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Home My Public Portal About20180723plCC 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: 7/23/2018 Document dates: 7/04/2018 – 7/11/2018 Set 1 Note: Documents for every category may not have been received for packet reproduction in a given week. City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/9/2018 8:15 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:atkinsonkim@pacbell.net Sent:Thursday, July 05, 2018 1:26 PM To:Council, City; Kniss, Liz (internal) Subject:Arastradero Open Space Preserve, and all of Palo Alto Attachments:P1200137.JPG; P1200141.JPG; P1200143.JPG; P1200136.JPG To the Palo Alto City Council, and Mayor Liz Kniss, Thank you for having the turquoise‐colored porta potty removed from trail views at Arastradero Open Space Preserve. This courtesy is appreciated. The attached photographs were taken today, July 5, of what last year was a pristine hilltop, affording an open sky view and a sense of nature and solace to hikers and riders up there. These photos were taken from popular Meadow Lark trail, showing the trail, (and one construction photo is from Woodrat trail). It is disheartening that our city council did not have the foresight and stewardship to deny the building of a 9000+ square foot mansion on this visible hilltop from our park, that will serve only one lucky family. This ‘house’ will not solve any housing problems that the city is currently grappling with. It seems not fair that the taxpayers of Palo Alto foot the bill for what will essentially be the backyard for an outsized privileged home at the top of this hill, a home that will enjoy views from the top, but will spoil everyone else’s views looking up towards the top. It is regrettable that the city did not protect this visible piece of land and preserve it for future generations who will enjoy this park. This land should have been made part of the park. You have heard from me before. It is not known to this writer how much our city council members hike or enjoy our city’s nature parks‐‐‐ but it is known that the more this park is hiked, the more its various beauties and wonders unfold, and the more clear it becomes how precious this park is. The variety of wildlife up there is astounding. I will leave you with the following quote from President Lyndon B. Johnson. Hopefully the idea expressed in this quote will be considered by you, the next time the city of Palo Alto faces a similar decision about protecting its beautiful open space parks….. or even about protecting the historic character and charm of its downtown, too. Thank you for your time, Kim Atkinson 1753 Middlefield Road Palo Alto CA 94301 Lyndon B Johnson 1964 City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/9/2018 8:15 AM 2 If future generations are to remember us with gratitude rather than contempt, we must leave them with something more than the miracles of technology. We must leave them a glimpse of the world as it was in the beginning, not just after we got through with it. We must not only protect the countryside and save it from destruction, we must restore what has been destroyed and salvage the beauty and charm of our cities. Once our natural splendor is destroyed, it can never be recaptured. And once man can no longer walk with beauty or wonder at nature, his spirit with wither and his sustenance be wasted. City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/9/2018 8:29 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Yahoo Mail.® <honkystar@yahoo.com> Sent:Sunday, July 08, 2018 3:36 PM To:Yahoogroups Cc:Frank Agamemnon Subject:Fw: “Vaccine Spectrum Disorder” is sweeping the nation – is your child suffering from VSD? | AWESOME3 MILLION VIEWS HOW BOUT THAT :) THANK YOU ALL FOR CARING AND SHARING 9/11 TRUTH ♥ As USUAL, to THE WORLD WE DID IT ? HIT THE 2 MILLION VIEW MARK ON 9/11 2016 AND 9/12/2016 thru 07/08/18 ? 1,062,000 MORE VIEWSIt is 5 PM SUNDAY 07/08//2018 And now at 3,062,000 SO I'M SEARCHING FOR MORE SOLDIERS TO HELP ME CARRY ON TO BRING ABOUT CHANGE. WILL YOU WORK WITH ME BROTHERS AND SISTERS TO GO ONWARD FOREVER INCREASING VIEWS ? PERHAPS A BOLD REQUEST HOW ABOUT A NEW GOAL ? LIKEN 4 MILLION VIEWS BY 9/11 2018 ? IF IT IS WITHIN YOUR COMFORT ZONE ALL I ASK AND MY ONLY INTENT IS TO SHARE THIS MESSAGE WITH EVERYONE YOU KNOW BECAUSE THE 911 DECEPTION HAS BEEN USED AS A PRETEXT FOR THE INVASION AND OCCUPATION OF NUMEROUS SOVEREIGN NATIONS, LEAVING THOUSANDS OF U.S. TROOPS AND HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS OF CIVILIANS DEAD AND THE LIVES OF MILLIONS MORE DESTROYED. IT HAS BEEN AND IS STILL BEING USED TO JUSTIFY TORTURE, SECRET ARRESTS, WARRANTLESS WIRETAPPING, THE PATRIOT ACT, THE MILITARY COMMISSIONS ACT, THE REAL ID ACT AND A WHOLE HOST OF OTHER AUTHORITARIAN PROGRAMS WHICH UNDERMINE THE U.S. CONSTITUTION AND BILL OF RIGHTS. THE 9/11 LIE WILL CONTINUE TO THREATEN PEACE, FREEDOM AND JUSTICE IN THE UNITED STATES AND AROUND THE WORLD AS LONG AS THE INFORMATION PRESENTED IN THIS VIDEO AND ALL THE EVIDENCE EXPOSING THIS DECEPTION REMAINS SUPPRESSED INACTION TO THIS INFORMATION BY THE CURRENT ADMINISTRATION IN THIS AS THE FRAUDULENT WAR ON TERROR IS PERPETUATED UNDER ANY OTHER NAME LEAVES THEM NOT ONLY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE CONTINUED BLOODSHED, BUT IMPLICATED IN THE COVER-UP AND THEREFORE COMPLICIT. FURTHERMORE, INACTION BY ANY MEDIA, POLITICAL OR AUTHORITY FIGURES WHO HAVE VIEWED THIS INFORMATION, AMOUNTS TO A CRIME OF OBSTRUCTION TO JUSTICE. BUT JUST AS IMPORTANTLY INACTION BY ANY OF US WOULD BE A GRAVE INJUSTICE UPON OUR CHILDREN AND GRANDCHILDREN, WHO WILL SUFFER THE MOST IN A WORLD THAT IS BEING CREATED IN THE FEAR MONGERING FALSE BANNER OF FIGHTING TERRORISM. I AM CALLING ON ALL CONCERNED CITIZENS TO JOIN ME IN A NON VIOLENT CAMPAIGN TO FORCE ACCOUNTABILITY WHILE DEMANDING AN IMMEDIATE AND INDEFINITE MORATORIUM TO ALL MILITARY ACTION DEFENSE SPENDING AND UNCONSTITUTIONAL PROGRAMS WHICH EMANATE FROM THE 9/11 DECEPTION. And Liken to words of Iraq Veterans Against The War I have embedded in my soul it reveals the truth for us all "The enemy is not 5,000 miles away The enemy is here, we know who they are and IF WE come together as brothers and sisters and fight WE can stop this war City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/9/2018 8:29 AM 2 WE can stop this Government and WE can create a better world" SO LET'S GET TO IT OK ? LETS CHANGE A LOT OF PEOPLES HEADS ❤ RE-THINK 9/11 MAKE IT HAPPEN 9/11 - Anatomy of a Great Deception - Complete Version https://youtu.be/l0Q5eZhCPuc?t=2 ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Phil Holtz <philholtz54@yahoo.com> Sent: Sunday, July 8, 2018, 5:25:09 PM EDT Subject: Fw: “Vaccine Spectrum Disorder” is sweeping the nation – is your child suffering from VSD? | ----- Forwarded Message ----- From: Mary Heil <hrtlite@gmail.com> Sent: Sunday, July 8, 2018, 4:30:09 AM EDT Subject: “Vaccine Spectrum Disorder” is sweeping the nation – is your child suffering from VSD? | http://www.dcclothesline.com/2018/07/08/vaccine-spectrum-disorder-is-sweeping-the-nation-is-your-child-suffering-from- vsd/ “Vaccine Spectrum Disorder” is sweeping the nation – is your child suffering from VSD? Help D.C. Clothesline Continue Exposing The Truth! (Natural News) Autism is on the rise and the statistics are skyrocketing. Back in 1990, less than 30 years ago, studies reveal there were roughly three autism cases per 10,000 children in the United States. Fast forward to this past Spring, 2018, when the CDC released new data revealing that one in every 59 American kids have some form of Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), with a much higher incident in boys than girls. What changed so drastically in less than three decades that autism cases went from three per 10,000 to 170 per 10,000? Currently more than 20 million people worldwide are diagnosed with some form of autism. Let’s take a super close look at possible factors and eliminate the “smoke and mirrors” created to distract us from unmasking the truth about autism spectrum disorder, a conundrum wrapped inside a paradox and lost in a labyrinth that medical doctors aren’t allowed to question or solve, only medicate with chemicals that add to the issues. City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/9/2018 8:29 AM 3 First things first, no child has ever been reported born with autism spectrum disorder, so the “inherited” genetics theory should be tossed out the window immediately. Medical doctors love to blame parental genes so you won’t look for a cure, and so you will accept the condition as something permanent, requiring chemical medications for life. Autism signs and symptoms emerge between 12 and 18 months of age, and issues with brain development often increase during the second year of life, when symptoms and functional difficulties begin to include speech delay, problems paying attention, inappropriate social interaction, repetitive movements, tics, anxiety, and compulsive behaviors. Sponsored solution from CWC Labs: This heavy metals test kit allows you to test almost anything for 20+ heavy metals and nutritive minerals, including lead, mercury, arsenic, cadmium, aluminum and more. You can test your own hair, vitamins, well water, garden soil, superfoods, pet hair, beverages and other samples (no blood or urine). ISO accredited laboratory using ICP-MS (mass spec) analysis with parts per billion sensitivity. Learn more here. Most neurological afflictions arise from an overload of toxins in the body Our cleansing organs have a very tough job: filter out all the toxins we consume, including those we eat, drink, breathe in, put on our skin, hair and nails, and those that are injected into our muscle tissue. But how can our kidneys, liver, and pancreas do their filtration jobs if they are completely overwhelmed, confused, and constantly barraged with parasites, pathogens, heavy metal toxins, and genetically mutated organisms from other animals? Let’s face it, the past thirty years have changed drastically for Americans, including the invasion of GMOs in food and medicine, pharmaceutical drugs including opiates, and a CDC-recommended schedule of 55 vaccines before age seven. Wow. READ MORE Houston: School Strip-Searches 6th Grade Girls’ Class After Cop Accused them of Hiding $50 in Their Underwear According to TruthWiki, Autism Spectrum Disorder is a broad umbrella term for Autism, Asperger (or Asperger’s) syndrome, and any other pervasive developmental, cognitive, behavioral, social communication or language disorder. Autism occurs when nerve cells and synapses in the brain are altered, blocked, disrupted and disturbed. So the question resides: How do the brain and central nervous system become so violently disturbed after birth? Could it be all of that vaccine violence? The ASD spike perfectly coincides with the vaccine schedule increase and the rise of genetically modified organisms in food, which both catapulted in the early 1990s. Go figure. City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/9/2018 8:29 AM 4 Though the CDC lies and swears that mercury has been removed from all childhood vaccines, the flu shot is over-loaded with mercury and the CDC recommends the influenza vaccine to ALL pregnant women and all infants at 6 months of age. Wait, what? Mercury is the second most poisonous element known to mankind, second only to uranium. It is a scientific FACT that human brain neurons permanently disintegrate in the presence of mercury within one hour of exposure. Here comes the rub. Thimerosal is a mercury-containing preservative (about 50 percent mercury) and the World Health Organization warned about its use in vaccines way back in 1990. Plus, mercury, an unstable metal, is a cumulative poison, meaning the body has difficulty removing it and it accumulates significantly over time. Does any pediatrician in America ever recommend testing infants for heavy metal poisoning? Nope. Does any pediatrician or nurse in America read the vaccine insert and ingredients word for word to their patients and parents of newborns? Nope. READ MORE WATCH: Cops Forced To Return $20,000 Cash They Stole From Stripper During Illegal Search Horrific fact: Some infants receive more mercury in one day than the World Health Organization (WHO) recommends as a maximum for adults for three months worth of exposure. Still, the maximum amount of mercury for any human to ingest should actually be zero. There is no safe amount of mercury for the human body, and to suggest that there is would be like setting a maximum amount of uranium intake, or plutonium, or cesium 137 (radio cesium), for that matter. We don’t even have time to talk about amalgam (mercury-loaded) dental fillings right now. Vaccine Spectrum Disorder is reversible – Involves detoxification of heavy metal toxins, pesticides, and GMOs Is your child, brother, aunt, uncle, sister, mother or father suffering from VSD right now? Maybe their central nervous system, brain, gut, and cleansing organs are polluted with mercury, embalming fluid (formaldehyde), aluminum, lead, pesticides, herbicides, fluoride, and GMOs. How many kids with autism now will suffer from dementia later in life? There’s a statistic we need to know. It’s time to question why Vaccine Spectrum Disorder barely existed before the 1990s. Before the 1990s, American staple foods like corn and soy weren’t infested with pesticide genes and coated with glyphosate (Roundup). Humans weren’t using microwave ovens to nuke their food, and cancer-causing artificial City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/9/2018 8:29 AM 5 sweeteners weren’t in everything labeled “diet” and “zero.” Today’s newborns, infants, toddlers and children are inundated with toxic food colorings, deadly flu shots and unnecessary booster vaccines. Look into natural foods that pull heavy metal toxins out of the body, like chia seeds, cilantro, and chlorella. Chlorella is an amazing microalgae superfood and detoxifier commonly used for colon cleansing because it binds to heavy metals and other toxic substances and removes them from the body safely and naturally. Plus, probiotics also remove heavy metal toxins naturally — read more recent research to find out. READ MORE Facebook Flags The Declaration Of Independence As “Hate Speech” TRUE stories of recovery from Autism, plus significant injury settlements from vaccine damages Feeling helpless after leaving some allopathic doctor’s office? You’re not alone. It’s time to visit a complementary and alternative medicine physician. These are doctors who investigate the causes of disease and disorder, then eradicate them, instead of simply medicating the symptoms with chemicals. Could autism be a form of chronic mercury poisoning? The vaccine industry has spent $3.5 billion in private, secretive injury settlements to convince the rest of the country it’s not. Maybe it’s time to take your loved one who’s suffering from VSD to a Naturopathic doctor who can test their blood and recommend the right nutrition, detoxification and supplementation regimen right away and from now on. Think you can’t afford to go organic? Maybe you should sue the vaccine industry. Recent cases of vaccine injury settlement are published and you may need an attorney to help you fight the secretive vaccine court. Here are some attorneys in New York that have won millions of dollars for parents whose kids are suffering from VSD. Sources for this article include: TruthWiki.org CDC.gov HealthWyze.org TraceAmounts.com City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/9/2018 8:29 AM 6 NaturalNews.com VitalityMagazine.com Vaccines.news NaturalNews.com AntiCorruptionSociety.com CDC.news Don't forget to follow D.C. Clothesline on Facebook and Twitter. Around the Web City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/10/2018 1:04 PM 1 Carnahan, David From:mark weiss <earwopa@yahoo.com> Sent:Tuesday, July 10, 2018 7:52 AM To:cory@corywolbach.com; Council, City Subject:Fwd: Seeing ref Sent from my iPhone Begin forwarded message: From: mark weiss <earwopa@yahoo.com> Date: July 10, 2018 at 7:50:43 AM PDT To: kkane@paweekly.com, kcholman@sbcglobal.net, lsiegel@cpeo.org, pdrekmeier@earthlink.net, LGarchik@sfchronicle.com Subject: Seeing ref I’m suggesting that the views and opinions and information that might be protected and part and parcel by the first amendment of SFMT “seeing red“ has been subject for at least 20 years to an organized conspiracy in Palo Alto, Perhaps by a nonelected and non-representative body to filter or damper or disrupt such messages, as a referee. Mark Weiss Sent from my iPhone City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/9/2018 8:14 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Rebecca Sanders <rebsanders@gmail.com> Sent:Wednesday, July 04, 2018 8:08 PM To:Council, City Subject:Grade Separation: Venturans Urge Parity Among Neighborhoods Attachments:Venturans_Grade_Separation.pdf July 4, 2018 Dear City Council Members: At this month’s meeting of the Ventura Neighborhood Association, we voted to voice our concern to you about recent developments at Council regarding grade separation options. While we the undersigned rejoice that eminent domain, the taking of homes, is off the table for the neighbors in North Old Palo Alto, we are concerned that other parts of the City do not enjoy that same consideration. We wish to expressly thank those members of Council who spoke out against treating different parts of Palo Alto differently. Venturans don’t mind sharing their fair share of the burdens of impacts to Palo Alto, but we don’t believe South Palo Alto should be subject to eminent domain while others parts are not. We seek parity with other neighborhoods. The neighborhood association has identified interested neighbors who would like to serve on the Community Advisory Panel for Grade Separation. We hope that you will make sure that Venturans are well represented on the Panel; not only is our neighborhood directly impacted by grade separation, but we will make sure that those representatives that we put forward speak not only for themselves but will be able to act as liaisons between the City and the residents. We look forward to being part of the solution and to building consensus in a collaborative process that considers and weighs the various interests at stake. Thank you for your service to our city. Sincerely, Becky Sanders, Moderator Ken Joye, NPC, Ventura Lindsay Joye Susan Kemp Gary Mahany Raudel Rubio Rangu Ranganath Neera Narang Gwen Jeong David Jeong Alexander Burke George Goodrich PS - Attached you will find scanned copies of this letter with additional signatures from neighbors who signed after one of our members, Raudel Rubio, a life-long resident of Ventura, went door to door after the letter was written and agreed upon. In total we have 26 neighbors who agree with the sentiment in this letter. Happy to provide Beth Minor with the hard copies of the attached pages. Enjoy your holiday and happy 4th! City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/9/2018 8:29 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:E Nigenda <enigenda1@gmail.com> Sent:Friday, July 06, 2018 4:27 PM To:Council, City; Mello, Joshuah Subject:How ride-hailing could improve public transportation instead of undercutting it In case you missed it: How ride-hailing could improve public transportation instead of undercutting it City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/11/2018 8:09 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> Sent:Tuesday, July 10, 2018 7:50 PM To:paloaltofreepress@gmail.com; swagstaffe@smcgov.org; jrosen@da.sccgov.org; myraw@smcba.org; Council, City; HRC; stevendlee@alumni.duke.edu; stephanie@dslextreme.com; chuckjagoda1@gmail.com; citycouncil@menlopark.org; dcbertini@menlopark.org; Jonsen, Robert; Perron, Zachary; Binder, Andrew; griffinam@sbcglobal.net; mdiaz@redwoodcity.org; council@redwoodcity.org; gkirby@redwoodcity.org; timothygray@sbcglobal.net Subject:NYTimes: The Mississippi Man Tried Six Times for the Same Crime Here's a story from The New York Times that I thought you'd find interesting: A Mississippi prosecutor seems to have a vendetta against Curtis Flowers, as a new podcast documents. Read More... Get The New York Times on your mobile device Sent from my iPhone City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/9/2018 8:16 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Peter Brewer <peter@brewerfirm.com> Sent:Friday, July 06, 2018 11:36 AM To:Alice Jacobs; Jamie Beckett; holzemer/hernandez; Clayton Dodds; Jessica Urioste Cc:Monica Valdez; Chris Guerra; Campbell, Clare; pwecips; Council, City; Keene, James; Williams, Curtis Subject:RE: Cable/internet disruption Alice, I too am pretty fed up with the interference with our Internet connectivity. As you said, all day yesterday it was only semi-functional if at all. This costs me and my firm big time, as in $thousands per day. Today started OK, but didn’t last long. We share your frustration and concern. Maybe we should all show up at the next City Council meeting and lobby them to ban South Bay Construction from doing projects in Palo Alto. They have knocked out our Internet at LEAST a half-dozen times, and they always make excuses. They have no credibility and they exhibit no genuine concern for neighbor relations – happy talk galore, but no genuine concern. Their project will be finished and they will be gone and they don’t care what bad taste they leave after they’ve gone. Just get to the finish line and don’t get red- tagged. That’s their M.O. I suspect this attitude trickles down from the top at SBC. Peter Peter N. Brewer, Esq. Law Offices of Peter N. Brewer 2501 Park Blvd, 2nd Flr. Palo Alto, CA 94306 (650) 327‐2900 x 12 www.BrewerFirm.com BayAreaRealEstateLawyers.com Real Estate Law – From the Ground Up® From: Alice Jacobs <aquayellow@gmail.com> Sent: Friday, July 6, 2018 11:14 AM To: Peter Brewer <peter@brewerfirm.com> Cc: Jamie Beckett <jamiembeckett@yahoo.com>; holzemer/hernandez <holz@sonic.net> Subject: Cable/internet disruption All day yesterday our internet was out. I talked to Ryan and they said it was a Comcast thing. I confirmed with several guys at. Comcast that it was the guys doing construction. They knocked it out for the entire block from Grant to cal Ave. I just walked over and gave the workers a peace of my mind as he was holding the cables in his hand claiming its Comcast City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/9/2018 8:16 AM 2 problem. They knocked it out again. I am so sick and tired of all of this. I am thinking of sending them a bill for all of the grievances, dead trees, cracks and leaks throughout our house, sleepless nights, constant shaking and noise for over a year. The city has had no respect for us. I think it's time we bring some press to this. This construction has caused havoc on my health. What do you guys think? Alice City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/9/2018 8:29 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Rohit Relan <rohitrelan7@gmail.com> Sent:Friday, July 06, 2018 8:56 PM To:Rohit Relan; environmentalcrime@interpol.int; Amulya Patnaik; PREM BALLABH SHARMA; CP, Brihan Mumbai MAHARASHTRA POLICE; cp@kolkatapolice.gov.in; cop@vsnl.net; Council, City; epwashington@europarl.europa.eu; epmilano@europarl.europa.eu; urp.quest.mi@pecps.poliziadistato.it; publicinformation@da.sccgov.org; mjr@stanford.edu; Office of the President Cc:Press_Harris@harris.senate.gov; San Francisco Asylum; Police; info@parl.gc.ca; consular.moscow@dfat.gov.au; hcenquiries@parliament.uk; Press@usdoj.gov; U.S. Senator Rand Paul Subject:Re: Attachments:Screen Shot 2018-07-07 at 5.01.32 am.png When Chris Correia Palo Alto police filed my report in the police station fall 2017 he told me "Do you know your bike accident from 2016 was not an accident" he also said "Are you having thoughts of jumping off buildings." When I was taken to the Stanford ER in summer 2015 with a pinched nerve, the Stanford sheriff's deputy said while I was being transported "This one is worth more trouble than..." Interpol, can you add these to your materials. Thank you Interpol MEP Milano polizia di stato delhi kolkata chennai mumbai police CC: members us senate secy state defense dhs commerce treasury members can aus uk parls pa police white house counse lattorney general us city council palo alto district attorney santa clara president trustees stanford On Sat, Jul 7, 2018 at 5:07 AM, Rohit Relan <rohitrelan7@gmail.com> wrote: This is the fourth time this police force is celebrating biological attacks. City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/9/2018 8:29 AM 2 After the third time, nobody and no court cares about anything. Everyone knows about American mouths and manners, and heads of state who pawn national security. For goods. And then degrade their own national securities. MEP Milano interpol polizia di stato delhi kolkata chennai mumbai police CC: members us senate secy state defense dhs commerce treasury members can aus uk parls pa police white house counse lattorney general us city council palo alto district attorney santa clara City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/9/2018 8:16 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Cindy Owens <cowens@beverlyhills.org> Sent:Friday, July 06, 2018 11:47 AM To:Council, City Subject:Request Letter of Support for California League of Cities Resolution Attachments:League Resolution re Support for Local Control Ballot Measure_07062018.pdf; Draft Letter_Support for California League of Cities Resolution.docx Good morning, The City of Beverly Hills has prepared a resolution to submit to the California League of Cities for consideration at their annual conference that will be held in Long Beach, CA this September 12th – 14th. The resolution requests the California League of Cities explore the preparation of a ballot measure and/or state constitutional amendment that would strengthen local authority and preserve the role of local democracy at the local level as the state legislature is continually attempting to override the local authority of cities. Our City is looking for other elected officials to support this resolution. I have attached a sample letter of support and a draft version of the resolution. Any City elected official may support this resolution, so it does not necessarily have to be approved by the City Council. Our deadline for submitting letters of support, along with the resolution, to the League is Saturday, July 14th at midnight. We need at least five City Officials in support of our resolution to submit to the League by their deadline. We are hopeful that the City of Palo Alto will support our efforts. Respectfully, Cindy Owens Senior Management Analyst Policy & Management City of Beverly Hills 455 N. Rexford Drive Beverly Hills, CA 90210 Direct: 310.285.1026 E-mail: cowens@beverlyhills.org --- The City keeps a copy of all E-mails sent and received for a minimum of 2 years. All retained E-mails will be treated as a Public Record per the California Public Records Act, and may be subject to disclosure pursuant to the terms, and subject to the exemptions, of that Act. July 3, 2018 General Resolutions Committee League of California Cities 1400 K Street, Suite 400 Sacramento, CA 95814 SUBJECT: 2018 CONFERENCE RESOLUTION TO RESPOND TO THE INCREASING VULNERABILITIES TO LOCAL MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY, CONTROL AND REVENUE Dear Committee: As a <Councilmember/Mayor> of the City of <name of city/township>, I support the League of California Cities (“League”) Annual Conference Resolution proposed by the City of Beverly Hills calling for the League to explore the preparation of a ballot measure and/or constitutional amendment that would provide the state’s voters an opportunity to further strengthen local authority and preserve the role of local democracy. State legislation introduced in both 2017 and 2018 by the legislature has continually threatened to erode local control. Whether this was Senate Bill 649 (Hueso) Wireless Telecommunications Facilities or the more recently introduced Senate Bill 827 (Wiener) Planning and Zoning: Transit-Rich Housing Bonus that was defeated in Committee, legislatures are continually introducing proposals that impinge on the ability of a local government to institute discretionary legislation that is responsive to the needs of their constituents. More recently, a state ballot initiative was introduced that would have made increasing fees and passing taxes more onerous on local jurisdictions due to the interest of powerful interest groups. This interest group successfully negotiated an Assembly Bill that banned on constituents in local jurisdictions from passing a soda tax for twelve years; trumping the will of the people should they wish to support such a measure. However, as a result the passage of that Assembly Bill, the state ballot initiative was pulled from the November 2018 ballot. These continual incursions into local control by the state legislature, and powerful interest groups, should be prohibited in areas where it is unwarranted and does not best serve the unique communities that make up the state of California. The passage of the proposed resolution by the City of Beverly Hills would provide direction to the League to pursue a ballot measure and/or constitutional amendment that would strengthen local democracy and authority. For these reasons I strongly support this resolution. Sincerely, <Name> <Title> cc: Vice Mayor John Mirisch, City of Beverly Hills Draft Resolution A RESOLUTION OF THE LEAGUE OF CALIFORNIA CITIES CALLING UPON THE LEAGUE TO RESPOND TO THE INCREASING VULNERABILITIES TO LOCAL MUNICIPAL AUTHORITY, CONTROL AND REVENUE AND EXPLORE THE PREPERATION OF A BALLOT MEASURE AND/OR CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT THAT WOULD FURTHER STRENGTHEN LOCAL DEMOCRACY AND AUTHORITY. Source: City of Beverly Hills Concurrence of five or more cities/city officials: WHEREAS, the State of California is comprised of diverse communities that are home to persons of differing backgrounds, needs, and aspirations; yet united by the vision that the most accessible, responsive, effective, and transparent form of democratic government is found at the local level and in their own communities. WHEREAS, subsidiarity is the principle that democratic decisions are best made at the most local level best suited to address the needs of the People, and suggests that local governments should be allowed to find solutions at the local level before the California Legislature imposes uniform and overreaching measures throughout the State. WHEREAS, the California Constitution recognizes that local self-government is the cornerstone of democracy by empowering cities to enact local laws and policies designed to protect the local public health, safety and welfare of their residents and govern the municipal affairs of charter cities. WHEREAS, over recent years there have been an increasing number of measures introduced within the Legislature or proposed for the state ballot, often sponsored by powerful interest groups and corporations, aimed at undermining the authority, control and revenue options for local governments and their residents. WHEREAS, powerful interest groups and corporations are willing to spend millions in political contributions to legislators to advance legislation, or to hire paid signature gatherers to qualify deceptive ballot proposals attempting to overrule or silence the voices of local residents and their democratically-elected local governments affected by their proposed policies. WHEREAS, powerful interest groups and corporations propose and advance such measures because they view local democracy as an obstacle that disrupts the efficiency of implementing corporate plans and increasing profits and therefore object when local residents—either through their elected city councils, boards of supervisors, special district boards, or by action of local voters—enact local ordinances and policies tailored to fit the needs of their individual communities. WHEREAS, public polling repeatedly demonstrates that local residents and voters have the highest levels of confidence in levels of government that are closest to the people, and thus would be likely to strongly support a ballot measure that would further strengthen the ability of communities to govern themselves without micromanagement from the state or having their authority undermined by deep-pocketed and powerful interests and corporations. RESOLVED: The League of California Cities should assess the increasing vulnerabilities to local authority, control and revenue and explore the preparation of a ballot measure and/or constitutional amendment that would give the state’s voters an opportunity to further strengthen local authority and preserve the role of local democracy to best preserve their local quality of life. City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/9/2018 8:30 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Aram James <abjpd1@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, July 08, 2018 4:29 PM To:wilpf.peninsula.paloalto@gmail.com; chuckjagoda1@gmail.com; Council, City; Keene, James; paloaltofreepress@gmail.com; stb_discussion@googlegroups.com Subject:Santa Clara County Grand Jury Slams Palo Alto’s Efforts to Build -Or Failure To Build - Adequate Low- Or Very Low Income Housing!!! FYi: https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2018/07/06/grand-jury-calls-for-denser-housing Shared via the Google app Sent from my iPhone City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/9/2018 8:29 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Tahira <tahira14@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, July 07, 2018 11:51 AM To:Council, City Subject:STOP signs To: The City Council of Palo Alto Date: 7/7/18 This is in regard to several streets of downtown Palo Alto which do not have 4 way STOP signs. I am sure the town is aware of which ones they are. There have been near collisions on these streets, with both cars and bicyclists. To avoid disastrous results, I strongly recommend and urge the Council to install 4 way STOP signs on all the downtown streets that do not have one. It is the town’s responsibility to keep our streets safe and the 4 way STOP signs will help in doing just that. I look forward to a speedy action on this. I would also like to mention of a recent collision on Bryant and Everett. I drive on Bryant, Everett, Hawthorne, and other downtown Palo Alto streets many times a day from Poe to get to downtown, and dread the intersections of cross streets that have no STOP signs. Many a times cars and bicyclists have no regard of the intersections and just whiz by without slowing or stopping. 4 way STOP signs would help and will avoid accidents. Link below is data that can be presented to Palo Alto residents. Vehicle collisions on the rise in Mountain View Thank you. Sincerely, Tahira Piracha 302 Poe Street, Palo Alto. CA 94301. City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/9/2018 8:16 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Mother Ministry <motherministry10@gmail.com> Sent:Friday, July 06, 2018 11:27 AM Subject:The Poor Dear Council Member, Thank you for focusing this administration on helping the poor in the community and abroad. This may be the only time in your life that you will really be able to put a meaningful hand towards the sick, needy, and vulnerable, and those that need help most as well as making a meaningful dent in their lives. It is encouraged to focus your entire administration and efforts on helping the poor in your city while in office so that when it is your time to leave office and even this world you can leave happy and fulfilled with something to look back on. All of us must one day face our God when we pass and really who cares what everyone else thinks about you; what matters is that we have don’t regret a real opportunity to help the poor when this time comes. May God Bless you in your efforts towards helping the poor. Do it now while you can and continue moving in that direction. You won’t regret it. Some idea(s) are: 1. A new shelter to help house the homeless and poor. 2. A public facility that includes computers and electric outlets that serve the poor in the community 3. A new health center that focuses on the poor 4. A family food resource center that helps feed those that can’t afford enough food otherwise. 5. A place for those that live outside to stay warm and go to the bathroom. Also check out borgenproject.org/action‐center City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/10/2018 4:38 PM 1 Carnahan, David From:atkinsonkim@pacbell.net Sent:Tuesday, July 10, 2018 4:20 PM To:Council, City; Kniss, Liz (internal) Subject:Update of hillside damage at Arastradero July 10 2018 Attachments:P1200185.JPG; P1200182.JPG; P1200168.JPG To the Palo Alto City Council and Mayor Liz Kniss, Last week you were sent photos of the construction taking place above Arastradero Open Space Preserve as seen from the trails, expressing concern about the decision to allow this project, and accompanied by a quote about the importance of preserving nature by Lyndon B. Johnson. I thought I would not write to you again about this topic. Today, July 10, hiking at Arastradero it became even more clear to this writer the extent to which the hilltop and park‐facing slope are being altered and damaged by this private construction project that does not benefit the public. I ask if the city council, or the city attorney, could please kindly – whenever convenient— assure me in writing, in email here, that what is taking place on this construction site is legal. I ask if you could please kindly tell me in writing that you knew this slope alteration would take place, when you voted to approve this project. In my opinion it was not made clear to the public at council meetings in 2017, nor at the public hearing about this construction site (in March 2017) that this once‐pristine hill would be scraped out and denuded the way it was seen today (see photos attached, taken today). The public was told that plantings would be installed to screen the 9000+ square foot mansion being built on top of the hill, but no mention was made at city meetings, that I recall, of allowing extensive removal or damage to the hill itself. Today, it looks destroyed. This construction site, I was told by joggers who were up there today, apparently does have many tree and plant seedlings in place as were promised, to screen the mansion to be installed at the top. But these seedlings are not visible from any park trails down below. What is visible from the park today are only the deep scars being dug in the hillside, as well as the complete scraped‐out/removal of the north end of the slope, visible from the park. See photos. Regarding the planted seedlings: Trees, and most particularly oak trees, can take a very long time to grow and mature. This hill is going to look bad for a very long time. And it may never look natural again. City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/10/2018 4:38 PM 2 Ironically, today around 10:45 am at the top of Meadowlark Trail, I heard a buzz‐saw at the site. It was apparently cutting trees, or some kind of wood, but I did not see what was actually being cut. In late fall 2016 / winter 2017 posted lines and flags demarked the proposed construction site at the top of this hill, alerting the public to the location of the planned mansion. Nowhere was any indication made visually of the denuding of the slope to take place, below the house‐site. Nowhere was any indication made of a road to be carved into the slope to support construction equipment. (see photos) This significant hillside alteration was not made clear to the public during city council meetings. This has made the project so much worse than we thought it would be. It is my understanding that city code prevents new construction that would negatively affect views from our open space parks. Would this not include denudation of a highly visible grassy slope facing the park ? The construction equipment appears to be driving on a road or pathway newly dug into the slope. If possible, I would be grateful for an inspection of the site by a council member, when convenient, including taking a look at this project as seen from down below the site, on the popular Meadowlark Trail in our park. I would like to know if the damage taking place to this hill today is legal, and if this is what our city codes intend, and if this is what you—our city council, intended with your vote. Thank you, Kim Atkinson City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 7/10/2018 4:38 PM 3