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Home My Public Portal About20190114plCC 701-32 DOCUMENTS IN THIS PACKET INCLUDE: LETTERS FROM CITIZENS TO THE MAYOR OR CITY COUNCIL RESPONSES FROM STAFF TO LETTERS FROM CITIZENS ITEMS FROM MAYOR AND COUNCIL MEMBERS ITEMS FROM OTHER COMMITTEES AND AGENCIES ITEMS FROM CITY, COUNTY, STATE, AND REGIONAL AGENCIES Prepared for: 01/14/2019 Document dates: 12/26/2018 – 01/02/2019 Set 1 Note: Documents for every category may not have been received for packet reproduction in a given week. 1 Carnahan, David From:Linnea Wickstrom <ljwickstrom@comcast.net> Sent:Wednesday, January 2, 2019 11:40 AM To:Council, City Subject:Chamber Upgrades: hoping for audio improvements Members of the City Council, I certainly hope that the upgrades will improve the audibility of Council and Commission members as they speak. As is, council and commission members may be able to hear each other but many are inaudible to the audience a good deal of the time. Linnea Wickstrom 1 Carnahan, David From:slevy@ccsce.com Sent:Wednesday, December 26, 2018 12:03 PM To:Council, City Subject:In support of the President Hotel tenants Dear Mayor Kniss and Council Members, Palo Alto Forward writes in support of the President Hotel tenants. We encourage the council to extend the stay of the current tenants as requested in the letter dated December 20, 2018 from Iqbal Serang and Dennis Backlund. There is a strong case in support of their request for at least four reasons: 1) It will follow through on the city's policy of having one year leases. 2) The city has yet to decide on the legal merits of the property owner's request for a use change and even following a decision there may be appeals and legal actions delaying any change in use. 3) Even if a change is use is allowed, extra time will be needed to get the required permits and go through the project review process. There seems little if any cost or inconvenience to the property owner from allowing the tenants to remain through at least June and preferably until the property owner is ready to make any changes on the property. 4) As council members know, the housing market in this area is very tight and the extra time will be a compassionate gesture to a fine group of residents while the city and property owner sort out how things will proceed. On a different but related issue, Palo Alto Forward encourages the council and PTC to hold a study session on the recently approved CASA compact. It includes a wealth of information that can inform our housing work plan going forward and also includes many ideas for renter protections. Stephen Levy Treasurer Palo Alto Forward 1 Carnahan, David From:Jeanne Fleming <jfleming@metricus.net> Sent:Thursday, December 27, 2018 8:53 AM To:Stump, Molly; Minor, Beth; Shikada, Ed Cc:Council, City; Architectural Review Board Subject:FPPC opens investigation of Jonathan Reichental Attachments:WWI _ Reichental.pdf Dear Ms. Stump, I am writing to let you know that the Enforcement Division of the California Fair Political Practices Commission has now opened an investigation into the practices and conduct of CTO/CIO Jonathan Reichental. Attached is the letter the FPPC’s Galena West, Chief of the Enforcement Division, sent me in this regard. Sincerely, Jeanne Fleming Jeanne Fleming, PhD JFleming@Metricus.net 650-325-5151 STATE OF CALIFORNIA FAIR POLITICAL PRACTICES COMMISSION 1102 Q Street • Suite 3000 • Sacramento, CA 95814-2329 December 26, 2018 Jeanne Fleming, Ph. D. Via email: jfleming@metricus.net RE: FPPC Case No. 2018-1561; Reichental, Ph.D. Dear Ms. Fleming: This letter is to notify you that the Enforcement Division of the Fair Political Practices Commission will investigate the allegation(s), under the jurisdiction of the Commission, of the sworn complaint you submitted in the above-referenced matter. You will next receive notification from us upon final disposition of the case. However, please be advised that at this time we have not made any determination about the validity of the allegation(s) you have made or about the culpability, if any, of the person(s) you identify in your complaint. Thank you for taking the time to bring this matter to our attention. If you have any questions regarding this letter, please contact Chloe Hackert at chackert@fppc.ca.gov. Sincerely, GWest Galena West, Chief Enforcement Division GW/ch cc: Mr. Joseph Guardarrama Kaufman Legal Group o/b/o Mr. Jonathan Reichental, Ph.D. 1 Carnahan, David From:Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Sent:Tuesday, January 1, 2019 4:44 PM To:Loran Harding; Steven Feinstein; Dan Richard; Daniel Zack; dennisbalakian; David Balakian; Doug Vagim; kfsndesk; newsdesk; Mark Standriff; Mark Kreutzer; huidentalsanmateo; Joel Stiner; midge@thebarretts.com; terry; hennessy; schu@stanford.edu; yicui@stanford.edu; shanhui.fan@stanford.edu; leager; Cathy Lewis; Council, City; Chris Field; diffenbaugh@stanford.edu; beachrides; bearwithme1016@att.net; bballpod; nick yovino; Mayor; esmeralda.soria@fresno.gov; paul.caprioglio; info@superide1.com; jerry ruopoli; robert.andersen; russ@topperjewelers.com; Raymond Rivas; mthibodeaux@electriclaboratories.com; popoff; pavenjitdhillon@yahoo.com Subject:Fwd: BIG lithium deposit in Cinovec in Czech Republic ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Forwarded message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ From: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Date: Tue, Jan 1, 2019 at 4:19 PM Subject: Fwd: BIG lithium deposit in Cinovec in Czech Republic To: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Tues. Jan. 1, 2019 To all‐ Here is a vid re "the truth about Tesla Model 3 Batteries". Accuracy unknown. Looks well done except they have kg‐lb. conversion backwards throughout. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGFiaWvD‐KI LH BTW, all recipients can see the Ionic Materials Corp. Li‐metal battery by seeing Nova "Search for the Super Battery", at about the midway point. Far safer than Li‐ion. Very impressive. LH ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Forwarded message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ From: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Date: Tue, Jan 1, 2019 at 3:07 PM Subject: Fwd: BIG lithium deposit in Cinovec in Czech Republic To: Steven Feinstein <steven.feinstein@ionicmaterials.com> ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Forwarded message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ From: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Date: Tue, Jan 1, 2019 at 3:03 PM Subject: Fwd: BIG lithium deposit in Cinovec in Czech Republic 2 To: Dan Richard <danrichard@mac.com>, Daniel Zack <daniel.zack@fresno.gov>, dennisbalakian <dennisbalakian@sbcglobal.net>, David Balakian <davidbalakian@sbcglobal.net>, Doug Vagim <dvagim@gmail.com>, kfsndesk <kfsndesk@abc.com>, newsdesk <newsdesk@cbs47.tv>, <kwalsh@kmaxtv.com>, Mark Standriff <mark.standriff@fresno.gov>, Mark Kreutzer <mlkreutzer@yahoo.com>, huidentalsanmateo <huidentalsanmateo@gmail.com>, Joel Stiner <jastiner@gmail.com>, <midge@thebarretts.com>, terry <terry@terrynagel.com>, hennessy <hennessy@stanford.edu>, <schu@stanford.edu>, <yicui@stanford.edu>, <shanhui.fan@stanford.edu>, leager <leager@fresnoedc.com>, Cathy Lewis <catllewis@gmail.com>, city.council <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>, Chris Field <cfield@ciw.edu>, <diffenbaugh@stanford.edu>, beachrides <beachrides@sbcglobal.net>, <bearwithme1016@att.net>, bballpod <bballpod@aol.com>, nick yovino <npyovino@gmail.com>, Mayor <mayor@fresno.gov>, <esmeralda.soria@fresno.gov>, paul.caprioglio <paul.caprioglio@fresno.gov>, <info@superide1.com>, jerry ruopoli <jrwiseguy7@gmail.com>, robert.andersen <robert.andersen@fresno.gov>, <russ@topperjewelers.com>, Raymond Rivas <financialadvisor007@gmail.com>, <mthibodeaux@electriclaboratories.com>, popoff <popoff@pbworld.com>, <pavenjitdhillon@yahoo.com> ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Forwarded message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ From: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Date: Tue, Jan 1, 2019 at 2:47 PM Subject: Fwd: BIG lithium deposit in Cinovec in Czech Republic To: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Forwarded message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ From: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Date: Tue, Jan 1, 2019 at 1:16 PM Subject: BIG lithium deposit in Cinovec in Czech Republic To: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Tues. January 1, 2019 Steven Feinstein Ionic Materials Corp. Mr. Feinstein‐ Last night "DW Tomorrow Today" ran a piece on Ch 32‐1 in Fresno about a big lithium deposit in a tapped‐out tin‐tungsten mine near the Czech‐German border in the town of Cinovec. I wrote as fast as I could, but they flash things by fast. After some serious searching, I found this. I think it might be of interest to you at Ionic Materials: It is four different pieces: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=dw+tomorrow+today+lithium+deposit+in+czech+bartaud Here are the notes I took last night. Lithium mica is what they produce, or will produce by mid 2021. The ore is zimbolite. They think the deposit is 250,000 tons of metallic lithium. They have developed a new process to extract the Li from the zimbolite. The price of Li has doubled in the past 18 months. 3 The price is now $22,000 per ton in China. Per ton of what is not clear to me‐ pure Li?. The ore is crushed. The zimbolite is removed using magnets. They then use CO2 and H2O in a leaching process. Lithium carbonate is left, a white substance. This is a simple process, a big advantage of it, and the same process can be used to extract Li from old batteries. They talked about "more than a million tons of Li carbonate". You see an interview in the link above done Oct. 5, 2017 with Keith Coughlan, managing director of European Metals Holdings Limited (LON‐EMH). He talks about production by his company beginning in Cinovec in mid 2021. He says that electric vehicles will really be coming on by 2025, especially in Europe. "Czech government gives stamp of approval" for the project says the title of the interview. Mr. Coughlan is an Australian, no strangers to mining. He mentioned that Li is a strategic metal, as is tin, which they will produce as a by‐product. One of the comments after one of the four pieces in the above link says that B.C. had several Li mines, but they were abandoned some years ago. He says that the ore in those British Columbia mines allows the Li to be extracted easily compared to Li‐bearing ores found elsewhere. I could not find the actual piece on the DW Tomorrow Today website that was run here last night, Dec. 31, 2018 on Ch. 32‐1. It might be worth your while to try to see it if you have to contact DW TT to do so. I found the link I provide above using this search term on YouTube: DW tomorrow today lithium deposit in Czech Bartaud. They showed a man at some institute named Bartaud or Bartau discussing the process they have developed to extract the Li. If you could learn the details of that process from him it might be very useful‐valuable. I saw a piece the o. day saying that a lot of Li is produced now in Africa using children as young as 12 working 12 hours per day in Li mines, a real problem. They said that that is going to be a real problem for producers of Li batteries. It also said that Li can be extracted from the sea bed, but countries are protective of their sea beds. Hope you all find this helpful. L. William Harding Fresno One of the four pieces above shows people speaking Czech. My German is better than my Czech, and my German is pretty rough. You might have a Czech speaker look at that. I hope that the media, et. al. to which I send this forward it to the U.S. DOE, to Congress, WH, DOD, GM, etc. 1 Carnahan, David From:Craig Murphy <craigmurphy27@gmail.com> Sent:Tuesday, January 1, 2019 12:00 PM To:thompsonsharkey@att.net Cc:SOCIALMEDIA1953@gmail.com; MARKHAMPLAZATA@gmail.com Subject:HAPPY NEW YEAR THOMPSON SHARKEY! 1 Carnahan, David From: <> Sent:Friday, December 28, 2018 2:40 PM To:Council, City; Lait, Jonathan; French, Amy; Planning Enforcement; Planning Commission Subject:issue to consider - office use of retail space (290 California Ave and more) Dear City Council and Planning Department/Code Enforcement, With the highly valuable office space here, I urge the City Council to prioritize protecting retail space from office takeover. I've been paying attention because I care about civic/public space for our neighborhood and I've been working on renting space in Palo Alto for a community‐building concept and so I pay close attention and inquire wherever space is available. This one I just discovered was a new level of concern . I"ve submitted it to 311, but I wanted you to be aware at a policy level. OFFICE USE TAKEOVER OF RETAIL SPACE former Keeble & Shuckat space at 2980 California Ave. This space briefly housed Accent Arts, and when they closed, it was vacant for awhile. Blossom Birth has taken over the corner, and both sides are in violation. 290 California Ave, Suite C Rented by Plume since January 2018 (or before). Supposed to be for their tech product. Nothing in there for whole year except table and chairs (office‐type use). 2 290 California Ave, Suite B ‐ I discovered this Dec. 24, 2018 Now, a much larger space to the right (Suite B), where Accent Arts was, has a wall built so that Plume's offices are in most of the space. They are supposed to offer a retail product in the small remaining area. This is a way many tech companies could take over retail spaces and price out those of us who want to operate here. You can see a 'wall and door" has been built that allowed for their office to take over most of this retail space. 3 4 Losing retail is a huge huge loss. We have other issues to work out on Cal Ave (parking requirements for uses which incentivizes gyms, for instance), but at the very least let's protect retail from tech. It's simply not true that these landlords cannot find tenants. I know because I've inquired about many vacant spaces and the landlords are unwilling to lower the rent to find a tenant. They want to make the money office tenants give them. There are other examples (esp. around College Ave/Staunton, a few downtown), but to do this on a main business district is particularly bold. Please do what you can 1) to address this violation and prevent other tech takeovers of retail space 2) to direct code enforcement to prioritize protection of retail zoning violations over personal house zoning violations (which have less of an impact on the whole community). 3) take policy steps if needed. Please do not share my name with the landlord. Warmly So my hope is that this space gets rectified, and that the City Council (and whoever else needs to be involved) does whatever you can to prioritize the protection of retail areas in Palo Alto. 1 Carnahan, David From:Michael Korn <makompk@aol.com> Sent:Thursday, December 27, 2018 3:37 PM To:Kou, Lydia Cc:Council, City Subject:Re: Palo Alto pushes back against Verizon proposals Thanks for your kind response. BTW, there is an email address that reaches all the Council Members as well as some key staff members, it is city.council@cityofpaloalto.org I was raised in Palo Alto many years ago. -----Original Message----- From: Kou, Lydia <Lydia.Kou@CityofPaloAlto.org> To: Michael Korn <makompk@aol.com> Sent: Thu, Dec 27, 2018 2:16 pm Subject: Re: Palo Alto pushes back against Verizon proposals Dear Mr. Korn, This proposal has only gone through the Architectural Review Board, it may come to Council for further public hearings and final decision. Federal law does supersede local law, however, local jurisdictions can chose to enforce what remaining controls we have remaining. Palo Alto officials and its staff can enforce the existing law rather than amend it to conform or to make it easier. BTW, there is an email address that reaches all the Council Members as well as some key staff members, it is city.council@cityofpaloalto.org Thank you for your email and Happy New Year. Kind regards, ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Lydia Kou ‐ Council Member Contact Info: https://goo.gl/BcgCQS From: Michael Korn <makompk@aol.com> Sent: Thursday, December 27, 2018 7:01 AM To: Tanaka, Greg; Kniss, Liz (internal); Holman, Karen; DuBois, Tom; Scharff, Gregory (internal); Scharff, Greg Cc: editor@paweekly.com; kkelly@bayareanewsgroup.com; greg@gregtanaka.org; Filseth, Eric (Internal); Fine, Adrian; 2 Kou, Lydia; tomforcouncil@gmail.com; Wolbach, Cory Subject: Palo Alto pushes back against Verizon proposals Palo Alto pushes back against Verizon proposals Palo Alto officials are pushing back against proposed designs for new wireless-antenna equipment and considering a challenge to recently adopted federal rules that will make it easier for telecommunication companies to receive approvals. Wednesday, 1:31 PM | 5 comments Dear Palo Alto Council Members, i saw this article in Palo Alto online. One paragraph surprised me: The rash of proposals has created a tricky quandary for Palo Alto officials, who are trying to balance the cityʹs demand for data with its desire to preserve neighborhood aesthetics. At the same time, local officials are navigating through a ʺhighly litigated and regulated area,ʺ in the words of Architectural Review Board Chair Wynne Furth. Federal laws prohibit local jurisdictions from considering the health effects of new wireless equipment or from taking too long to review the proposals. Does the Federal government have the authority to prohibit local jurisdictions from considering the health effects about anything? Could the Feds for example have a law prohibiting people from suing a restaurant over a food poisoning outbreak? I have heard about this exemption but never seen it so vividly portrayed as in this article. I took a libertarian economics course at Harvard, and the instructor said that the power of consumers to bring tort lawsuits against companies is the best way to ensure the safety of their products and far superior to general governmental regulation. But this exemption undermines that very principle does it not? See also this article. Happy New Year to you all! Michael PS It would be helpful if you had one master email address that would contact all council members simultaneously, like this city in Colorado: https://www.fcgov.com/council/contact‐us.php Want to e‐mail all City Councilmembers and the City Manager at once? Use: cityleaders@fcgov.com 1 Carnahan, David From:Jeanne Fleming <jfleming@metricus.net> Sent:Wednesday, December 26, 2018 5:14 PM To:Yang, Albert Cc:Stump, Molly; Council, City; Planning Commission; Clerk, City Subject:Request for information Dear Albert Yang, I would appreciate it if you would give me the names of the lawyers and law firms that have been or will be hired to draft, advise or otherwise assist the City of Palo Alto with the ordinance amending Section 18.42.110 (Wireless Communications Facilities) of the Municipal Code. This is the amended ordinance that on December 12, 2018 you recommended to the Planning & Transportation Commission that it in turn advise City Council to adopt. Please let me know if you have any questions. Sincerely, Jeanne Fleming Jeanne Fleming, PhD JFleming@Metricus.net 650-325-5151 1 Carnahan, David From:Javier . <javmina@hotmail.es> Sent:Friday, December 28, 2018 8:25 AM To:Council, City Subject:To the attention of the Lady Mayor of Palo Alto. Excellency Mrs. Liz Kniss. I am Spanish and I currently live in the north of Chile. My name is Javier Miranda. I am writing to you because I have applied for a job in the city of Palo Alto, which is about filling the heavy machinery operator position to dedicate the work to public works in the city, and that is why I am writing to you, so that in some way it helps me to be selected and that way I can travel to Palo Alto to live and work honestly. However, I would like you, from the town hall, to help me in the referral to documentation so that my transfer to Palo Alto is possible. I want to do things well so as not to cause problems with anyone. I've always been like this. Thankful for your time and for everything that you could communicate to me. Greetings and see you soon.