we can incorporate it into our capital improvement program. It may not be completely funded by SB1 funds, but it may be funded by additional funds that we may have from construction impact fees. So even though our staff report specifically is talking about SB1, I think that we can include this as far as get the design going for Edwards Avenue. |
| 00:10:50.68 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 00:10:50.70 | Julie | Thank you. |
| 00:10:50.80 | Ian Sobieski | Did I answer? |
| 00:10:50.85 | Julie | Right. Question? |
| 00:10:52.03 | Ian Sobieski | That does, thank you. And then the only other thing I just wanted to say is I really appreciate the quarterly report from |
| 00:10:52.05 | Julie | Thank you. |
| 00:10:58.07 | Ian Sobieski | Karen Hollweg, The fire district, so I see chief Texas here want to thank him for that and then I don't know if this is a future agenda item, but we usually do have a presentation. um, usually over the summer or even earlier in the spring. And I know we've had full agendas, but I would like to suggest that for a future meeting or maybe our disaster preparedness committee that could be videoed for the public. Thank you. |
| 00:11:23.79 | Jill Hoffman | Okay. Thank you. Okay, I see council member Blaustein's hand is up. So yes, did you have a question on the agenda? |
| 00:11:34.40 | Melissa Blaustein | I just wanted to acknowledge 221 Second Street and Golden Gate Market. And I'm really happy to see that item on the consent calendar. And I know that was a long time coming. So I just wanted to point that out. owners are participating in the Zoom call and their great community market. |
| 00:11:49.37 | Jill Hoffman | OK, thank you. Okay, so. Um, Then we will move on into public comment on the consent calendar. I see two hands up. |
| 00:12:04.64 | Jill Hoffman | Mr. Clerk, you can just call As you wish. |
| 00:12:10.75 | Heidi Scoble | Great, Steven, you've been unmuted and asked to start your video. |
| 00:12:15.26 | Jill Hoffman | And let me just say, we've got two minutes on the clock. I know that we're going to have, I anticipate a lot of public comment later, but I guess at this point, since we've only got two hands up for the consent calendar, we'll take it at three minutes. So. |
| 00:12:31.42 | Steven Woodside | I can begin if you can hear me. |
| 00:12:32.67 | Jill Hoffman | Yeah, no, go ahead. |
| 00:12:33.80 | Steven Woodside | Maybe. |
| 00:12:34.24 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 00:12:34.33 | Steven Woodside | be done even woodside i live about 100 feet uh above the corner of marion and edwards and i want to commend the staff and the city for going forward to see sb1 funds for edwards avenue The reason I'm asking to speak tonight is to make sure that you consider carefully addressing the landslide that has long been occurring at that corner of Edwards and Marion I submitted earlier today photographs of it. You've got roots, large portions of heavy roots sticking out, protruding several feet away from the cliff. where landslide has been occurring over the last quarter century. This is a very serious matter, I think, in terms of protecting the road and protecting people who pass by and everyone who lives around and the properties around. So I just wanna make sure that as you go forward, this is a real opportunity to seek state funding, to remedy a longstanding problem that could turn out to be another Susan Gordon matter if we're not careful. So thank you for your time tonight. I know you've got a busy agenda. |
| 00:13:39.75 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 00:13:39.77 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 00:13:44.44 | Jill Hoffman | Go ahead, Mr. Clerk, you can call our next. Speaker. |
| 00:13:50.38 | Heidi Scoble | Thank you. |
| 00:13:50.40 | Kevin Carroll | Kevin Carroll, you've been unmuted. Thank you and thank you, counsel. My only request is the moving item five C as part of the discussion of seven, a, I think there, fairly related and I just don't precluded from commenting on the survey. during 7A. Thank you. |
| 00:14:08.88 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, thank you. Let me ask as a follow up on that, Um, I believe that will be part of 7a that the staff is going to incorporate the results from the forum in 7a but thank you for bringing that up kevin Okay. Next speaker I believe is Maggie Cox and I don't see any other hands up. |
| 00:14:32.52 | Heidi Scoble | And Maggie, you're being unmuted. |
| 00:14:42.46 | Jill Hoffman | Maggie, I think you'd still on your end, you still have your mute. You have to click something else. |
| 00:14:47.57 | Maggie Cox | of the Thank you. Thank you for the I just want to second what Steven Woodside said. I'm also a resident up on high Vista for 11 years. the road the hillside sliding down and I sent an email earlier. I wanted to bring your attention to a 1996 report. that the city of Sausalito hired a geotechnical expert to do a study after a major landslide on the same hill. Craig Herzog did this report. It's 25 years old. He suggested that the cause of of the slide was because of landsliding that was a result of an overly steep cut slope. In addition to the heavy rainfall at that time, He made several recommendations of what the city should do. He concluded the cut slope will be subject to ongoing instability unless it's retained. So for 25 years, these Suggestions haven't been implemented. But this is a great opportunity now, and we're glad that you've gone to get the, SB1 funds. and we hope that You will instruct whoever is doing the design to incorporate Mr. Herzog spots into the design. And, um, we're encouraged city councils working on. road repairs of Sausalito and trying to protect the public safety with retaining wall structures on the roads where they're needed. So thank you all for considering that. And I'd also just like to thank you all for serving and all the time you spend trying to make Sausalito a better place. So thank you. |
| 00:16:38.30 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. Okay, thank you. I don't see any other hands up. And so I'm gonna close public comment, unless the clerk tells me there is somebody with their hand up. Okay. |
| 00:16:47.96 | Heidi Scoble | Madam Mayor, that is correct. We have no other hands raised at the moment. |
| 00:16:52.09 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, thank you. So I'm closing public comment. Um, I'll either entertain a motion or we can have additional discussion about the consent calendar. Okay. I have a hand up with council member Blastain. |
| 00:17:04.73 | Melissa Blaustein | I just wanted to make one point on the MLK parking lot measure because I see that there was still the $10 fee and council direction at the last meeting was to have a |
| 00:17:06.23 | Jill Hoffman | that |
| 00:17:13.47 | Melissa Blaustein | process for a waiver of the fee for folks who were unable to afford the parking. So I've already communicated that to the city manager, but wanted to make sure since it was not in the staff report, that that was something that was still included since we had all talked about that. the last minute. |
| 00:17:28.02 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you for that. And city manager, you're gonna follow up on that? |
| 00:17:31.51 | Chris Zapata | Yes, Mayor. Understood. |
| 00:17:33.61 | Jill Hoffman | Very good, thank you. Okay, do we have a motion to approve the consent calendar? |
| 00:17:37.94 | Ian Sobieski | I'll make a motion to approve consent calendars 5a through 5j with the clarification noted by council member Blaustein. to the city manager. |
| 00:17:48.27 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. And then I'm assuming Vice Mayor Kelman will second that. Okay, thank you. All right, could you please call, called a vote Mr. Clark. |
| 00:18:02.14 | Heidi Scoble | Council Member Sobieski. |
| 00:18:03.51 | Jill Hoffman | Yes. |
| 00:18:04.64 | Heidi Scoble | Council member Blaustein. |
| 00:18:06.17 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 00:18:06.19 | Alice Merrill | Thank you. |
| 00:18:06.21 | Jill Hoffman | Yes. |
| 00:18:07.13 | Heidi Scoble | Council member Cleveland Knowles. |
| 00:18:08.77 | Jill Hoffman | Yeah. |
| 00:18:08.97 | Alice Merrill | Thank you. |
| 00:18:09.04 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 00:18:09.73 | Heidi Scoble | Vice Mayor Kilman. |
| 00:18:11.02 | Jill Hoffman | Yes. |
| 00:18:11.86 | Heidi Scoble | and Mayor Hoffman. |
| 00:18:13.24 | Jill Hoffman | Yes. Very good, thank you. Moving on to our next item on the agenda is item six, which is public hearing items. However, there are no public hearings this evening. So then moving on to item seven, which is we have three matters on our business items tonight, 7A, is the review of by our director of public works on the Caledonia street pilot project. and 7B is Our discussion on 1128 to allow park uses in the downtown parking lots and item seven C is The citizens initiative petition to repeal existing regulations and authorize one storefront and one delivery only cannabis business to operate in the city of Sausalito. We will start with a staff report with item 7A. And at this, okay, and anyway, go ahead. And that will be done by our director of public works, Kevin McAllen. Commissioner Ray? I think that's a good thing. |
| 00:19:11.46 | Kevin McGowan | Thank you. |
| 00:19:11.48 | Jill Hoffman | Yeah. Thank you. |
| 00:19:11.68 | Kevin McGowan | Thank you. Good evening Mayor, members of City Council, nice to see you once again. I do have a short presentation and a few slides to jog our memory of what's going on with Caledonia Avenue. And so bear with me while I share my screen for a second. |
| 00:19:32.67 | Kevin McGowan | Hold on. I'm sorry. I think I lost it here. |
| 00:19:38.55 | Kevin McGowan | There it is, stuck in the corner. |
| 00:19:43.10 | Kevin McGowan | All right, I apologize for the delay. Hopefully you can see my screen, which says outdoor dining pilot project on Caledonia Street. All right, the item before you this evening relates to the action associated with outdoor dining and our pilot project on Caledonia Street, as I mentioned before. in 2020. Hopefully you can all hear me. Um, In 2020, the city, state and country. We can hear you. Go ahead. |
| 00:20:11.20 | Unknown | Yeah. |
| 00:20:12.20 | Kevin McGowan | and country were affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. Restaurants in particular were not allowed to continue with outdoor dining. Other businesses were also required to not provide indoor services. Excuse me, I misspoke there. I said that restaurants in particular were not allowed to continue indoor dining. In order to assist Sausalia businesses, the city moved forward with allowing outdoor dining and in particular started a pilot project to close the end of Caledonia Street between Pine and Johnson. The closure started at the end of July 2020. and was originally implemented on a daily basis. Barricades and other devices were utilized to close the roadway to vehicles each day from approximately 3 p.m. to 10 p.m. The original daily closure was not sustainable by city staff. And in September 2020, the city installed removable barricades in the roadway to allow Caledonia Street to be closed continuously from Wednesday afternoon to Monday mornings. These closures proceeded until November 2020 and started again in March of this year. |
| 00:21:30.38 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 00:21:32.54 | Kevin McGowan | On June 30th, 2021, the Community Development Department and the Department of Public Works participated in a public forum to seek public input on how to proceed with the current outdoor dining. In addition, staff sought input from the public on whether to continue the closure. a list of specific questions in which the public was asked to comment are included in your staff report. Most of those participating in the polling were in favor of the closure and continuing to allow season closure of the Hedonia. However, several members of the public noted that the loss of parking has significantly impacted the business, such that patrons are less likely to visit the area. In addition, staff has observed lately that not all the tables and areas being utilized during this closure. Based on the feedback at the July 30th, 2021 meeting, staff has compiled three alternatives for the closure of Caledonia Street. Each of these has advantages and disadvantages. While there is a table shown in the staff report for this item, I've got additional individual sketches for you to take a look at just to help explain it a little bit better. Option one, now this was an original slide that was developed by David Parisi and Associates and the closure doesn't necessarily look specifically like this. |
| 00:23:02.19 | Unknown | Yeah. |
| 00:23:06.48 | Kevin McGowan | But the advantage of option one is that it has a large outdoor dining area. The disadvantage is that it impacts parking on the east side of the road. The fire lane is approximately 20 feet wide and cannot be used for tables and must be left open at all times. So that's an open area in a closed road system. |
| 00:23:25.62 | Unknown | to be. |
| 00:23:29.57 | Kevin McGowan | Option two, which is shown here, allows northbound vehicle traffic. and allows for the east side parking close to the businesses on that side of the street. This includes a contraflow I had to say that a couple times. Contraflow bike lanes. allows some expansion of the outdoor dining approximately five feet from the current parklets. there are some disadvantages as well. The disadvantages include the fact that it requires signage and striping that tends to be more permanent. Signage and striping installation is also pretty costly on occasion. If we end up removing the striping, which I hope we won't if we move in this direction. The removal may also be expensive with the grinding and resealing of a section of the roadway. So it's more of a permanent type of approach. The Contraflow bike lane has not been installed in Sausalito before, such that patrons and vehicles may not be familiar with how this works. Small additional a small additional five foot space outside the parklets for restaurants may not be sufficient to be viable a viable size. to encourage more patrons. So those were some disadvantages and I went through some advantages. So we have one more to go here. Option three, which allows, is opening the road back up to both lanes of traffic. The advantage here is that it allows two-way traffic to travel on this roadway. It allows parking on the east side of the street as well, It does not deny the use of parklets. Those still have to go through the same procedures that need to be set up through the planning department. And this option can easily be modified to option one, or even as option two, if patronage to the restaurants is shown to increase. And let's see, some disadvantages of this is it reduces the area of viable outdoor dining. And it deters from the concept of revitalizing this section of Sausalito, which was one of the goals that we wanted to proceed with with the pilot project. So with this, personally, I usually try to make some recommendation inside of the staff reports. And basically, I think we need the council's assistance to try to figure out where to move forward. Based on our current observations and the comments received at the meeting on June 30th, 2021 staff is recommending option three, which is to, basically open the roadway back up. and to allow two-way traffic. if patronage for the outdoor dining increases. staff can easily implement the closure of the roadway, which is what we currently have right now. or if a more permanent closure is needed, staff can implement option two, which definitely has a little bit of a cost, but we can also implement that in the future as well. We have not investigated the cost of option two. In other words, we don't really have a price tag yet, but we can solicit for that. However, it may be appropriate to request the businesses in the area that are benefiting from this closure to support that expense. So with that, this concludes my presentation. I'm hoping that Mike Langford and Lily Whalen can be on the call as well. I think they are with us this evening. Some of my recommendations in the staff report are been, I've been working with Mike Langford on his observations there when he takes a look at sometimes setting this up as well. So we're trying to work as a team and We wanted to give you some ideas of what could be done in this area. So with that, I will end my presentation here. if I can do this correctly. Thank you very much. |
| 00:27:33.44 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, thank you. I see council member Cleveland Knowles has her hand up, but do we need to have any, I'll ask our city manager, Do we need to have any comment from our Parks and Rec Director, Mike Lankford, or should we just proceed with the questions from... Council Member Blaston, Council Member Cleaver, |
| 00:27:51.63 | Chris Zapata | I don't know. Thank you. |
| 00:27:52.41 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 00:27:52.46 | Chris Zapata | Mayor, I would, I would proceed with questions from the council. |
| 00:27:52.48 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. OK, very good. Thank you. I saw the hands went up. So I saw Vice Mayor Kelman first and I saw, no, sorry, Councilmember Cleganos was first, then the Vice Mayor and then Councilmember Blowsing, sorry. So go ahead, Council Member Cleveson-Holls. |
| 00:28:10.72 | Ian Sobieski | Yeah, I wanted to just ask, and it might be a question for Mr. Parisi, but I'll let the Public Works Director decide that. So you had said in your staff report that you thought the ContraFlow lane might be confusing. And I was just wondering, these have been implemented in numerous other jurisdictions and I was just wondering if you have any experience that they cause any safety or confusion issues. I have not heard that before, but I just maybe you could respond to that. |
| 00:28:48.98 | Kevin McGowan | Thank you very much for the question. I'm hoping David Parisi is on the call, and maybe we can unmute him as well. There he is. I am from the public works director perspective. I'm just being a bit cautious and bringing it up. Maybe David can comment on that as well. you |
| 00:29:03.93 | David Parisi | Yes, good evening Mayor and Council Members. David Parisi, Traffic Engineer, We have implemented contraflow bicycle lanes. I think on this stretch of Caledonia, low speed, low volume street, If, countermeasures are implemented. We are showing for instance, a one foot buffer between northbound traffic and the southbound bicycle lane. I think it could work pretty well. it would be separated with yellow stripes. So again, designated southbound for bikes, northbound, for auto traffic. But again, as Kevin mentioned, we're cautious. So we think a buffer would be a nice feature. |
| 00:29:47.24 | Ian Sobieski | Great, thank you. And then just a follow-up. On that, is it the public works director mentioned the cost of paint and the difficulty of removing it. Is it possible to use other like soft hit posts or other kind of materials for this type of thing or do you recommend the paint? |
| 00:30:08.95 | David Parisi | Well, I'd recommend if it was an ultimate solution to go with thermoplastic, it's a last long, long time, it's highly reflective. But if you were to do a demonstration project, you, there are tape, there's a paving marking tape that's available that could be used. for short term. |
| 00:30:25.55 | Ian Sobieski | And how long would that something like that last. |
| 00:30:28.74 | David Parisi | Or you go just to paint also, because that's easily, it's more easily removable than the thermoplastic. I would say that tapes could last three plus months. Paint for a year or two. before it would need to be refreshed. |
| 00:30:46.83 | Ian Sobieski | Great. Thank you. And then I guess my last question for the Public Works Director probably is the outreach to the businesses on the I guess I'll just call it for, I can't remember which option it is, but the Pre-C alternative with the one-way traffic. I, That seemed to solve the problem, the issues that the businesses on the east side of the where the parking and patronage What about the restaurants on the west side of the street? |
| 00:31:17.95 | Kevin McGowan | So it's my understanding. Well, let me back up. So on the east side of the street, you are correct with option two. It does allow for parking and it does allow for those businesses to have parking in front of their main entrance, which was a big issue. As far as the parking on the west side of the street, most of the area in front of the restaurants is covered with a parklet. However, it's my understanding that it's possible that one of the areas might have to have a portion of that parklet removed in order to establish one additional parking space close to the barber shop, I believe. |
| 00:32:00.07 | Kevin McGowan | Is that your question? I'm not sure if I got the right question. |
| 00:32:03.17 | Ian Sobieski | No, I was just wondering, so we had quite a lot of public comment from the restaurants originally at our last public hearing that they were very in favor of maintaining the full street closure. And I was wondering if we hadn't collected. I don't think I saw it. any feedback from them on option two? |
| 00:32:22.78 | Kevin McGowan | Thank you. I don't believe I've reached out to those businesses on option two. I'm not too sure if Mike Langford has had the chance to reach out to them as well. Mike, maybe you can, if you have a chance, you might want to step up. |
| 00:32:41.65 | Unknown | Okay. |
| 00:32:42.80 | Kevin McGowan | Thank you. |
| 00:32:42.81 | Unknown | Oh, there he is. |
| 00:32:42.90 | Mike Langford | I see. |
| 00:32:43.40 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 00:32:43.88 | Mike Langford | Oh, there he is. Kevin, I've not. |
| 00:32:50.36 | Jill Hoffman | All right, thank you. |
| 00:32:50.98 | Mike Langford | Yeah. |
| 00:32:53.34 | Jill Hoffman | Okay. Okay, so then I saw the vice mayor next and then council member Blassey and then council member Sobieski. Thank you. |
| 00:33:00.89 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you, Mayor Hoffman. And thank you very much, Director McGowan. That was very helpful to have slides to present to us in the community. Your presentation, you referenced a couple of times, language along the lines of, if patronage is shown to increase, if this is at full capacity, et cetera. Uh, What kind of business case has your department or the city been able to put around for example, how many additional seats Uh, you know, are we offering? How often are they utilized? How often is the area full? What days of the week are they most full? Anything that can really inform the decision from a business standpoint. So we understand rather than, assuming that having a full time street closure works seven days a week. are there certain days of the week where it is actually full and other days where it's not? What kind of detail do we have and what type of surveys have we done? |
| 00:33:57.55 | Kevin McGowan | So from my department, we have done those surveys. Mike may have some reference there. He's been more involved with the actual laying out of the tables and setting this thing up. Mike? |
| 00:34:09.06 | Mike Langford | So yes, I've done casual conversations, casual observations there during the during the week. It's very, of course, weather dependent. I'm not sure. But now, and I would actually defer to the restaurants and hopefully they're on this line so that they can provide more information. But what I've seen is now with the parklets, the majority of the people, if not all the people, are in the parklet. So, As far as any kind of a permanent closure, most of the restaurants are closed on Monday and Tuesday. and some are closed on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday. And even on Thursday and Friday, they're not all open for lunch. |
| 00:34:50.03 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. That's actually very helpful, Mike. Yeah, I would just say, suggest the staff, really behoove us to have a better idea of the capacity. and how it's being utilized and you know, to what extent are we helping the businesses? Could we help them more? Um, all that information, I think we need an actual survey over a certain time period. Another question I had in my experience with parklets in other communities, San Francisco has a really great parklet and outdoor dining program, is that a parklet is actually a public space that can be utilized by anybody. Whereas an outdoor dining area is a space specific to a particular restaurant. Is there a reason that our community has chosen to use the word parklet and Can we distinguish parklets from actual outdoor dining or are these intended to be public spaces such that anybody could picnic there? |
| 00:35:45.32 | Jill Hoffman | I don't think, yeah, I'll just jump in. oh there's oh good okay here's not a mayor |
| 00:35:50.97 | Lily Whalen | Bye. Thank you so much. So the yes, thank you. Vice Mayor Kellman is great question. When we bring this item back to the Council with direction requested regarding the park lip program, that will definitely be a component that we'll be asking council to weigh in on if the parklets should have a component of public space. Right now the parklets were created through during COVID through the temporary agreements and they are they were to facilitate outdoor dining for restaurants during COVID. And so there wasn't that element of public space. That's definitely going to be coming back to the council with you to weigh in. on how much public space you'd like to have incorporated in the parklet. |
| 00:36:34.39 | Janelle Kellman | Great. Thank you so much, Dr. Bell. I think that's a really important part of this and the community. |
| 00:36:37.12 | Linda Pfeiffer | Thank you. |
| 00:36:37.16 | Lily Whalen | Thank you. |
| 00:36:37.19 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 00:36:37.29 | Linda Pfeiffer | Thank you. community. TO BE ABLE TO BE ABLE TO |
| 00:36:39.08 | Jill Hoffman | So did you have a follow-up? |
| 00:36:40.60 | Linda Pfeiffer | Thank you. |
| 00:36:40.61 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. Vice Mayor, it's... |
| 00:36:41.81 | Linda Pfeiffer | Yeah, can you hear me okay, Mayor Holzer? Thank you. |
| 00:36:46.81 | Lori | Sorry, pardon me, go ahead. |
| 00:36:46.93 | Janelle Kellman | Tell me, go ahead. |
| 00:36:47.80 | Linda Pfeiffer | Thank you. |
| 00:36:47.94 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. |
| 00:36:49.80 | Lori | Sorry, go ahead. |
| 00:36:49.81 | Janelle Kellman | Sorry, go ahead. Yeah, that's okay. So I think part of that is really interesting because one of the reasons that I've heard from the business owners, another question, maybe for a city attorney is if we do want to have a broader policy around allowing for the use of public right of way, Um, The businesses have been loath to invest because it's temporary. could we rent out Parking spaces, I think, didn't we do that downtown with Angelino's where they had to pay for the spot or maybe we didn't do that way, but is that something that staff has looked at? |
| 00:37:23.17 | Lily Whalen | If I can vice mayor as well, that that is on my list of other items to talk to the council about when we bring back the park, a parklet program for you to consider. which is is an annual fee, is in other jurisdictions. required for Park Look. but we haven't been assessing that for the temporary park lists that are in the city right now. |
| 00:37:39.80 | Janelle Kellman | We have a lot of people. |
| 00:37:44.00 | Janelle Kellman | Okay, great. Thank you. And so just one more question. And I don't know if Preezie is the right person or maybe the city manager, but so to the extent that any type of closure is pushing parking to adjacent streets, maybe up Anita, up Johnson, and we have different types of enforcement is enforcement of parking on those more residential areas, something that's been looked at as part of the circulation pattern. |
| 00:38:09.70 | Chris Zapata | I will take a stab at that being new to the city. Parking enforcement is a big, big thing in Sausalito. So we do enforce quite rigorously in this community any type of parking violation with our parking enforcement officers that are out of the police department. |
| 00:38:29.16 | Jill Hoffman | All right, that's it. Thanks, Bernhard. Thank you. Go ahead, Councilmember Sobieski. |
| 00:38:35.74 | Ian Sobieski | I thought Melissa was ahead of her. |
| 00:38:36.77 | Jill Hoffman | Oh, I'm sorry, pardon me. Yeah, I'm sorry. I'm just looking at my screen the way I'm rolling. So go ahead, Councilman Blaustein, thank you. |
| 00:38:42.01 | Melissa Blaustein | Thank you. |
| 00:38:42.28 | Jill Hoffman | That's okay. |
| 00:38:42.98 | Melissa Blaustein | Thanks Mayor Hoffman. Thanks council member Sobieski. And thank you director McGowan for the presentation. I had a couple of, of questions. I was wondering if any of the relevant boards and commissions were asked about the efficacy of the pilot program, for instance, PBAC obviously would have some sort of interest in it and perhaps the Sustainability Commission as well as it relates to circulation. Was there any engagement with those groups about this? |
| 00:39:07.34 | Kevin McGowan | So we haven't necessarily presented the latest plan that you see. We have reached out to PBAC, who is in support of a ContraFlow bike lane. And we've also talked to the sustainability committee, I believe, as well as the planning commission about this in the past. But we get this new sketch that we have, which came up from the community forum. That's where that was generally generated. We haven't shared that with those other groups at this time. But I'm pretty sure that a lot of our committees are in favor. |
| 00:39:43.51 | Melissa Blaustein | Of option two. |
| 00:39:45.31 | Kevin McGowan | Thank you. |
| 00:39:46.24 | Melissa Blaustein | Okay. And then some of the merchants that I spoke with and at one time when we were first talking about this pilot program were interested in creating or establishing some sort of permanent green plaza at that intersection. If we were to pursue Option 2 or even if we were to suspend the program, would the considerations for that type of project still be possible? Or what would the impacts of Option 2 be on something like that in the future? |
| 00:40:10.02 | Kevin McGowan | So I'm not sure what you mean by green plaza. Are we suggesting closing the street and putting plants and kind of revitalizing the area a bit? |
| 00:40:19.35 | Melissa Blaustein | Great. |
| 00:40:19.64 | Kevin McGowan | Thank you. |
| 00:40:19.70 | Melissa Blaustein | Thank you. There was a group that had been working on that at the beginning when the pilot project was first being discussed. So I just wanted to see if there had been any discussion with those folks or if there was a way that that could potentially still be considered if there was, if option two were pursued this evening. |
| 00:40:35.95 | Kevin McGowan | Anything is possible. However, keep in mind that the fire department is requesting that we keep a 20 foot area open. for emergency vehicles, and I think that might deter |
| 00:40:42.70 | Melissa Blaustein | for emergency. |
| 00:40:46.05 | Kevin McGowan | making the entire area a green area. But anything is possible. We can definitely work with that. |
| 00:40:53.47 | Melissa Blaustein | Okay. Thank you, Director McGowan. Thank you. |
| 00:40:57.08 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 00:40:57.28 | Melissa Blaustein | Councilmember Sobieski. |
| 00:40:58.74 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 00:40:59.26 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you, Mayor. Kevin, do we know if we use this tape that David Preece talked about, the pavement marking tape that lasts for three months, is that a trivial cost? or are you having trouble hearing me? |
| 00:41:15.10 | Kevin McGowan | I got it. It is a trivial cost. And I think that is not a big expense. |
| 00:41:21.68 | Ian Sobieski | Okay. it would be presumably trivial to pick up again. to you. |
| 00:41:27.66 | Kevin McGowan | it doesn't stick. Yeah. |
| 00:41:30.82 | Ian Sobieski | Okay. And have you, has anyone spoken with the restaurants about what they would do if they had the Southbound Lane closed in terms for How long would it have to be closed for them to feel like they would do something uh, to take advantage of that besides just putting tables out. |
| 00:41:52.53 | Kevin McGowan | It's my understanding that move forward with option two, it's more of a permanent type of closure. So once that is in place, I would anticipate that the restaurants would move their planters and other things out to delineate the area for which they can utilize for their planters. for their outdoor dining. |
| 00:42:12.38 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 00:42:12.41 | Kevin McGowan | Thank you. |
| 00:42:12.43 | Ian Sobieski | that I've got. |
| 00:42:12.46 | Kevin McGowan | All right. Thank you. |
| 00:42:14.50 | Ian Sobieski | So because the option been distressed to them about whether they would be interested in a experimental closure of just the southbound lane until the using this tape, for instance, until the, you know, October, the end of the good weather. Um, |
| 00:42:31.13 | Kevin McGowan | I have not reached out to them. I'm wondering if Director Langford has reached out to them. |
| 00:42:39.61 | Mike Langford | Not on this option. |
| 00:42:43.97 | Mike Langford | Thank you. |
| 00:42:44.03 | Ian Sobieski | Okay. That's all my questions. Thank you. |
| 00:42:50.58 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, so I have a follow up. I think a couple of members sort ask around but I think I'm going to more succinctly state it have we done any any survey or metrics on usage of those outside areas during this season. I think the answer is going to be no, but go ahead and |
| 00:43:13.74 | Mary Wagner | Thank you. |
| 00:43:13.75 | Mike Langford | I don't know. |
| 00:43:18.85 | Jill Hoffman | Nothing for one. |
| 00:43:18.92 | Mike Langford | Nothing formal, Madam Mayor. |
| 00:43:20.50 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, thanks. OK, thank you. Um, you know, OK. and have anybody anybody on the staff reached out to the residents who live along the street about issues that they have with the street closure. |
| 00:43:37.95 | Kevin McGowan | Not specifically, but we did hear quite a few comments in the form that was held by the community development director and DPW. |
| 00:43:47.06 | Jill Hoffman | Okay. Yeah, I saw that too. We've gotten public comment, I know, in the past. So go ahead, Mike. |
| 00:43:53.70 | Mike Langford | Yeah, while setting up, I've been approached by various business owners I'm not sure. that say that the closure is definitely affecting their business. as their patrons can't can't park there. Some other patients are elderly. And as we all know, parking is difficult in the area, so they can't find a parking space, so they don't come into their shop. I've also been approached by a resident who lives on the street and is the owner very inconvenient, she says, by the closure on Thursday, Friday, Saturday, Sunday. Okay. find it difficult to find parking and then get into her home. what she would do if she had oftentimes she would park somewhere else, daughter would bring her car at night. So, in the morning, we're going to she would have it when she needed to leave her residence. |
| 00:44:44.93 | Jill Hoffman | Okay. All right, thank you for that. Okay, any other questions in light of mine? If not, I'll open it up for public comment on this matter. Okay no more council questions I'm going to open up for public comment I see two hands Yes, hold on Councilmember Blaston. Go ahead. I just had a quick question because it seems |
| 00:45:03.49 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 00:45:03.52 | Melissa Blaustein | like we don't we didn't for the pilot program have a clear data. collection processes from our merchants and in terms of the amount of use of the tables. I, I would just ask, do we have a plan for that going forward? at least suggest that as part of our direction, because I feel like There's some missing data. on this. |
| 00:45:31.00 | Jill Hoffman | Yeah. I don't think that was part of the pilot program, but I think we can craft something along those lines and give direction to staff at this point tonight. But we can talk about that during our discussion. So- |
| 00:45:42.78 | Unknown | So |
| 00:45:43.62 | Jill Hoffman | Sure. Okay, so I'm going to open up for public comment and I'm going to I'm going to institute the two minute rule because we have we have items on this agenda where we're going to have a lot of public comments so we need to be respectful of our time and our staff time so. Anyway, public comment is going to be at two minutes. So Mr. Clerk, I'll just let you call the speakers. |
| 00:46:04.39 | Heidi Scoble | Kevin, you have been unmuted and asked to share your video. |
| 00:46:10.50 | Kevin Carroll | Thank you. And again, good evening. A couple of comments. I had a two page written comment, which I, Hope you all get a chance to read. but you were asking about the business hours and I did a graph I went around and checked all the hours of the different businesses on that block and I provided you with a graph that's attached to minutes. Also, I really like this council's emphasis on facts And I would suggest that perhaps asking Director Francis to look at the quarterly tax reports. You can't discuss individual businesses. I know that. but I think you can. get them by group so you could look at pre-COVID, initial COVID and you've got a 15 month period to cover where you could look at the restaurant sales taxes how they've gone up and down versus the other businesses on that block. And what's happened with their saddle tax is that They brought in I would certainly like to hear from the city attorney about the legality of the permit since it states on the permit application that they have to fulfill number 26, which is notifying everyone within 300 feet. They did not do that. They put a parklet in front of the barber shop when he didn't even want it. I think that's kind of unconscionable And I would rather rely on sales tax sales tax. STATISTICS. rather than the opinions of the restauranteurs, given that behavior. Um, I would also think that the Public works could give you the cost of the setting up and breaking down times. And more importantly, what's not being done since those employees I don't believe are paid overtime to do this, something's not getting done. And I'd like to know what it is. And lastly, about the full 175 people. um, participated in that whole. Kevin, your two minutes had elapsed. |
| 00:48:13.70 | Heidi Scoble | Kevin, you- in there. I would like to- |
| 00:48:18.99 | Kevin Carroll | I'd like to see the 107. |
| 00:48:19.24 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. Thank you, Kevin. Moving on. Much clerk, go ahead. |
| 00:48:26.61 | Heidi Scoble | Elizabeth, you have been unmuted. |
| 00:48:34.18 | Jill Hoffman | Ms. Newbell, we're not hearing you. You might need to unmute on your end. |
| 00:48:44.87 | Jill Hoffman | still not hearing you um elizabeth nebot let's move on to somebody else oh no okay |
| 00:48:51.69 | Elizabeth Nibut | Thank you. |
| 00:48:51.98 | Jill Hoffman | Here we go. |
| 00:48:52.60 | Elizabeth Nibut | Thank you. |
| 00:48:52.92 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 00:48:52.94 | Elizabeth Nibut | There you go. |
| 00:48:52.96 | Jill Hoffman | Yep. |
| 00:48:54.17 | Elizabeth Nibut | Yes. Okay, sorry. |
| 00:48:55.05 | Jill Hoffman | Okay. |
| 00:48:55.39 | Linda Pfeiffer | Thank you. No worries. |
| 00:48:56.89 | Elizabeth Nibut | Thank you very much for the opportunity to make a comment. You know, I jumped on somebody else on a completely different subject, asked me to jump on tonight and make a comment. I had no idea this subject was on the agenda tonight. And I don't believe any of the other I'm not sure. merchants on the street knew about it. and hearing it, I just would like to say that, you know, we're in favor of keeping the street closed and It's definitely been a, huge difference to our business, especially as COVID is getting active again and lots of people want to sit outside. We are super thankful to have the street and the um parklet areas to use as well as the sidewalks. So I'd like to just put that in there, at least in favor of the restaurants. I know there's some other retailers I guess one certainly good option is to open that one Southbound Lane. since it has to be closed for the fire anyway, is southbound, right? I hope I'm saying, no, northbound. Yeah, northbound. |
| 00:50:10.72 | Jill Hoffman | Yes. Hmm. |
| 00:50:12.66 | Elizabeth Nibut | Thank you. And You say the North or West, it's hard to say, but anyway, I know what you're saying. |
| 00:50:16.74 | Jill Hoffman | I know what you're saying. |
| 00:50:17.74 | Elizabeth Nibut | So, so that, you know, it opens up the traffic for the people that would really like to be able to use that lane. We're not using it anyway and then open the parking. And hopefully that would sort of suffice for both. the merchants that would like to have parking and seem to feel like that's really affecting their businesses and THE people who live there and people who think that we need to be able to have that lane to thrive on. Like I said, we're not using it anyway, so why not? And then keeping the, Southbound Lane. Um, for us to use for outdoor dining. Obviously, if we know that that's a real, |
| 00:51:00.82 | Heidi Scoble | Elizabeth, your two minutes have elapsed. Okay. |
| 00:51:04.61 | Elizabeth Nibut | Thank you. |
| 00:51:04.97 | Unknown | THE END OF THE END OF THE |
| 00:51:06.56 | Heidi Scoble | And moving on to Aaron Roller, you have been unmuted and asked to share your video. |
| 00:51:13.07 | Aaron Roller | Hello, everyone. I just wanted to jump in as the chair of pedestrian and bicycle advisory committee. that |
| 00:51:28.14 | Aaron Roller | We've been involved since the beginning. The city has been very, courteous and bringing us in even during the early phases of concepts. And, uh... Director Public Works has been you know, bringing the conversation. into our PBAC meetings and the community has joined and I just think that we're really grateful to be to be invited to be part of the conversation and always welcome our participation in that regard. I also wanted to just mention my vote for option two. I think it's a nice compromise. This leaves plenty of parking on that street. I really appreciate the consideration, the complete streets consideration to include a comfortable bike lane. |
| 00:52:32.86 | Aaron Roller | of transportation. I do want to mention, I even, um, offered a potential solution to Ah. not have a bike lane, but actually a allow cyclists to go against the traffic and this is not something that's really been done in the USA but it's something that's been done in Switzerland and was safe on very slow and narrow streets like what we're proposing that said it's just not practical here but I just wanted to also mention that we've done everything we can to try and make that situation best and I would really love to see us cater to the dining as it already has been in the future. Thank you very much. |
| 00:53:14.94 | Unknown | Okay, thank you. |
| 00:53:19.06 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is Vicki Nichols. Vicki, you have been unmuted. |
| 00:53:24.05 | Vicki Nichols | Thank you. I just have a few comments that have not been talked about. Let me just get my notes here. THE END OF Thank you. So I first want to support Kevin Carroll's thorough review of the situation here we have not been notified as he states The change to this one lane going north is going to force traffic up into the neighborhoods. But I'd like to speak mainly about an incident last Saturday where there were three accidents in this block. from falls. The fire trucks were not able to advance through the block where the person had fallen because there were bollards there. And this lane is supposed to be open at all times. So making it one way is, not an option as far as I'm concerned. One individual was hurt and he had to be picked up and his ride could not even get in the area An injured man had to walk a block to get to a car. So these are things that aren't being talked about in this configuration. I also wanted to say that, you know, we keep talking and there was a lot of, snarkiness during the survey about no one should get a dedicated parking space No one on this street is expecting a dedicated parking space, but by putting the parklet in front of the barber shop, that was an area that at least someone with mobility issues could be dropped off. I did a canvas of walking around. There's more businesses on the street than restaurants, and there are numerous businesses that don't want this so I think we need to have a better conversation here about what's going on it's kind of depending on who we're talking to also is this northbound lane for one block are we talking about all of Caledonia in which case this involves a thorough master plan for the street as I advocated from the beginning and it's not to be decided in a restaurant project. So I'm really, I thought there was some really clear alternatives here with a good staff report. |
| 00:55:35.59 | Heidi Scoble | to have a lapse. |
| 00:55:37.35 | Jill Hoffman | And... |
| 00:55:37.40 | Vicki Nichols | Thank you. |
| 00:55:42.19 | Jill Hoffman | I think I see one last hand up. |
| 00:55:44.28 | Heidi Scoble | Sharon, you've been unmuted. |
| 00:55:46.66 | Sharna Brockett | Hi there. you |
| 00:55:47.37 | Heidi Scoble | I love it. |
| 00:55:47.39 | Sharna Brockett | quick off-the-cuff comment just ask you to take into consideration for rapidly changing conditions on this one I know my wife is a emergency medicine physician she's seeing lots more covered in Marin every day like way way more than she was seeing a couple weeks ago I got the memo from her this morning that we won't be doing any indoor dining in the near future given those conditions. So I think my preference on what happens here is probably even changed in the last few years too. I don't know if you're considering doing this as a extended temporary option instead of just picking a permanent one. but maybe that's also something to consider. But yeah, dynamic times, so I appreciate you taking that all into consideration. Thanks. |
| 00:56:32.68 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, thank you. And I see no more hands up, so I'm going to bring it back to and then bring it back to us for discussion. And so, I think I'll kick us off for discussion. I am, you know, in looking at this effort, which was a great, great effort during COVID, you know, made total sense during COVID. But as we emerged from COVID and we had businesses open back up, right? So the businesses were closed. Right. Yeah, it made total sense. in some ways, but it was always a burden on the neighbors and then people that lived along that street, especially the people that have mobility issues. about how they get in and out of their houses. The metrics part I think is really important. that I've driven down, I ride down around town at least maybe once a day or at least and I always try to take a look during Thursday through Sunday about how that area is being utilized. Obviously I know it's dependent on weather. to Even the restaurants I think will concede that there's no There's no, I don't think, requirement or benefit to closing at 24 hours. I mean, that was just a function you know what staff time because our staff was managing it but you know, from the hours of whatever you want to call it, 10 o'clock at night, the time when the restaurants even open the next day, you know, there's no reason to deprive people access and traffic flow from that time, you know, from the morning until 2 or 3 o'clock in the afternoon or whenever the restaurants open back up. That's, these are just comments of mine based on my own review of this and then comments that I've heard and I have talked with many of the businesses at street level down there on Caledonia about how they feel about it many of the non-restaurant businesses are very much opposed to closing the street off 24 hours a day. I think we have to figure out some kind of accommodation for traffic flow. in the non-restaurant hours and then And then the other metrics part of it is, Are the restaurants even able to utilize it to capacity. The other issue we have is that we do have COVID sort issues reemerging. And so I'm wondering if whatever solution we come up with, uh... as a temporary extension and then revisit this with some of these other issues that have come up tonight about outreach to businesses and neighbors and and really drilling down on what we think is more of a permanent course of action. I sort of feel like we're not there yet for a permanent course of action that we have some alternatives and some pads. THE FEDERAL. you know, presented to us, but that's kind of what I'm thinking. I'M HAPPY TO HEAR WHAT MY FELLOW COUNCILMEMBERS HAVE TO SAY. first. And so Councilmember Sobieski and anybody else that wants to weigh in. and then maybe our city manager. Go ahead. |
| 00:59:40.40 | Ian Sobieski | Thanks, Mayor. I appreciate that. Just I want to make sure we get Vicki Nichols' question answered. clearly. my understanding is we're talking about just the one block. Caledonia Street we're not talking about anything else on Caledonia is that correct? |
| 00:59:55.81 | Jill Hoffman | Yeah, that's my understanding. Anybody, City Manager or Director McCallan want to jump in to confirm that. But yeah, tonight we're just talking about this one proposed program that we had for Caledonian outdoor dining. |
| 01:00:10.32 | Kevin McGowan | Yes, that's correct. Between Pine and Johnson is all we're talking about. |
| 01:00:14.27 | Ian Sobieski | Okay, just wanted to make sure that was clear. uh, And as you know, Mary, I brought this up two months ago, trying to get the northbound lane reopened It was... which is an example of a weird situation where, you know, I know it unfolded one step at a time, but having the northbound lane |
| 01:00:25.44 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 01:00:32.21 | Ian Sobieski | and not being used was just a waste. The restaurants weren't using it and the residents couldn't drive and the residents couldn't park. reopening the northbound lane is a no-brainer. The real question is what to do about the southbound lane. and you I'd love to engage with the discussion with all of you about that. the one option would be to consider temporary, continuing keeping it closed temporarily just until the end of the good weather to see. And it really depends on whether how this interacts with the the benefits and the complaints of the neighboring businesses. I'm not clear that We really, there are not that many businesses there. So can we just talk to each and every one of them and get a clear direction from them? I mean, they're just our neighbors and it's one block. Can we get, you know, almost a vote of of the businesses and how strongly they feel about it. and maybe even the vote of the residents right there, who are most directly affected. larger issue here at play, but in terms of just doing an experiment for the next few months. What about that? |
| 01:01:43.59 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, thank you. Yes, Councilmember Clegg-O'Nolls. |
| 01:01:47.01 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you, Mayor. So I am strongly in favor of option two. I think it's kind of the Goldilocks situation. heard a lot of specific complaints from the businesses on the east side of the street. Those are completely met by having a northbound lane and parking restored to that side of the street. Um, Having the counter flow lane and an additional five or six feet for the restaurants will augment their ability to I, have permanent fixtures and make a more welcoming and attractive environment, which will hopefully attract business and keep their COVID recovery strongly. on the path to success. I would generally support a middle ground of paint that would probably is not as expensive as the micro sealant to remove if there are issues. And I think Mr. Parisi said fades in a year or two anyway. and collecting data as I think we're all in favor of making sure that we are we have metrics to look at this. I really love the Parisi design. I think it's a great chance to preview some elements of complete streets on Caledonia to have traffic calming, a more pedestrian friendly environment. I mean, we had overwhelming support from the broader community for the outdoor dining on Caledonia. and for a full street closure, I think, you know, As coven subsides, we don't need the full street with the social distancing as much as we did. And I think we have heard legitimate issues raised by the neighbors, but I really Appreciate Mr. Preece coming up with option two. I think it's a great middle ground. and I'm fully supportive. I would also like to just throw out there that I would love to see our staff think about, you know, first Friday or first Sunday or last Sunday, complete closure of Caledonia, just for, you know, every last Sunday, our day that perhaps the businesses on the east side of the street are not as busy. as a way to keep that community. You know, so many people felt so strongly that that really brought them down to Caledonia and created a sense of community, a European style feel. I mean, the survey results are just speak volumes about that. you know, I think that would also be a way that another middle ground compromise to bring the community out, but not have those constant impacts on the residents and the businesses. I think those are my comments and interested to hear what others have to say. Thanks. |
| 01:04:50.92 | Jill Hoffman | Thanks. Who wants to ask? Yes, Vice Mayor. |
| 01:04:54.24 | Janelle Kellman | I'll chime in. So this is really interesting because we're talking about COVID conditions We're also talking about permanency. And we're talking about them in the same breath. but not really articulating a holistic or distinct plan for either. So we're sort of merging the two. I think we, If we are gonna have a rise in one of the variants and we feel like we wanna have a COVID measure, let's talk about it as a COVID measure. If we want to do something that is more permanent, then we've already started down the path of some really good planning with Parisi with some of these schematics, right? But let's really put our effort into doing something if we're going to sort of reimagine, revitalize this area. I think what's happened is this project's gotten stuck in an in-between state And there's been no clarity on either side of what the intention is. So I would start with a business case, having surveys on usage is really really important i think that informs everything about this project and we've had a year of you know, variety of closures, but we don't have any data. And I think that'd be extremely important because then you could use that to support something Council member Cleveland Knowles is a really great idea about Sunday closures. Right? I'd love to be able to say something like that because the data supports it and we know that that's really beneficial and useful. So I'm just a little concerned that we don't have that, that type of data available to us to really understand the dynamic that is of most benefit both to the neighbors and the residents and to the businesses. And so that's just, I feel like I need that information to fully understand what we can do here and how we can then have certain programs, again, like a Sunday closure. |
| 01:06:33.64 | Jill Hoffman | Okay thank you. Councilmember Blaustein Thank you. |
| 01:06:37.63 | Melissa Blaustein | Thank you. |
| 01:06:37.68 | Jill Hoffman | HEAD. |
| 01:06:37.90 | Melissa Blaustein | Thank you. Thanks, Mayor Hoffman. And thanks for the presentation and all the hardworking staff on this. And I am a little bit disappointed that we had a pilot project, which is usually to gather data to decide if it's a long-term or permanent project. We don't feel like we had a clear. a clear data gathering system in place beyond our survey residents However, our survey residents did show that they were very excited about the opportunity to have this outdoor dining. And I feel I am in agreement with Councilmember Cleveland Knowles that the option two is a Goldilocks agreement whereby some of the parking is restored and the restaurants are able to keep. there. their level of service going in terms of outdoor dining as we do see arrive in In COVID, I also am really as a former sustainability commissioner excited about the complete streets opportunity here and what we might be able to develop as a model to show what we're capable of for providing safer and more open bike paths for our and thanks to our feedback members who participated in providing comments so i i if we do move forward with option two which i would be favor in favor of supporting given the situation we're dealing with with COVID as well as the overwhelming response we received in the survey. I would like to have a really clear system for data collection to better understand what's working and what's not. And I would also like to have paint as our option so that we might be able to make changes as necessary if we wanted to do that. I want to be able to, as Vice Mayor Coleman said, say why we want to continue to do these programs going forward and have a better understanding of them. So I'm in favor of option two at this point, but would entertain supporting whatever other council members, but I would love to see us come to consensus on this. |
| 01:08:13.10 | Jasmine | Thank you. |
| 01:08:29.92 | Jill Hoffman | Okay. And council member Sobieski, I can't, I don't, Have you spoken yet? |
| 01:08:34.49 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 01:08:34.51 | Unknown | I like to comment it. |
| 01:08:34.56 | Ian Sobieski | or electric. Thank you. |
| 01:08:36.03 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 01:08:37.26 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 01:08:37.38 | Unknown | Once again, if you guys. |
| 01:08:38.17 | Ian Sobieski | uh, |
| 01:08:38.43 | Unknown | Yeah. |
| 01:08:39.30 | Ian Sobieski | I said, you know, I've been trying to get northbound lane open for two months. I'm glad that that's going to happen. The southbound lane, you know, open to it's, you know, admittedly it's not used very much. It definitely has a big impact. I'm bothered in a small town that we can't be more influenced by the people who are directly affected in terms of getting data. It's also just really getting the surveys of the people most heavily impacted just to see what that area of town would would say and but absent all that since we have to kind of make a decision now I'm more something that sort of extends the experiment to clean um councilman lebronstein's point maybe with the direction of the staff to be a little or determinative about data that we might collect Bye. I don't know that I would use. to make it still, that I don't know. extension, I don't know, it might use tape to save the expense and and making an evaluation of what we learned by the end of October. |
| 01:09:45.45 | Jill Hoffman | at the end of the day. So here's... Oh, I'm sorry, go ahead. |
| 01:09:49.18 | Ian Sobieski | That's a good question. |
| 01:09:49.50 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. So here's what I'm thinking. And I'll see what you guys think. So this is kind of, to me, this is kind of an EDAC thing. It's economic, right, economic development. It ties in with a lot of the things that EDAC has been working on. And we have two council members who are representatives from the EDAC, committee so here's from our discussion these are some of the highlights that I've I've, Um, I've noted down that we're interested in the cost of the restriping. We haven't had any estimate of that or option two, right? So we're interested in that. We're interested in the metrics, right? As a driver of our decision-making. So we'd be interested in, having more information about that. We're interested in. the outreach to both residents who live along there and to the other non-restaurant businesses and whether or not they've been brought in and whether or not anybody's actually sat down with them and said, yes or no, thumbs up or thumbs down. How does this affect your business? And then I like I like the idea of you know Councilmember Cleveland Knowles and her her idea about monthly or quarterly or something regular events where we close that off and have an event, right? all the time in Sausalia where we close streets down and have events. So as as part of the middle ground. So also I note that you know in our EDAC recommendations for you know, COVID recovery, we did authorize a certain amount of money for events. Um, in addition to the other events that we already funded in town. And so, to me, part of that might be THIS IDEA OF THE you know, the first Sunday or something or whatever we want to call it, to bring people back. down to Caledonia for specific events on a periodic basis. What I'm wondering is if we don't want to you know, give these five questions. I'm not sure. to you know, a working group and say, okay, address these and then come back to the City Council with these these three options that community development came up with and then and give us the opportunity to look at that information before we vote on something as as permanent as taking away Elaine and re-striping and, you know, um it what some people would view as is kind of a drastic reuse and and change of that block of caledonia also the safety issues with the fire department and whether or not you can have a lane that close to dining and what we would have to do with that. But I think, I think it was a good effort. in the inception, but now we just have to figure out how to capture the successes of that and move forward. I mean, how do we define success? So that's kind of what I'm thinking. Otherwise, you know, it doesn't seem to me we kind of we've gathered around consensus. We have, you know, I think I've heard two council members two and I think three of us are kind of on the fence and trying to figure out what path forward although all of us want to know more about the metrics and outreach so I don't know. What do you guys think about that? And we can you know, we can give you guys September or October to come back to the City Council. We'll put it on the agenda for further action. But I do think we need to get- |
| 01:13:02.65 | Ian Sobieski | So Mayor, can I just ask? |
| 01:13:04.16 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 01:13:05.42 | Ian Sobieski | In that scenario, would Caledonia |
| 01:13:07.02 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 01:13:07.06 | Ian Sobieski | us stay closed. Well, I think what you're saying is that |
| 01:13:08.48 | Jill Hoffman | Well, I think we need. Yeah, that's a good question. Thank you. I was just I think we need to open the lane because I just don't think we're utilizing the space enough to justify closure of a full lane 24 hours a day. there's just no one there. There's just no one there, you know, 18 hours of the day. to I don't think that justifies the inconvenience to the people that live there or the businesses, but So that would be the direction of staff, I suppose, reopen the northbound lane. the two if you guys accept the assignment, the two EDAC reps kind of take it back and and and further look at these five issues with staff. and then come back to us. How do you guys feel about that course of action? |
| 01:13:51.32 | Ian Sobieski | So I'm not in favor of going back to a fully open Caledonia. I would be in favor as the middle ground of a three-month pilot with tape. of option two. while the five questions that you just articulated are evaluated. Okay, how's the rails going? I prefer a permanent solution, but I'd be open to the three month pilot with tape. |
| 01:14:17.97 | Janelle Kellman | So just to clarify, that would mean that the northbound lane would be open? |
| 01:14:23.67 | Ian Sobieski | Yes, the full Parisi drawing as attachment one, which is option two, which has the full northbound lane open, all the west side parking spaces open, a southbound Contraflow lane. and the added room in addition to the parklets. And if done with tape that can be easily removed and has no cost according to the answer or minimal cost according to the answer from the public works director. |
| 01:14:54.70 | Janelle Kellman | I have a quick question. Do we have bike parking? Um, |
| 01:14:57.08 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 01:14:57.13 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. |
| 01:14:57.71 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 01:14:57.73 | Janelle Kellman | in that. |
| 01:14:57.98 | Jill Hoffman | area. We don't have designated, I do not believe we had designated bike parking. We do have bike loops. OK. |
| 01:15:08.19 | Janelle Kellman | So, by place, |
| 01:15:08.96 | Jill Hoffman | because, you know, |
| 01:15:09.03 | Janelle Kellman | lock up your bike. Yes. On that section. |
| 01:15:11.85 | Jill Hoffman | Yes, in fact, I did that Sunday night. |
| 01:15:14.24 | Janelle Kellman | Mayor, my question. I think your articulation is quite prudent. I don't want to sign myself and council members will be asking up for a research project, but we shall take it on. I guess I'm a little curious director Whalen had said that her department is working on a concept or a ballistic planning effort maybe we can understand a little bit more about that Um, so we can. And I just also want to say, I think I think a lot of the the, uh, the sort of dissatisfaction on both sides is because nobody really has a clear idea of exactly what's happening and when, what's been allowed. And I think now we have And if we just roll up our sleeves and actually, you know, do that, you know, take this punch list and go through them and talk about the circulation, talk about the parking enforcement up on Bonita and up on Johnson. if we, look at capacity issues and make sure that we're, you know, have the right amount of capacity being extended through this program. I think then you could bring that data set to the community and say, okay, we've done our homework. This is why this is a really good program. |
| 01:16:21.71 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. Okay so Councilmember Cleveland-Knowles is suggesting that we do a pilot of the northbound open I'm okay it's either north or west whatever northbound open with the dedicated bike lane. is, is the fire department or police on can we can we functionally do that is that safe enough is that a barrier enough |
| 01:16:49.72 | Kevin McGowan | Madam mayor, the fire department has weighed in and saying that the 19 feet that's available for that is sufficient. |
| 01:16:56.37 | Jill Hoffman | OK. Okay, so in cost wise, if we did a pilot project in that manner in the interim time, as Councilman Cleveland Null suggests that it's for whatever, two or three months until the, the, working group comes back that I've suggested it be the EDAP working group, that that wouldn't cost us. I mean, the cost would be minimal if we just use tape, right? Let me ask you. direction McAllen. |
| 01:17:22.48 | Kevin McGowan | THAT'S CORRECT. |
| 01:17:23.47 | Jill Hoffman | OK. OK, so does anybody have an objection to that course of action? then I'm assigning a bunch of work to SO, WE'LL TALK ABOUT Member Sobieski and Vice Mayor Killman. Yes, and then we're going to do a pilot project at the same time, right? So we're going to collect metrics on how this is working. And so actually it would probably be helpful. to do that. Uh, And then we're going to do a pilot non-permanent tape at a minimal cost to see how that works. Is everybody, but at the same time, we're gonna be collecting metrics, right? |
| 01:17:58.78 | Janelle Kellman | Can I ask for a clarification, council member, |
| 01:17:59.01 | Jill Hoffman | Yeah. |
| 01:18:02.93 | Janelle Kellman | um, would this just create a bike lane just on one small section of Caledonia? Do, I mean, Is the intention to have a more articulated bike lane in other parts of Caledonia? Or is this more of a, of a safety Um, like a public safety issue. So that even though the bikes have more room or other parts of Caledonia, In this instance, we want to make sure that we carve out an area. |
| 01:18:26.13 | Jill Hoffman | I see our director, McAllen has- Oh, sure. You need the bike lane. |
| 01:18:29.51 | Ian Sobieski | You need the bike lane one way, so that just allows the bikes to go both ways. |
| 01:18:36.34 | Kevin McGowan | I think that's correct. That the Pedestrian Bicycle Advisory Committee has suggested that we put a counterflow bike lane in in order to not reroute bicyclists over to Bridgeway, which is a higher speed. and therefore try to keep them on Caledonia, which is a bit safe. |
| 01:18:54.33 | Jill Hoffman | OK. Okay, so that course of action, is the staff clear on that? Does the staff see any big barriers that I'm missing that would recommend not following this course of action? |
| 01:19:06.56 | Kevin McGowan | No, I can work with that. We'll see if we can make that happen. |
| 01:19:09.90 | Jill Hoffman | OK, great. And city manager? Give us a thumbs up. Yeah. OK, very good. OK, good. Good job, you guys. Good work. Moving on then. That's the course of action we're going to take. And then I listed five things I think to look at for the EDAC and then EDAC EDAC working group. And so whatever you guys think is appropriate, of course, I would expect you to follow up on too. |
| 01:19:31.39 | Ian Sobieski | Mayor, do we need to vote on this? |
| 01:19:33.82 | Jill Hoffman | I don't think so. I mean, we're not voting. We're we're I'm giving additional work and we're going to have a pilot project. Yeah. I don't think we... Anybody opposed to that? |
| 01:19:42.03 | Janelle Kellman | That's right. |
| 01:19:43.99 | Jill Hoffman | Okay. |
| 01:19:45.19 | Janelle Kellman | Okay. Mayor Hoffman, I did not jot down the five. Maybe Council Member Sobieski did or staff did, but. Luckily we're taped, so. |
| 01:19:45.27 | Jill Hoffman | OK. |
| 01:19:54.49 | Janelle Kellman | I think. OK, thank you, Kevin. OK. |
| 01:19:57.95 | Ian Sobieski | So, |
| 01:19:58.13 | Janelle Kellman | OK. |
| 01:19:58.82 | Ian Sobieski | How long is the pilot project for? I mean, I think the residents would like to adjust. I mean, everybody would like to see that's what the city manager's putting up. Okay, all right. |
| 01:20:03.41 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. |
| 01:20:03.45 | Jill Hoffman | Yeah. |
| 01:20:03.85 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. |
| 01:20:06.34 | Jill Hoffman | I think no more than three months, right? So if you guys, I would think if you guys are ready to give us a report or, you know, as a working group and ready to come back earlier than three months, that's fine. But at the outside, it'd be three months, because that's going to be the end of the season, really, anyway. |
| 01:20:21.52 | Ian Sobieski | It does seem like for the businesses, the restaurants, if they're going to make some modest investment to make that extra five feet work for them, that we should at least have it till the end of, October, even if we make a decision to remove it earlier. That's... |
| 01:20:35.48 | Jill Hoffman | Yeah. |
| 01:20:36.69 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 01:20:36.71 | Ian Sobieski | Yeah, I'm trying to... |
| 01:20:36.78 | Jill Hoffman | I think that's fine. |
| 01:20:37.44 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. |
| 01:20:38.24 | Jill Hoffman | Anybody object to that? End of October? October? |
| 01:20:38.26 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. |
| 01:20:42.02 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, so. |
| 01:20:43.34 | Janelle Kellman | Three-four lane is reopened. |
| 01:20:43.39 | Jill Hoffman | I'm not going to... |
| 01:20:46.26 | Janelle Kellman | I think that's acceptable. |
| 01:20:48.19 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, so through the 31st, got it. Okay guys. Okay. Moving on to our next item. which is Um, Item 7B is our consider asking voters to amend ordinance number 1128 to allow park uses in the downtown parking lots one two three and four. in placing the measure on the ballot at the soonest practicable election. Our staff report is going to be by our City Attorney Mary Wagner. |
| 01:21:20.80 | Mary Wagner | Thank you, Madam Mayor, members of the council. I apologize for the dark office space here. As the sun went down, my office became darker. Give me a moment to share my screen, please. |
| 01:21:31.98 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 01:21:45.39 | Mary Wagner | There we go. So thank you, Madam Mayor, members of the city council. This is a continuation of the council's discussion from your meeting on July 13th. when you considered amending or a possible ballot measure to amend ordinance number 1128 regarding park uses in the downtown parking lots. As you know, ordinance number 1128 was a voter initiative that was actually adopted by the city council on December 18, 1997, instead of placing it on the ballot. Ordinance 1128 generally regulates the sale, lease, or other disposition of a number of pieces of city owned property, including municipal lots, parking lots one through four, Plaza Viña Del Mar, Gabrielson Park, and the MLK school site. With respect to municipal parking lots number four, Ordinance 1128 provides that the city shall retain ownership of the lots and shall not sell lease or otherwise dispose of them without voter approval. It also indicates that the lots shall not be used for purposes other than public parking without voter approval. Voter approval as defined in the ordinance means approval by a majority of the voters voting at a city election. On July 13th, we discussed potential modifications to ordinance 1128 that would allow for park uses. simply by adding the words or park uses after the provision that limits their use to public parking lot uses. We presented you with some modifications to the other text of 1128 that would carry forward that park use and included in the last provision there that limits the ability to increase or decrease the land area devoted to public parking by 5%. We would provide that the park use would not count against that. 5%. We also discussed on the 13th information provided by your public works director that knowing if the city intends to keep the provisions of 1128 intact or to change it to allow for park uses may impact what is built for the initial ferry and land side project. Potential uses in long-term planning related to the Bank of America building, who it's utilized by, and for what length of time are also informed by decisions related to ordinance 1128. On July 15th, the community forum was held to discuss the land side improvements at the ferry landing. More than 40 people participated. They received presentations from the local professionals group, city staff and the city's consultant. This public was asked to give input on the initial phase of the work for the landslide improvements and the long-term vision for that area. They were also asked whether they thought the city should amend 1128 to allow other uses in municipal parking lots one, two, three, and four. It was mentioned that considering lot one as a larger park or park plaza area for the public to gather, as well as the installation of amenities, such as North South greenway and bicycle parking that was discussed. More than 20 comments were received and those providing public comment were in favor of modifying ordinance 1128 and revitalizing the area of Sausalito to provide more of a pedestrian oriented area. During your discussion on July 13th, the council asked for us to come back and provide you with some additional information specifically related to the scope of the proposed park use. That is whether it would apply to all of the downtown parking lots, one, two, three, and four, or some subset. You wanted more discussion on what park use meant and more information on election timing and costs. with respect to the scope of the park use, whether it would apply to all four municipal parking lots or if it should include a subset. Because the local professional group is examining a vision that incorporates connectivity between all of the lots, the local professional group and your council working group that consists of the mayor Hoffman and council member Sobieski are recommending that the ordinance should be modified to address all of the lots and not limit it to any particular lot. You also wanted some more information regarding what is meant by the use of the term park. The local professionals group and the council working group recommend that the definition of park be a designed landscape that is created to provide the public usable public open space. address circulation as well as enhance and improve the existing attributes of a place. |
| 01:26:35.84 | Mary Wagner | Some of this information was included in the staff report that came to you on the 13th, but I thought I would include it again. And that relates to elections and timing. November 2nd of 2021 is the first date that this could possibly be put to the voters. The input we received from the council on the 13th indicated that that wasn't really considered to be a viable option, given the timing and the cost of that election. So here are your 2020 election dates, the first being March 8th. There's also an election on April 12th, May 3rd, June 7th, August 25th. And then the city's next general election for the city is November 8th. |
| 01:27:18.77 | Mary Wagner | Election costs are, as we discussed two weeks ago, influenced by the number of jurisdictions that share that ballot. Regular elections generally run between $1.75 to $3 per registered voter. So a state primary or general election typically costs about $12,000 for Sausalito. |
| 01:27:41.76 | Mary Wagner | Staff's recommendation is that you adopt the definition of park as proposed by the local professional group and the council working group. And I included it here. and then direct us to return with a resolution on the consent calendar. calling for an election to be held on the next available election for which the costs to the city are similar to those incurred for a state primary election and submit to the voters a measure to approve an amendment to 1128 to allow for park uses as defined above along with the municipal parking lot uses that are allowed in lots one two three and four or you can direct us to return at a future meeting for further discussion. I wanted to point out that you received a large number of public comments on this item, and they've been posted to your agenda that's available online. I also wanted to let you know that in addition to myself and of course your city manager, Kevin McGowan, your director of public works and your city clerk are also available for any questions. And with that, I'm happy to stop screen sharing and turn it back to you, Madam Mayor and the council for any questions you may have for me. So, Mary, |
| 01:28:45.22 | Jill Hoffman | So Mary, we had, the working group had, an additional course of action that we wanted to consider tonight and it was actually our recommendation. So do you have the slide up of the language that we had for that? Sure, I can share that with Madam |
| 01:29:00.11 | Unknown | Not America? |
| 01:29:01.09 | Jill Hoffman | So just for people that are listening and for the other council members Councilmember Sobieski and I, as a working group, based on the comments that we've gotten the numerous and substantial comments that we got on this matter in our course of action We, um, have also come up and considered an alternate process for this and we believe that our the best course of action at this point based on our review of the 1128 and also review of all of the comments we've gotten and actually talking to many of the people that sent the comments in. is that we should adjust course and present instead of instead of placing on a ballot amendment to 1128 that we simply have people vote on the plan so that we work on a plan based on very similar to what we've been looking at already but just go ahead and finish that plan because we're already down the road on that. and that would go on the ballot. So the plan that we would come up with And I'll just read. I'll just read the slides. responding to public feedback the city council directs the city manager and staff this is our recommendation to work with the designated landscape architect to determine if there is a version of the ultimate vision design commissioned at the April 11th 2021 City Council meeting that ensures that circulation and parking availability to the downtown area is improved relative to today's status quo for our businesses, their employees, and for and that parking revenue to the city is not negatively impacted. And if such a design is possible, that it be developed into a form that can't, that which includes a budget, funding source and detailed description. that can with the subsequent consent of the city council be submitted to the voters for their approval on a citywide ballot as the strategic vision for the area to be implemented when and if funds are available accounting for other city priorities. So this is the course of action that the working group is recommending at this point and so Councilmember Sobieski would you like to weigh in or I'm We probably have Councilmember questions based on this current recommendation. So go ahead. |
| 01:31:21.91 | Ian Sobieski | I think you got it, Mayor. That's nothing more than that. |
| 01:31:26.18 | Jill Hoffman | OK, so do we have Questions from council members? |
| 01:31:29.98 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. I guess the only question I would ask is this would have been super helpful to have had a preview of. Was there a reason that this wasn't included in our staff report? |
| 01:31:38.26 | Jill Hoffman | that. It was it was we were working on it all weekend, like all weekend and Monday and so and we just were But, you know. |
| 01:31:51.76 | Ian Sobieski | That's right. Add it in. Add it in today. We had, of course, since April, several public meetings about this topic, and |
| 01:31:52.52 | Jill Hoffman | Add it in, add it in today. |
| 01:31:59.44 | Ian Sobieski | the public feedback on our path, our course, our objective just open-mindedly engage with the question of how to make downtown better for everyone. got a lot of positive feedback. At many of the public meetings, it was 20 to 1. in favor. But in the last week, of course, there was a bunch of very serious concerns around parking and around process. And we took those concerns seriously and engaged with them over the weekend to to come up with a better, Yeah, a better recommendation than that honors the process for that's enshrined in Lebanon 28 and one that also really directly attends to the concerns around parking that everyone has. uh... you know the goal is to make actually improve the parking situation for everyone and have that be a design constraint. on improving the downtown area. And the designers think that it's possible and they want to take a stab at it. So this seems like a better way of going about it. |
| 01:33:01.05 | Ian Sobieski | Okay, well, thanks. I mean, really appreciate all the hard work that you guys have put into this, I guess, and for this process that seems to respond to some of the feedback. I mean, I think this was the assumption anyway that the plan would include parking and would alleviate all the concerns regardless. So I think that's good to have it. Thank you. in writing. I think my other question is, so we would be voting tonight if we do go forward with this, that we I mean, one of the things that kept coming up in the general plan discussions and other discussions. So when we talk about this area is, oh, we can't do that because ordinance 1128, no, blah, blah, blah. So we basically be saying, we're gonna change that presumption that we, there's nothing we can't do necessarily in order to come up with this kind of solution that you've articulated here, kind of the elements of the solution. So the council would be saying we're amenable to amending, putting 1128 on the ballot to be amended. And that's gonna be sort of how we discuss this plan. that kind of what I'm hearing |
| 01:34:17.02 | Ian Sobieski | 1128 has a process for putting a specific design to the people for a vote. One that has a budget, a funding source, a detailed description, an impact, a clear description of the impact on parking and people. And the ambition of this is, if such a design is possible, to be made that actually Improves the parking situation, increases the amount of availability of parking for people. And that's a proposal that That's the design objective, and then that would be just put to the people like in 1128 anticipates. Right. |
| 01:34:51.58 | Jill Hoffman | Right, so the answer to your question is no, we wouldn't be amending 1128. It would just be we would proceed with the effort of developing a plan that. would then we would bring it back to the city council when we had to plan you know that hits all of these things. And we would say, then we would, here's the plan and we would like for this to go on the next ballot, right? And so 1128, actually it allows for that. I mean, it's in the language, APPROVED BY A VOTE. Right. So we're just going to take the plan. for approval by a vote. to put it on the ballot. That's our recommendation about how to proceed forward. So people know a lot of the comments were, And criticisms were that people didn't know what they would be voting on. And so this would be, okay, then, We're going to tell you exactly what you're going to vote on. And that's allowed under 1128. So to your comment of, you know, during the general plan conversations it was true that this isn't allowed by 1128, comma, unless there's a vote by the residents that approve it. So that's what we're doing. |
| 01:36:04.19 | Ian Sobieski | I understand that's always been the case, but it really constrained the discussion and the general plan. Anyway, so last question, and then I'll turn it over to other council members. So when you say, I heard two things. What's written is improves parking, availability relative to the status quo. And to me, improving parking availability doesn't necessarily have to include increasing the number of spaces. It could be parking demand management, you know, increasing circular, you know, turnover, et cetera. But what I just heard council member Sobieski say is we would actually be committing to increasing the number of spaces or area devoted to parking. And so I just want to make sure I understand correctly. |
| 01:36:49.49 | Ian Sobieski | And so. I just want to make sure. Yeah, they just improve the access to parking. So as you say, there are lots of solutions As you know, some of the desire for some local restaurants to have ballet parking, for instance, |
| 01:37:03.46 | Unknown | Okay. |
| 01:37:03.90 | Ian Sobieski | a potential axis of design freedom. Basically, the thought is, you know, we have a professional landscape architecture firm that's engaged on this task and it's looked like I'm designed. best practices to come up with solutions. you know, as lay people, we can talk in the abstract about it, but we'll almost always get it wrong because we're not experts. It's like non-engineers designing a building. So the hope is that the back end of this process, if there's a design that works, it will actually excite everybody. and bring us all together in enthusiasm. particularly the downtown businesses. |
| 01:37:37.97 | Kevin Carroll | Sure. |
| 01:37:40.41 | Ian Sobieski | that that are so, you know, so sensitive that rightfully so for access to park |
| 01:37:48.94 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 01:37:48.95 | Elizabeth Nibut | Thank you. |
| 01:37:49.04 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 01:37:49.38 | Elizabeth Nibut | Thank you. |
| 01:37:49.44 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. |
| 01:37:49.91 | Jill Hoffman | Yes, thank you. Okay, so I know Councilmember Blaustein and Vice Mayor Kelman both have their hands up and I don't know. |
| 01:37:57.88 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. |
| 01:37:57.91 | Melissa Blaustein | That's my bossing was first. |
| 01:37:59.13 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, very good. |
| 01:38:00.61 | Melissa Blaustein | Thanks, Mayor Hoffman and Vice Mayor Hoffman. I'm really happy to see this solution because I think we were all moved by the amount of public comment and feedback that we received. So thank you to the working group for taking the time |
| 01:38:00.63 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. Yes. |
| 01:38:11.35 | Melissa Blaustein | over the weekend to put this together. I did have a couple of questions, a couple of questions about it. It says that we're going to designate the landscape architect to work with city staff. I'm wondering about other stakeholders because circulation is a key part of this. And I would hope that PBAC would be included in some of the discussions and also perhaps the Chamber of Commerce and others. Is that just implied in the language here? And you're assuming that there'll be additional conversations and outreach? |
| 01:38:36.69 | Jill Hoffman | I would assume yes. And, and I'll let council member, so be asking, but yes. So, the concept we would, you know, within the parameters of this language that, yeah, we would do further outreach with boards and commissions and also public meetings, right, and make sure that we're on the right track. with what we think we have. And then we come back to the city council OK, we've had we've had more public meetings about this concept. We've got our design. We've reached out to boards and commissions. and we think this is a design and we would like to put this on a ballot. And then it would be a vote of, OK, let's put this on the ballot. So that's the idea. Is that correct, Councilman? |
| 01:39:15.56 | Bill | Thank you. |
| 01:39:15.59 | Jill Hoffman | Bye. |
| 01:39:15.64 | Bill | Thank you. |
| 01:39:15.66 | Jill Hoffman | I'm sorry. |
| 01:39:15.67 | Bill | Thank you. |
| 01:39:15.77 | Jill Hoffman | Correct. |
| 01:39:17.68 | Melissa Blaustein | And given that we're still working towards a solution for the land side, ferry landing improvements, what does this mean for the grant associated with that? And will it impact our receiving the grant funding and whether or not we move forward with phase one? |
| 01:39:32.26 | Jill Hoffman | Yeah, our understanding is that we would still be able to move forward with that and that we wouldn't obviously would not lose the grant, but that even the goal is that whatever we use that for would also be. in keeping with whatever this concept is that we're coming up with, right? So we don't waste that money or it's a barrier to something else that we're trying to propose. |
| 01:39:54.27 | Ian Sobieski | Yeah, professional group meets weekly with Kevin McAllen. They had a meeting this afternoon on this subject and they're focused on |
| 01:39:54.30 | Jill Hoffman | Yeah. |
| 01:40:01.35 | Ian Sobieski | What was presented several months ago with the option number one that they're implementing with the $2 million from from the Ferry District and moving that process along, that and leading it with the camp engineering. Thank you. |
| 01:40:18.30 | Melissa Blaustein | Any other questions? Well, do we have a plan Just around things like ensuring parking availability and no loss of parking revenue, I would imagine an assessment of our parking revenue and our parking fund would take some substantial. staff time and is this I'm just wondering if our $25,000 that we granted to the architect last time will be within the scope of this or if we have an idea of cost. I'm fine. Go ahead. |
| 01:40:39.43 | Jill Hoffman | I'm very excited. Yeah, I mean, my understanding is there may be some additional costs, but it would be within the within the city manager's authority and that the with regard to parking revenues and that sort of information is fairly accessible on OpenGov and with reporting. there's no secret right about the parking revenues from these parking lots and the goal is as stated that it that we would solve for that, like the plan would be able to solve. or speak to that issue. So it would be very clear what the people were voting on. Okay. |
| 01:41:13.93 | Melissa Blaustein | Okay. Thank you. |
| 01:41:14.31 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 01:41:14.39 | Melissa Blaustein | Thank you. And I would assume, well, I don't think this would come up yet, but obviously whatever master plan we decide as a council, there would be comprehensive public outreach around what would go before the ballot so that everyone had another chance. |
| 01:41:25.16 | Jill Hoffman | Yeah, yeah. It's a very, and you know, there will be, like we've done in the past, in addition to, obviously, a noticed city council meeting, right, when we would vote for it to go on a ballot. So certainly people would know at that point. if nothing. if not. OK, any other questions? Thank you. |
| 01:41:41.80 | Janelle Kellman | Okay. |
| 01:41:42.52 | Jill Hoffman | Yep, okay, go ahead, Vice Mayor. |
| 01:41:44.58 | Janelle Kellman | No, this is great to go last because I, it has been such a wonderful conversation. I'll just then commend you, Mayor Huffman and Council Member Sobieski for your diligence and responsiveness to. the concerns of the residents and also the businesses. Council Member Sobieski and I, as members of EDAC, met with 45 merchants yesterday who are extremely concerned about capacity. and losing parking spaces. I just want to thank you for your diligence here and thank Council Member Blasian as well for her comments, which I wholeheartedly agree with. I was going to ask about the public process and the opportunity to really further that. And that's all just confirming I'm hearing that this gives us time to review a plan It's not an amendment of 1128. It's just a plan. And so that's what the voters will see. Is that an act? |
| 01:42:32.62 | Jill Hoffman | Yeah. |
| 01:42:33.18 | Janelle Kellman | I'm sorry. |
| 01:42:33.20 | Jill Hoffman | I'm going to go. |
| 01:42:33.31 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. Okay, great. |
| 01:42:33.65 | Jill Hoffman | Yes, that's the course of action that we're recommending. |
| 01:42:37.45 | Janelle Kellman | And will it delay the existing plans on the ferry Uh, landside. or are we able to move forward? |
| 01:42:43.81 | Ian Sobieski | No. No, they're separate and the working group is focus on I'm moving that forward. Well, Kevin McGowan is in particularly focused on moving that forward with PKF. I'm not sure. They have their he has as much |
| 01:43:01.55 | Janelle Kellman | Right. And the grant has some limitations as well and has to be utilized in time frame and right. But really nice job, you guys. Thank you for for for doing that and the hard work. |
| 01:43:06.37 | Jill Hoffman | Really nice. that. Okay, thank you. So I see no further hands up. I mean, from our city council member. And so, all right, let me just say, I'm going to open up public comment, but I think everybody, I mean, we had tremendous amount obviously of, written public comment and other public comment by other means that was very impactful right and so we always appreciate public comment and we wrote robust discussion in Sausalito. And so thank you for that. Um, And so I'm going to open up public comment. I am going to keep it to two minutes because I assume we're going to have a lot of people wanting to speak. But if you did send in Written comments just understand that we've that we've looked at those and considered those and thank you so much everybody for that And so, I think I said I'm gonna limit to, yeah, to two minutes. Okay, so I'm just gonna let the clerk call the names because otherwise it gets that's it. too confusing on the way it looks on my screen. Mr. Cliff, go ahead. |
| 01:44:11.21 | Heidi Scoble | Morgan Piers, you're being unmuted and asked to share your video. |
| 01:44:19.04 | Morgan Pierce | Good evening, Madam Mayor, Madam Vice Mayor. I trust you can hear me all right. |
| 01:44:23.42 | Jill Hoffman | Yes, we can. Thank you. |
| 01:44:24.35 | Morgan Pierce | It was great to see everyone. Members of city council, city staff, members of community. Thank you so much for having us here and for discussing this important topic. My name is Morgan Pierce and I'm the vice president of Saucyote Beautiful I am also an architect and a landscape architect in town, concluded serving two terms on the planning commission. And prior to that, two terms on the sauce leader I'm not sure if I'm not sure regulatory processes and development challenges as they pertain to open space. All of that aside, I'm speaking tonight as a passionate member of our community and I offer the following. I recognize that the mere suggestion of amending city ordinance 1128 and the restrictions imposed by it, or even the basic premise of losing existing parking may cause heartburn in a few of your constituents. And I asked this council in our community to consider a both and scenario where we can have robust green spaces and easy access for the old and infirm We can have adequate parking and safe pedestrian routes for our residents and visitors. And where we can have family friendly parks and a solvent financial model. I ask our community members weighing in on this to pursue only the facts regarding the implications of any change in this ordinance or the proposed design solutions. and I ask all of us to imagine what our amazing and beautiful city can be. to do this will require that we ask hard questions. and that we explore solutions that may be outside of our comfort zones. So I think that's a good question. without challenges. And without the opportunity to explore the options, We may never know. Just saying no isn't a solution. Thank you very much. |
| 01:46:05.94 | Unknown | THANK YOU. |
| 01:46:10.31 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is Peter Van Meter. Peter, you've been unmuted. |
| 01:46:20.82 | Peter Van Meter | All right, thank you. I think this is a great approach to be taking on the ultimate vision And I appreciate the fact that a couple of times it has been mentioned and I want to emphasize it again that this program, your outlanding will have no effect. on the current land site improvement program relates to the pass through. And that we in fact can create a plaza within the 5% change rule allowed by ordinance 1128. So we're going to have the maximum public meeting space under current option one and the fact that that program is going ahead full steam i was hoping that even your agenda tonight might have included offering uh direction to BKF to start doing their working drawings on that But I know that's now probably gonna be deferred into the next meeting in September. you'll have enough from the local architects group to define that vision to the extent that you can actually go ahead with the implementation of the actual design details with DKF. And as they All right. plan. for option one plaza, in fact, can continue. And again, as I say, within the maximum allowed, within a 5% change rule without violating the rules of 1128. So thank you for clarifying that point that your current plan does not affect that part of the program. And Please go ahead, full steam. |
| 01:47:47.93 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 01:47:52.35 | Heidi Scoble | Alice Merrill, you've been unmuted. |
| 01:48:00.40 | Alice Merrill | Hi. Oh, I'm dark. I am very grateful that you guys have, thank you for listening to what people have been saying. I've been talking to people, and so many old timers just horrified by the idea of changing the parking lot, especially the one right there. between two very lovely parks we have. to very nice parks with a parking lot that has so many trees that you can hardly even see the cars. And, And at this moment, I'm I think that it's just too premature to just rush into this idea because a couple of people said, ooh, let's do that. I know it's been, coming up over the years. but it's a good revenue source, but also it's just not the time to just dash into things. There were 40 people at your meeting, 40 people, that's not all that many. And then you got all these letters. So thank you for slowing down and for thinking of other ways to go about things. Um, I would even suggest that at this point, we don't need to be expending extra money on just, anything right now. Let's just get our or ducks in order, but anyway. Thank you for slowing down. and I'm done before my time. |
| 01:49:25.47 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you very much for your efficient use of time. Ms. Merrill. |
| 01:49:30.53 | Heidi Scoble | Julie, you've been unmuted. |
| 01:49:40.56 | Jill Hoffman | Ms. Vieira, we can't hear you. I think you might need, there you go. |
| 01:49:45.64 | Julie | Okay, I'm going to use less than the two minutes. I just want to remind council member Sobieski and vice mayor Kelman about all the comments they received yesterday from the downtown businesses. Um, there, it was a lively discussion. with a lot of information. And I think that we really need to think about when we're talking about losing parking spaces, how it is going to affect your local businesses because they are struggling after COVID. They are still struggling and you throw something like this into the mix and tell them that they're going to lose parking. It doesn't bode well for a calm conversation. So, really think about what you're doing. This might not be the time to be pushing this forward. Maybe slow it down. Think of some alternatives, not wiping out the whole parking lot, maybe taking a smaller portion of it. but really think about the businesses because if they don't succeed, Sausalito is not gonna succeed. Thank you. |
| 01:51:03.26 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 01:51:03.28 | Julie | Thank you. |
| 01:51:03.41 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 01:51:03.50 | Julie | Thank you. |
| 01:51:03.58 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 01:51:03.60 | Julie | Thank you. |
| 01:51:03.61 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 01:51:07.02 | Heidi Scoble | John, you've been unmuted. |
| 01:51:09.20 | John | Hi, thanks very much. I had a I had a... much more prepared thing but I'm really pleased listening to the Council in terms of how much you listen to the feedback that you've gotten. And I'd really like to, start just thank you for that. You know, having been involved in a number of these meetings, I too thought the process was being driven by a small number of people. as you widened your reach, I think you got more input and I'm very pleased that you took that into consideration. While I see myself as a little bit as opposed to one of the earlier speakers as being kind of in the just say no camp, Um, You know, I think that everybody needs to keep an open mind and listen. So thank you very much for listening. |
| 01:51:57.70 | Linda Pfeiffer | Thank you. |
| 01:51:57.75 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 01:52:01.80 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, Mr. Clerk, I see no further hands. |
| 01:52:06.34 | Heidi Scoble | Madam Mayor, you are correct. We have no additional raised hands at the moment. |
| 01:52:11.15 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, very well. Then I will close public comment on this. and We have one more. Yeah, OK, hold on. We got just in the nick of time. |
| 01:52:16.85 | Heidi Scoble | Madam. |
| 01:52:17.44 | Unknown | Yeah. |
| 01:52:17.51 | Unknown | Yeah. |
| 01:52:19.99 | Jill Hoffman | I see one hand, it's a call-in user. Um, and so. |
| 01:52:24.60 | Heidi Scoble | up. Go ahead and unmute now. |
| 01:52:27.16 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 01:52:30.94 | Heidi Scoble | You can use start nine to unmute. |
| 01:52:36.32 | Jill Hoffman | Another calling user, we still can't, we cannot hear you. you need to take action on your end. which is press star and then nine, and that should unmute you. There you go. |
| 01:52:50.92 | Jill Hoffman | Hello, can you hear me? Yes, I can hear you, and you're calling in and talking about the... |
| 01:52:54.18 | Linda Pfeiffer | Thank you. |
| 01:52:55.53 | Jill Hoffman | 1128 ordinance? Yes. |
| 01:52:57.32 | Linda Pfeiffer | Okay, go ahead. Yes, so my name is Linda Pfeiffer. I'm a South Dakota resident, and as you know, I opposed the Council's original measure to gut ordinance 1128, which would have removed a South Dakota citizen's right to vote on the fate of downtown parking lots when removed for park. |
| 01:52:57.59 | Jill Hoffman | Yes. |
| 01:53:13.11 | Linda Pfeiffer | I wanna add that our county is in financial distress and this council defunded the police despite the escalated smash and grab theft from cars. And then this council gave $25,000 to a volunteer committee of architects to contravisions of bulldozing downtown parking spaces critical to pandemic hit restaurants. So I'm very happy that you're changing course and stepping back a little bit. kind of looking at what this design is instead of getting Orgnance 1128. I also wanted to comment that I looked back at the April 13th meeting and that April agenda did not mention 1128 as an agenda item. So 1128 supporters would not have known it was on the agenda. And finally, I wanted to say that I know that some people have commented that we must, quote, unpave the heart of Sausalito. And I just wanted to say, no, the people are the heart of Sausalito. Our small businesses, our restaurants fighting to survive the pandemic, they are the heart of Sausalito. And most importantly, resident participation is the heart of Sausal And Ordinance 1128 is the heartbeat of participation because it protects citizens' right to vote on major changes to parking lots impacting quality of life business survival and city revenue. So I urge the council to protect ordinance 1128 the heart and the spirit of Fossilito and Thank you for listening. Thank you. |
| 01:54:44.85 | Jill Hoffman | Bye. Okay, now I see no further hands. And so, now on, um, Now on that. I'm going to close public comment. And I will note that anyway, Okay, closing public comment. Um, moving on to our our council discussion and Mary if I could have So the direction from you is we would have a vote on the language that Councilmember Sobieski and I propose? Is that or is that direction? |
| 01:55:22.02 | Mary Wagner | We would need you to vote on that. Okay, great. If you'd like me to pull it back up, I certainly can. |
| 01:55:28.10 | Jill Hoffman | Yeah, yeah, if we can, you know, if somebody wants to make a motion, then we would just say motion of the language proposed by Councilmember by the working group. Can we see it again, though, what that would be? Yeah, yeah, yeah, of course, of course. |
| 01:55:37.77 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. |
| 01:55:38.86 | Mary Wagner | . Sure, give me one second. |
| 01:55:43.64 | Jill Hoffman | I'm assuming that we're going to have a discussion. Okay, good. I just want to make sure that we are clear on our process. So, okay. |
| 01:55:47.77 | Janelle Kellman | I'm sorry. |
| 01:55:47.89 | Mary Wagner | Yeah. |
| 01:55:48.16 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 01:55:48.26 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. I think it's a good thing. |
| 01:55:52.77 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, gotcha. Okay, so here's our language. And then I do see, I'll give you guys a minute, and then I do see, council member Laustein's hand is up, so I do see her hand up first. So. |
| 01:56:04.01 | Janelle Kellman | Hold on, I'm getting in there. Thank you. |
| 01:56:07.52 | Jill Hoffman | We always are good segues for each other though. I know, right. If I had it, we need to have it, you know, different colors or something, I can tell who's. |
| 01:56:10.22 | Melissa Blaustein | Right. |
| 01:56:10.44 | Judy | Thank you. |
| 01:56:15.63 | Jill Hoffman | Who's in the gate first? OK, so if anybody is ready to start our discussions, Go ahead, Councilman Blasting. |
| 01:56:22.97 | Melissa Blaustein | Okay, great. Well, again, I just really appreciate the working group for taking the time and I appreciate as the caller said, the heart of the community of Sauceleto for all of your feedback and how passionate folks are about both improving the downtown as a space for residents that we can all enjoy and also preserving the concerns our residents for parking and our businesses because it's really critical and we need to make sure especially after what we've experienced with covet that our businesses survive and one thing that i would really like to perhaps see in the working group recommendation as a priority and maybe added in somewhere is some language about sustainability and how we might do something to put a focus on mitigating the impacts of climate change as it relates to whatever a plan is might be for downtown. That might include the impacts of sea level rise or just thinking about how we can be more of a resiliency hub as we move forward. So I would really like to include that. We don't know how many cars we're gonna need, five, 10, 15 or 20 years from now. And I think that that should be included and considered as we look at this. I also appreciated that we are aware that the Ferry Landside project will prove to move forward if we do move forward with this working group recommendation. So I am still really excited about the possibility of phase one and a plaza for us downtown. And I think we can really work together as a community to come up with a solution that both provides for parking and the parking revenues that we need and creates a resilient and sustainable downtown for our residents and our visitors. So just really excited about that. The working group took the time to put this together. I'm hoping that we can all, come to consensus on this and again I appreciate the extra time that was spent and by not just by the council members and staff but by all of the community members who really came together to organize around this issue and make sure that we took the time necessary to consider resident feedback, so thank you. |
| 01:58:14.87 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. Vice Mayor Kellman. |
| 01:58:18.08 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you, yeah. So I'm gonna just run through a couple of the concerns that we had heard. And I just wanna echo Julie from the chambers sentiment. So as I mentioned, council members Sobieski and I did meet with I think it was I counted 45 merchants at Angelenos yesterday. so that we could understand how they would want us to approach something like this, what their concerns are, constraints might be. And one of the main things that we heard is it's not just a loss of potential loss of revenue to the city, but there's a lot of concern about capacity. And so I just want to say that out loud so that those folks who took the time to meet with us yesterday know that we did hear them. Um, coming into this meeting and not having had the benefit of this excellent work you guys have done, I had concerns about having a clear plan to vote on, um, what lots this was going to apply to. Um, what is the definition of a, of a park? I wasn't happy with the definition, definition provided to us. and where parking would go and how we would make up for lost revenue. And I think there's a real opportunity here for us to do, to create a revenue model, to look at possible scenarios, and I just hope that we can see that that we can see that we can see that that we can see that we can see that This is something that our city manager can find And I think that's a really, really, My overall feeling was that we do as Alice Merrill said, need to slow down and roll up our sleeves and do some homework here. to show the residents and the businesses that we're listening. So I think that the working group did that. I'm very impressed. I'm very grateful for the time and energy you put here. So a couple of things, So I just want to make sure that circulation and parking availability is a good way to do that. And I just want to make sure that the also capture the concept of capacity. And I don't want to lose that theme, just knowing how many, how many parking spots the hotels utilize and not just everyday visitors or even what our residents utilize. So I really want to make sure that gets folded in I would also love to see just the addition of a quick clause here. Um, in the sentence that starts and if such a design as possible, that it be developed into a form comma, through public workshops. which includes a budget, et cetera, et cetera. I want to make sure we capture that public engagement and public involvement in shaping this. And then there's sort of a theme here that doesn't need to get included, but I I hope Omit who's meeting on Thursday will look at, which is, you know, the city owns all the property around here. How do we make sure that we are always thinking about maximizing revenue from city owned properties and making sure we're putting it to the the uses that make sense for our residents and our businesses. So, um, adding some public workshop, and then just an acknowledgement of the idea that we actually own a lot of that space around that area. |
| 02:01:22.66 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, thank you. Um... you Councilmember Pleybo-Knowles? Do you have any comments? I'm just calling. |
| 02:01:28.01 | Ian Sobieski | any comments? I'm just calling. Yeah, thanks. I just want to |
| 02:01:30.10 | Jill Hoffman | Okay. Yeah. |
| 02:01:33.69 | Ian Sobieski | I want to appreciate the working group for the work that they did, and especially for listening to the downtown businesses. I think there was a lot of miss and maybe this was our fault a lot of misunderstanding and misinformation about what we were endeavoring to do with this proposal and it was certainly not in my mind, intended to negatively impact downtown businesses. Rather, the whole idea was to make downtown a more thriving, livable, visitable place, a place that residents wanted to go to. And we all know that resident serving businesses survive better in economic downturns and fluctuations. I mean, so part of this is to be more flexible and to not be so constrained, by 1128 and to be more innovative, to be more progressive with our parking demand management management strategies with other ways to get to downtown and be downtown, but certainly was not at all expected to take parking for our vulnerable residents and people that enjoy the downtown. And so we are gonna evolve travel patterns are already significantly evolving and we need to be ready to do that. So I hope that our plan has that element of flexibility in it. I think, you know, circulation, wayfinding, um, you know, we could add, I would like to make sure that we're adding wayfinding and sort of complete street concepts. I mean, part of it is to take to make it safer and less auto-centric. Even if we don't, we still have auto traffic downtown. It's very clogged up, it's very congested. I'm not sure. I would like to see, we say in this, with a designated landscape architect, I really continue to feel, I think I mentioned this at earlier meetings, that we really need a circulation traffic. consultant or engineer as well. I mean, this is the main kind of, it's a main hub. And I think one of the biggest issues right now is that there's not clear ways for various types of traffic to move pedestrians, bikes, cars, So landscape architect is really super important, but I would like to see some kind of transportation consultant involved too. I like the idea of adding in the public process. And I would favor having a very clear timeline set forth by staff that shows when the public will get points of input and when the city council will get input as well, and I would definitely like to have a city council meeting before the final, I would like to have a city council meeting early on in the process so that we have input on the plan. you know, after a couple of public workshops. I think, oh, the other thing on here, I would be in favor of, This says, and parking revenue to the city is not negatively impacted. I think the real issue is that our revenue picture is not impacted. So if there's a plan that has other forms of revenue I mean, I don't think we really care whether it's parking revenue or other revenue so that's not really a I mean, I care about the revenue. And whether that's from parking or some other creative solution, I'm not wedded. So that would be one other tweak. but overall I want to appreciate the working group's work on this. And I really hope we can have some really clear and good communication. on this process to avoid I felt was a lot of misinformation about what we were trying to do with this discussion. So thank you for that. |
| 02:06:12.69 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 02:06:12.70 | Linda Pfeiffer | Thank you. |
| 02:06:12.72 | Jill Hoffman | Okay? |
| 02:06:13.09 | Linda Pfeiffer | Thank you. |
| 02:06:13.65 | Jill Hoffman | Um, Let me, I'm gonna, I am gonna hand this over to Council Member Sobieski. Let me ask a clarifying question here real quick. And that I think will It may inform his comments and my comments. So, You know, we have this general broad language that we have in that we would use for our motion. But I've heard a lot of really good input Um, from the Council, But I'm wondering if... And Mary, you can weigh in on this too. I'm wondering if The motion and the vote is on the language that we've worked on but then we consider all the points that we've just heard from the council members because I don't I don't disagree with any of those points, actually. Can we include those? direction to the working group. as part of this. as part of this meeting. Instead of trying to wordsmith our language, our general language, our general sort of Um, scope of what we're going to work on. that we could vote on that. Cause it's, I mean, it's long, but it's shorter than what we started with, right? Um, And then all these other points, we consider those as direction to come back to the City Council when we come back to our next thing and say, this is the direction from the Council that we have, And this is where we're at on all of these other points. In other words, public workshops. sea level rise and climate change, wayfinding, complete streets, designated the traffic transportation consultant or at least, how we're speaking to that. And I think Councilman Sobieski might have some information on that too. Um, that we have clear communication early in the process on implementation of the plan and that And also, And then I want to talk about the parking revenue that council member point that council member Cleveland Knowles just brought up as a separate thing, so I'm gonna follow that with that. Can we do that, Mary? Can we just vote on the language of our alternate working group and then can we consider all these other things as direction instead of trying to wordsmith our general you know, language here. Do you think that would work? |
| 02:08:31.59 | Mary Wagner | did that That works from staff's perspective, Madam Mayor. |
| 02:08:34.12 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. Okay, that works for me, for the working group. Does that work for everybody else on the council? |
| 02:08:40.58 | Ian Sobieski | I think mayor, I thought you just had a really good list of the points that we made. And another suggestion would either be that that staff takes that list and we vote after our next item on they come back with a slightly revised recommendation or that we have something on our consent agenda at our next meeting, just so that we're memorialize what we think WE'VE ALL OF THEM. |
| 02:09:07.02 | Jill Hoffman | GREAT TO. |
| 02:09:07.63 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 02:09:08.14 | Jill Hoffman | Okay. How do you feel about that, Council? Let me ask Councilmember Sobieski how he feels about that, |
| 02:09:13.42 | Ian Sobieski | Well, I want everyone to be excited and comfortable. You go over in the other room and work on it right now. |
| 02:09:22.85 | Jill Hoffman | We have a pretty big item on the next time. |
| 02:09:25.05 | Ian Sobieski | Our next time is Quebec. We need to be. |
| 02:09:27.22 | Jill Hoffman | We need to be. Yeah, we need to be focused on the next thing, I think. So I would then, then I'm thinking maybe, |
| 02:09:31.73 | Ian Sobieski | Um, |
| 02:09:35.47 | Ian Sobieski | I would rather take a vote now. I don't like the idea of consent. If you don't mind, we have our August vacation. |
| 02:09:37.82 | Jill Hoffman | that Okay. |
| 02:09:39.59 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 02:09:41.99 | Ian Sobieski | It would be nice to have this memorialized today. |
| 02:09:45.80 | Mary Wagner | And not to bring back, okay, gotcha. |
| 02:09:46.93 | Ian Sobieski | Not America. |
| 02:09:47.62 | Ian Sobieski | Well, give it a quick just. |
| 02:09:50.43 | Mary Wagner | i apologize council members cleveland also |
| 02:09:50.51 | Ian Sobieski | I apologize. That's fine. I was just going to say, even if we just voted on this plus what Jill just listed, I'd be fine with that. And then it can get cleaned up by the working group. |
| 02:10:02.34 | Jill Hoffman | Oh, let's do that. OK. Yeah, Madam Mayor. |
| 02:10:03.39 | Mary Wagner | Thank you. |
| 02:10:03.40 | Ian Sobieski | Yeah. |
| 02:10:03.98 | Mary Wagner | I was going to make a similar suggestion, if I may, sorry to interrupt. Sure. That you could vote on this working group recommendation then also a vote on a motion to direct staff and the working group to incorporate and then reiterate the list. |
| 02:10:19.84 | Unknown | Okay? |
| 02:10:21.63 | Ian Sobieski | Okay. You have it on video, right? So that makes it easy to memorialize exactly what the mayor just delineated as the bullet points and that constitutes the list. |
| 02:10:21.68 | Mary Wagner | Okay. |
| 02:10:22.00 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 02:10:22.03 | Mary Wagner | We have a video. |
| 02:10:22.77 | Jill Hoffman | you know, |
| 02:10:30.88 | Jill Hoffman | Well, what was the first so we can? OK, just to be clear. are the we can have a motion to include the languages here and also the list of things that I read off. to be cleaned up. by the staff after this meeting, right? We can do that. |
| 02:10:50.16 | Mary Wagner | Madam Mayor, I think your motion would be to, if this is the council direction, which I'm hearing that it is, is to adopt and then vote upon the working group's recommendation that you have on your screen. You could then also, someone can move to direct that the working group and staff incorporate the following list of items. It would be helpful if you wouldn't mind reiterating them. If that's too hard, you can go back and pull up the list. So I suggest two motions. The first is the motion that you have in front of you on the screen. And then either combined with that is and direct staff and the working group incorporate the following points into the the design development and the workshops that could come forward. |
| 02:11:35.00 | Jill Hoffman | Okay. So. then I would suggest that we Do the motion. And then Do the motion on the language? Someone make a motion on the language as it's written? |
| 02:11:48.15 | Ian Sobieski | as it's written. I'll move the alternate working group recommendation as written with the subsequent motion to be made by you. Not in there. |
| 02:11:56.84 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, so I'll second this motion. Everybody. how we're going? Okay. All right. Mr. Clerk, can you please take the roll? |
| 02:12:08.46 | Heidi Scoble | Council member Sobieski? Council Member Belousteen. |
| 02:12:13.51 | Allie Baer | Yes. |
| 02:12:14.59 | Heidi Scoble | Council Member Cleveland Knowles. |
| 02:12:18.27 | Ian Sobieski | Yeah, yes. I mean, I thought we were doing this with our modifications that the mayor just read, but that's fine. |
| 02:12:26.08 | Jill Hoffman | That's going to be our next motion. |
| 02:12:28.71 | Jill Hoffman | Okay. OK. Yes. |
| 02:12:32.76 | Heidi Scoble | Vice Mayor Kellman. |
| 02:12:34.40 | Jill Hoffman | Yes. |
| 02:12:35.77 | Heidi Scoble | And Mayor Hoffman. |
| 02:12:37.07 | Jill Hoffman | Yes. OK, motion passes 5-0. And then, So I can never say anything twice. usually even though I have notes here but so I'm just going to make the motion that that that staff, review review the video and get the things that I read off. and that those be incorporated into Um, the action that the council member, that the working group is going to take going forward. that. Exactly. |
| 02:13:09.18 | Ian Sobieski | Close enough. I'll second that. |
| 02:13:09.47 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 02:13:09.50 | Ian Sobieski | Oh, yeah. |
| 02:13:09.72 | Jill Hoffman | So, |
| 02:13:09.77 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 02:13:09.84 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 02:13:11.61 | Ian Sobieski | Can I just ask Mayor Hoffman, you said you had comments about my comment on parking revenue? |
| 02:13:19.42 | Jill Hoffman | Oh, parking revenue. |
| 02:13:24.74 | Ian Sobieski | was, you know, |
| 02:13:25.02 | Jill Hoffman | I got it. |
| 02:13:25.06 | Ian Sobieski | I had one at the... |
| 02:13:26.66 | Jill Hoffman | I had a comment on your traffic engineer. issue. |
| 02:13:30.48 | Ian Sobieski | Oh, I thought you said the parking revenue, but that's fine. Did you want to talk about that? |
| 02:13:36.03 | Jill Hoffman | before we've done that. |
| 02:13:36.77 | Ian Sobieski | out. |
| 02:13:37.60 | Jill Hoffman | Yeah, well, let me just say that the design group with regard to traffic flow, because I had the same, actually, the exact same thing that I talked with Council Member Sobieski, My understanding is that the If that's necessary, then I have no objection to it. But our design professional that we're working with, that's one of the core competencies that he has and works on. It may be that that issue is addressed by him, but I don't, Council Member Sobieski might want to weigh in at this moment. |
| 02:14:09.39 | Ian Sobieski | It's the core competency that I was interested in, not any particular person. That's what I thought. |
| 02:14:09.47 | Unknown | about. |
| 02:14:09.73 | Jill Hoffman | for it. |
| 02:14:10.05 | Ian Sobieski | Yeah. |
| 02:14:16.29 | Ian Sobieski | That's right. And, uh, you know, there, obviously we've just added a bunch of little pieces here. So there may be some need to, um, supplement, uh, activities, but it should be modest in cost and the city manager said that he's comfortable that he can quarterback this. |
| 02:14:33.39 | Jill Hoffman | Does that answer your question, Councilman? I believe I know. Okay, thank you. |
| 02:14:36.54 | Ian Sobieski | Yes, thank you. |
| 02:14:37.15 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 02:14:37.79 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, so I think there's a motion on the table. |
| 02:14:41.30 | Janelle Kellman | Were you going to list off though, just for, |
| 02:14:43.75 | Jill Hoffman | I mean, it's recorded, so we do have it. We can go back. Yeah, I was gonna ask just to go back and look at it, |
| 02:14:50.63 | Ian Sobieski | Everything that I was interested in was included on the list, as long as the parking revenue was also part of your list. |
| 02:14:50.78 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 02:14:50.82 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 02:14:50.83 | Unknown | Okay. |
| 02:15:00.08 | Jill Hoffman | Yes, I think it was. |
| 02:15:03.09 | Ian Sobieski | If not, we just add it just right now. |
| 02:15:05.62 | Unknown | So added. Okay. OK. Thank you. |
| 02:15:09.99 | Heidi Scoble | I second it. |
| 02:15:10.04 | Unknown | Can I second you? Second? Okay. Thanks. Okay, roll vote, please. |
| 02:15:15.56 | Heidi Scoble | Council member Sobieski? Council member Blaustein? |
| 02:15:20.11 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 02:15:20.13 | Lori | Yes. |
| 02:15:21.12 | Heidi Scoble | Council member Cleveland Knowles. |
| 02:15:22.81 | Lori | Yes. |
| 02:15:23.18 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 02:15:23.98 | Heidi Scoble | Vice Mayor Kellman. |
| 02:15:25.19 | Lori | Thank you. |
| 02:15:25.28 | Jill Hoffman | the |
| 02:15:25.44 | Lori | Thank you. |
| 02:15:26.09 | Heidi Scoble | Mayor Hoffman. |
| 02:15:27.20 | Jill Hoffman | Yes. OK, very good. Moving on to our next item on the agenda is ITEM 7. C. which is? a citizen's initiative. petition to repeal existing regulations and authorize one storefront and one delivery only cannabis business to operate in the city of Sausalito. And again, our city attorney is going to make that presentation. And this is a 10-minute presentation. |
| 02:15:57.57 | Mary Wagner | Thank you. Thank you, Madam Mayor. I will talk as quickly as I can. And I'm going to share my screen again, so don't start by 10 minutes until I get that Thank you. How it going? |
| 02:16:15.56 | Mary Wagner | So thank you, Madam Mayor, members of the city council. Again, I'm Mary Wagner, your city attorney. We have another ballot issue to discuss tonight, but this one's come to you through a different pathway. As the mayor indicated, it's regarding a citizen's initiative for cannabis regulations that would repeal the existing city regulations and authorize one storefront and one delivery only cannabis business to operate in the city of Sausalito. |
| 02:16:29.01 | Unknown | with the mayor |
| 02:16:44.98 | Mary Wagner | Thank you. This item is being brought forth through the initiative process in the elections code. It started with a notice of intent to circulate a petition being filed with the city clerk's office. That happened in April of 2021. The proponent of the initiative then published the notice of intent and filed the affidavit of publication with the city clerk. The petition was then circulated for signatures and it's required to receive not less than 10% of the registered voters in the city in order to qualify to come back for you for your consideration tonight. That number is 601 valid signatures. On June 29th, a petition with 824 signatures was filed with the city clerk. The city clerk verified initially the signatures and then submitted it to the Marin County Registrar of Voters who certified that the petition had received 653 valid signatures. Under the provisions of the election code, when a petition receives the requisite number of signatures, the petition must be brought to the city council at the council's next regular meeting following certification. And that is your meeting tonight. |
| 02:18:03.09 | Mary Wagner | The city's existing cannabis regulations are found in the zoning ordinance, specifically chapter 10.47 of the municipal code. Currently, all medical, recreational, commercial, and delivery marijuana businesses are prohibited from operating from locations in the city. Cultivation of marijuana is also prohibited, except for indoor cultivation allowed by state law. Existing regulations do allow for the delivery of medical and adult use marijuana from businesses that are located outside of the city of Sausalito. The city has been involved in a process looking at the establishment of cannabis retail operations. You heard, um, last heard this as a consent item on January 26th. You also considered it on November 10th and the council considered it on September 8th. |
| 02:18:57.61 | Mary Wagner | The proposed initiative, as I indicated previously, would eliminate the city's existing regulations. There's an ordinance being proposed that would authorize two cannabis retailers, one storefront retailer and one delivery only business. |
| 02:19:14.71 | Mary Wagner | The proposed initiative defines both of those terms. A delivery, excuse me, a storefront retailer is a business that sells and delivers cannabis products to age verified adults from a storefront. And under the proposed initiative, it would be allowed in these zones, the central commercial, commercial residential, neighborhood commercial, commercial waterfront, shopping center, industrial and waterfront, including a permanently moored structure. The delivery only business, as the name implies, would be a business that delivers cannabis products to age verified adults from a location that's closed to the public. |
| 02:19:40.88 | Unknown | delivery-only business? Bye. |
| 02:19:50.62 | Mary Wagner | It would be allowed in the commercial waterfront and industrial zones. The location of either of these types of businesses, storefront, retail, or delivery only has to be at least 1000 feet from any school. |
| 02:20:05.54 | Mary Wagner | The proposed initiative includes minimum application standards that I've listed the majority of them here. They're pretty narrowly tailored. Somebody has to apply with one owner that resides in the city, an owner with experience managing, operating, or owning a business in the city of Sausalito, an owner with experience managing, operating, or owning a licensed storefront cannabis retail business in California with respect to the storefront business. An owner with experience managing, operating, or owning a social equity cannabis business. Someone who has expressed their interest in operating a cannabis business to the council between these specified dates of December 31 of 2018 and April 20 of 2021. That owner or applicant must have hosted or co-hosted two community outreach meetings, attended at least three meetings of community organizations in the city, and met with one faith-based leader to discuss their interest in operating a storefront or delivery only cannabis business in the city before April 10 of 2021. They also would commit to $300,000 in community benefits in the first five years of operation. |
| 02:21:20.21 | Mary Wagner | In the proposed ordinance, it provides that if only one applicant meets these minimum application standards for either type of business, that applicant is entitled to a license. If nobody meets the minimum standards applicable to each type of license, other applications could be considered. And if there are multiple applicants for either type of business, the initiative describes criteria for evaluating those applicants and a process for selecting among them. |
| 02:21:48.73 | Mary Wagner | The proposed initiative also indicates that recipients of a storefront retail and delivery only license must pay the city the greater of 7.5% of their net profits or $50,000 a year. and the city can charge its reasonable registration and fees to recover costs incurred to regulate the businesses. It includes these things as well, hours of operation, requirements for security, requirements for verifying that patrons are over 21, 21 or over, excuse me, or 18 if they have a valid medical documentation, regulates odors, signage, lighting, and it prohibits the sale of alcohol, tobacco and tobacco vape products. |
| 02:22:38.09 | Mary Wagner | Now with respect to the council's, the request to the council tonight and the items that are before you, California election code is very specific about the steps that the council can take once it receives a valid initiative. The council can adopt the ordinance without alteration as presented at this meeting at which the certification is presented or within 10 days thereafter. You can submit the ordinance without alteration to the voters pursuant to elections code section 1405 or you can order a report that's defined in elections code section 9212 at this meeting at which the certification is presented. The report has to be presented to the council in a certain timeframe. When you get that report, you're required to take either the prior two actions, either adopt the ordinance without alteration or within 10 days or at that meeting or order the election as outlined in subdivision B. So I'll go through each one of these for you. I thought it would be important to note that per the elections code, no ordinance that is proposed by initiative and adopted by a vote of the city council or submitted to the voters and adopted by the voters can be repealed or amended except by a vote of the people unless provision is otherwise made in the original ordinance. |
| 02:24:02.44 | Mary Wagner | So if the council decides tonight to place the measure on the ballot for consideration, you are required to do it at the city's next regular election, which would be November 8th, 2022. The elections code specifically says it's at the jurisdictions next regular election and pursuant to Sausalito Municipal Code section 2.52020. The city's general municipal elections are on in November of each even number year. There has been discussion and I believe the ballot proponent has indicated that they believe that the next regular election in Sausalito is the June statewide primary. I think that ignores the language in the elections code that says it's the jurisdictions election. not an election held within the jurisdiction. That being said, you also have the option to place the measure on the ballot at a special election that occurs before the November 8th. 2022 election if you choose to put it on the ballot. |
| 02:25:07.13 | Mary Wagner | The council also has the option this evening to order the report that I mentioned previously, that's defined in section 9212 of the elections code that would need to be presented to the council within 30 days of this action tonight. And that would be August 26th that the report would be presented. It can include any of the list of items that are set forth in the elections code. And it can also include any other matters that the city council requests be in that report. I won't walk through each of those, but if you'd like me to, I can come back to that list. Excuse me. As indicated in the item you just considered regarding 1128, election costs are generally for regular elections. They're estimated to be between $1.75 to $3 per registered voter. Special elections are typically more expensive, and that cost varies depending on how many other agencies are conducting an election at the same time. If they are, then those costs could be shared. If not, the full cost would be borne by the city and that could be upwards. of $20 per registered voter. So our recommendation to you tonight is that you take one of the actions that are mandated under the elections code to either adopt the proposed ordinance as presented to submit the proposed ordinance to the voters at the city's next regular election on November 8, 2022. Submit the proposed ordinance to the voters at a special election occurring before November 8th, 2022. or order the report that's outlined in the elections code to be presented to the council within 30 days that is on or before August 26, 2021. And with that, Madam Mayor, members of the council, I'm available for any questions. I believe your community development director is also available if you have questions about the prior process that the city was going through and or the city's existing regulations. And with that, I will stop screen sharing. |
| 02:27:10.67 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you, City Attorney, for that very thorough um, THE CITY IS GOING TO BE scope of what we're going to address here tonight. And so do we have any questions from our city council? the Vice Mayor's hand up. So Vice Mayor Kelman, go ahead. |
| 02:27:26.97 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. Thank you. Thank you, Mary. That was a very thorough and helpful presentation. Can you just clarify? So we saw a couple of pieces of the thousand foot buffer. And I understand that this, This initiative has some constraints is is the 1000 feet sort of as the crow flies, which is normally a kind of how we do, whether you're in violation, how would we measure that? |
| 02:27:52.10 | Mary Wagner | That is actually defined in the |
| 02:27:52.18 | Janelle Kellman | It is absolutely... |
| 02:27:55.45 | Mary Wagner | initiative, Madam Mayor. And if you give me excuse me, Madam Vice Mayor, if you give me a second, I can find that for you. |
| 02:27:59.18 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 02:28:01.46 | Mary Wagner | Thank you. And if you'd like to come back to it, I'm happy to to do that as well and not keep everybody ready. |
| 02:28:07.18 | Janelle Kellman | Sorry to clarify, yeah, no, I I'm aware that it is defined. I I'm asking is that consistent with how we normally define Um, distance from something, spheres of influence or whatever it might be. |
| 02:28:19.23 | Mary Wagner | I believe so. I mean, maybe more like the 300 foot radius is more or the 500 foot radius, 300 feet for noticing, 500 feet for conflicts of interest are done all around the business. I could use some help from your community development director in answering your question, your specific question about whether this is the same way that we would define that. |
| 02:28:38.64 | Unknown | This includes learning about barriers another option is right. |
| 02:28:45.18 | Mary Wagner | Yeah, I'm trying to find it for you, Madam Vice Mayor. |
| 02:28:47.12 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 02:28:47.33 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 02:28:48.24 | Ian Sobieski | And actually, if I could just add on to that question for our city attorney, if there's a requirement in state law for how far away from a school or other site that an establishment would need to be. |
| 02:29:09.77 | Mary Wagner | Sure, I'm happy to find those for you and then return back perhaps after you've either gotten public comment or when other questions have been addressed. |
| 02:29:17.62 | Jill Hoffman | OK, thank you. Thank you. Thanks. Do we have any other questions from council members before we move on to public comment? So I have a comment. It's a little bit... you know. a little bit. So, irregular, but I think this will help focus people on public comment. So The way I'm leaning right now before public comment is to call for a report. to have us back come back in 30 days with this additional information. And Part of that would be, the questions that were just asked by Councilman Kelman and by the by Councilmember Cleveland Knowles. I did I did send a few questions into the into the City Attorney earlier today, That was one of them. There were a couple other questions that I asked to be part of the report to come back in 30 days. But understanding that this is going to be a vote of the council, right? Just to be clear, what we're doing tonight is were either adopting the ordinance as it was approved by the voters we're going to refer it to the next regularly held election or We're going to ask for a report for additional information regarding the, uh, regarding the initiative. to be returned to us in 30 days. And then we would go back to, OK, are we going to adopt this. as it's been qualified for the ballot as an ordinance or are we going to refer it to an election? So that's kind of the flow. Um, And, So Mary, I see that you're sharing the screen with us. Did you mean to do that? |
| 02:31:03.39 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. Someone is sharing their screen with us. AND I THINK IT'S A Mary, are you sure? Thank you. uh, Mary, are you sharing your screen with us? Hello? |
| 02:31:17.68 | Mary Wagner | I'm still here, I'm trying to unshare this screen. I don't know how that works. |
| 02:31:18.14 | Ian Sobieski | I'm trying to unshare the screen. I don't know how that happened. Okay, sorry. We're reviewing CC Brown's screen. I think C.C. Brown was given... given co-host privileges inadvertently. |
| 02:31:31.20 | Unknown | Oh. Okay. |
| 02:31:32.26 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 02:31:32.70 | Ian Sobieski | I can't get out of it. There's almost Merrill's email. |
| 02:31:33.53 | Jill Hoffman | Yeah. There we go. Alright well thank you for that explanation Councilmember Sobieski it's always exciting here at the City Council meeting. if there's yes uh okay so i see both vice mayor kelman and councilman fluvinoles have their hands up again did you guys have further questions or comments in line of mine. So Councilmember Cleveland Knowles, go ahead. You're on mute. There you go. |
| 02:32:00.12 | Ian Sobieski | . Yeah, thank you, Mayor. My question was actually to the working group on this issue, which is just sort of where this process left off in the city process, because I had thought, You know, a while back, you had designated two folks on the city council to kind of have some additional public outreach, et cetera. |
| 02:32:25.56 | Unknown | Well, |
| 02:32:25.99 | Ian Sobieski | And then all of a sudden, we've got this initiative. So I was just wondering if, I think it was council members Sobieski and Blaustein, if they could just remind us kind of how, what work they had done and where we were when we got this initiative petition. |
| 02:32:42.67 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 02:32:48.62 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 02:32:48.64 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 02:32:48.69 | Ian Sobieski | Okay. |
| 02:32:48.86 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 02:32:48.96 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 02:32:49.03 | Jill Hoffman | THANK YOU. |
| 02:32:49.40 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 02:32:49.52 | Jill Hoffman | Sure, I'll let the working group give us something. My understanding was the initiative ballot and it just sort of overtook their efforts, but Go ahead. either Councilmember Sobieski or Councilmember Blasden, go ahead. |
| 02:33:00.98 | Melissa Blaustein | Council member Sobhie Eske and I were in the process of trying to gather community input on the issue. So we had developed a mailing list for folks that were interested specifically in cannabis and we had worked to try and host a sort of new approach community forum where we would hear from folks that were in both in favor of and opposed to the cannabis storefront and around that time, the, ballot measure. came to fruition or became part of the the conversation around what would happen with cannabis. And so at that point, and council member Sobieski please weigh in if I'm missing something, but at that point, we sort of took a step back from the working group in order to see how the ballot measure would evolve |
| 02:33:43.30 | Ian Sobieski | That's correct. It's all short circuited by the fact that at least our working groups activities who are short circuited by the to be actually a legal initiative. |
| 02:33:55.30 | Linda Pfeiffer | Okay, thank you. Does that answer your question, Councilmember? you |
| 02:33:59.03 | Jill Hoffman | and also. |
| 02:33:59.40 | Linda Pfeiffer | Thank you. |
| 02:33:59.41 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. Yep, thank you. |
| 02:34:01.14 | Linda Pfeiffer | Thank you. |
| 02:34:01.67 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 02:34:01.69 | Linda Pfeiffer | Thank you. |
| 02:34:01.71 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. Okay, so no further questions and we'll move on to public comment. I see several hands up and so As usual, I'm just going to let the clerk call the names, and I'm going to note again that we're limiting public comment tonight to two minutes and we did I will amount people that we we do look at your written comments and we take them very seriously and so um, Anyway. Go ahead. |
| 02:34:33.26 | Heidi Scoble | We're going to start off with Eric. You've been unmuted and Esther shared your video. |
| 02:34:42.73 | Eric Sklar | Good evening. Can you hear me? |
| 02:34:44.86 | Linda Pfeiffer | Yes, thank you. |
| 02:34:45.95 | Eric Sklar | my name is Eric Sklar with Napa Valley Fume we're a vertically integrated cannabis company located up in the North Bay I spend a lot of time in Sausalito probably more than St. Helena where I live because I have a sailboat that's been in Clipper Harbor for 10 years and had one in the Yacht Harbor for 10 years before that and I'm a public official former public official city council member for St. Helena planning commissioner and currently on the California Fish and Game Commission so I have some experience with both writing regulations writing ordinances and ballot measures for that matter and this ballot measure the short-circuiting of process the city put in place with a working group to develop the right ordinance for St. Helena it's a blatant attempt by one business to write an ordinance that only allows them to have a chance to get the one license that's being offered you can see that in the way they said you have to have a certain number meetings. That is actually not allowed in state law to write an ordinance that secretly tries to make one business the winner of a process. And so I would ask that you do a report, but ask your city attorney to analyze that part of the ballot measure. Because if it happens, there's a likely lawsuit that will occur by other businesses that feel like they were cheated by this illegal ballot measure, it will create havoc i would encourage the proponents of this to withdraw this clearly blatantly attempt to try to circumvent sasolito deciding what's best for sausalito and insert their business in without a beauty contest that picks the best businesses for sausalito so again i would encourage you to do a report to analyze that one particular issue in addition to all the others that you think are important to analyze in the report. And I would encourage a discussion with that the proponents to withdraw the ballot measure, submit one that's actually legal and fair if they want to do that. It's not very hard. They only need a couple hundred signatures. It didn't take them very long. Or better yet, to trust the city council, the people of Sausalito to to do a process that creates a ballot an ordinance that's good for Sausalito. Thank you very much. |
| 02:36:33.89 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 02:36:37.74 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is Derek. Derek, you've been unmuted. and as to share your video. |
| 02:36:56.23 | Derek | Hi, Madam Mayor and Madam Vice Mayor and members of the city council. Thank you for taking a moment to hear from me. I'll be brief. I don't live in Sausalito. I spend a lot of time in Sausalito. But what I do and have done for many years in the city and County of San Francisco is as both a neighborhood activist and a chief of staff to a member of the County Board of Supervisors in the city of San Francisco, in the county of San Francisco, I have worked closely with cannabis businesses and in every instance, upwards of two dozen. They've all proved to be valuable members of the community. They've also proved to be very hesitant to not be strong members of the community because this is a fairly new industry after 100 years of propaganda and fear promoted by various entities they are very very aware of state and local laws and are probably more of paying attention to those laws and paying attention to community standards than a lot of businesses that come into our communities today. So my experience working with cannabis businesses is they are positive influences on communities. They hire a lot of good young people who don't have those fears. And I hope that the council tonight will vote to support the 77% of people of Sausalito, the voters of Sausalito who supported Prop 64, 77%. and allow this ordinance to pass tonight as proposed by the promoters. I thank you for your time and I hope that you all have a good evening. You have a very interesting initiative in front of you. Thank you. Thank you. |
| 02:39:00.02 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 02:39:00.16 | Derek | Thank you. |
| 02:39:05.38 | Heidi Scoble | Alicia, you've been unmuted and has to share your video. |
| 02:39:08.41 | Alicia Leach | Thank you. Greetings, council members. Alicia Leach here. I am a resident of Sausalito since 2005. I am a mother of two teenage kids who have all gone to school in Sausalito. and one is now going off to school at TAM. Um, I asked today that you as city council members do not adopt this ordinance as it Further to the gentleman before me, I did vote to legalize and decriminalize. cannabis. I did not vote to put a storefront near a school. And currently, the way the initiative is written THE FAMILY. the person or the company such as Otter Brands who would win this because they're the only ones who would qualify based on what they've written. would be able to get around their own 1,000 foot I think that's a good question. distance from a school. part of the initiative. And right now, their most likely location of the storefront would be 3000 Bridgeway. They've said that publicly and they haven't offered up a second option. And that is at the base of three K through eight schools. It's also right along the path for high school kids to go to TAM. They're going to sell medical marijuana to 18 year olds and you've got a hundred some 18 year olds who are entering TAM. in a few weeks. as seniors. And there's nothing in there that says that they would keep 18 year olds from purchasing from their storefront. So I feel that any argument in support of this location is predatory. And I think we need to address that head on with this follow-up report that you request of Otter Brands. Thank you. |
| 02:41:12.97 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 02:41:15.97 | Heidi Scoble | Michelle, you're being unmuted. and ask to share your video. |
| 02:41:21.29 | Michelle | Hi. Thank you. As for my public comment on record, please do not adopt the initiative put forth by Ottergrant. at the very least. The city council should select option number four so the community can understand how a marijuana forefront will impact our community, especially the young adults in our county. Autograms has emphasized that they will not sell marijuana to people under 21, except with valid medical documentation. Medical marijuana cards are available to anyone in California, 18, 19, or 20, with a heartbeat, half a brain, and cash. as you can see on pop-up ads on any of Marin's delivery website. My own son, who will always be 18 years old, Trevor, received his medical marijuana card from an infamous doctor in Malibu via FedEx the day after he turned 18. Despite his being in and out of four addiction treatment programs, and having been diagnosed with cannabis use disorder at age 15. Today's high-potency THC products caused his addiction and caused his death. Please know one in six young adults become addicted to today's pot. And yes, it is a gateway drug. As my other son, a very alive 19 year old will tell you, getting a medical marijuana card in California is a total joke and one of the easiest legal documents to procure. And by opening a retail cannabis store in Sausalito, there will be a slew of 18, 19, and 20-year-olds lined up to legally purchase a harmful drug and its high-potency derivatives in our county, as there is no medical marijuana card statute or THC limits within any California law. please look at my letter and learn about what Colorado has done recently to protect our youth. Thank you. Thank you. |
| 02:43:26.28 | Heidi Scoble | Judy, if you've been unmuted and asked to share your video, |
| 02:43:32.07 | Judy | Hi, good evening mayor and city council. As a full time resident of Sausalito since 1995, Can you hear me and see me? |
| 02:43:40.28 | Jill Hoffman | Yes, yes, we can. Thank you. |
| 02:43:42.65 | Judy | Bye. |
| 02:43:42.68 | Jill Hoffman | Bye. |
| 02:43:42.95 | Judy | Thank you. I've appeared before you several times on this topic. I am not opposed to the use of or home delivery of cannabis to adults. I'm in favor of the research of esteemed Bay Area scientists who are now doing research into the uses of for the non-addictive and non-dictive mind-altering properties of cannabis to treat Disease. Regarding the staff report, As a community member, I'm extremely concerned that one cannabis business benefits from the ordinance to begin with. And there has been, From what I can see, no input from public health officials, from scientists. and without input from educators. I'm disappointed that our city's not soliciting the input of public health officials and scientists and educators. After asking the council members and the city clerk to be informed of the community meetings that I had I was told you were putting together And as you told me to do, give you my email address, which I did, I was never contacted. So I never had an opportunity to go to those meetings. And so I remain, unfortunately, completely unconvinced that a real effort was made to get the public input on this matter. And so with so many questions raised, even about the integrity of the ordinance and the ballot measure itself, the only appropriate possible actions for the city council to take at this moment would be to ask for the report. Although if it's a report coming from the cannabis provider I, I, I, would not trust that, I'm sorry to say. from what they've done so far. but otherwise to go directly to the |
| 02:45:34.46 | Heidi Scoble | Judy, your two minutes have elapsed. |
| 02:45:37.43 | Judy | Thank you. |
| 02:45:41.72 | Heidi Scoble | You're a good friend. Have been asked to be unmuted. |
| 02:45:46.31 | Meg Boynton | Hi, thank you, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Council, and staff. I'm Meg Boynton. You've heard from me for over three years on this topic. |
| 02:45:51.62 | Unknown | Mm-hmm. |
| 02:45:55.59 | Meg Boynton | I just wanted to kind of remind council that in 2016, Falkolito voted in favor of adult use cannabis and overwhelming majority. In fact, it was higher than the state. Since then I've read subsequent polling that this community has also demonstrated an overwhelming majority in favor of vaccine regulations. The very fact that this agenda item exists means you have a mandate And I'd like to urge Council to adopt the ordinance as is. In closing, I'd like to read a statement from Chip Larimore, a resident who couldn't be here tonight. A statement for the Sausalito City Council on July 27. Hi, my name is Chip Larimore. I'm sorry I could not speak tonight, but I'm in New York and the time difference made it difficult for me to log into a meeting this late. My husband and I have been residents of Sausalito for the past 10 years. We've raised our son in Sausalito. We own a home in Sausalito. We love Sausalito and plan to retire here. One of the reasons we made that decision is that we appreciate the progressive, open-minded nature of this community. The citizens of Saucyedo care about each other, but part of that caring is reflected in how we respect our differences and stand up for the right of each person or household to live their lives the way they choose. We support this measure for the following reasons. The proposed business is legal and the plans for it have been well thought out. We have come to know the prospective owners and consider them to be both professional and committed to supporting the community of Sausalito. To deny this business would be hypocritical given that there are businesses on both Caledonia Street and on Bridgeway downtown that sell alcohol in far less controlled manner than this business would sell cannabis. 70% of Sausalito voters have already said yes to this proposal. I urge the city council to pass this measure as is. Thank you, Council. |
| 02:47:35.98 | Unknown | THANK YOU. |
| 02:47:38.39 | Meg Boynton | Thank you. |
| 02:47:38.56 | Heidi Scoble | Thank you. |
| 02:47:41.78 | Heidi Scoble | Next speaker is Alice. B. |
| 02:47:52.77 | Allie Baer | Hello, good evening, council members. I'm Allie Baer and thank you for this chance to speak about the proposed ordinance. um, I'm also a Sausalito resident. I've been living here for over 10 years. Both my daughters have gone to school here since preschool and kindergarten, and both my husband and I work here in town. And I know back, I don't know if it was even earlier than 2019, but that our city adopted the ordinance banning. cannabis businesses from operating within our city limits and I also understand that the city has since responded probably to fairly constant push by residents and cannabis businesses to repeal this ban. and, And I wanted to note more around, talk more around the public health aspect of it. public health has become a critical focus area and both mental and physical health are top of mind not just for federal government as well as businesses across industry. Given this, I'm also asking our city Council to pause on adopting this ordinance and further examine the health impact. of appealing our original band. and definitely inviting our community to vote on all future cannabis related propositions. I'm also a proponent of legalized marijuana. But I also know that pausing on this ordinance doesn't deprive any of us from legally buying weed. And we can still have it delivered straight to our front door. And I believe the city still gains tax revenue through these deliveries. I did some preliminary research online and I wasn't able to confirm this a hundred percent, but I, My assumption is that I know there is a state tax that's still charged that goes to the, that's based on where the delivery is made. Um, And in our city council meeting last February, I shared just my own experience of witnessing |
| 02:49:56.29 | Heidi Scoble | your three minutes have elapsed. minutes. |
| 02:49:59.33 | Allie Baer | Thank you. Thank you. |
| 02:50:01.91 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is Bill. M. Vail of View. been unmuted. |
| 02:50:13.74 | Susan | Hi, I was just unmuted, but my name is |
| 02:50:21.56 | Jill Hoffman | Um, Bill, the, yeah. |
| 02:50:23.75 | Bill | I'm trying to speak to you. |
| 02:50:24.97 | Jill Hoffman | Yes, Bill. Yes, we can hear you, Bill. |
| 02:50:27.02 | Bill | Okay, hi, just quickly, I spent over I'm a retired juvenile probation officer the course of my career at a local county I handled hundreds, if not thousands of cases of young people who got into trouble. A lot of them were under the influence of, uh, various substances. I can assure you that none of them purchased them from a cannabis outlet or store. They were all purchased on the black market. I could also assure that parents of the Tam High students and others that, if any student wants to find a drug, they can get it illegally. I am not a user of the product myself. but in my age group, which is senior citizens, I have many, family members and friends who would like the opportunity to purchase the product. shop and the comment about where it would be located, THE FUTURE OF THE FUTURE I believe there's a liquor store right across from 30 or 3000 Bridgeway and certainly the alcohol I'm not sure. availability is a problem. a Safeway store right across from Tam High which is less than a thousand feet. and students can go in there Uh, somehow obtain alcohol if they wish so I urge the council to support the ordinance and adopt it thank you |
| 02:51:48.73 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 02:51:49.04 | Heidi Scoble | Thank you. |
| 02:51:49.05 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 02:51:52.38 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is under the name of Pineapple. |
| 02:52:05.37 | Susan | Hello, my name is Susan. Apologies, I couldn't change my name soon. So I have been working in the public health field since 2003. I've been with UCSF Medical Center. 2009, so about 12 years. And prior to that, I worked in substance abuse for four years at an inpatient medical treatment center. and I am in support of you passing the ordinance tonight. I would say that regulated cannabis has proved to be safe, it's tested and it is better at reducing teen use than an unregulated market, which is what we have right now. So I would strongly you to pass this thing. Thank you. Thank you. |
| 02:53:02.66 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is Tony Bellissimo. |
| 02:53:10.20 | Heidi Scoble | Tony, you've been unmuted. |
| 02:53:14.27 | Tony Bellissimo | Thank you. I appreciate the opportunity. to address council this evening. Um, I do think that As a community, it would be extremely helpful to apply regulations to these types of products. And I don't think we're able to do that now because basically what we have operating in Southern Marin and Sausalito are illegal markets. And they're markets by which children can obtain illegal substances. The substances they obtain have not been regulated, tested, and or determined to be safe in any manner whatsoever. By applying regulation to these products, I think it makes it safer not only for adults that are allowed to purchase these illegally |
| 02:54:13.17 | Unknown | legally. |
| 02:54:14.33 | Tony Bellissimo | but it makes it, in the event that these products do overflow into the general community. It's just very concerning to me when I hear that there's discussion about the and is the thousand foot rule as the crow flies or, with a measuring tape. that we're going to be I am 100% confident having been a coach in Southern Marin and one of the original founders of a community outreach program in Marin City, I'm very confident that the drug dealers don't stay a thousand feet away. And I think any type of regulation that we can apply to these substances will help to eliminate the illegal channels of drug dealers. by which they're distributed now. So I would strongly urge Sausalito to get in the game here. and start regulating these products apply some Tony your three minutes have elapsed |
| 02:55:20.97 | Heidi Scoble | Thank you. |
| 02:55:21.41 | Tony Bellissimo | Thank you. |
| 02:55:21.44 | Heidi Scoble | Thank you. |
| 02:55:22.47 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 02:55:24.87 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is Why? Bellissimo. |
| 02:55:34.94 | Heidi Scoble | and you'll need to unmute on your side. |
| 02:55:37.08 | Dwight | Perfect. Hello, my name is Dwight. I am a TAM 2020 graduate. And I'm pretty well versed in like the culture that I've seen there regarding marijuana. And the biggest thing I saw there was that If you were going to get weed, you would get it. And it is really easy to get it from a drug dealer, and it's really difficult to get it from a dispensary. And if someone had a fake ID and they wanted to go get it from a dispensary, they wouldn't take that risk because they wouldn't want to lose it. So I'm 100% in favor of adopting this ordinance because I've just seen a lot of my friends have horrible experiences from unregulated weed and they've been in really dangerous situations that have scared me. So I'm 100% in favor of of adopting this. And the real issue here is that of opioid use and binge drinking and also nicotine. A lot of people I know have suffered a lot from opioids and yeah, it's just scary to see that. And I'm fully in support of this, so thank you. |
| 02:56:43.89 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 02:56:48.18 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is Elizabeth O'Donnell. You've been unmuted and asked to start your video. |
| 02:56:58.91 | Elizabeth O'Donnell | Um, good evening, uh, council members. My name. is Elizabeth O'Donnell, and I've been following the cannabis issue here, and I'm hoping that this council seeks more information before taking action on this ordinance. I believe we can learn from the most recent legislation in Colorado. With unanimous bipartisan support, the Congress there and Governor Polis signed into bill a law that puts limits on high potency marijuana sales. The law mandates that the state research the mental and physical effects of high-potency THC products and concentrates on youth. They're also going to require advertising of high potency concentrates to include warning labels. They've also changed how people can get medical marijuana cards. And I do want to point out that the illegal market for cannabis flourishes presently in Colorado. Colorado is backpedaling because the data is catching up with reality and showing that there's a serious cause for concern. And I know your options are limited, but the staff report states option four that a report can be ordered. So I encourage that option. And I thank you for considering doing what you can. to allow attention to be paid to the science and to best practices in a way to protect our community. Thank you. Thank you. |
| 02:58:36.91 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is Lori. Lori, you've been unmuted and asked to share your video. |
| 02:58:54.32 | Lori | Good evening, everyone. Can you hear me? |
| 02:58:56.55 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 02:58:56.56 | Lori | Yes, welcome. Okay, after reading all 14 pages of this initiative, I urge the council tonight to vote for option four in the staff report. to order a report presented to the city council on not only the fiscal costs, there are many, Um, and traffic impacts and other items listed, but also a legal analysis of whether this initiative is legal, equitable, non-discriminatory. and otherwise proper. This would be under the eighth item of the staff report, which is a report on quote, any other matters the city council requests. This initiative is neither legal nor equitable because number one, The California Constitution specifically prohibits an initiative process that favors a specific for-profit business. And that's exactly what this initiative does. for the Sausalito resident who submitted the petition and her two partners at Otter Brands and no one else. Number two, California law requires a strong justification for any residency requirement, which given the interest expressed in city council meetings by members of the Marin city community, The requirement is discriminatory and equitable. In short, it's an abuse of the initial process. You voters will read the fine print in the 14 pages of this corporate initiative. It lists requirements for a business that can only be met by audit. Auto Brands is affiliated with a half-billion-dollar cannabis empire, according to Forbes. It's also a run around the council and the planning department processes ties the city councils and city staffs and Sausalito residents hands for three years. If passed, in short, it's it will be an election that has been rigged to favor a few. Please do not approve either this initiative or a special election, which would- |
| 03:00:58.49 | Heidi Scoble | Laurie, your two minutes have elapsed. |
| 03:01:00.58 | Lori | Thank you. Thank you. |
| 03:01:04.75 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is Joel. Joel, you've been unmuted and asked to start your video. |
| 03:01:23.41 | Joel | Hi, my name is Joel. I am a longtime Sausalito resident. I'm a baseball coach in the community. And I'd like to compliment the forward for taking this matter on. I believe it's time. that Sausalito opened its arms. to this matter. rather than then shutting it at stores. Uh... The owners of the proposed dispensary, have worked hard to provide this assembly with the information it needs to make a decision. I think you should make a decision. I think it has enough information to put it on the ballot. to move forward rather than kicking it down the road. I don't believe This is an issue. of the pros and cons of marijuana. I think it's an issue. of class. And the way Sausalito sees itself. and the bigger issue of marijuana. phrase. Keep Sausalito salty. is a popular one around town. which is reference to the fishing community which found While much of the town lives up in the hills enjoying the views, I encourage the board. to remember this town's roots built on the docks of progressive-minded entrepreneurs. like. those who come before you I encourage you to allow them to open their doors. Thank you. |
| 03:02:58.65 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:02:58.67 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:03:02.43 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is Alice. Alice, you're being unmuted and asked to share your video. |
| 03:03:12.59 | Alice Merrill | Oh my goodness. Okay, hi. Let's see, start my video. Okay, here I am, dark again. Um, I thought I was a lot later than this. I am conflicted about this. and I'm that's gonna upset the people who did it cuz I got a lot of the signatures I'm conflicted I think we should open our doors. I think it should happen. I think the city council has had three years to when they were first approached by these people to consider all these subjects and pushed it, didn't do it. A big problem in the middle of that, but still. Um, And so it just never got off the ground. And I know it's the frustration of that that got this, going. The petition is I, I didn't read it. thoroughly, I will admit. It is very restrictive as to who can come in. It's not just a, you guys say, yeah, we'll have a cannabis storefront and then who wants to come in and give us their, their, you know, their business plans. So I do, I am conflicted. I do think it's time that we get this going. I do think it's time that we get it. it out there, I really think that I, We just have to, we have to learn how to help our kids not get into it. I don't know how that's done. My kids grew up a long time ago and I, I just think it has to happen, but if it's not fair the way this is, then... then it's gotta be figured out. And I'm sorry to say it looks like it's you guys' job right now. But, And if it doesn't go to the ballot, then I lied because I promised people you can vote yes or no if you sign this petition. Thank you. |
| 03:05:17.79 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:05:20.62 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is Arash Seroosh. You're being unmuted and asked to share your video. |
| 03:05:30.24 | Arash Seroosh | Hi, thank you for this opportunity to speak. My name is Ars Seroosh and I'm a policy research associate at the Public Health Institute. We're deeply concerned about this initiative, both on public health grounds and on legal grounds. First, it constitutes an abuse of the initiative process that favors specific for-profit business. We consult our legal advisor, Michael Colantano, former chair of the State Bar and expert on municipal law, He noted the state constitution prohibits an initiative measure to confer benefit on an identified person or entity. If these rules are such that only one applicant qualifies, then this is illegal. Thank you. Second, the Commerce Clause of the U.S. Constitution and related principles of state law requires strong justification for residency requirements to participate in government programs. There is no justification in this context, reserve economic opportunities to local Additionally, he noted that its provisions, like trying to allow licensing when land use regulation amendments are needed and trying to allow staff to implement changes to the general plan are also questionable. If Sausalito does decide to allow cannabis retailers, consider allowing a single equity oriented nonprofit cannabis retailer operate under city rules that provides legal access, but does not promote consumption. But we would still encourage a more prudent and patient approach. California's approach to cannabis regulation has left many public health concerns. While product diversification is a strategy in any industry, there needs to be guardrails in place in Sausalito a lot to prevent products from being sold that inadvertently attract youth or especially hazardous to human health. Many cannabis extracts are made by isolating and concentrating cannabinoids of interest or using flavor additives like terpenes to make inhalable products taste like fruit or candy. Little research has been done to identify the safety profiles of the resulting products. And what research has been done does suggest that there are potential hazards. If Sausalio does legalize sale, it must constrain the products and marketing tactics we see cannabis businesses use throughout California. This initiative really is not the answer. Thank you. |
| 03:07:21.90 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:07:27.69 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is Avatar's restaurant. |
| 03:07:40.01 | Avatar's restaurant representative | Hi everyone, can you hear me? |
| 03:07:41.12 | Jill Hoffman | Yes. |
| 03:07:42.31 | Avatar's restaurant representative | Excellent. I'm here representing my family from Avatar's restaurant. For those of you that are local to Sausalito you'll know that my family has been in Sausalito for over 50 years They've owned and operated Avatar's restaurant for over 30 years and have always been very actively engaged in the welfare of this community. I think my two minutes will allow me to get into the philosophical discussions about either the detrimental impact or the prevalent sales of alcohol and tobacco in the city of Sausalito. I will tell you that we are in support of this ordinance and for it to be adopted as proposed. Madam Mayor, Madam Vice Mayor and members of the City Council, I believe, Your role is to serve the people and the voice of the people of Sausalito. And I believe the city has resoundingly spoken out in favor of this proposed ordinance. So I would ask you all to, find it in your roles. to honor the will of the people and the voice of the people of Sausalito. Thank you. |
| 03:08:42.04 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:08:49.47 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is under SPC Zoom console. Oh. |
| 03:08:58.44 | Jill Hoffman | Hi. |
| 03:08:60.00 | Reverend Paul Mowry | idea. Yes. |
| 03:09:00.13 | Jill Hoffman | Yes. Go ahead. I believe I recognize you as a non-SPC Zoom console person, so if Go ahead. . |
| 03:09:07.41 | Reverend Paul Mowry | It changed my name, but it did work. Thank you. I am the Reverend Paul Mowry. Pastor Paul, I've worked and lived in Tonsolito for the past decade with my husband and daughter, a student at TAM. And I know there are a lot of important conversations around this issue that would benefit us all. questions of personal liberty, health impacts, equity, legalities, I mean, Joel, Coach Joel already is speaking straight up as the presumed owner of this business will be. Tonight, however, I think the number one issue here is to allow time for those conversations to take place. city council was working on this in their orderly process to engage the public and it's been disrupted I strongly urge the council to Follow Mayor Hoffman's initial comments and order a report. then submit the proposed ordinance to the voters next November 8th. Everyone I know who signed the petition to put this before the voters We're really voting for democracy. And I think Alice Merrill spoke to this. They believe their signature would enable the issue to be decided by the people And with all due respect to our hardworking council members, No one I know who signed thought they were seeding this important decision to the council. they wanted to decide And as for the earlier vote that some people are touting, that the earlier vote of 70% approved |
| 03:10:29.74 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:10:29.75 | Reverend Paul Mowry | of cannabis sales, they were not voting for this measure. It is not the same thing at all. |
| 03:10:29.79 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:10:37.06 | Reverend Paul Mowry | So, Um, The Council decides this issue tonight, I think it just prohibits meaningful input from the electorate. I think it violates the expectations of many of the people who signed in support of this initiative. And the real casualty will be neither those who want the businesses or don't want them, but it'll be our democratic process. So please, please, I really urge you to Where do the report? and thank you very much. |
| 03:11:03.39 | Heidi Scoble | Thank you. |
| 03:11:04.11 | Linda Pfeiffer | Thanks very much. |
| 03:11:07.01 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is Joan Cox. Joan, you've been unmuted and asked to share your video. |
| 03:11:13.44 | Joan Cox | Good evening, I fully endorse what the Reverend Mallory just said there's no doubt. Are in favor of cannabis, but I doubt many residents would want to be strong armed by a single cannabis vendor that cares more about profits than process. Many of the signatories to this petition and even Alice Merrill who gathered a lot of the signatures did not fully understand the implications of what they were signing. I know this because they told me. Even many of this evening's supporters spoke in favor of cannabis, but not in favor of Atter Brands, which is what this ordinance is really about. I was thrilled to hear Eric Spars and Laurie Dugan's comments regarding the illegality of a sole source ordinance such as this one. and I urge you to adopt this evening the option to seek a further report from the city attorney and to include in that report an evaluation of the legality of the proposed ordinance. The Sausalito council has already opened its arms to cannabis. I was a member of the city council working group last year that worked to create a fair competitive process for the selection of an appropriate vendor or vendors, including the creation of a development agreement ordinance that was adopted earlier this year. Council members Blaustein and Sobieski have been moving this process forward this year. That orderly process is the appropriate approach to a cannabis ordinance. Contrary to Meg Boynton's comments, 70% of Sausalito voters have not said yes to this ordinance. They said yes to cannabis. They did not say yes to Archer Brands as the sole cannabis purveyor. They did not say yes to having a cannabis business to usurp all of the city's power to govern and regulate and protect its businesses and residents. |
| 03:12:52.85 | Unknown | Yeah. |
| 03:13:01.66 | Joan Cox | Sausalito voters did say yes to the five of you who we trust to adopt an appropriate process. Thank you. THANK YOU. |
| 03:13:13.78 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is Sean Clearly. you've got to be a little bit. and unmute it and ask to share your video. |
| 03:13:34.84 | Heidi Scoble | OK, Sean, we can hear you. |
| 03:13:36.48 | Unknown | Oh, you can. Okay. Sorry, I wasn't sure I was coming up. Good evening. My name is Sean Cleary. I was born and raised in Sausalito, and my mom, Karen, and I are both proponents behind the effort to bring a dispensary to Sausalito. Some people on this call might recognize me as one of the guys that was walking up down Caledonia trying to get signatures for this initiative. One thing I did want to say, during that process, I did clarify to people that the dispensary would not be located anywhere within a thousand feet of any school without exception, whichever birds flight were measuring. That makes 3000 Bridgeway 100% ineligible. We have been advertising that as our favorite location and where anyone got any ideas to the contrary. I'm not really sure, but. Then again, I've heard a lot of fictional statements about my company tonight. So anyway, one point I'd like to repeat is what I made to counsel. So forgive me, but it's one that was reinforced by the vast majority of the people of Sausalito that I talked to over the past weeks. This dispensary is something that the majority that the public wants. It was mentioned accurately that Sausalito voters were in favor of cannabis legalization by a margin of 77% in 2017. That's true. My parents, my parents, my partners, have conducted two separate informal polls over the past three years. Both polls showed over 60% of respondents in favor of not just of legalization, but of a dispensary in Sausalito. So I would say that the opinion of the people that I talked to during signature gathering reflected at least as much of a majority. I'd probably go as high as 70%. This is an issue that most of the town is in favor of, and many people stated to me that they felt their wheel was being ignored by city council. The common refrain went something like, we all want this, but there's no way city council is going to listen to us. So I just urge each member of city council to consider that. Consider that many of your voters feel you're ignoring them, that cannabis dispensaries, which are completely legal in the state of California, are something that most of Sausalito wants. And this council has an obligation to its constituents. Thanks for your time. |
| 03:15:29.34 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:15:32.29 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is Colleen Wickwired. You've been unmuted to share your video. |
| 03:15:47.36 | Colleen Wickwired | Hi, everyone. Can you hear me? |
| 03:15:49.96 | Jill Hoffman | Yes, Colleen, go ahead. |
| 03:15:51.55 | Colleen Wickwired | Great, thanks. Sorry, right in the middle of dinner. |
| 03:15:52.67 | Jill Hoffman | I'm not sure. |
| 03:15:56.20 | Colleen Wickwired | I don't have anything as you know prepared as I think some of the other speakers. I am a South Lido resident. I've voiced my opinion on this issue a few times now. Quite frankly, it's very frustrating that this is still going on after years and years and One of the other speakers, the sentiment was that you know, it's pretty clear what the majority of South Leedon wants. and have been asking for, so I don't know really understand the especially when, you know, the main concern from the opponents that are not lobbyists maybe just some of the parents are using their children as an excuse, which I think is Very laughable. and trying to say that Marijuana is the gateway drug. when we all can remember high school and we all can remember um, you know, the fact that it's not anything I think that our parents didn't do and anything, you know, that would be worse than drinking alcohol, which we all know high school kids are doing as well. um, And just two other points that I want to make. recently just had back surgery. and unfortunately had to be on some pain medication and you know, opioids, which I'm just, you know, now that there's like a $26 billion lawsuit that some of the drug manufacturers and distributors are. you know, the very beginning of some of the settlements, but that just happened in the past few weeks that nothing really has changed. You know, Thank God I have a good support system that I had a job that I was able to do during- |
| 03:17:51.26 | Heidi Scoble | You're three parents. |
| 03:17:52.18 | Morgan Pierce | collapsed. |
| 03:17:53.69 | Colleen Wickwired | Thank you. |
| 03:17:53.70 | Morgan Pierce | Okay, well, one other point. |
| 03:17:54.31 | Colleen Wickwired | Thanks very much. |
| 03:17:54.97 | Linda Pfeiffer | Thank you. Thanks very much. Appreciate it. I'm sorry. |
| 03:17:59.66 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is Eva Cresante. Eva, you've been unmuted and asked to share your video. |
| 03:18:07.59 | Eva Cresante | Thanks so much. Can you hear me okay? Yes, we can. Thank you. |
| 03:18:10.90 | Unknown | Thank you, Mayor. Thanks for taking my call. And I just wanted to chime in that I agree that the process should be more democratic. And I am very concerned about the lack of minority representation with this company. And I actually, I grew up in Marin County in the 70s and 80s. I actually went to school with Michelle Alexander, who wrote the new Jim Crow. which was really the book that really got us to look at mass incarceration and what the war on drugs had done to the black community. And I think it's really a missed opportunity. for a city that is concerned about equity and also a city like Sausalito, whose police department has been arresting black individuals at a rate over eight times their demographic presence in the jurisdiction. It really is. important that we look at equity issues. So, so. take the time to to really consider this and then just one thing I would say because he you know, this discussion of addiction and opioids just came up and I would really like to recommend Terrence Ray had a brilliant article in the baffler about what we missed about the opioid epidemic. And so much of the focus has been on the Sacklers and Purdue and Johnson & Johnson. Those are worthy villains. They're really, really bad. But what wasn't looked at was our response, which was largely build more jails, build more dysfunctional rehab centers, and build up police departments. And that's what's really been missing from the conversation, too. So thank you for your time, and I just encourage you to take more time on this. Thank you. |
| 03:20:06.31 | Linda Pfeiffer | Thank you. |
| 03:20:06.32 | Unknown | AND THEN, YOU KNOW, |
| 03:20:06.48 | Linda Pfeiffer | Thank you. |
| 03:20:06.66 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:20:06.71 | Linda Pfeiffer | Thank you. |
| 03:20:10.86 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is Matthew Mendich. You've been unmuted. and ask to share your video. |
| 03:20:18.96 | Matthew Mendich | Yeah, hi there. So I'm a new resident to Sausalito, long time Bay Area native, just moved here this last year actually in 2021. And one of the main reasons I moved to Sausalito was because of its progressive history and roots. So, you know, it makes me a little bit sad to hear some of the comments in here that are really just kind of, you know, I think conservative old thinking and fear-based and just really maybe kind of highlights the divide that we're seeing in the city right now and what its future is about. So I think this is a really big issue for the city. So I'd like to voice my support of the ordinance. Also, it's something that's in very high demand, not among children. I don't think it's been covered already about, the black markets and the youth, to the marijuana anyway. It's a lot safer when regulated and it's better than alcohol and tobacco. But the big deal really is that, you know, you're losing money to SF every single day due to this. And the longer you delay on it, the more revenue goes out the door, the more people can't get the product they need, the more people are using delivery services, driving across the bridges, whatnot. It doesn't really make sense to kind of keep this from residents, especially when the people have clearly shown that they want this and it's both financially and culturally sound for the city. So with that, I'll yield my time. Thank you. |
| 03:21:37.16 | Unknown | Okay, thank you. |
| 03:21:39.25 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker, it's Bridget Clark. And Bridget, you've been unmuted and asked to share your video. |
| 03:21:48.00 | Bridget Clark | Right, did that work? Oops. |
| 03:21:49.60 | Heidi Scoble | Thank you. |
| 03:21:49.65 | Unknown | I guess I'm going to I hear you. Okay. |
| 03:21:50.85 | Bridget Clark | Okay, there I am. Thank you. Good evening, Mayor and Council members. My name is Bridget Clark. I spend a fair amount of time in Sausalito because we have a boat docked at Basin Four and love frequenting the businesses around there. I'd like to speak to the city. I mean, I'd like to speak directly about the the lack of public health protections and that is written in the ordinance. specifically regarding the capping the limit on high THC commercial cannabis products. that are known to be harmful and addictive. There is growing evidence and science about this as well as about the increase in cases of schizophrenia. In fact, it was in the news yesterday on CNN under schizophrenia linked to marijuana use disorder is on the rise. as a caregiver of someone who has schizophrenia, This link needs to be studied and understood. I'm not anti-cannabis. I just want there to be due process and I think that A lot of the speakers So, about this and I'm in favor of option four by the way. So, um, but there is a serious risk in public health issues that are on the rise. And I just want people to be aware of it. Oh, my cat's coming in the room. Um, And I... I'm a witness of this particular illness, which is very debilitating financially. All right. I can't even begin to express to you one other last thing, because I see my time is running out and I'm not very organized, is if you want more information on the data and the science, go to johnny'sambassadors.org. because it speaks to a lot of the things in the studies and the research being done in Europe. And I'm happy to speak to you offline about this. And I appreciate your, pausing and looking at this ordinance very carefully. |
| 03:23:57.34 | Unknown | THANK YOU. |
| 03:23:57.70 | Heidi Scoble | Thank you. |
| 03:23:57.71 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:23:57.73 | Heidi Scoble | Thank you. Our next speaker is Vicki Nichols. Vicki, you have been unmuted and asked to share your video. |
| 03:24:09.05 | Vicki Nichols | Okay. Thank you. I have some notes here I want to go really quick. I've heard a lot of things I agree with and I want to just admit that I signed this because I thought this was an up or down vote I did not read the 14 pages and that's something I normally do. So I'm sure I'm not the only one that's done this. I mainly opposed just about the ordinance, not the health issues. I'm opposed to eliminating a whole chapter without any public discussion or ability to amend. There was no red line included, I don't even know. what the existing language is being replaced. There's very restrictive conditions in here. For instance, this is minor, but, you know, starting the business at seven or the hours, we don't even let construction start till 8 a.m. This dictates timelines that will force staff to prioritize actions and that's just a no-go. There's a provision for no changes to this language for three years, which totally observes local control and enforcement. There should be competitive bids. This is written for one company and the qualifying conditions are too narrow. It mentions $300,000 as a guarantee. How do we know another vendor won't give us $500,000? This should be competitive bidding. Um. And this is not about not wanting a store. My sister just passed. She used medical marijuana in her MS condition. It was very helpful. So, and I don't, you know, really, appreciate younger members saying that the older people don't want to do anything. We grew up in the 60s. I went to school in the 60s and we did inhale. So this is not about that. So please seek the report. Let us vote on this. And if it goes through with the way it's written, I'm going to be very happy to point out all these deficiencies and conditions to friends when they're considering voting. Thank you. Bye. |
| 03:26:11.33 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:26:11.57 | Vicki Nichols | Thank you. |
| 03:26:13.35 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker Spells S A N A Z. been unmuted and asked to share your video. |
| 03:26:31.11 | Unknown | Go ahead, I believe we can hear you. Oh, okay. |
| 03:26:33.47 | Sanaz | Oh, okay. Hi, sorry. My name is Sanaz. Thank you so much for |
| 03:26:35.75 | Unknown | Bye. |
| 03:26:38.95 | Sanaz | listening to me tonight. I've been a long time Southlita resident. My family owns businesses and buildings all up and down Bridgeway, Berkeley, Filbert. And you know, I love this town. Um, The argument about kids is extremely frustrating because they're getting it anyway. just not ignore the fact that this is happening the regulation deregulating all this. I mean, it's happening. They already have access to illegal drugs. When there's a liquor store on every block up and down Bridgeway and every other street in between, you just, it's not, I believe it's really unfair to make that argument I understand everyone's emotional things behind that, not to, you know, undermine that, but Um, We're getting deliveries from other cities anyway. It's being delivered anyway. So that's an issue. It feels a little bit exclusionary, the stigma that comes with marijuana. I feel like people are still kind of trapped in a different mindset. AND, YOU KNOW, I'M GOING TO Again, 70% of us did vote for this, and I was one of them. So I'm just wondering what happened there. Thank you. |
| 03:27:52.33 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:27:58.18 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is Michael. Michael, you've been unmuted and asked to share your video. |
| 03:28:08.42 | Michael Eusebio | Yeah, hi, my name is Michael Eusebio. My wife and I have Had our sailboat in Sausalito for 15 years, Sausalito Yacht Harbor. We're currently in I'm looking to close a deal on a on a new house and Thank you. on Prospect Avenue. So, This is important to us. Frankly, I'm very proud of I can't understand. I mean, I'm listening to all these concerns and it just makes no sense. It seems like it's just blah, blah, blah. And there's just another reason to stop the initiative. dispensary in Sausalito I can't believe there isn't already And this has been going, how long is this going to go on before somebody finally gets off and gets done with all these, you know, concerns? I mean, food could be a gateway to a problem if you eat too much food and it's available. There's all kinds of health issues with everything everyone's concerned about. It's personal control. And that's just where it goes. I think this is, it's time. It's something Sally would have gotten through a long time ago. Oh, my God, what are we doing? let's get it voted in and move on and worry about other issues. not the thing to worry about. And I feel strong about it. And my wife feels strong about it, we support it. And I thank you for your time. |
| 03:29:37.58 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:29:42.64 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker, it's Elizabeth Nibut. You've been unmuted and asked for your video. |
| 03:29:52.53 | Elizabeth Nibut | Thank you for the opportunity to speak this evening. I would, I'll just keep this very short since there's lots of people still to speak. I will just agree with everything that Joan Crock said she said it perfectly. and exactly what my sentiments. Thank you, Greg. Thank you. |
| 03:30:16.94 | Heidi Scoble | Jasmine, you're up and you're being unmuted and has to share your video. |
| 03:30:24.49 | Jasmine | Hi, can you guys hear me? Yes, we can go ahead. Thank you all so much for being here. I know it's like 10.30 on a Tuesday night, so it's late. So I appreciate all of your guys' hard work. I'm just going to make this really quick because it is I'm a Sausalito resident, Tam High alumni, and I'm currently a graduate student at UC Berkeley studying public health policy, I would like to ask the council to pursue option four in the staff report. |
| 03:30:51.00 | Unknown | in the city. |
| 03:30:52.72 | Jasmine | and request a report that addresses some of the questions and issues in the ordinance that I've recognized from Otter Brandt. The piece that I would like to address is in section three of the ordinance. you Under purpose, the ordinance states that it is the intent of the city of Sausalito to protect the safety and welfare of the general public by regulating and monitoring medical and adult use cannabis. commercial cannabis facilities, et cetera. And that section right there, and kind of if the council is going to adopt it tonight, if the council can address how the city is going to intend to regulate and monitor. in a way that protects the safety and welfare of the general public. And if there's going to be anyone consulted on that issue in writing this ordinance, that doesn't have a financial state. I also wanted to note kind of how these best practices are going to be determined. Just these are all just questions that I have. |
| 03:31:46.20 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:31:48.68 | Jasmine | and if the regulations will include strategies to address impaired driving and secondhand smoke exposure I do want to note that there have been many studies released that have shown an increase in funding diverted to black markets in legal markets in Colorado, Washington and Oregon. And also kind of reiterating what Eva had mentioned earlier about some of the equity issues. I think this is. is all really important when considering an ordinance. So thank you so much. |
| 03:32:20.94 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:32:21.11 | Jasmine | Thank you. |
| 03:32:27.27 | Heidi Scoble | Connor is our next speaker and Connor, you've been unmuted and asked to share the video. |
| 03:32:34.97 | Connor Johnston | Good evening, Councilors. Connor Johnston. I am the leader of Otter Brands, which you've heard quite a bit about. tonight and just one quick point of personal privilege, a previous commenter Thank you. Thank you. bemoaned that Otter Brands is not diverse and I always find that a little bit odd as a gay Mexican who's the co-owner of the first social equity cannabis store in San Francisco and one of the first ones in the country. I grew up in Mill Valley and I spent quite a lot of years working in city hall in San Francisco and got into years ago. And one of the things I've learned cannabis prohibitionists are Nothing if not adaptable. And for a long time, cannabis was illegal because it empowered Mexicans and because it encouraged white women and black men to sleep together. And I'm not making this up. And then it was a way to criminalize people who were against the Vietnam War. And then more recently, it was a gateway drug. and study after study disproved that assertion. And then the concern stated was that regulating cannabis would lead to increased teen use. And again, study after study has disproven that. And tonight the anti cannabis folks are now hanging their hat on the idea that this measure is some sort of sole source contract. Well, let's unpack that. First of all, the measure allows for two businesses. I have no involvement in the delivery business and would not pursue that. So the idea that Otter Brands is the only one getting a license here, If we get one of them is not true. Just right out of the gates. Um, And moreover, Chris and Karen, my partners and I have been out in the Sausalito community for over two and a half years. We started by meeting with every single merchant in town. Then we presented at the Rotary Club, the Lions Club, the Chamber of Commerce twice. We've met with every single one of the counselors and all of your predecessors. In many cases, more than once, we've met with the faith leaders. We've hosted three community meetings, including one with members of the women's committee. |
| 03:34:40.09 | Heidi Scoble | Your two minutes have elapsed. |
| 03:34:43.20 | Connor Johnston | AND THE FAMILY IS |
| 03:34:43.27 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:34:46.71 | Heidi Scoble | Chris? You're being unmuted and asked to share your video. |
| 03:34:58.17 | Unknown | Chris, we're not able to hear you. or see you. There you go. Okay, now we can see you. |
| 03:35:05.59 | Chris Zapata | Can you hear me? |
| 03:35:06.55 | Unknown | We can hear you as well. |
| 03:35:08.04 | Chris Zapata | Good evening, Madam Mayor, Madam Mayor, City Councilmembers. It's nice to see you again. This has been a long process and I feel like we were doing this quite some time ago. So here we are again, it's late, so I'll make this nice and quick. Thank you. um thank you for taking comments tonight from our supporters and allowing uh people who are not in agreement with the ballot to speak as well i think that's important for us to gather information for us to help provide more information going forward on things that we don't necessarily agree with on reasons for not having cannabis in sausalito um You know, we've been, as Connor mentioned, we've been working tirelessly for over two and a half years on this project, following the steps to move this process forward legally. And we feel we have a solid ballot measure that could be passed tonight. And we are looking forward to hearing from your decision moving forward with it or not. Thank you very much. |
| 03:36:11.52 | Heidi Scoble | Thank you. |
| 03:36:12.13 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:36:12.52 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:36:16.99 | Heidi Scoble | Our next speaker is Dina Ember. You've been unmuted and asked to share your video. |
| 03:36:33.11 | Dean Enberg | It's not letting me do my video. There you go. Oh, there you go. |
| 03:36:37.10 | Unknown | Yeah. |
| 03:36:38.88 | Dean Enberg | Thank you. Hi, I'm Dean Enberg. I am a Sausalito resident and I'm, a lot was discussed today, so I don't want to repeat anything, but I'm asking the council to consider option four. I read all 14 pages and I'm assuming I'm one of the very few Sausalito residents that have read all of those. I do want to say that I've been in the mental health field for over 20 years and I speak every day with somebody that's looking for substance specific to cannabis help. And they are out there. The high potency cannabis is causing a lot of issues. And I just want, I could tell that there's not a lot of education about the issues that people have. When somebody's having an issue with cannabis use, they don't talk to the bud tender or their bro. They call someone like me and I am always here for them. |
| 03:37:33.00 | Unknown | Bye. I'm not sure. |
| 03:37:33.70 | Vicki Nichols | here. |
| 03:37:34.90 | Dean Enberg | And I'm always here to help. And I'm just, that's it. Thank you. Thanks very much. |
| 03:37:46.36 | Heidi Scoble | Our last speaker, it's Kelsey Fernandez. Chelsea, you've been unmuted and asked to share your video. |
| 03:37:55.32 | Unknown | Good evening council. My name is Kelsey Fernandez and I'm I know you are all looking forward to an August vacation, but I'm really hoping that you'll order this report As I listen to the speakers, what's become really clear to me is that the process that was started by this council promising town halls and promising outreach and community education really needs to happen. As you can see, a lot of personal experiences vary. People say we spoke to POT, Well, 2% THC is different than 99% THC. And then you hear Connor Johnson with his ad hominem attacks calling us prohibitionists. saying that team use has gone down. Actually, team use has not gone down and we've disputed what he has written in his development agreement on paper to the Council. There is real data. And the problem with a cannabis business writing their own law is that they think they can say whatever they want. Connor Johnston says that he addresses flavors, yet he says nothing about vape the high THC-baked concentrates. There needs to be a lot of education. I can tell you how many feet is in state law that needs to be around a school and how and what that means to policy making. There just needs, there's so many things that need to be vetted in this and community education so people know what they're voting on and don't sign a piece of paper without even reading the 14 pages that go behind it. By the way, products are in store. The products in stores are not determined to be safe. They are not FDA approved. They have not gone through clinical studies. That's why California is putting on the brakes and saying, we need to back up and we need to study these products because we're seeing the harms and we need to figure this out before we go any further and cause more harm. So I hope that you guys will not take August off and you'll look into this a little bit more deeply. Thank you. |
| 03:39:56.99 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:39:59.72 | Unknown | I see. |
| 03:39:59.98 | Jill Hoffman | One more hand raised. Mr. Clark? Mr. Ms. Nealon. |
| 03:40:04.06 | Heidi Scoble | Yes, Ms. and she's been unmuted and asked to share her video. |
| 03:40:07.99 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 03:40:08.03 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:40:17.17 | Jill Hoffman | Ms. Newman, we cannot see you or hear you. |
| 03:40:20.23 | Eva Cresante | I am trying. |
| 03:40:21.14 | Jill Hoffman | There you go. OK, we can hear you. |
| 03:40:23.01 | Eva Cresante | Thank you. Thank you. Oh, it says the host has stopped it. |
| 03:40:32.63 | Jill Hoffman | I THINK. Thank you. |
| 03:40:35.63 | Eva Cresante | There you go. OK. You're on. Hello council and thank you for listening to everybody who spoke tonight. My name is Lorna Newland. I'm a 27 year resident and homeowner in Sausalito, 19 year small business owner. I rent from the city of Sausalito. I'm actually in the North end of Sausalito and I appreciated hearing what avatar said. It sounds like if this is approved, it will be in the North end. I live there. My business is at the MLK Park. I don't have a problem with this. In fact, I support this cannabis dispensary. I do want to say, It's struggling during COVID and I appreciate South Dakota residents and council people who are supporting small businesses. But, As has been noted, close to 80% of the people of Sausalito voters approved this in 2016. And now we have a citizen petition. I even helped getting, before I went out of town, I think I got eight signatures and was working on this because I think it's important. Um, This has been pushed down the council agenda for years. And I know you guys are very busy, but it's important to go forward with this. This is a legal operation with tremendous oversight. I'm sorry to hear a family pain of those who have lost a child to substance abuse. It's tragic. Sadly, secret drug use is a problem with teens. However, having a legal cannabis dispensary in our town is not the problem. Go after the criminals, selling black market drugs, educate, use parental things, granted my parents told me years ago don't do it I didn't I obeyed my parents but things are different now having something legal with oversight and approved by voters in 2016 is appropriate for our town I do find it unusual when we have three council members who are lawyers and I value everything our city attorney has done that people are questioning the legality of it. So please I would hope council would just approve this tonight to go forward with it and not go to the referendum. Thank you. |
| 03:42:48.86 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:42:49.20 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 03:42:52.66 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, I see no further hands, unless the clerk tells me otherwise. |
| 03:42:55.44 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:42:55.46 | Eva Cresante | the carton. |
| 03:42:55.97 | Unknown | Tell me, I don't know. |
| 03:42:58.09 | Jill Hoffman | Someone is still. |
| 03:42:58.67 | Heidi Scoble | Someone just... |
| 03:43:00.76 | Jill Hoffman | Okay. Thanks. |
| 03:43:01.47 | Heidi Scoble | Madam Mayor, you are correct. There are no more hands raised. |
| 03:43:05.80 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, thanks. Thanks, Ms. Logue. Very good. I'm closing public comment then. bringing it back up to the city council for discussion. Um, and... direction to staff. So at this point, I think my opinion that I stated earlier is still the same is that we should request a report and come back in 30 days after the report. And so, We can talk about it. rest of the council wants to go in that direction that's fine we can talk about what we want to address in the report or if we want to go in a different direction, this is the time to discuss that as well. Anybody want to start us off? |
| 03:43:44.03 | Janelle Kellman | I hope. |
| 03:43:44.23 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 03:43:44.33 | Janelle Kellman | Yeah, Mayor, I support that direction. I think we should use our time to be very specific and give direction to staff about what that is. Reports should cover. |
| 03:43:52.99 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 03:43:53.00 | Janelle Kellman | I'm going to go. |
| 03:43:53.02 | Jill Hoffman | Okay. Anybody else want to weigh in or should we just start talking about what we want to put I'm happy to listen to everybody. Go ahead. Councilmember Cleveland, it looks like you want to Go ahead. |
| 03:44:02.45 | Ian Sobieski | Yeah, I don't have a strong objection to that request, but I would just want to point out to the public. and to us that whatever we ask for in a report is not gonna change the fact that we cannot alter the document in front of us. So you know, this measure as written needs to go on the ballot as written. And so we can ask for all of the information that we want, but we will probably then when the report comes back, we'll have a similar hearing to the one that we've had tonight. you know, with similar public comments. So I don't have any objection to educating ourselves and further educating the public, but I also don't necessarily feel like we need to do it on the timeline of the 30 days. I mean, we can let this go onto the ballot and then we can continue to educate ourselves and the public and get information over time until it gets on the ballot. I just want to make it clear to everyone that We can't react. to the information that we will get in a meaningful way by amending or changing what's in front of us. So that's very frustrating to me and I don't really like this process, but... So I just wonder what we will do in 30 days if we get the report. So I just, I'm happy to go in the direction you suggested Adam there, but I also feel like, that will be hearing you know, another, be another pretty time-consuming hearing. |
| 03:45:56.24 | Jill Hoffman | I agree, except that just for one clarification, the question at that point would be whether or not we want to adopt the ordinance as written, or whether or not we want to refer it to an election or call for an election. That would be the decision point. Yeah, but I agree. It would go on the ballot as written or we would adopt it as an ordinance as it had been qualified as an initiative. |
| 03:46:09.71 | Unknown | That would be the decision. Thank you. |
| 03:46:11.46 | Unknown | I agree. |
| 03:46:11.93 | Ian Sobieski | IT'S A LITTLE BIT OF THE |
| 03:46:20.07 | Ian Sobieski | And I guess, yeah, and we can talk further, but I am not inclined to vote for the ordinance as written. |
| 03:46:22.84 | Jill Hoffman | Okay. |
| 03:46:26.57 | Ian Sobieski | Okay. So, |
| 03:46:28.44 | Janelle Kellman | And I think, Mayor Hoffman, it's also worth noting for the public that but there's a lot of conversations tonight around supporting cannabis or not supporting cannabis. was before us this evening. is a particular set of language. that was submitted based on signatures. a broader conversation around this council's support or lack of support, wherever it might be for cannabis. So I just want to make sure everybody understands what we're faced with tonight. Just to follow on Councilmember Cleaver-Nulls' comments. |
| 03:47:00.08 | Jill Hoffman | Mm-hmm. I agree. Okay, yes, Councilmember Laustein, I think you've It looks like you want to say something, your hands on up, but Bye. |
| 03:47:08.60 | Melissa Blaustein | I just, Who's... |
| 03:47:09.82 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 03:47:10.14 | Melissa Blaustein | and we're going to have a |
| 03:47:10.34 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 03:47:10.46 | Melissa Blaustein | Thank you. Thank you. |
| 03:47:11.18 | Jill Hoffman | and |
| 03:47:11.57 | Melissa Blaustein | Thank you. sort of on this one because it's Welcome. would not change even if we were to request a report and it seems like no matter what we do, the issue, unless we all decide to vote on ordinance, which I don't know what other council members are planning to do, but it seems like it would go to the ballot. So I'm just trying to understand in terms of our very packed agenda for the next, several months and our priorities ahead of us. And not to say that I don't want to learn more and then we shouldn't pursue that, but with the 30 days, I'm wondering what the reasoning or the urgency for that would be. And also, I mean, just, JUST TO BE I mean, I think we've heard a lot of really great public comment on this issue. There's obviously a need for continued conversation and for further education. And I would hope that that would be a part whatever electoral process or review process we decided um, to to pursue. but this is there's enough signatures here for it to go to the ballot and for us to hear more from the community and we don't really have to say whether or not it goes to the ballot or we vote on it so I'm just in the interest of us being as effective as possible as a council and our packed agenda, I'd like to understand what we would what we would gain from another public hearing. Thank you. |
| 03:48:33.09 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 03:48:33.15 | Melissa Blaustein | Thank you. |
| 03:48:33.23 | Jill Hoffman | So, |
| 03:48:33.75 | Melissa Blaustein | it. |
| 03:48:33.94 | Jill Hoffman | in my mind it was i wanted to understand more the impact |
| 03:48:34.12 | Melissa Blaustein | And, |
| 03:48:39.81 | Jill Hoffman | of the measure as it was written and the initiative. and that people understood that are watching this process, especially from the public, especially from people who signed the initiative that this was these were the types of information that we want to have about the ballot measure. So and whether or not our decision about whether or not we were going to adopt it as as as qualified under the laws required by the election law. Well, the options are. Do you want to adopt it? as it was qualified. or do you want to refer it to a special election? So the additional information was mainly, for us and for the public to understand a report of what's contained in the ballot initiative um, Some of the legalities, I suppose, are what's in the ballot initiative where this, you know, these are just some of the things that we would ask for, at least I would ask for. about where the businesses could be located so that It was clear that we gave it a fair review about what our action would be and that we all fully understood the impacts of what's in the initiative. But if enough council members are already, have already decided they want to refer it to the ballot without adopting it as an ordinance, you know, then I suppose we you know, I suppose that we could call a vote on that. That's fine. So that anyway, Council Member Sobieski, if you have a thought on that, that's fine. Oh, go ahead, Council Member Blossom, excuse me. |
| 03:50:18.40 | Melissa Blaustein | I just agree that public engagement and information is really critical on this issue. So I'm wondering, |
| 03:50:24.86 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:50:24.88 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 03:50:24.91 | Alicia Leach | Thank you. |
| 03:50:24.92 | Jill Hoffman | one day. |
| 03:50:26.65 | Melissa Blaustein | about, What's beyond, I mean, I would imagine in the, and forgive me, but this is obviously, I just can't believe this is my first time that we're hearing beyond the 1128 tonight, the process for when an issue comes on the ballot via the council. So assuming that we move forward with it going on the next general election would Council member Sobieski and I, as members of the working group, still be allowed to continue conversation and hold community forum sessions so that the community could be engaged on this issue, |
| 03:50:57.51 | Jill Hoffman | I wouldn't think so. I mean, at this point, it seems to me that the working group the purpose of the working group is sort of usurped by the ballot initiative. Of course, I mean, if the working group wants to engage, that's fine. you know, then I think you would be engaged in either supporting or opposing the ballot initiative as opposed to gathering information and guiding the City Council on the development agreement that had been sort of put in play by the previous And which of course Susan Cleve, Councilmember Cleveland Knowles and I Um, So that, you know, the options at this point aren't to amend anything. It's simply to understand it, to inform our decision, which is before us, which is, do we adopt it as, as qualified under the election code, right? It qualified as an initiative. Do we adopt it as written as an ordinance or do we refer it to election if if I suppose if it you know members of the council feel comfortable and they're ready to make one decision or the other then we can call a vote. The purpose of the report is to give us all more information all meaning not just us, but the public as well. But like I said, you know, I'm willing to entertain a motion. Anybody wants to make a motion, that's fine. |
| 03:52:11.10 | Ian Sobieski | Yeah. I just have a question, you know, let me make sure you do it right. So just really trying to learn and |
| 03:52:18.26 | Jill Hoffman | Mm-hmm. |
| 03:52:18.53 | Ian Sobieski | I mean, you could still call for the report. nevertheless stick it on the ballot. Um, |
| 03:52:24.30 | Jill Hoffman | Well, there wouldn't be any point, I don't think, at this point to call for a report and and call for an election, right? The report is simply, sort of pre-step to making the decision about whether or not you're going to put it on the ballot or adopt it wholesale as an ordinance. So that's the decision point. You have the option At this point, right? At this point, under my understanding and the city attorneys on as well but at this point it's qualified Once it qualifies, it's got the signatures are verified. It goes to the next city council to act. So part of that action is either you have three choices. Call for an election. adopted as written. or ask for a report to be returned in 30 days and at that point then you would make you would make the decision of do you adopt it as an ordinance or do you refer it to an election So the report would give us additional information in order to make the decision and inform our decision about whether or not we're gonna adopt it as qualified, or whether or not we're gonna refer it an election, in my mind. the more information is the better for making this decision. Understanding that members of the public are also gonna weigh in as they did today about after they had this information about whether or not they support it as a ballot measure or whether or not they're urging us to adopted as an ordinance. Yeah. That's my thought process on requesting a report. So, Anybody else want to weigh in? |
| 03:53:57.08 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. I'll just add to it. You mentioned this already, but I just want to call it out due to Council Member Blassey's comments, which is this is a kind of a complicated process. Our hands are a little bit tied. It's being proposed by a project proponent. Um, you know, they serve the working groups opportunity to have public workshops. It not only gives us more time to evaluate, but I think it provides an opportunity for the public to, to really start thinking about what this means and what it looks like. And again, give us more insight on the other two options that, or stand before us. So I just want to sort of really emphasize that public component. So I think it's important we kind of missed out on that a little bit. |
| 03:54:41.22 | Jill Hoffman | Okay. Um, Does anybody want to? make motion or do we have any further questions |
| 03:54:50.39 | Ian Sobieski | I mean if other council members feel like the public process is helpful then I will certainly support that I was trying to be sort of efficient with our time and kind of allow us to focus on some other stuff but you know and my objection to this particular ordinance I just want to be clear has nothing you know as the vice mayor said it's not a decision on cannabis storefront or not it's just the format it's the coming in the middle of our you know i understand the process was long i understand the process was frustrating but we were trying to have an open process that was had a fair selection process and that was had a lot of public input. And so short circuiting that in favor of one particular vendor is what you know, that's what I have an issue with. And there's nothing, no further information that I'll be able to get that will change the structure of the ordinance, but you know, if the mayor and vice mayor, I want to have an additional hearing on this. be supportive. |
| 03:56:00.87 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. Believe me, the last thing I want is another hearing. I mean, not a hearing on this, but the last thing I want is another meeting, right? Like literally the last thing I want. So, But I think it's important I fall out on that. I certainly understand. you know, the other council members concerns about time and especially with our staff so But So what action do we need to take? I'm sorry, I've lost it in all of the Do we need to have a motion to order a report? And do we need to list out what we want. Okay, so good. City Attorney. |
| 03:56:38.71 | Mary Wagner | Yes, please, Madam Mayor, excuse me, if the council direction is to order the report, allowed under elections code 9212. then you would be directing city staff to prepare that report and we'd need information from the council about what you would like to see us bring back for you. |
| 03:56:56.68 | Jill Hoffman | So, Okay then you also had a slide up there I think that listed all the different things that we could under the election code. |
| 03:57:02.67 | Mary Wagner | under the election code? I'm going to put it in. |
| 03:57:04.69 | Jill Hoffman | that back up Yeah. And then I sent you some additional questions. |
| 03:57:12.46 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. And maybe it's helpful to just clarify for the public. There were a few public comments that indicated they thought that this report would be coming from the proponent, but. As I understood it, this is a report that we would be getting from staff. |
| 03:57:23.44 | Lily Whalen | Thank you. |
| 03:57:23.46 | Unknown | As I understand. |
| 03:57:28.89 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 03:57:28.91 | Mary Wagner | That's my understanding. |
| 03:57:28.93 | Ian Sobieski | that's my understanding. |
| 03:57:30.16 | Mary Wagner | The election code is very clear that it's, you're providing direction to city staff or other city agencies to provide the information. |
| 03:57:37.36 | Melissa Blaustein | that's further burden on staff. Okay. Yes. |
| 03:57:41.80 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. It is. If you would like to make an alternate motion, Council Member Bloustine, We'll entertain it. |
| 03:58:01.12 | Mary Wagner | I'm trying to get you to the right slide. |
| 03:58:07.87 | Mary Wagner | Here we go. So Madam Mayor, members of the council, the election code is specific about a few of the items or a number of items that you can request information on, including the fiscal impact of the initiative, its effect on the internal consistency with the general plan, any specific plans and the zoning ordinance, its effect on the use of land. You can also see them listed out here, but at the very end, you'll also see and any other matters that the legislative body requests to be in the report. So while there are certain delineated items, there's also the catch-all phrase at the end that allows counsel to ask for whatever information they think would be helpful in making the decision. |
| 03:58:17.36 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 03:58:48.97 | Jill Hoffman | So the additional things that I had requested were a map. of, the town with you know, with the, um, circumference of the thousand feet. of schools. and any other. any other requirements state. requirements about placement. Oh. this type of facility. AND I THINK IT'S A ANY Any questions? readily available. reports on public health issues related to school-aged kids. And retail cannabis, that's been brought up several times. I think there might be some, like I said, readily available. like, Um, public health reports from Marin County Health and Human Services AND PERHAPS THE SCHOOL DISTRICTS Um, And... What was the last one? increased crime stats. to the extent that they're publicly and readily available, right? crime stats about retail cannabis stores, an increase in in crime. That's, you know, understanding that that's, report that's readily available. |
| 04:00:08.29 | Ian Sobieski | And is that confined? locally or |
| 04:00:12.02 | Jill Hoffman | nationwide or what |
| 04:00:13.22 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 04:00:13.25 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. You know, whatever the whatever the staff feels is relevant to Sausalito, right? It's kind of, I don't want to, I mean, it's going to be burdensome enough, right? for staff. whatever's readily available. |
| 04:00:28.65 | Janelle Kellman | And can I add Mayor Hoffman, a few of the speakers spoke about emerging legislation in Colorado and elsewhere. since there is a language in the proposed measure. that says protect public health and safety. You've already asked for public health reports by if there's legislation that's coming down the pipe that's influencing other communities, and again, readily available, as you said, but in Colorado, of control over the THE END OF how potent it is and in other communities, control over flavored. Substances might be helpful as well. |
| 04:01:03.49 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, thanks. OK. Anybody else want to add anything? |
| 04:01:07.73 | Melissa Blaustein | I feel kind of inclined to, this is just so burdensome on staff and it's not going to change the outcome. And given that we've heard a lot of positive comment for but on across the board, I just, it's hard for me to move forward saying that we should put the burden of all of these issues on staff and not just push, I mean, I have been you know, trying to listen to the community as much as possible on this issue and get quite a bit of public input. And I believe it's critically important as elected officials that we hear from are public and this is the most democratic way to do that is by hearing from them through a ballot measure. And if we can't change the outcome of the ballot measure, you know, council member Cleveland Knowles has already said she's opposed to the ballot measure as it stands, but there's nothing we can do do about it. I don't know why we would upend the process unless, I mean, or just have a conversation about it now, unless you feel very ill-informed and you think your vote will change based on what we've heard. It's just been such a long process and it's so cumbersome on staff. And the more we add things we want to hear to the report, |
| 04:02:02.56 | Unknown | you |
| 04:02:12.44 | Melissa Blaustein | based on how much we've already heard this evening, I'm inclined to say we should just push it forward to a ballot measure. That's where I stand. |
| 04:02:21.37 | Jill Hoffman | Well, OK, I thought you know those aren't. Those are not invalid comments, but here's where I fall out. We had people members our community residents urging us to adopt it as an ordinance and so I. feel like we need to at least order the report and just not justify, but at least understand more fully the impacts on Sausalito, and articulate that if we're not going to adopt it as an ordinance, This is why. and we're referring it to Um, to a vote. OK. |
| 04:02:53.94 | Melissa Blaustein | OK. |
| 04:02:54.60 | Jill Hoffman | people. |
| 04:02:55.32 | Melissa Blaustein | that you're calling for are most of the ones that were brought up by the people who are against the measure. So we should bring up the positive proponents as well if we're gonna talk about all of them in the report. I just wanna be as balanced as possible. |
| 04:03:04.89 | Jill Hoffman | want to be If you want to add to the report, you're welcome to. But I thought I just heard you say that you didn't want to add to the report. But if you want to add to the report and you have some issues, that's fine. I'm just following down on some of the issues that are already in the legislation. so these are this is part of the election code and i'm just adding things in so |
| 04:03:24.43 | Ian Sobieski | I would like... |
| 04:03:24.64 | Jill Hoffman | If you want to add things in, |
| 04:03:26.15 | Ian Sobieski | I'd like to add an inquiry. |
| 04:03:26.20 | Jill Hoffman | Okay. |
| 04:03:28.77 | Ian Sobieski | about this. a legal opinion from the legal opinions on the or technical, but an opinion from Mary or lawyers about this, very narrowly construed |
| 04:03:38.81 | Unknown | in your community. |
| 04:03:41.81 | Ian Sobieski | qualification set of requirements in particular, the residency requirement, one of the commenters made comment that residency requirements. have to be, um, justified in California. So I don't know if that is true or not, It is true. just this general issue about whether especially if we're such a small town or so, So disproportionately white to what extent that requirement causes any kind of trouble. or illegality in terms of equal access. to an economic opportunity. and You know, a side note, just if there's some other comments on, a little foggy, but like what else should we include on the positive side that you that pops to mind for you, in the supportive side of the water grants. |
| 04:04:33.50 | Melissa Blaustein | I'm not sure. all the information that we receive is balanced. |
| 04:04:36.49 | Ian Sobieski | Did you have something particular in mind that But I just can't think of, I've been trying to think about two things. |
| 04:04:45.18 | Melissa Blaustein | I think the fiscal impact is outlined, which is good. I just would like to understand I just want to make sure the information comes in in a very balanced way. I mean, I'm inclined to move it forward, to just push it to the ballot. I just feel like this is, we need to, we're wasting staff time given that we can do to |
| 04:05:02.86 | Jill Hoffman | given the... Understood, yeah, understood. And we've got that. Okay, so we have a motion. I'd like to make a motion. |
| 04:05:08.43 | Melissa Blaustein | Do we have a motion? I'd like to make a motion to just send it to the voters. tonight. And if I, anyway, no one meets me. |
| 04:05:19.62 | Ian Sobieski | that, I already had thrown that out there and I just don't think we have support on the council. So I'm not going to second that motion, but I understand that. I mean, I've already said why I thought that was probably our best course of action tonight. |
| 04:05:37.49 | Ian Sobieski | Yeah. |
| 04:05:37.75 | Unknown | Bye. |
| 04:05:37.76 | Ian Sobieski | Okay. |
| 04:05:37.96 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 04:05:38.07 | Ian Sobieski | I'm a little bit inclined in that direction too, honestly, but I also honestly, Melissa just deferring to and I hope This could become a somewhat new normal to city council members that really want this. report and that and I and since it's being generated I even I included a question or two that I think is is relevant so I mean, I don't want to have another meeting just to take this report, |
| 04:06:04.68 | Melissa Blaustein | Well, I just made a motion and council member Cleveland said she would support it. So I think the ball is in your court here. Councilman of the Council. |
| 04:06:10.11 | Ian Sobieski | No, I'm sorry, Melissa, I said I didn't look like we had a majority, so I was not going to second it, although I support the rationale. |
| 04:06:18.31 | Melissa Blaustein | Okay, thank you. |
| 04:06:18.97 | Ian Sobieski | But if I'm wrong about that, Council Member Sobieski needs to speak up. |
| 04:06:23.97 | Ian Sobieski | Um, So, Just again, vice mayor and the mayor, can you go over the rationale for the report again, please? sorry |
| 04:06:36.13 | Jill Hoffman | Sure. So we have Um, We have a ballot measure. that has been qualified by the residents We have... the ability tonight to three options. to refer it to the ballot for a vote. to adopt it as written or to request for additional information about the effect of the ballot measure as it's qualified and its impact on Sausalito. So, My position is It's helpful for not just us, even though it's painful. and hard work. but, it's helpful for us and the public to understand the impacts of this ballot. initiative that has qualified for the ballot. So if you go down the list of things that we would like, additional information on. fiscal impact of the initiative its effect on the consistency of the City's general and specific plan its effect on the use of land and its effect on funding for infrastructure. its impact to the community's ability to track and retain business and employment, its impact on the uses of vacant parcels of land, its impact on agriculture and any other matters. I guess I suppose that Councilmember Blaustein's comment You know, we're not presupposing these things would be negative. It's just what's the impact? And so... When we're at a decision point, not just for us as a council, but for the public to understand the impacts of the ballot measure as it's been written, I think it's important and it's important to do it in a public way. And this is the way that's set out by the election code. I mean it's not that unfortunately we can't say we'd like to have two months for the staff to work on this or three months. This is the way the election code sets it out. I think it's important to have this information publicly available. and we consider it as part of our decision-making process. And, our response to people that are supporting the initiative is that we looked We request a report. as Um, as you know, as set forth in the election code. We received the report. We considered all of these things thoughtfully. |
| 04:09:06.08 | Unknown | WE CAN SEE THE |
| 04:09:09.85 | Jill Hoffman | And we had a public meeting and we also took public comments And then we made our decision. So that's where I fall out on. moving forward. |
| 04:09:23.92 | Bridget Clark | to do. |
| 04:09:26.13 | Janelle Kellman | I think Mayor Hoffman articulated it well. it's the opportunity to fully vet because you know, we do have three options. The other option being we could just adopt the ordinance which could potentially save TAXPAYER. money and save us, you know, time and energy in the long run. And that is an option on the table and if we're going to reject that, I'm all for giving the public additional time that the election could provide. |
| 04:09:55.90 | Ian Sobieski | Mayor Mrakas- Well, can we get there when you went through the list there, we saying that all these points that are on this slide that we're currently looking at are going to be in the report. |
| 04:10:04.37 | Jill Hoffman | I'm saying that the The report can include any and all of the following. So that's step forth in the election code. So they don't have to, but it can include. I don't know why we would do a report and not include all of these things. |
| 04:10:17.13 | Ian Sobieski | Wait, wait, wait. Well, just to Melissa's point, I think not all the some of these sound like a lot of work that doesn't really move the needle in public understanding or at least significantly to my mind things like impact on the community's ability to attract and retain business and employment. |
| 04:10:36.53 | Ian Sobieski | Well, okay, respect- I thought we were only going to do the things that you had listed, Mayor. |
| 04:10:37.11 | Ian Sobieski | Okay. |
| 04:10:38.39 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 04:10:41.76 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 04:10:41.78 | Ian Sobieski | Yeah, that's good. |
| 04:10:42.02 | Jill Hoffman | No, I would say all of them and then the things that we listed. I think there are many businesses in town that would want to understand the effect of a retail cannabis store on their business, good or bad. |
| 04:10:52.95 | Ian Sobieski | I think, yeah. Could the city manager just speak to going through all of these items. I mean, I thought the things you listed out, Mayor Hoffman, were fine, and then Council Member Sobieski added one, but |
| 04:11:07.67 | Unknown | We just ask. |
| 04:11:08.53 | Ian Sobieski | Okay. |
| 04:11:08.97 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 04:11:09.61 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 04:11:09.66 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, listen, it's getting late. It's 11.20. If you guys don't want to have a meeting and vet this, then let's not, then that's fine. But I don't think we need to go for another hour trying to, you know, figure out amongst ourselves when we have a very clear election code, what we can look at and what we can't, I understand that it's, I understand that, you know, that, you know, staff may be busy, but you know, I feel like this is important. If I'm in the minority now because it's getting late and people just want to wrap up, whatever. But, um... So Ian, I guess you're the deciding. |
| 04:11:53.84 | Ian Sobieski | So you need Mary. Can I ask a question? Is there any chance that anything in this report would change? our, um, our requirement to put this on the agenda or put this on the ballot or adopted as an ordinance. |
| 04:12:10.83 | Mary Wagner | No, council member Sobieski. I mean, the report, I believe, provides you with additional information to make the determination you have under the elections code, which would be at that point, the two options of putting it on the ballot adopting it straight ahead as an ordinance. I do believe it has the extra benefit as indicated by the mayor of providing more public information. about the content and about the the information that the council has requested And if I may, Madam Mayor, what I heard, the council requesting in a report, if that's the way you choose to go. What are the items that you indicated? a map indicating where the schools are located in town, with the circumference or the distance sighted out, around those schools. Readily available reports regarding health of school-aged children and cannabis. You indicated that those should be readily available from either school districts or the Marin County Department of Health and Human Services. if there's readily available information regarding increased, increased crime statistics related to retail cannabis operations, again, readily available information. The vice mayor indicated she was very interested in seeing what's happening in Colorado with respect to any emerging legislation, particularly as it relates to controlling potency and or flavored substances. And then council member Sobieski indicated He wanted to explore a little bit more about the legal issues that had been raised. um, particularly the residency requirement and whether or not that's lawful. |
| 04:13:51.54 | Ian Sobieski | Yeah. So, I mean, can't we, I'm still confused, Mary, why can't we? to initiate the public generate that report not at our leisure, but not within the next 30 days, and just go ahead and have that report supplement public discourse, just put it out there. go ahead and put this on the ballot since it's required to do that. |
| 04:14:14.02 | Jill Hoffman | So that's... I mean, So my point isn't necessarily I mean, it's good to have this information, but my point is that this is information that's good to have when you're making the decision. And it's, good thing to have this information for us when we're articulating to the people of Sausalito why we are putting this on the ballot instead of adopting it as an ordinance because that's You know, those are our two decision points, right? and so this is Like I said, it's allowed under the election code. Um, and AND I THINK IT'S A YOU KNOW, when we make this decision about we don't have this decision in front of us right now. We don't, sorry, we don't have this information in front of us right now for our consideration, right? So, when we're looking at what's the best position for the city council to be in when we're making a decision on this type of ordinance, or this type of information. I mean, I don't want to be in a position where We make a decision because we don't want to have a meeting in August. right or we're making a decision because we're concerned about Um, how much work it's going to be for the staff, which is kind of what I'm hearing, or that we are at the point where I've already made a decision without all of the information I could possibly have when I'm making this decision. Right? The election code gives us the opportunity to I'm not sure. gather additional information in order to make our decision And when we're talking to people about why we decided what we decided, then it would be nice to have this information before us and say, look, the city council, thoughtfully looked at this. We had the ability to pause for a minute and get an additional 30 days and get additional information in order to inform our decision making process. And so that's why I'm advocating that we take that time And, you know, it's some, you know, unfortunate that the timing is what it is, Um, |
| 04:16:24.43 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 04:16:24.60 | Jill Hoffman | This is what we're |
| 04:16:26.15 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. Thank you, Mary. Yeah, thanks for explaining that. I'm just inclined to put this on as an ordinance myself, just like Susan Cleveland Knowles said, because of the very narrowly construed category of businesses that could apply for this. license, there's nothing I would learn from the report that would could possibly persuade me to just enacted as an ordinance because of that feature. And so Susan feels that way. And if Melissa feels that way, then we already know the outcome. |
| 04:16:58.42 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, fine. Then make your motion and we'll vote on it. |
| 04:17:00.73 | Ian Sobieski | and we'll vote on it. I just want to see if Melissa fits that way. |
| 04:17:04.08 | Jill Hoffman | I just wanted to add, |
| 04:17:04.96 | Melissa Blaustein | I mean, this isn't about that. I don't want us to be informed on the issue. This is about that we have a variety of very pressing issues on our agenda. We're in a climate emergency. We have disaster preparedness to address. We have a fire season. This is something we've been talking about for three years that we were trying to have an open public process on. Someone brought it before the voters. They've qualified for the ballot. Now we can let democracy speak and let the voters decide. This is, I really don't appreciate that you're saying we don't want to be informed choice. |
| 04:17:33.02 | Jill Hoffman | Well, since you're fine, then not on point of order. Yeah, poor or so. OK, so I'm going to respond to Council member Blaustein's comments about democracy and. |
| 04:17:34.34 | Unknown | Yeah. |
| 04:17:44.45 | Jill Hoffman | where we're at in this point because she brought these things up and so I'm going to respond to that and then at this then at that point I'm going to close public comment I'm going to sorry I'm going to close our discussion if there's a mo somebody wants to make a motion then we'll call the motion But this is not about anybody not. No, no, no, hold on. Nope, I'm speaking. |
| 04:18:02.52 | Julie | you |
| 04:18:02.64 | Elizabeth O'Donnell | I don't know. |
| 04:18:03.38 | Julie | Bye. |
| 04:18:06.22 | Jill Hoffman | As a point of order, I'm speaking now and I get to respond to the comments that council member Blaustein just made. And so, You know, the point was that I have been trying to make is that our decision point is whether or not we're going to adopt the ordinance. Dot the initiative as an ordinance. That's our decision point tonight or refer it to an election. My My purpose in urging us to take the time to do the 30 day report which is allowed under the election code was so that we in the public would fully understand the impacts of this before we made the decision. Now, I understand now that people, it looks to me like there's three members on the council who don't want to do that. Councilmember Blaustein has now positioned it as that I don't want us to go and go forward with. the election and referring it to an election. That's not true. It's not how I was. Excuse me, Councilman blasting, but I wish you would not interrupt me. |
| 04:19:04.39 | Mary Wagner | I don't know how I was |
| 04:19:04.98 | Unknown | as it comes. |
| 04:19:09.01 | Jill Hoffman | So I have the floor, excuse me, Council member Blassing. I would like it under our protocols, if you would be respectful and not interrupt me. And so This is the discussion time. You've made your point. People have asked me for further information about why my position was, and I've responded to it. And so at this point, the we will apparently there's going to be a motion that we will refer this to an election. That's fine. And that's going to be our, I assume somebody is going to make a motion. |
| 04:19:43.11 | Ian Sobieski | Mm-hmm. you I assume so. I just have another question, Mayor. Is it, we can still ask for the map, for instance, that you requested staff to generate that map, for example, right? I mean, there's no reason we can't ask staff |
| 04:19:55.06 | Jill Hoffman | Woo! |
| 04:19:55.40 | Ian Sobieski | out. |
| 04:19:56.31 | Jill Hoffman | You can always request things from staff. |
| 04:19:58.88 | Ian Sobieski | Thank you. |
| 04:19:58.89 | Jill Hoffman | So. Yes. OK, so. Is it true or what's that? |
| 04:20:02.59 | Ian Sobieski | Is it true, Melissa, I just want to ask if you don't mind, Melissa, is it true that you would not put this as an ordinance? or is there any information that you would learn from the report that would make it enacted as an ordinance or not. |
| 04:20:15.13 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 04:20:15.65 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 04:20:15.75 | Unknown | I think all there's the display. |
| 04:20:16.75 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 04:20:17.17 | Ian Sobieski | here. I would second Melissa's motion. |
| 04:20:21.20 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, fine. So let's call it. So the motion is that the that the ballot initiative that has passed be referred to an election. Do we have to now let me ask a clarifying question to our city. ATTORNEY. Mary, do we have to state the date for the election or can we Can we determine that at some lighter point. |
| 04:20:44.73 | Mary Wagner | No, we need you to give us some direction on the date. |
| 04:20:46.87 | Jill Hoffman | THE END OF THE END OF THE Okay. So we have two options then. We can refer it to the next general election which is in November of 2021 or we can refer it to a special election and Mary that's |
| 04:21:02.44 | Unknown | Mm. |
| 04:21:03.35 | Jill Hoffman | The next election actually is June... 2021, right? But there was some discussion with the |
| 04:21:13.24 | Jill Hoffman | with the proponents of the ballot measure that they felt like it was it had to be in January, but your thought process was it did not have to be in January that could have been in one it could be on one of the earlier special elections, is that right? |
| 04:21:26.80 | Mary Wagner | If I could clarify, Madam Mayor, thank you. And I can pull up those election dates if that's helpful too. I was trying to, my screen share got Sideways. The election code requires that you put it on the jurisdictions next regular election. under the Sausalito Municipal Code. Sausalito as the jurisdiction, your next regular election is November of 2022. The ballot proponent has indicated that they believe that the next regular election for Sausalito is June of 2022 at the primary. the statewide primary. So the council also has any of the other elections prior to November 2022. to consider. if you would like. |
| 04:22:13.17 | Jill Hoffman | That's right, and those were? And those were like four other dates, right? There was April, May, June. |
| 04:22:20.37 | Mary Wagner | Would you like me to |
| 04:22:20.58 | Jill Hoffman | Would you like me to pull that up? |
| 04:22:21.03 | Janelle Kellman | that up. |
| 04:22:21.71 | Jill Hoffman | Yep. And I see the vice president. |
| 04:22:22.40 | Janelle Kellman | I can't. THE FAMILY. |
| 04:22:23.34 | Jill Hoffman | THE FAMILY. |
| 04:22:23.66 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. |
| 04:22:23.95 | Janelle Kellman | Yeah, so Mary, so you presented us with two different things there. Is it fair to say that the November, the cost of the, putting on the November election would be less expensive than putting it on in June, is there a price differential? And then my second question is, I understand that the proponent believes that the June is our next regular election. Do you want to render an opinion on that to guide our thinking? |
| 04:22:50.82 | Mary Wagner | I'm sorry, my opinion is it's November of 2022. |
| 04:22:50.88 | Janelle Kellman | Come on. I'm sorry. |
| 04:22:55.46 | Mary Wagner | the proponent has indicated strongly that they disagree with that. With respect to your question about cost, I don't know that there's a big differential between June and November. Frankly, they're both statewide or at least June statewide. and I believe the cost would be very Similar. Your other dates include special election dates that would likely be more costly. These are those dates. Thank you. Sorry. |
| 04:23:26.14 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 04:23:26.17 | Mary Wagner | ScreenShare is defined. |
| 04:23:26.98 | Jill Hoffman | What? Okay, so All right. |
| 04:23:34.27 | Melissa Blaustein | Thank you. |
| 04:23:35.89 | Ian Sobieski | So Melissa, what date was your motion for? |
| 04:23:40.43 | Melissa Blaustein | the staff recommendation for November 8th |
| 04:23:43.25 | Ian Sobieski | 2022. Don't second that notification. |
| 04:23:50.54 | Ian Sobieski | I second that notion. |
| 04:23:51.85 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, we got it. So, clerk, call the roll. |
| 04:23:59.19 | Heidi Scoble | Councilmember Chavieski. guests. Council Member Blomstein. |
| 04:24:04.20 | Jasmine | guys. |
| 04:24:05.33 | Heidi Scoble | Chancellor Member Cleaver-Knowles. Yes. Vice Mayor Kailman. |
| 04:24:09.81 | Jasmine | Thank you. |
| 04:24:09.82 | Jill Hoffman | No. |
| 04:24:11.66 | Heidi Scoble | and Mayor Hoffman. |
| 04:24:13.28 | Jill Hoffman | No, but not that I'm against putting it on the election. I just want the report first and then referral one way or the other after that. Okay, thank you. OK, moving on to our next item on the agenda. which is, |
| 04:24:34.01 | Jill Hoffman | Um... Let's see, hold on. Our next item on the agenda is I |
| 04:24:42.53 | Avatar's restaurant representative | we're, |
| 04:24:42.90 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 04:24:43.61 | Avatar's restaurant representative | Thank you. |
| 04:24:43.66 | Jill Hoffman | Yeah, I'm trying to figure out. Yes, I'm trying to remember we decided to do |
| 04:24:43.67 | Avatar's restaurant representative | Yeah. |
| 04:24:44.03 | Heidi Scoble | I'm trying to get a little bit of a |
| 04:24:49.02 | Heidi Scoble | Number two on communications. |
| 04:24:49.13 | Jill Hoffman | number two Well, is it committee reports or is it public comment for matters not on the agenda. I believe it's the former Committee reports. I don't. |
| 04:25:05.70 | Heidi Scoble | Madam Mayor, we skipped number two, which is communications for matters not on the agenda |
| 04:25:06.24 | Janelle Kellman | Yeah. |
| 04:25:06.25 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 04:25:12.19 | Jill Hoffman | OK. Well, we didn't skip it. We moved it to the end of the. into the agenda. Okay, so then we'll do it now. We'll do matters not on the agenda, public comment, and then we'll do committee reports, and then we'll do eight, which is our city manager and all that kind of stuff. |
| 04:25:31.65 | Heidi Scoble | Madam Mayor, we do have a hand rate in Alice Merrill. |
| 04:25:35.36 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, go ahead, Alice. This is for matters not in the agenda. |
| 04:25:39.75 | Heidi Scoble | And Alice, you've been unmuted and has to share your video. |
| 04:25:43.01 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 04:25:43.04 | Alice Merrill | OKAY. Okay, so here's something I've learned just this afternoon. I would love to have a show of hands. How many of you know who Ian Moody is? You don't have to say, OK. Welcome. Some people don't. Okay, Ian Moody died. HIS his business As of today, it's closed down. Yeah. closed down. that is all the houseboats that are built on barges. That is any houseboat that needs a barge to or that might need a barge that is right next to The other two railroad tracks, it's the land that's owned by, what's his name? Joe Lemon. He... he has indicated to the family that even if somebody wanted to take it they would have a 30-day lease no more 30-day lease which is what all those people are working under all the time all the time so this is my little heart in the marineship and and this is serious you guys This is now, this has happened. Ian Moody is closed down. You might know what that means. You might not. I'd be happy to tell you. It is serious. have to do something. to protect this land and You just have to know this is, just happened today. So. Thank you. |
| 04:27:22.98 | Jill Hoffman | OK, thank you. I don't see any other hands up. And so we'll move on to Um, committee reports? |
| 04:27:33.77 | Jill Hoffman | OK? |
| 04:27:34.23 | Ian Sobieski | Well, uh, |
| 04:27:35.68 | Jill Hoffman | Yeah, given the late hours, you could abbreviate your committee reports. I think that would be helpful. So, Ian? For sure. Excellent. |
| 04:27:40.95 | Ian Sobieski | For sure. I'll give her an overview. Yeah. EDAC is meeting on the 2nd. OMAD is meeting this Thursday. Parks and Wheat Rec is meeting on Monday. And that's my report. |
| 04:27:53.50 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, thanks. Anybody else have a committee report? Very good. |
| 04:27:58.23 | Janelle Kellman | you Thank you. |
| 04:27:58.70 | Jill Hoffman | Uh, |
| 04:27:59.04 | Janelle Kellman | City manager reports. I'll just say we did have a finance committee meeting on the 15th and to the What came out of that was we are going to look deeper into measure O, measure F and then also set up some pension workshops. So the city manager may have more information on that, but it's one of ready to know. Okay. |
| 04:28:17.97 | Jill Hoffman | Thanks. |
| 04:28:19.93 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. |
| 04:28:19.94 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. |
| 04:28:20.89 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. |
| 04:28:20.91 | Jill Hoffman | Now, moving on. Um, Okay. Um, So we're going to do item 8, which is really city manager information. I don't think we have any other appointments to boards and committees or anything else under that. So... There's no reverse. |
| 04:28:41.78 | Heidi Scoble | Madam Mayor. Would you like to take public comment at this point |
| 04:28:45.93 | Jill Hoffman | Yes, on item 8A, yes, public comment. Go ahead. I'm opening public comment for item 8. 8. period. for all those. OK, I don't see any hands. |
| 04:28:57.32 | Heidi Scoble | No hence rates, Madam Mayor. |
| 04:28:58.93 | Jill Hoffman | I'm closing public comment. City Manager. Your report, please. |
| 04:29:04.29 | Chris Zapata | very briefly just the OMIT committee, thanks to Councilmember Blaustein and Sobieski, We'll meet on Thursday at 3.30. consider some things that have been on burner for some time that's my report |
| 04:29:18.91 | Jill Hoffman | Very good. In that case, future DENT items. |
| 04:29:27.50 | Janelle Kellman | The only thing, if I may, Mayor Hoffman, We talked to the city manager previously about having somebody from Southern Moira come and do, and I think that's a good question. an actual presentation to us. And I think councilman Cleveland, all's mentioned at the top of the hour or beginning of the meeting. |
| 04:29:37.99 | Unknown | Thank you. |
| 04:29:38.01 | Derek | And I think- |
| 04:29:42.33 | Derek | Yeah. |
| 04:29:42.40 | Chris Zapata | at home. |
| 04:29:44.22 | Janelle Kellman | Hold on. |
| 04:29:44.98 | Jill Hoffman | I don't know. Sorry, he's a mute. I recognize your voice. I'm going to go. AND THAT'S WHAT WE HAVE |
| 04:29:52.03 | Janelle Kellman | Thank you. I just want to flag that for you, city manager, and if we could go back on that and have have them come and maybe present a very robust, that. presentation to us and just have that type of back and forth since we don't have board representation, I think that would be a good practice. |
| 04:30:06.68 | Jill Hoffman | Okay, thanks. I see Councilmember Blaustein's hand is up. Go ahead. |
| 04:30:10.36 | Melissa Blaustein | Thank you. |
| 04:30:10.39 | Jill Hoffman | Yeah. |
| 04:30:10.65 | Melissa Blaustein | I would like to see a presentation on the status of the drought. I've been having conversations about drought mitigation measures. For instance, the city of Healdsburg has a really great potable water. |
| 04:30:16.47 | Jill Hoffman | about |
| 04:30:16.91 | Unknown | you |
| 04:30:21.88 | Melissa Blaustein | planning and reuse program that I'd like to see and potentially instituted here in Sausalito. So if we could get a report from the wastewater district or just an update on the status of the drought and what steps we might take as a community to be more mindful of our water use, that would be helpful. |
| 04:30:37.49 | Jill Hoffman | OK, thank you. Anybody else? OK. Very good, moving on. We have no other reports of significance, and so we are adjourned. Good work you guys. |
| 04:30:49.81 | Janelle Kellman | Good job everybody. |
| 04:30:51.06 | Jill Hoffman | Thank you. Thank you. |
| 04:30:52.58 | Unknown | Oh, my God. |
| 04:30:53.02 | Janelle Kellman | Bye. |
| 04:30:53.07 | Jill Hoffman | Mama. |
| 04:30:53.78 | Janelle Kellman | Bye. |
| 04:30:54.11 | Jill Hoffman | Bye. |
| 04:30:56.09 | Unknown | . |
| 04:30:56.11 | Jill Hoffman | . |
| 04:30:57.39 | Unknown | Hi! |
Kevin Carroll — Neutral: Requested that item 5C be discussed as part of item 7A to allow comment on the survey during that agenda item, ensuring related topics are addressed together. ▶ 📄
Maggie Cox — In Favor: Supported Steven Woodside's comments, referenced a 1996 geotechnical report by Craig Herzog on landslide causes and recommendations, urged incorporation of those suggestions into the Edwards Avenue design using SB1 funds, and thanked the council for their service. ▶ 📄