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Home My Public Portal About20171127plCC701-32 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: 11/27/2017 Document dates: 11/08/2017 – 11/15/2017 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 | 11/9/2017 2:04 PM 1 Carnahan, David From:Svendsen, Janice Sent:Thursday, November 09, 2017 2:04 PM To:Council Members; Council Agenda Email; ORG - Clerk's Office Cc:Keene, James; Pirnejad, Peter; Alaee, Khashayar; Whitley, Katie; Ballash, Evon; Shikada, Ed; De Geus, Robert; Flaherty, Michelle Subject:11/13 Council Question on Item 9: Vulnerable Buildings Seismic Risk Assessment Study Dear Mayor and Council Members: On behalf of City Manager Jim Keene, please find below in bold staff responses to inquiries made by Council Member Tanaka regarding the November 13, 2017 council meeting. Item 9: Vulnerable Buildings Seismic Risk Assessment Study – CM Tanaka Q.1. Of the different category of buildings, which one’s are the most common in the city of Palo Alto? A.1. The most common building type in Palo Alto is wood frame single and two‐family homes. Please be advised, these were not included in the project scope or in the recommended program revisions because they are not considered as vulnerable as the other model types considered. For remaining buildings in the city, a distribution by structural system is in Table 6 of the R+C report (which is Attachment F of the staff report). The most common building types, other than Single Family, in order of quantity are as follows: wood frame residential (with three or more units), wood frame commercial/industrial, concrete shear wall, concrete tilt‐up, reinforced masonry, steel moment frame, and steel braced frame. Q.2. What type of disclosure measures do neighboring cities in the area use? A.2. Common disclosure methods in Bay Area cities include:  Recorded notices on deeds (Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco for soft story wood frame)  Public listing of affected properties (Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco for soft story wood frame)  Public listings online range from simple pdfs to searchable maps, but always show property address and current compliance status.  External signage (state law for unreinforced masonry buildings and enforced in many communities and applied to soft story wood frame buildings in Berkeley)  Tenant notification (Oakland, Berkeley, and San Francisco for soft story wood frame).  San Francisco also has a signage requirement for non‐complying properties.  Other examples of publicly listed resources include:  San Francisco's clickable map: http://sfdbi.org/soft‐story‐properties‐list City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/9/2017 2:04 PM 2  Berkeley's pdf list: https://www.cityofberkeley.info/uploadedFiles/Planning_and_Development/Level_3_‐ _Building_and_Safety/2016‐2‐23%20Soft%20Story%20Inventory.pdf  Oakland's searchable map: http://softstory.openoakland.org/ Q.3. What specific vulnerable building types have been addressed? A.3. Palo Alto’s current program addresses unreinforced masonry buildings, buildings built before 1935 with over 100 occupants, and buildings built before 8/1/76 with over 300 occupants. These are listed in the Summary of Recommended Policy Directions table in Attachment A of the staff report. Vulnerable buildings that could potentially be addressed in an expanded program include: remaining unreinforced masonry (approximately 10 buildings), older soft story wood frame (approx. 294 buildings), older tilt‐up (approx. 99), older soft story concrete (approx. 37), and older steel moment frame (approx. 35). Q.4. Will there need to be a new contract hiring a consultant for the risk assessments? A.4. Yes. It is expected contract(s) of this magnitude would exceed $100,000. A solicitation process (RFP) will need to occur to determine the costs. If the item is advanced by Policy & Services Committee to City Council and if the Committee’s recommendations are approved by Council, staff will return with the results of the RFP process for City Council approval of contracts. Q.5 What is the cost of passing this item? A.5. The passing of this item will not result in any immediate expenses, however, it will result in the design of a process that could cost in excess of an additional $100,000 for contract services. To date, we have spent approximately $130,000 in preparing the seismic risk assessment, which included managing an advisory group and preparing initial program guidelines. If directed by Council, staff will work with the Policy & Services Committee, as noted in Answer 4, to address future costs which will require City Council approval. Thank you, Janice Svendsen Janice Svendsen | Executive Assistant to James Keene, City Manager 250 Hamilton Avenue | Palo Alto, CA 94301 D: 650.329.2105 | E: janice.svendsen@cityofpaloalto.org City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/8/2017 12:55 PM 1 Carnahan, David From:Prasad Chakka <prasad.chakka@gmail.com> Sent:Tuesday, November 07, 2017 11:00 AM To:Council, City Subject:additional Community Indicators Hi, I am a resident of Southgate neighborhood. As a parent of two small kids and with more parents of small kids moving to Palo Alto, community and public areas such as parks and rinconada swimming pool etc are very important to quality of life. In fact it is one of the reasons why we moved to Palo Alto. With that in mind, I would like to add another indicator to monitor quality of life in Palo Alto. A metric indicating use of public spaces, including various play grounds, parks (such as foothill park), pools etc. Thank you, Prasad City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:19 AM 1 Carnahan, David From: Nicole Montojo [mailto:nicole@siliconvalleyathome.org] Sent: Friday, November 10, 2017 2:51 PM To: Scharff, Gregory (internal) <Greg.Scharff@CityofPaloAlto.org>; Kniss, Liz (internal) <Liz.Kniss@CityofPaloAlto.org>; Fine, Adrian <Adrian.Fine@CityofPaloAlto.org>; Holman, Karen <Karen.Holman@CityofPaloAlto.org>; DuBois, Tom <Tom.DuBois@CityofPaloAlto.org>; Filseth, Eric (Internal) <Eric.Filseth@CityofPaloAlto.org>; Tanaka, Greg <Greg.Tanaka@CityofPaloAlto.org>; Wolbach, Cory <Cory.Wolbach@CityofPaloAlto.org>; Kou, Lydia <Lydia.Kou@CityofPaloAlto.org> Cc: Gitelman, Hillary <Hillary.Gitelman@CityofPaloAlto.org>; Clerk, City <city.clerk@cityofpaloalto.org>; Keene, James <James.Keene@CityofPaloAlto.org>; Leslye Corsiglia <leslye@siliconvalleyathome.org>; Pilar Lorenzana <pilar@siliconvalleyathome.org>; Tom MacRostie <research@siliconvalleyathome.org> Subject: SV@Home Letter re: 11/13 City Council Agenda Item 10 (Adoption of Updated Comprehensive Plan) Dear Mayor Scharff, Vice Mayor Kniss and Councilmembers DuBois, Filseth, Fine, Holman, Kou, Tanaka, and Wolbach: On behalf of SV@Home, I respectfully submit the attached letter regarding Item 10 on the November 13th City Council meeting agenda (Adoption of the Updated Comprehensive Plan). We appreciate the opportunity to provide our feedback. Sincerely, Nicole Montojo Policy Associate SV@Home nicole@svathome.org (408) 780‐4758 SV@Home has a new website! Check out the Resource Hub for all your housing data needs. Board of Directors Ron Gonzales, Chair Hispanic Foundation of Silicon Valley Janice Jensen, Vice Chair Habitat for Humanity East Bay/Silicon Valley Kevin Zwick, Treasurer Housing Trust Silicon Valley Kathy Thibodeaux, Secretary KM Thibodeaux Consulting LLC Shiloh Ballard Silicon Valley Bicycle Coalition Bob Brownstein Working Partnerships USA Christine Carr Silicon Valley Bank Rahul Chandhok San Francisco 49ers Katie Ferrick LinkedIn Amie Fishman Non-Profit Housing Association of Northern California Javier Gonzalez Google Poncho Guevara Sacred Heart Community Service Jan Lindenthal MidPen Housing Jennifer Loving Destination: Home Mary Murtagh EAH Housing Chris Neale The Core Companies Andrea Osgood Eden Housing Kelly Snider Kelly Snider Consulting Jennifer Van Every The Van Every Group Staff Leslye Corsiglia Executive Director 350 W. Julian Street, Building 5, San José, CA 95110 408.780.2261 • www.svathome.org • info@siliconvalleyathome.org TRANSMITTED VIA EMAIL November 10, 2017 Honorable Mayor Scharff and Members of the City Council City of Palo Alto 250 Hamilton Avenue Palo Alto, CA Dear Mayor Scharff, Vice Mayor Kniss and Councilmembers DuBois, Filseth, Fine, Holman, Kou, Tanaka, and Wolbach: Re: November 13, 2017 City Council Agenda, Item 10: Adoption of the Updated Comprehensive Plan On behalf of our members, we wish to recognize the long and thoughtful process in which the City of Palo Alto has been engaged to update its Comprehensive Plan. As this is a document that will determine Palo Alto’s future through the year 2030, we appreciate the City’s efforts to ensure opportunities for discussion and debate. While we are happy that the 3,545-4,420 new housing units set forth in the draft Plan will accommodate the City’s Regional Housing Needs Allocation for 2015-2023 period, we know that both the supply of housing and the overall number of jobs have a direct impact on overall affordability. Thus, we are concerned that the preferred scenario on which the draft EIR is based will exacerbate the current imbalance of jobs and housing. The only way that the planned growth of new housing units could accommodate the number of planned new jobs (between 9,850 and 11,500) would be for each of those new units to be occupied by more than two workers per household, far exceeding Palo Alto’s current average of 1.16 employed residents per housing unit. To minimize the negative impact of jobs-housing imbalance, we recommend that measures adopted in the future aim for the high end of the range of new housing units and the low end of the range of employment growth. The Comprehensive Plan’s objective of concentrating higher densities of housing in the targeted areas can be a foundation for more balanced growth, but adoption of this objective is, of course, only the beginning. Implementation of the Plan’s vision will require additional policy changes that support the creation of more housing, and especially affordable housing. To that end, we were pleased to see that the City Council voted this week to explore the policy solutions proposed by Councilmember Fine, Vice Mayor Kniss, and Councilmember Wolbach. These types of measures are a promising first step. Honorable Mayor Scharff and Members of the City Council Re: November 13 2017 Agenda Item 10 (Adoption of the Updated Comprehensive Plan) November 10, 2017 Page 2 of 2 350 W. Julian Street, Building 5, San José, CA 95110 408.780.2261 • www.svathome.org • info@siliconvalleyathome.org We also recommend that the City consider adopting policies and programs that facilitate housing development in the shorter term rather than the more distant future. For instance, master EIRs for targeted growth areas could make the development review process move more quickly for individual proposals. We stand ready to assist the City in any way we can to facilitate development of housing affordable to low, moderate, and middle income households, including housing types that will meet the needs of a diverse population of families, seniors and single-person households. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Pilar Lorenzana Deputy Director City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:21 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Mary Dimit <marydimit@sonic.net> Sent:Monday, November 13, 2017 1:07 AM To:Council, City Subject:11/13/17 Comprehensive Plan Comments To the Palo Alto City Council: The proposed Comprehensive Plan favors businesses at the expense of residents. 1) Require businesses to increase their share of funding for:  more affordable housing (including Below-Market-Rate) with a greater emphasis on creating neighborhoods, not just building housing units, and  also for mitigating traffic congestion, and reducing employee parking in residential neighborhoods. 2) Do not increase commercial growth in the University Ave. downtown core until traffic and parking management solutions are proven to be working.  Reduce the ever-growing traffic as soon as possible. Living along University Ave., I've seen first-hand how much worse traffic has grown. This has resulted in more & more vehicles using our neighborhood streets.  Require new buildings to be fully parked for the demand they create. Residential neighborhoods should not be used as an employee parking lot. 3) Continue working to increase the share of affordable housing, including defining what is required by developers and for all types of residents (single, couple, families, seniors) and to help our first responders and educators to remain in Palo Alto. Thank you for your contributions to Palo Alto, Mary Dimit University Ave. ----- Original Message ----- From: Mary Dimit To: Palo Alto City Council Sent: Sunday, October 22, 2017 3:08 AM Subject: Comprehensive Plan Comments To the Palo Alto City Council: The proposed Comprehensive Plan (Plan) is biased toward businesses instead of toward a more balanced community for those who live and for those who work in Palo Alto. Our affordable housing, traffic, and parking problems will only get worse unless we limit office development, encourage more affordable housing (including Below-Market-Rate or BMR) and better address transportation and parking management. City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:21 AM 2 With Palo Alto's increasing non-residential growth (especially as we already have a 3-to-1 job to employed residents ratio), the Plan should require businesses to increase their share of funding for  BMR housing,  mitigation of traffic congestion, and  reduction of parking encroachment into nearby neighborhoods. Residents should not subsidize business growth. Residential neighborhoods should not be used to park office employees, instead require new buildings to be fully parked for any parking demand they create. Two additional points, as the Planning and Transportation Commission notes in its General Consensus comments in the staff report related to "Land Use Element Overall/General:"  The Element should place more emphasis on creating neighborhoods, not just building housing units.  Goals, policies, and programs throughout should be clear and actionable, and the City should be able to track progress toward achievement. Thank you, Mary Dimit University Ave. Right-click here to download pictures. To help prprivacy, Outlook prevented automatic download ofrom the Internet. Virus-free. www.avg.com City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:21 AM 3 Carnahan, David From:Beth Rosenthal <bbr550@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, November 12, 2017 4:46 PM To:Council, City Subject:Comp Plan Dear Mayor Scharf and Council Members; Unfortunately I cannot make tomorrow’s meeting in person so I have to resort to written communication regarding my feelings about approving the Comprehensive Plan tomorrow evening. I appreciate how much time and effort has been put into this effort. Here are my concerns about issues that remain disconcerting: 1. The impacts of Stanford’s proposed expansion are not incorporated into the City’s long term impacts analysis in the Comp Plan FEIR. 2. It frequently takes me 20 minutes to traverse 1 block from my house to get to University Ave at the University Ave. entrance to the freeway. Traffic starts backing up by about 2:30 PM. Recently, when I left my house at 7 AM, the same circumstances occurred. With the addition of up to 1.7 million square feet of commercial development, not counting the 1.3 currently under construction for the Medical Center, the traffic issues will only worsen. The Colleagues' memo which suggests going light on parking requirements for new housing construction only exacerbates a growing problem.The Council has maximized commercial development at the expense of residents and quality of life. 3. Yes, we need additional housing but we need BMR housing so that our teachers, firemen and service people can live in the community. 4. The FEIR findings include the fact that under the approved Comp Plan, school enrollment will exceed the maximum physical capacity of PAUSD elementary and middle schools while pushing the limits of high school capacity. I could go on but I am aware that I am not bringing you any information that you do not already know. I ask you to please be responsive to the complaints of residents regarding the deteriorating quality of life in Palo Alto. Please consider the present and long term consequences of your actions. Sincerely, Beth Rosenthal, PhD City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 2:04 PM 1 Carnahan, David From:Christian Pease <cgpease2016@gmail.com> Sent:Monday, November 13, 2017 12:14 PM To:Council, City Cc:Christian Pease Subject:Tonight RE: Resolution to approve EIR Dear Palo Alto City Council Members. With respect to your meeting tonight and final approval and certification of FEIR for the Comp Plan, I urge you to carefully consider the following: Generally: 1) The FEIR be revisited and updated to account for the Stanford University GUP - I believe it is inappropriate, for obvious reasons, to consider these separately. 2) To the question of on-going commercial development in Palo Alto, to please add back in original language that such development NOT be at the expense of residential neighborhoods. 3) To the question of parking / lack of adequate parking: Strike "manage" and replace with "supply" - "managing" parking is not the same as ensuring its adequate supply, even in context relevant factors. 4) As written, this changes limits on commercial growth (1998 Comp Plan) from a known and final measure to suggest nothing more than recognizing the point in time when it is actually reached and starts to be exceeded - it should not stand. In terms of new "community indicators" going forward, please consider these: 1) Monitor and constrain increase in spillover parking into neighborhoods in conjunction with the timely compilation, tracking and publicizing of TDM program and their actual outcomes. 2) Track and report changes in commercial occupancy data non-restaurant retail, nonprofits, and small medical and professional services. 3) Compile and make visibly public the number and types of code enforcement complaints and set continuous improvement metric for enforcement. 4) Establish a metric for citywide uptake of TMA initiatives, mobility as a service, and shuttle use. Thank you for your consideration, Christian Pease City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 2:04 PM 2 Carnahan, David From:Don McDougall <mcdougall.don@gmail.com> Sent:Monday, November 13, 2017 9:31 AM To:Council, City Subject:Community Measures Mr. Mayor and Council Members The topic of Community Measures was one of the many important and vigorous the CAC discussions. General agreement seemed to be that measures could be useful but what measures was more difficult. Measures or metrics tell how good or bad something is and take away the subjective “it’s worse than it used to be”. Measures can inform investment decisions between competing choices. Measures can also be LEADING INDICATORS. There are measures that apply to all aspects of the community, traffic, sustainability, retail, parks and libraries. And measures properly presented and dashboarded to the public can be an important part of quality of life. How to determine the measures? Create a task force of one member from each Commission. They know the measures that tell them how things are and maybe together could figure out leading indicators to tell how things are going to be. Creating the current and leading measures and properly presenting a dynamic dashboard to the public can be an important component of the quality of life in Palo Alto. Commit to the framework now then set useful, measurable, presentable, and dynamic quality measures. Respectfully, Don McDougall -- Don City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 2:04 PM 1 Carnahan, David From:Jennifer Chang Hetterly <jchetterly@gmail.com> Sent:Monday, November 13, 2017 12:24 PM To:Council, City Subject:Comp Plan Update Community Indicators Attachments:November 13 Council Comments.docx Please find comments attached. November 13, 2017 Honorable Mayor Scharff and City Councilmembers, I’m writing regarding consideration of additional Community Indicators for inclusion in the Comp Plan Update. I encourage you to both broaden the scope of Community Indicators and include appropriate programs to ensure transparency and publication (accessible and understandable) of data around all adopted Community Indicators. The few adopted by Council on October 30 represent important metrics to track environmental sustainability and housing balance. However those indicators do not get directly at the quality of life impacts people are most concerned about: traffic, parking, enforcement, school and parkland pressures, etc. For example, while VMT and total SOV use are related to traffic, and maybe parking, they are too high level to tell us whether our localized traffic and parking problems are getting worse or better. The CAC discussed performance measurement in terms of Development Requirements and Community Indicators at great length. The former were seen as a means to regulate the growth impacts of individual developments (along the lines of no net new trips that might be reflected in VMT and SOV data) while the Community Indicators were intended to create citywide metrics more closely tied to specific resident concerns about quality of life. There was significant concern on the CAC and among public speakers that several proposed mitigations, such as greater TDM and TMA efforts, might not be adequate to the task of reducing traffic and parking congestion. This arose out of uncertainty regarding the ultimate success of such strategies, as yet unproven in Palo Alto, as well as skepticism in the City’s commitment/capacity to monitor and enforce. The idea of Community Indicators was advanced, and broadly supported, by the CAC as a means to recognize and quantify those community concerns, and create a mechanism for data-based monitoring and benchmarks for what the community can sustainably support. I urge you to add Indicators that are more specifically targeted to resident concerns about quality of life impacts as they are experienced on the ground: • Spillover parking into neighborhoods from both commercial and housing growth (monitor and constrain increases) • TDM efforts and their outcomes (compile/aggregate, track and publicize) • Sq ft occupied by non-restaurant retail, nonprofits, and small medical and professional services (monitor and report changes) • Code enforcement (track number, type, and location of complaints and set target % improvement in number of enforcement actions) • Citywide uptake (not just downtown) in TMA products, mobility as a service, shuttle ridership, etc. (set targets and monitor) Adopting metrics around such indicators would both inform future policy making and build public confidence in the City’s commitment to preserving the quality of life Palo Altans value so highly. I hope you will give them due consideration by either including them tonight or calling explicitly in the Comp Plan to develop a process and timeline for creating a balanced and appropriate set. Sincerely, Jennifer Hetterly City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 2:05 PM 1 Carnahan, David From:Suzanne Keehn <dskeehn@pacbell.net> Sent:Monday, November 13, 2017 1:57 PM To:Council, City Subject:EIR To the Palo Alto City Council, The EIR from Stanford's GUP and Palo Alto's Comp Plan needs to be evaluated together. After all they are totally connected and a separate EIR study makes no sense at all. They both increase traffic, pollution and congestion, and certainly effect our livability and enjoyment of our community. I am also CCing from the letter Greg Smidt wrote as he quotes from the EIR itself with pages, that there are 'significant and unavoidable impacts!' I totally agree with asking you to Vote NO, and solve the issues this report highlights. One efficient way is to have a moratorium on construction and really, honestly take into account decisions that are made that effect us all for the years to come. . "Resolution on the Approving of the EIR: It contains the approval of the findings on the mitigations for approval of the impacts of TRANS-1. In section Trans 1E it states that while significant lessening of the transportation impact have been made "but not to a level of non significant..there are no feasible mitigating measures...that avoid this signficant effect (p 28-29). Result: "significant and unavoidable impacts" (p 30). The same result is found for local freeway segments. The analysis did not inlcude a substantial cut in the number of new non-residential sqaure feet allowed. VOTE NO." ____ TO: FROM: DATE: CITY OF PALO ALTO HONORABLE CITY COUNCIL JAMES KEENE, CITY MANAGER NOVEMBER 13, 2017 10 SUBJECT: AGENDA ITEM NUMBER 10-PUBLIC HEARING: ADOPT A RESOLUTION CERTIFYING THE FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT (EIR) FOR THE COMPREHENSIVE PLAN UPDATE, A RESOLUTION ADOPTING FINDINGS PURSUANT TO THE CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA) RELATED TO SIGNIFICANT ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACTS, MITIGATION MEASURES AND ALTERNATIVES, A STATEMENT OF OVERRIDING CONSIDERATIONS AND A MITIGATION MONITORING AND REPORTING PROGRAM, AND A RESOLUTION ADOPTING THE UPDATED COMPREHENSIVE PLAN DATED JUNE 30, 2017 WITH DESIRED CORRECTIONS AND AMENDMENTS, WHICH COMPREHENSIVELY UPDATES AND SUPERSEDES THE CITY'S 1998-2010 COMPREHENSIVE PLAN, EXCEPT FOR THE HOUSING ELEMENT ADOPTED IN NOVEMBER 2014. (THIS IS THE THIRD PUBLIC HEARING; THE FIRST HEARING WAS ON OCTOBER 23, 2017, CONTINUED TO OCTOBER 30, 2017 AND FURTHER CONTINUED TO NOVEMBER 13, 2017.) At the Comprehensive Plan discussion on October 30, 2017, the Council voted to include a handful of community "indicators" in the Comprehensive Plan Update and asked staff to return with a recommendation for up to three additional indicators. This memo provides that recommendation as well as recommended text changes to address comments received from the San Francisco Public Utilities Commission (SFPUC) and the Santa Clara Valley Water District (SCVWD).1 We have also recommended an expanded narrative about the City's utilities for inclusion in the Safety Element. If the Council agrees with these recommendations, staff requests that Council adopt a motion to add these items to the list in Attachment A of your staff report for November 13, 2017. Attachment A is referenced in the proposed resolution adopting the Comprehensive Plan Update. 1 The SFPUC letter is included as Attachment E to the staff report. The SCVWD letter is attached to this memo. 1of5 I. Recommendation Regarding Community Indicators Change Item 9 in Attachment A to add a policy under Goal 1 of the Land Use and Community Design Element and the additional community indicators as follows (Additions to Attachment A are underlined): Policy L-1: (exact numbering to be added) The City will monitor key community indicators on a regular basis to determine whether the policies of this plan and the efforts of the Palo Alto residents and businesses are effective at promoting livability. Suggested indicators and monitoring frequency are listed in Table L-(exact numbering to be added). Table L--(exact numbering to be added) Communitv Metrics RECOMMENDED MONITORING MEASURE METRIC FREQUENCY Greenhouse Gas Emissions 80% below 1990 emissions Annually as part of Earth Day Report by 2030 (S/CAP cioal) Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) Decrease year over year Annually as part of Earth Day Report per Capita Jobs/Housing Balance Ratio of jobs to employed (Expressed as a Ratio of Jobs to Every 4 years Employed Residents) residents Annually as part of report to California Below Market Rate (BMR) Units Number of units Dept. of Housing and Community Development (HCD) Progress toward Housing Annual Report to State Annually as part of report to California Element goals Housing and Community Dept. of Housing and Community Development Department Development IHCDl Change in PM Qeak hour Traffic Volumes on City Streets traffic volumes at 10 Every 2 vears reQresentative local intersections Percent of residents who live Availability of Parks within one half mile of a city Every 4 years oark Changes in student PAUSD School Enrollments enrollment at 1:1ublic Annually elementary, middle, and high schools II. Recommendation Regarding Sf PUC & SCVWD Comments In Goal L-9 of the Land Use Element, add the following Policy and Program (additions to the June 30, 2017 Draft Comprehensive Plan Update are underlined): Policy L-9.13: Recognize the importance of regional infrastructure, such as the Regional Water Utility Infrastructure owned by the Sf PUC. 2 of5 o Program L9.13.1: Coordinate with regional utility providers on activities that would impact their infrastructure and right of way. In Goal N-3 and N-4 of the Natural Environment Element, incorporate the following changes to the existing two policies and one program (additions to the June 30, 2017 Draft Comprehensive Plan Update are underlined): Policy N-3.1: All creeks are valuable resources for natural habitats, connectivity, community design, and flood control, and need different conservation and enhancement strategies. Recognize the different characteristics along creeks in Palo Alto, including natural creek segments in the city's open space and rural areas, primarily west of Foothill Expressway; creek segments in developed areas that retain some natural characteristics; and creek segments that have been channelized. Pursue opportunities to enhance riparian setbacks along urban and rural creeks as properties are improved or redeveloped. Program N3.3.2: Examine the development regulations of the Stream Corridor Protection Ordinance, with stakeholder involvement to establish appropriate setback requirements that reflect the varying natural and channelized conditions along creeks east of Foothill Expressway. Ensure that opportunities to provide an enhanced riparian setback along urban creeks as properties are redeveloped or improved are included in this evaluation. • Policy N-4. 7.1: Aevocate for Support and participate in the work of the SCVWD to prepare and update a high-quality groundwater management plan that will address groundwater supply and quality, including, as appropriate: ~ An understanding of subsurface hydrology. ~ Strategies to reduce depletion .. ~ Opportunities to recharge groundwater, including through use of re.cycled water and extracted gro~ndwater. ~ Methods to ensure that uncontaminated, toxin-free groundwater is used in a manner that benefits the community, for example in irrigation of parks, street cleaning and dust suppression. ~ An approach to metering extracted groundwater. Ill. Recommendation Regarding the Location and Extent of Utilities Replace the text in item 44 of Attachment A with the following (additions to Attachment A are underlined). This text would be added to the Safety Element narrative on page S-12 of the June 30, 2017 Draft Comprehensive Plan Update. 3 of5 UTILITIES In Palo Alto, utility services are provided throughout the City by The City of Palo Alto Utilities (CPAU), a city-owned utility. Today, CPAU provides six services that include electric, fiber optic, natural gas, water and wastewater services. Initially formed in 1896 with the installation of a water supply system, CPAU expanded between the years 1898 and 1917 to include wastewater, electric, and natural gas distribution services; in 1996 it began to provide fiber optic services. Through its mission to provide safe, reliable, environmentally sustainable and cost effective services to Palo Alto residents, CPAU offers cost-effective service rates to residents and re-invests proceeds to support other City community services and facilities. For example, CPAU provides financial support to the Palo Alto library and parks system, as well as to support police and fire protection services. The City's electric utility receives electricity at a single connection point with PG&E's transmission system. From there the electricity is delivered to customers through nearly 470 miles of distribution lines, of which 223 miles (48%) are overhead lines and 245 miles (52%) are underground. The City also maintains six substations, roughly 2,000 overhead line transformers, 1,075 underground and substation transformers, and the associated electric services (which connect the distribution lines to the customers' homes and businesses). These lines, substations, transformers, and services, along with their associated poles, meters, and other associated electric equipment, represent the vast majority of the infrastructure used to deliver electricity in Palo Alto. To deliver gas from the receiving stations to its customers, the City owns 210 miles of gas mains (which transport the gas to various parts of the city) and 23,400 gas services (which connect the gas mains to the customers' gas lines). These mains and services, along with their associated valves, regulators, and meters, represent the vast majority of the infrastructure used to deliver gas in Palo Alto. To deliver water to its customers, the utility owns roughly 233 miles of mains (which transport the water from the SFPUC meters at the city's borders to the customer's service laterals and meters), eight wells (to be used in emergencies), five water storage reservoirs (also for emergency purposes) and several tanks used to moderate pressure and deal with peaks in flow and demand (due to fire suppression, heavy usage times, etc.). These represent the vast majority of the infrastructure used to distribute water in Palo Alto. To collect wastewater from its customers and deliver it to the Regional Water Quality Control Plant, CPAU owns roughly 18,100 sewer laterals (which collect wastewater from customers' plumbing systems) and 217 miles of sewer mains (which transport the waste to the treatment plant). These laterals and mains, along with the associated manholes and cleanouts, represent the vast majority of infrastructure used to collect wastewater in Palo Alto. 4of5 The City manages a commercial fiber optics service with a 42 mile fiber back bone consisting of roughly 6,000 route-miles of fiber. 232 commercial buildings are connected to the fiber optic network. Roughly 30% of the fiber route is overhead and 70% underground. The City's storm drain system drains four primary watersheds. It is separate from the sanitary sewer system. Storm water flows directly to creeks and the San Francisco Bay without treatment. The storm drain system consists of 107 miles of underground pipelines, 2, 750 catch basins, 800 manholes, and six pump stations. Director Planning and Community Environment 5 of5 I 5750 /1lrnaden Expresswoy, Son Jose, CA 95118-361-1 I ('108) 265-2600 I v."NW.voi:c1wo!er.org November 9, 2017 Ms. Elena Lee Department of Planning and Community Environment City of Palo Alto 250 Hamilton Avenue, Fifth Floor Palo Alto, CA 94301 Fiie: 23113 Various Subject: City of Palo Alto Draft Comprehensive Plan Update 2030 and Final EIR Dear Ms. Lee: Santa Gara VaUey WcJ.er Distric() Santa Clara Valley Water District (District) has reviewed the City of Palo Alto's Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR) for the draft Comprehensive Plan Update 2030 (Comprehensive Plan). The District is a special district with jurisdiction throughout Santa Clara County. The District acts as the county's groundwater management agency, principal water resources manager, flood protection agency and is the steward for its watersheds, streams and creeks, and underground aquifers. We appreciate the opportunity to comment on the draft Comprehensive Plan and FEIR. This letter transmits comments that focus on the areas of interest and expertise of the District. FEIR The District is Interested In understanding the differences In projected demand In 2030 between the FEIR and the 2015 Urban Water Management Plan (UWMP}. In Palo Alto's 2015 UWMP the total projected water use is 11, 198 acre feet a year in 2030 (Table 16). In the FEIR the projected demand for Scenario 1 (business as usual} is 13, 767 AFY in 2030. From a CEQA perspective, the difference does not matter as either can be met by Palo Alto's 19, 118 AFY Individual Supply Guarantee from San Francisco PUC. The Water District Is Interested for our long-range water demand forecasting county wide. Comprehensive Plan The District appreciates the policies that the City of Palo Alto (Palo Alto) has included to manage water resources including water conservation programs and encouraging the use of storm and recycled water. The District recently approved moving forward with a set of water supply and conservation projects as part of updating our Water Supply Master Plan; these include leak repair, graywater use, rain barrels, rain gardens, stormwater capture, and enhancing water efficiency standards In new and retrofitted developments. The District looks forward to working with Palo Alto on making the best use of our water resources. The Comprehensive Plan Program N3.3.1 calls for extending the riparian buffer to 150 feet in natural areas west of Foothill Boulevard and includes a new Program N3.3.2 to examine setbacks requirements along more urbanized creeks east of Foothill Expressway. Setbacks from riparian corridors are necessary to protect the sensitive ecology of riparian corridors, provide adequate space to maintain creeks and levees, and If necessary, Improve flood protection projects including expanding the channel area. The Water District encourages Palo Alto to take a long-term perspective in enhancing riparian setbacks in urban areas by Including a policy In the Management and Enhancement section of the Goal N-3 to address enhancement of creeks In urban areas. Further, we recommend a program be added Our mission is to provide Silicon Valley safe, clean water for o heohhy liFe, environment, ond economy. Ms. Elena Lee Page2 November 9, 2017 that Includes opportunities to provide an enhanced riparian setback along urban creeks as properties are redeveloped or improved so that urban creeks can be improved in the future. The Comprehensive Plan includes Policy N-4. 7 to •Advocate for SCVWD to prepare a high-quality groundwater management plan that will address groundwater supply and quality, including, as appropriate: • An understanding of subsurface hydrology. • Strategies to reduce depletion. • Opportunities to recharge groundwater, including through use of recycled water and extracted groundwater. • Methods to ensure that uncontaminated, toxin-free groundwater Is used In a manner that benefits the community, for example In Irrigation of parks, _street cleaning and· dust suppression. • An approach to metering extracted groundwater. [NEW PROGRAM] [N86]" The District recommends Program N-4.7.1 be modified to reflect that in November 2016, the District Board adopted a comprehensive Groundwater Management Plan for the Santa Clara and Llagas Subbasins that addresses groundwater supply and quality. The plan includes detailed information on subsurface hydrology and groundwater conditions, and describes strategies and programs to maintain groundwater levels and storage (including groundwater recharge, recycled water, and water use measurement) and protect groundwater quality. This plan has been submitted' to the California Department of Water Resources for compliance with the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act and is available at: http://www.valleywater.org/WorkArea/linkit.aspx?Linkldentifier=id&ltem ID=14955. Additionally, Program N-4.7.1 should include a discussion of Palo Alto's role in these issues. If you have any questions, you may contact me at (408) 630-2319, or by e-mail at yarroyo@valleywater.org. Please reference District File No. 23113 on future correspondence regarding this project. Sincerely, Yvonne Arroyo Associate Engineer Community Projects Review Unit Electronic Cc: Ms. Elena Lee, Eiena.Lee@CityofPaloAlto.org cc: U. Chatwani, S. Tippets, Y. Arroyo, T. Hemmeter, V. De La Piedra, M. Martin, File City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:11 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Melinda McGee <melinda_mcgee@hotmail.com> Sent:Friday, November 10, 2017 9:27 PM To:Council, City Subject:Please keep the cell towers out of our neighborhoods This is not the way to raise money for the city. Say no to the telecom industry and if you don’t please make sure that ALL the towers are installed at the home addresses of the city council. Thank you Do not redact my information - Melinda McGee 3707 Lindero dr Palo Alto CA 94306 650-704-6236 melinda_mcgee@hotmail.com City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:11 AM 2 Carnahan, David From:Mary Thomas <mj_thomas_2000@yahoo.com> Sent:Saturday, November 11, 2017 9:46 AM To:Council, City Subject:Cell Phone Towers Dear City Council Members, I am writing to urge all of you to make it a priority issue that we keep cell phone towers out of our residential Palo Alto neighborhoods. These noisy, ugly and potentially unhealthy installations have no place in our lovely city. Thank you. Mary Thomas City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:11 AM 3 Carnahan, David From:ksabes@aol.com Sent:Saturday, November 11, 2017 10:50 AM To:Council, City Subject:Prioritize Cell Towers To all City Council members, PLEASE PRIORITIZE CELL TOWERS for your agenda ASAP. Stop them from going in our neighborhoods, this is one more step to ruining Palo Alto as a beautiful city with more noise etc. Kay Sabin 1990 Webster St. Palo Alto City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:11 AM 4 Carnahan, David From:Janet Gu <janetlipingding1120@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, November 11, 2017 1:34 PM To:Council, City Subject:prioritize keeping cell towers out of residential neighborhoods Dear city council staff members: Please prioritize keeping cell towers out of residential neighborhoods! Please attach special attention on this issue! We do appreciate your help! Best Liping Ding & Jie Gu & Jie Gu's parents & Liping Ding's mom Palo Alto residents City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:11 AM 5 Carnahan, David From:Ding Janet <janetding318@gmail.com> Sent:Saturday, November 11, 2017 6:02 PM To:Council, City Subject:make keeping cell towers out of residential neighborhood Dear Members of City Council: I am writing to ask you to make keeping cell towers out of residential neighborhoods a Council priority for 2018. Sincerely, Best Janet City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:11 AM 6 Carnahan, David From:Ligia Harrington <harrington.ligia@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, November 12, 2017 11:02 AM To:Council, City Subject:Palo Alto priorities Hello, Please make it a priority to keep installation of additional cell towers out of Palo Alto. Thank you, Ligia Harrington 151 Seale Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:15 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Palo Alto Free Press <paloaltofreepress@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, November 12, 2017 11:41 AM To:bjohnson@paweekly.com; bjohnson@embarcaderomediagroup.com Cc:Perron, Zachary; Council, City; Scharff, Greg; Kniss, Liz (external); Watson, Ron; Reifschneider, James; gsheyner@paweekly.com; sdremann@paweekly.com; ekadvany@paweekly.com Subject:Censorship Before and After Re: @PAFreePress Mr. Johnson, we must say...you have lightening fast censorship fingers... https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2017/11/12/armed-robbery-reported-downtown Before and after censorship This was a benign comment..... City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:15 AM 2 Sent from my iPad City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/15/2017 2:42 PM 1 Carnahan, David From:Pnr21 <pnr21@comcast.net> Sent:Monday, November 13, 2017 4:44 PM To:Council, City Subject:Comp plan and traffic mitigation Dear Mayor Scharff and Council Members, Ideally I would like to see you send the Comp Plan back for more work, but I realize this is probably unrealistic. If you must approve it, how about adding an amendment that would require staff to annually monitor and report back the success of traffic mitigation efforts. Below is a picture of my street tonight at 4:15PM, typical of every week day night from 4-6:30. Typical maximum speed - 1 block for 15 minutes. Peter Rosenthal E. Crescent Drive Sent from my iPhone City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/15/2017 3:16 PM 1 Carnahan, David From:Hamilton Hitchings <hitchingsh@yahoo.com> Sent:Wednesday, November 15, 2017 10:46 AM To:Council, City Subject:Comp Plan Passage - Thank You I just wanted to thank the city council for working hard on and passing the updated comp plan. It has many improvements in each element and it reflects a strong effort by the community to come together. As you implement it I encourage you to work hard to build consensus because when a significant majority of the council votes for or against a particular policy or decision it typically reflects a broad-based consensus within our community. Thank you again. Hamilton Hitchings City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:07 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Jeff Hoel <jeff_hoel@yahoo.com> Sent:Wednesday, November 08, 2017 12:28 PM To:Council, City; UAC; CAC-TACC; ConnectedCity Cc:Hoel, Jeff (external) Subject:Fort Collins, CO, takes a step toward FTTP Council members, UAC commissioners, and CAC members, Voters in Fort Collins, CO, approved (by 57+ percent) Measure 2B, which changes the city charter to permit the city to deploy a municipal telecom network, and permits Council to move forward with developing a plan. Priorities First Fort Collins, an incumbent-funded political action group, spent $451,564 (through 11-01-17) opposing the measure, and Fort Collins Citizens Broadband Committee, a grassroots group, spent $9,250 (through 11-01-17) supporting it. http://www.coloradoan.com/story/news/2017/11/07/fort-collins-broadband-election-passes-results/840551001/ Seventeen other Colorado communities also approved measures that permit them to consider deploying municipal telecom networks. So far, 117 Colorado communities have taken this step. 11-08-17: "Local Authority Wins Across Colorado; Comcast Loses In Fort Collins" https://muninetworks.org/content/local-authority-wins-across-colorado-comcast-loses-fort-collins Thanks. Jeff ------------------- Jeff Hoel 731 Colorado Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94303 ------------------- City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:12 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Sent:Saturday, November 11, 2017 3:14 PM To:Loran Harding; Doug Vagim; Daniel Zack; esmeralda.soria@fresno.gov; paul.caprioglio; fmerlo@wildelectric.net; Raymond Rivas; steve.hogg; info@superide1.com; Joel Stiner; jboren; kfsndesk; newsdesk; Mark Kreutzer; kclark; lawrence.ingrassia@latimes.com; Mark Standriff; Mayor; mmt4@pge.com; nick yovino; nchase@bayareanewsgroup.com; rosenheim@kpix.cbs.com; steve.brandau; oliver.baines; Steve Wayte; terry; thomas.esqueda@fresno.gov; robert.andersen; David Balakian; dennisbalakian; bballpod; bearwithme1016@att.net; Cathy Lewis; Council, City; Dan Richard; Greg.Gatzka; huidentalsanmateo; hennessy; igorstrav .; Leodies Buchanan; leager; midge@thebarretts.com; pavenjitdhillon@yahoo.com; richard.wenzel; popoff; russ@topperjewelers.com; Jason Tarvin Subject:Fwd: Calif PUC issued 200 pp. report Wed. Nov. 8, 2017 on Uts. and protecting the lines ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Date: Sat, Nov 11, 2017 at 2:10 PM Subject: Fwd: Calif PUC issued 200 pp. report Wed. Nov. 8, 2017 on Uts. and protecting the lines To: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Date: Sat, Nov 11, 2017 at 12:01 AM Subject: Fwd: Calif PUC issued 200 pp. report Wed. Nov. 8, 2017 on Uts. and protecting the lines To: Doug Vagim <dvagim@gmail.com>, Daniel Zack <daniel.zack@fresno.gov>, esmeralda.soria@fresno.gov, fmerlo@wildelectric.net, Raymond Rivas <financialadvisor007@gmail.com>, "steve.hogg" <steve.hogg@fresno.gov>, info@superide1.com, Joel Stiner <jastiner@gmail.com>, jboren <jboren@fresnobee.com>, kfsndesk <kfsndesk@abc.com>, Mark Kreutzer <mlkreutzer@yahoo.com>, kclark <kclark@westlandswater.org>, lawrence.ingrassia@latimes.com, Mark Standriff <mark.standriff@fresno.gov>, Mayor <mayor@fresno.gov>, mmt4@pge.com, nick yovino <npyovino@gmail.com>, newsdesk <newsdesk@cbs47.tv>, nchase@bayareanewsgroup.com, "paul.caprioglio" <paul.caprioglio@fresno.gov>, rosenheim@kpix.cbs.com, "steve.brandau" <steve.brandau@fresno.gov>, "oliver.baines" <oliver.baines@fresno.gov>, Steve Wayte <steve4liberty@gmail.com>, terry <terry@terrynagel.com>, thomas.esqueda@fresno.gov ---------- Forwarded message ---------- From: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> Date: Fri, Nov 10, 2017 at 11:53 PM Subject: Calif PUC issued 200 pp. report Wed. Nov. 8, 2017 on Uts. and protecting the lines To: Loran Harding <loran.harding@stanfordalumni.org> City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:12 AM 2 Fri. Nov. 10, 2017 To all- Yesterday, mighty KCBS SF, broadcasting the Truth into the Central Valley, said this: On Wed., November 8, 2017, the CPUC issued a report which had its genesis in the huge wildfires in So. Cal. in 2007 which burned 3,000 homes, as I recall. The report, if implemented, would require electric lines, phone lines and the utility poles, to be better protected from fire. This would require better trimming of vegetation which can contact the lines, not installing lines close to each other, protecting the poles better, better monitoring of transformers. Here is the "Proposed Decision", in pdf format: http://docs.cpuc.ca.gov/PublishedDocs/Efile/G000/M198/K355/198355203.PDF "Decision adopting regulations to enhance fire safety in the high fire-threat district". 55% of the square miles in No. Calif. are designated in the report as having elevated or extreme fire danger, a higher percentage than those in So. Calif. We have more spread out development in No. Calif., and we have the trees, KCBS said. More rural areas may have to be addressed first, to the detriment of the Bay Area. Predictably, the report includes some maps. To see that percentage, go to p. 9 of the report and see the table there. It says that in No. Calif., 52.8% of area is in Tier 2, Elevated, and that 2.8% of the area is in Tier 3, Extreme. Total for No. Calif. is 55.6%. In So. Calif., those percentages are 14.3% and 12.2%, respectively, for a total of 26.5%. See p. 45, Figure 1, "Initial CPUC Fire Threat Map and 2012-2016 Wildfire Perimeters". We'd need a finer- grained map to see how residential areas of NW Fresno, where I live, are designated. And don't miss Table 6 on p. 46 if you live in No. Calif. It is an eye-opener. Debate may develop over who pays for all of this: the rate payers, e.g. the rate payers of PGE, or the shareholders of PGE. Possibly this discussion has arisen in the past regarding other regulations. That is what I recall from the report, which I heard discussed by KCBS once. But if all of this is adopted and enforced, I can see how ratepayers could see higher rates. The KCBS report did mention that either the burden is spread evenly over rate-payers, so that customers in Alameda Co. share the burden with those in Butte Co., e.g., OR, maybe a big new development in Butte Co. gets higher electric rates than the average since it's in a more fire-prone area. That could lead to a cancellation of the big new development in Butte Co. About ten days ago KCBS interviewed the California State Insurance Commissioner, and I sent out an email after I heard that. He said that property owners in fire-prone areas could face steep increases in the cost of fire insurance. Some could even find it impossible to obtain fire insurance. And, even owners in non fire-prone City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:12 AM 3 areas could face increases. Surely the insurance industry would not take this new CPUC report and adjust its fire insurance rates based upon it, but I could see how they might use this report as a starting point. So a big new 200 pp. report from the CPUC, ten years in the making, regarding the protection of elect,. telephone lines and the poles which support them, and a lot more. L. William Harding Fresno, Ca. City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:19 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Mark Petersen-Perez <bayareafreepress@gmail.com> Sent:Monday, November 13, 2017 4:37 AM To:emibach@padailypost.com; Dave Price Cc:bjohnson@embarcaderomediagroup.com; bjohnson@paweekly.com; sdremann@paweekly.com; gsheyner@paweekly.com; Watson, Ron; bwelch@dao.sccgov.org; swebby@da.sccgov.org; csumida@da.sccgov.org; Keith, Claudia; Council, City; Perron, Zachary; Kniss, Liz (external); Scharff, Greg; JReifschneider@cityofpaloalto.org; jrosen@da.sccgov.org; Jay Boyarsky; dangel@da.sccgov.org; Philip, Brian Subject:Have you noticed an upswing in your new on-line version readership? Your mailbox must really be full now.... We know its an auto response reply you put in place.... Who are you trying to fool... Mr.Price! Sent from my iPad City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/15/2017 2:42 PM 1 Carnahan, David From:Anne Lum <annelum@gmail.com> Sent:Monday, November 13, 2017 7:19 PM To:Council, City Subject:Keep Cell Towers OUT Dear City Council, Please prioritize keeping cell towers out of residential neighborhoods. Say “no” to telecom industry towers in Palo Alto's residential neighborhoods. Anne Lum Barron Park Resident City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:10 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Jon and Carol <jcrccr@pacbell.net> Sent:Friday, November 10, 2017 5:47 PM To:Council, City Subject:Message from the City Council Home Page Loud Mustang exhausts. Seems they are multiplying and every one of them drives by our house. : ( It turns out that those drivers have an option: the Mustangs have an exhaust mute. You can read about it here. I don’t know what the City Council can do about this but please consider doing something. Jon Richards 1031 Hamilton Ave. 650 322-5758 City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:09 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Helen Waters <chomaster8@gmail.com> Sent:Wednesday, November 08, 2017 4:55 PM To:Council, City Subject:NO PAY RAISES for city officials I am a Palo Alto resident and outraged at the salaries and benefits for city administration. I vote AGAINST pay raises, particular that of City Manager Jim Keene. Sincerely, Helen Waters 1485 Byron Street Palo Alto CA 94301 City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/15/2017 3:15 PM 1 Carnahan, David From:Robert T <robert.teufel@gmail.com> Sent:Tuesday, November 14, 2017 2:35 PM To:Council, City Subject:Palo Alto should be more EV friendly To whom it may concern, Our family moved recently to Palo Alto and to our surprise we found out, that we will have to pay higher electricity rates than we did in San Jose. Simple reason, we have a LEAF EV and a plug-in hybrid Ford C-Max Energi and had a ToU metering system in SJ. Charging both of the vehicles and driving as environment-friendly as it gets, we are punished because we obviously exceed the lower tiers for energy use and pay more for charging through the night than in most cities in the Bay Area. Could someone explain why PA with a reputation of being "green" leaves us in the red with high energy cost? PA is way behind with smart meters and this should not happen for a high-tech city with tons of wealthy people living here. We can barely afford the rent but my wife works at Stanford Children's hospital and our commute from South SJ was not tolerable anymore, every day more than 2h on the street. How can we get a break from high-cost energy? I already told my wife that it might be higher cost to use electricity for her car than to use gas on the plug-in hybrid. Please help us to help the environment. Best regards, Robert Teufel, living @ 962 Blair Ct. in PA City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:09 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Martha <marthalg@sonic.net> Sent:Wednesday, November 08, 2017 2:03 PM To:Council, City Subject:pedestrian only Univ. Ave. Hello, I'm usually a status quo person who doesn't like change, but on the idea of a pedestrian only University Ave I've changed my mind and think pedestrian friendly is better for two reasons. 1. Safety Since a person ran over the curb and seriously injured several people eating at a popular restaurant, I wondered why nothing was done. I cringe whenever our family passes by the restaurant and wonder why bollards were never installed along the whole avenue. The Apple store has them but the restaurants with outside seating do not. I think they should be mandatory. If the street becomes pedestrian friendly then the affected intersections should have hefty bollards. Remember the terrorist who drove his truck along a bike path in NYC that didn't have bollards. They didn't due to cost! 2. Noise Our family usually has lunch about once a month downtown and one thing we've noticed is the traffic noise. Sometimes it is a fire truck other times it a motorcycle or very loud car, but whatever it is the noise is bothersome and could be eliminated if the street was closed to traffic. On another subject is my concern about the pay to park for visiting downtown. I doubt we will continue having lunch and exploring the shops downtown when pay to park becomes mandatory. We gave up the last time when there were parking meters because we had to kept track of the time. It just wasn't enjoyable and there are other options. Another time my son got a parking ticket and said never again. I hope this information and opinion is helpful. Sincerely, Martha Gregory City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 2:06 PM 1 Carnahan, David From:Leonard Schwarz <lschwarz@right-thing.net> Sent:Monday, November 13, 2017 12:21 PM To:Clerk, City Cc:Council, City Subject:Public Records Act Request Dear City Clerk: I have read in the Mayor’s newsletter that he, James Keene and Liz Kniss traveled to Europe together this fall. I would like to know who paid for their trip. Hence, pursuant to my rights under the California Public Records Act (Government Code Section 6250 et seq.), I ask to obtain copies of the following, which I understand to be held by the City of Palo Alto: All documents—including, but not limited to, travel expense reports, payments that have been or will be made by the City of Palo Alto, and payments that have been or will be made by any other parties—that are in any way related to the expenses incurred by City Manager James Keene, Mayor Greg Scharff and Vice-Mayor Liz Kniss on their trip to Europe this fall (i.e., in the fall 0f 2017). If I can provide any clarification that will help expedite your attention to my request, please contact me at 650-248-6136. I ask that you notify me of any duplication costs exceeding $100 before you duplicate the records so that I may decide which records I want copied. Thank you for your attention to this matter. Sincerely, Leonard Schwarz LSchwarz@Right-Thing.net 650-248-6136 City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/15/2017 3:16 PM 1 Carnahan, David From:Stump, Molly Sent:Tuesday, November 14, 2017 2:55 PM To:Jeanne Fleming Cc:Council, City; Clerk, City; Gitelman, Hillary; Keene, James; Architectural Review Board Subject:RE: City Staff failing to adhere to California Public Records Act in responding to requests for information regarding cell tower installations Dear Ms. Fleming – In response to your question about redaction, thank you for bringing this to my attention. While redaction of personal contact information is warranted in some situations involving the public’s communications with the City, it was not in this case. I’m told that the Planning Department will be sending you a batch of requested records today or tomorrow. Planning will include unredacted versions of the previously‐released emails in that transmission. Molly Stump From: Jeanne Fleming [mailto:jfleming@metricus.net] Sent: Thursday, November 02, 2017 11:45 AM To: Stump, Molly <Molly.Stump@CityofPaloAlto.org> Cc: Council, City <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Clerk, City <city.clerk@cityofpaloalto.org>; Gitelman, Hillary <Hillary.Gitelman@CityofPaloAlto.org>; Keene, James <James.Keene@CityofPaloAlto.org>; Architectural Review Board <arb@cityofpaloalto.org> Subject: RE: City Staff failing to adhere to California Public Records Act in responding to requests for information regarding cell tower installations Dear Ms. Stump, I was pleased to receive an email from the Planning Department yesterday that provided me with access to what appears to be much of the information I requested. (I haven’t gone through everything yet.) I assume I have you to thank for this, so, thank you. I am puzzled by one thing, however: The Planning Department has redacted email addresses and street address numbers from the emails sent by Palo Altans to Planning on the subject of cell tower installations. It is my understanding that any correspondence sent to the City is, in its entirety, part of the public record. Moreover, in the last round of Planning emails to which I was provided access, email addresses and street address numbers were not redacted. If a mistake has been made, I would appreciate it if you would see that it is corrected. However, if a mistake has not been made, I would appreciate it if you would: 1) tell me whether, when these Planning Department emails were shared with Verizon, the email addresses and/or street numbers were also redacted; and 2) tell me of other instances in which the City has redacted email addresses and/or street numbers in fulfilling a resident’s Public Records request for access to emails City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/15/2017 3:16 PM 2 sent to Planning or any other City Department (i.e., point to precedents in Palo Alto for redacting this information). I look forward to hearing from you. And, again, thank you for your hand in seeing to it that my requests for information are starting to be fulfilled. I’m most appreciative. Sincerely, Jeanne Fleming Jeanne Fleming, Ph.D. JFleming@Metricus.net 650-325-5151 From: Stump, Molly [mailto:Molly.Stump@CityofPaloAlto.org] Sent: Wednesday, November 1, 2017 12:37 PM To: Jeanne Fleming <jfleming@metricus.net>; Gitelman, Hillary <Hillary.Gitelman@CityofPaloAlto.org>; Keene, James <James.Keene@CityofPaloAlto.org> Cc: Council, City <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Architectural Review Board <arb@cityofpaloalto.org> Subject: RE: City Staff failing to adhere to California Public Records Act in responding to requests for information regarding cell tower installations Dear Ms. Fleming – Thank you for your note. The California Public Records Act provides a 10 day period to make an initial determination as to whether records will be disclosed. The law allows for an additional 14 day period under certain circumstances, including where there are voluminous records to review or when multiple departments may have to respond. Once an initial determination has been made, the Public Records Act does not require disclosure under a set timeline. Rather, cities have a duty to provide relevant documents “promptly,” which courts interpret in light of all the circumstances. In regards to your outstanding requests, the City is in the process of collecting and reviewing responsive records and making an initial determination. The City’s response complies with the requirements of the Public Records Act. Please be advised that Palo Alto, like most small and mid‐sized cities, relies on existing staff to gather and review documents for disclosure to members of the public who request them. While we’re happy to assist the public in this way, these tasks have to be integrated with a full set of substantive duties that the public also relies on staff to perform, such as analyzing applications, responding to applicants and neighbors on issues of concern, and supporting policy makers in their decision‐making process. As you know, neighbors have had many questions and concerns regarding applications by Verizon and other providers for small cell attachments to City poles. The staff has tried to provide customized responses to as many of these inquiries as feasible. The staff has also created and will be updating a centralized webpage for information about these applications: http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/topics/verizon_small_cell_nodes/default.asp. The webpage will ensure that consistent information is available to interested community members. It should also allow the staff to disseminate information efficiently, so that other critical duties can be attended to. Finally, please be advised that the City has an online Public Records Act Center, located at http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/depts/clk/public_records_request.asp, which facilitates tracking of requests and routing them to the appropriate City department for handling. While you are not obligated to use this portal, doing so will assist both you and us. Regards, City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/15/2017 3:16 PM 3 Molly Stump City Attorney From: Jeanne Fleming [mailto:jfleming@metricus.net] Sent: Monday, October 30, 2017 8:37 PM To: Gitelman, Hillary <Hillary.Gitelman@CityofPaloAlto.org>; Stump, Molly <Molly.Stump@CityofPaloAlto.org>; Keene, James <James.Keene@CityofPaloAlto.org> Cc: Council, City <city.council@cityofpaloalto.org>; Architectural Review Board <arb@cityofpaloalto.org> Subject: City Staff failing to adhere to California Public Records Act in responding to requests for information regarding cell tower installations Dear Ms. Gitelman, Ms. Stump and Mr. Keene: Under the California Public Records Act, the City must respond to a formal request for information within ten days. I have made several requests of City Staff, all regarding the proposed installation of cell towers in residential neighborhoods. All my requests were made over ten days ago, and all were copied to Ms. Gitelman and to Vice-Mayor Ed Shikada. Yet the City has not provided me with even a subset of the information I am seeking. On the contrary, City employee Yolanda Cervantes has notified me by email that I will have to wait until November 8th—that is, three and one-half weeks after my October 15th requests—to even receive what she calls “an initial determination” in response to those requests. And City employee Rebecca Atkinson has notified me by email that a separate request I made for information on October 18th (i.e., thirteen days ago) will not be fulfilled until Ms. Cervantes responds on November 8th to my other requests. I am writing to you to insist that the City of Palo Alto abide by the California Public Records Act and immediately provide me with the information I have requested. Please understand, I do not believe that Ms. Cervantes and Ms. Atkinson are rogue employees who are, on their own, thwarting my requests for public information. I assume they are ignoring the law at the direction of their supervisors. A final point: Others in United Neighbors—for example, Celia Chow and Annette Fazzino—have also sent emails to City Hall requesting information, emails that have been ignored completely (i.e., no one ever responded to them at all). Thank you for your attention. Sincerely, Jeanne Fleming City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/15/2017 3:16 PM 4 Jeanne Fleming, Ph.D. JFleming@Metricus.net 650-325-5151 City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/15/2017 3:14 PM 1 Carnahan, David From:Neilson Buchanan <cnsbuchanan@yahoo.com> Sent:Tuesday, November 14, 2017 9:21 AM To:Council, City Cc:Gitelman, Hillary; Keene, James Subject:Re: New Comp Plan Attachments:Draft Notice for newspaper UNPUBLISHED Nov 13 2017.pdf Here is the missing attachment Neilson Buchanan 155 Bryant Street Palo Alto, CA 94301 650 329-0484 650 537-9611 cell cnsbuchanan@yahoo.com On Tuesday, November 14, 2017, 9:10:05 AM PST, Neilson Buchanan <cnsbuchanan@yahoo.com> wrote: Last night I thought public comment would have been reopened for public comment, but other residents and I had made an incorrect assumption. If I had been able to make a one minute comment I would have appealed again for you to restore a sentence to the Comp Plan. All's well that ends well. Attached is a flyer that I wanted to present to you. Put it into your archives in case someone needs to dust it off. Moving onward, here is my message for the day. Thank You, City Council, for a new Comp Plan. Restoring one sentence, merely 15 words, into the Introduction of the Comp Plan shows that Council majority understands the balance between Palo Alto as a place to work and a place to live. These words will serve as one of Palo Alto’s most important values for years to come…..Comp “Plan will encourage commercial enterprise but not at the expense of the city’s residential neighborhoods.” In 1599 Shakespeare published his masterpiece Julius Caesar with words of conscience which have endured for centuries …”most unkindest cut of all” We Palo Altans have been living in a sustained economic cycle. It has been difficult to keep perspective as the thrill of success dulls our senses about neighborhoods, traffic, schoolrooms, playgrounds and housing equity. Thank you again, Council, for not cutting this value statement and elevating it to prominence. City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/15/2017 3:14 PM 2 Neilson Buchanan 155 Bryant Street Palo Alto, CA 94301 650 329-0484 650 537-9611 cell cnsbuchanan@yahoo.com City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:08 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Palo Alto Free Press <paloaltofreepress@gmail.com> Sent:Wednesday, November 08, 2017 4:05 PM To:Bill Johnson Cc:James Aram; Council, City; Keene, James; Reifschneider, James; Watson, Ron; Scharff, Greg; Kniss, Liz (external); Sean Webby; Sue Dremann; Gennady Sheyner; Stump, Molly; Keith, Claudia; csumida@da.sccgov.org; molly.o'neal@pdo.sccgov.org; Gary.Goodman@pdo.sccgov.org; Jeff Rosen; Jay Boyarsky; Reichental, Jonathan Subject:Re: Police watchdog threatens lawsuit | News | Palo Alto Online | Let just assume your correct for the moment. Comments are closed. Why? You certainly have the technology available to open the comments. Correct? The issues surrounding racism are relevant in the city of Palo Alto today, as they were in the days gone by.... Mark Sent from my iPad On Nov 8, 2017, at 5:40 PM, Palo Alto Free Press <paloaltofreepress@gmail.com> wrote: It’s rather noble of you to respond. Pero eso no es excusa, I was in fact a contributor to the original story....and my comments, were removed along with others...sir... Thanks for civic exchange. A first....We may ad.. Saludo, Mark Petersen-Perez Editor: Palo Alto Free Press Ticuantepe, Nicaragua (We are NOT an African nation) Sent from my iPad On Nov 8, 2017, at 4:53 PM, Bill Johnson <bjohnson@paweekly.com> wrote: FYI, comments on our stories weren't possible until our Town Square commenting system was launched on May 30, 2006, more than a year after the story you reference was published. So there were no comments for us to remove. In the future, if you have questions about why a particular comment was removed feel free to ask. We retain all the original and edited comments and gladly explain these decisions if asked. City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:08 AM 2 William S. Johnson Publisher, Palo Alto Weekly President & CEO, Embarcadero Media 450 Cambridge Ave. Palo Alto, CA 94306 650.326.8210 On Wed, Nov 8, 2017 at 1:20 PM, Palo Alto Free Press <paloaltofreepress@gmail.com> wrote: https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2005/04/06/police-watchdog-threatens-lawsuit Their were at one time Aram...many, many comments....They have since been all removed. We believe, this was an intentional act on the part of the weekly and fits in rather nicely to their on-going censorship.. Sent from my iPad City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:08 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Palo Alto Free Press <paloaltofreepress@gmail.com> Sent:Wednesday, November 08, 2017 1:20 PM To:James Aram Cc:Council, City; Keene, James; Reifschneider, James; Watson, Ron; Scharff, Greg; Kniss, Liz (external); swebby@da.sccgov.org; sdremann@paweekly.com; bjohnson@paweekly.com; bjohnson@embarcaderomediagroup.com; gsheyner@paweekly.com; Stump, Molly; Keith, Claudia; csumida@da.sccgov.org; molly.o'neal@pdo.sccgov.org; Gary.Goodman@pdo.sccgov.org; jrosen@da.sccgov.org; Jay Boyarsky Subject:Police watchdog threatens lawsuit | News | Palo Alto Online | https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2005/04/06/police-watchdog-threatens-lawsuit Their were at one time Aram...many, many comments....They have since been all removed. We believe, this was an intentional act on the part of the weekly and fits in rather nicely to their on-going censorship.. Sent from my iPad City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:17 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Palo Alto Free Press <paloaltofreepress@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, November 12, 2017 4:54 PM To:James Aram Cc:Watson, Ron; Perron, Zachary; jrosen@da.sccgov.org; Jay Boyarsky; Reifschneider, James; Council, City; Scharff, Greg; Kniss, Liz (external) Subject:Remember our first encounter Ron? What did you say...no jumping up and down....screaming and yelling. And the beer 🍺 commercial before city council....you said you liked that one.... That was our first meeting Ron....did you know your were being recorded Ron? Insurance policy..... you piece of shit! Sent from my iPad City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/15/2017 2:42 PM 1 Carnahan, David From:Mark Petersen-Perez <bayareafreepress@gmail.com> Sent:Tuesday, November 14, 2017 3:31 AM To:Keith, Claudia Cc:policechief@menlopark.org; Council, City; Lum, Patty; Watson, Ron; Perron, Zachary; Reifschneider, James; Keene, James; Scharff, Greg; Kniss, Liz (external); swebby@da.sccgov.org; Jay Boyarsky; jrosen@da.sccgov.org Subject:Robert A. Jonsen - Tweet by Palo Alto Free Press on Twitter Palo Alto Free Press (@PAFreePress) 11/14/17, 5:10 AM Robert A. Jonsen Selected as Palo Alto Chief of Police #BayArea Interestingly @PaloAltoCityMgr Keene @PaloAltoPolice refuse to release photo of assistant Police chief Patty Lum. She is alleged to have abused a #PaloAlto senior bit.ly/2mpl8nH #BayArea #MenloPark pic.twitter.com/G0K5aKVEmz Mark Petersen-Perez Ticuantepe, Nicaragua Central America Download the Twitter app Sent from my iPad City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:18 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Palo Alto Free Press <paloaltofreepress@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, November 12, 2017 5:19 PM To:Watson, Ron Cc:Bonilla, Robert; Council, City; Scharff, Greg; Kniss, Liz (external); Jay Boyarsky; jrosen@da.sccgov.org; Wagner, April; DOkonkwo@da.sccgov.org; dangel@da.sccgov.org; bwelch@dao.sccgov.org; Philip, Brian; michael.gennaco@oirgroup.com; stephen.connolly@oirgroup.com Subject:Robert Bonilla Did you know Mr. Bonilla was Nicaraguan? Ron....of course you did, he was one of your goons that detained and interviewed me.... Did you also know that the Presidents son of Nicaragua was the best man at my wedding of the woman you say I allegedly raped? Ron... I should be jumping up and down with disgust.... In your attempts at charging me with a heinous crime I did not commit and the falsification of police reports support by the other goons Gennaco and team... Civil Stand‐by report which was falsely portrayed and confirmed by way of a Public Records Request...poor mans discovery..but affective. Mark Sent from my iPad City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:13 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Palo Alto Free Press <paloaltofreepress@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, November 12, 2017 10:17 AM To:ekadvany@paweekly.com; Perron, Zachary; Council, City; Scharff, Greg; Kniss, Liz (external); Watson, Ron; Reifschneider, James; gsheyner@paweekly.com; sdremann@paweekly.com Cc:bjohnson@embarcaderomediagroup.com; bjohnson@paweekly.com Subject:¡Su aviso! !¡Censura! https://www.paloaltoonline.com/news/2017/11/12/armed-robbery-reported-downtown Sent from my iPad City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:06 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:LWV of Palo Alto <lwvpaoffice@gmail.com> Sent:Wednesday, November 08, 2017 4:29 PM Subject:The December-January Palo Alto VOTER Attachments:December-January 2017-18 VOTER .pdf The Palo Alto VOTER The December/January 2017‐18 issue is attached as a PDF. Please save this to your desktop and enjoy! -- League of Women Voters of Palo Alto 3921 E. Bayshore Road, Suite 209 Palo Alto, CA 94303 (650) 903-0600 LWVPA !3 December-January, 2017-18 Board Meeting Highlights - October, 2017 Your Board · Decided to publicize a National Voter Corps event — a conversation via live videoconference with national voting rights journalist and author Ari Berman on Nov. 11. · Ratified an email vote to approve a letter drafted by our Housing & Transportation Committee to the Palo Alto City Council in support of the housing supply recommendation of the Planning and Transportation Commission (PTC). · Ratified an email vote to approve an Action Alert to sign a Palo Alto Forward petition to the City Council to ratify and implement the Comprehensive Plan. · Approved the renaming of our Sanctuary City Committee as the Immigration Committee, in recognition of the breadth of the related issues for immigrants in our community. · Approved the formation and goals of a new LWVPA Committee on Climate Action, Labor and Sustainability · Decided to publicize a Stanford in Government event with Ambassador Susan Rice, subject to getting more info. Discussed · Future speaker and social events, including plans for our 80th anniversary event in February. · How to make our upcoming Program Planning meeting ( on January 20, 2018) both engaging to our members and more effective at identifying which issues and activities to focus on. · Plans for the On The Table event – conversations on housing. Learned · Paige Costello will be coming to our next Board meeting to continue her presentation on the effective use of social media. · Lisa Ratner attended a seminar on the use of concurrences with League studies, and found out that state and national League positions are deliberately broad in order to allow local Leagues to adopt positions in concurrence with those positions as they pertain locally. · Voter Services made great strides in contacting journalism teachers at Palo Alto High School and social studies teachers at Gunn High School to work on classroom visits to encourage students to learn about and participate in the election process. In addition, letters were sent to 11 local private schools with voting age populations as part of the goal of Voter Services to register to vote all eligible high school students in our area. Karen Kalinsky Secretary President’s Letter Continued from page 2 · Membership – bringing in and maintaining an involved base (we grew by over 100 members!) · Fundraising – reaching out to the community for funds that allow us to do important League work · Collaborations – ensuring we have good relations with like-minded organizations and keeping us involved more widely in the community · Advocacy – informing us about advocacy at other League levels and making sure that our advocacy is consistent with League positions · And we could not function without the invaluable and essential work of our Secretary and our Treasurer, and the Nominating, Budget and Board Development Committees. On behalf of the entire Palo Alto League, thank you, thank you, thank you. Bonnie Packer LWVPA Program Planning Plan on Being There! We urge all of you to participate actively in Program Planning on the morning of Saturday, January 20. This is a special time for all members to weigh in on those issues and activities to which we agree to direct our energies and resources. LWVPA !4 December-January, 2017-18 National The LWVUS has issued a number of statements condemning executive orders taken by the Trump administration in October and also urging members to take action on online political ad rules. Health Care Subsidies: The LWVUS condemned the executive order ending health care subsidies in the Affordable Care Act, stating: “These subsidies were put in place deliberately to keep costs down for everyday Americans. Removing them now is a dangerous step toward unraveling a fragile system.” EPA Clean Power Plan Repeal: Chris Carson, LWVUS President, said: “By repealing the Clean Power Plan, the White House is putting the interests of corporate polluters ahead of the health and safety of the American public. This decision will have a devastating impact on the planet at a time when we are seeing the powerful climate change effects with rising temperatures, deadly hurricanes and destructive wildfires. The League is appalled at this irresponsible decision that will have a long-term devastating impact on our planet and health of the American people.” Assault on Women’s Right to Contraceptive Care: The Trump administration announced that employers can now opt out of birth control coverage, required by the Affordable Care Act. LWVUS responded: "Eliminating employer-covered birth control coverage, a requirement under the Affordable Care Act (ACA), is a direct assault on a woman’s right to make her own health care choices. … [Requiring contraceptive coverage] in the ACA has saved women an estimated $1.4 billion in out-of-pocket costs for contraception coverage. Nine out of 10 women use birth control at some point in their lives for family planning or other medical reasons. Birth control is critical for effective family planning and preventing unwanted pregnancies, which … opens up more opportunities for women and increases lifetime earnings. … Allowing employers and insurance plans to pick and choose what should be covered will lead to discrimination against women … The League of Women Voters strongly opposes this insulting decision by the Trump Administration." Online Political Ads: The Federal Election Commission (FEC) has asked for comments on whether it should modernize online political ad disclosure rules. Americans have a right to know who is paying for political ads, whether it be organizations with ties to foreign governments or wealthy special interests here at home. In the 2016 election, 65 percent of Americans identified the internet, or an online platform, as their leading source of information. LWVUS urges members to tell the FEC to require online campaign ads to include disclaimers about who is paying for them — as is required for television and print advertisements. State Governor Brown signed all the bills supported by LWVC which came across his desk, including: • The California Values Act, ensuring state and local resources are not being used to fuel mass deportations, destroy families, and cripple our economy. • SB2 and SB3 which will generate about $5 billion for more affordable housing over the next five years. • Campaign ads will have to identify their big money donors prominently on television, radio, online, and in print with the passage of the Disclose Act. • Community college students will be assessed more fairly, creating a clearer path to success and preventing them from being tracked into unnecessary non-credit remedial classes, thanks to AB 705. • AB 918 means the millions of voters with limited English skills will have access to more information in their language, including facsimile ballots—a critical step in ensuring all voices are heard on election day. Local Our local Board sent a letter to the Palo Alto City Council urging adoption of the Comprehensive Plan so that the city can begin to implement land use policies which could help alleviate our affordable housing shortage. The Board also sent an action request to members urging them to sign a petition from Palo Alto Forward urging adoption of the Comprehensive Plan, in light of some organized opposition to the Plan. We began coordination between our new Food Justice Committee and the LWVC Climate Change Task Force. We will meet the week of November 13 with Karen Nelson from the Task Force. Advocacy Report by Lisa Ratner City of Palo Alto | City Clerk's Office | 11/13/2017 7:13 AM 1 Carnahan, David From:Palo Alto Free Press <paloaltofreepress@gmail.com> Sent:Sunday, November 12, 2017 8:03 AM To:bjohnson@paweekly.com; bjohnson@embarcaderomediagroup.com; sdremann@paweekly.com; Council, City; gsheyner@paweekly.com; bwelch@dao.sccgov.org; swebby@da.sccgov.org; Stump, Molly; Scharff, Greg; Gary.Goodman@pdo.sccgov.org; molly.o'neal@pdo.sccgov.org; jrosen@da.sccgov.org; Jay Boyarsky; Reifschneider, James; Watson, Ron; Lum, Patty; Dave Price; Perron, Zachary; Cullen, Charles; Reichental, Jonathan; Keith, Claudia; csumida@da.sccgov.org; Keene, James; pressstrong@gmail.com; press@eff.org; Kniss, Liz (external) Subject:The roots of racism run deep...allegedly - Tweet by Palo Alto Free Press on Twitter Feel free to comment... We won't censor you.... “Your free to move about the free press cabin” Not to confessed with Southwest Airlines... Palo Alto Free Press (@PAFreePress) 11/12/17, 9:24 AM Rare exchange with Weekly CEO Bill Johnson on why he allegedly targets censors #EastPaloAlto paloaltoonline.com comments. facebook.com/PAFreePress/po… @cityofpaloalto @PaloAltoPolice @SantaClaraDA Rosen Alleged #Censorship of minorities #AfricanAmericans #LatinoAmericans pic.twitter.com/LPqKxoFZIh Mark Petersen-Perez Editor: Palo Alto Free Press Now defunct brought down by The Daily Post editor, Dave Price on a bogus DMCA claim under Title 17. But, we believe Prices efforts were in collaboration with the PAPD and city hall.... ‘We will be back’ Schwarzenegger Ticuantepe, Nicaragua Follow us on twitter @PAFreePress And FaceBook... Download the Twitter app Sent from my iPad ''Wh.en women tbrive, all of society benefits." -Kofi Annan 'jes f ! ''When \vomen thrive., all of society benefits." -Kofi Annan ©Castilleja~~ "Wl1e11 wo1nen tl1rive., all of society • l1e11efits." -Kofi Annan ·©Castilleja I support Castilleja's proposal to increase enrollment and modernize its campus because ... ~Jo v;re"'f U"r.l1 ~~(f IJ1 !o1 [1;"~ Cf.J AfL °'"' ti')Sl --iD ~ur CO....,"' v~·· fy . Office of the Clerk -•• Please distribute to all City Council Members 250 Hamilton Avenue, 7th Floor Palo Alto, CA, 94301 f\J)1;1fi,111111li1!1i'1ll 111ll111111111l1l1lii1lll 11ll1j\l11l I support Castilleja's proposal to increase enrollment and modernize its 17 campus because ... ' USA V-9 PH 1t:S8 NON MActl/NEABU SURCHARGE Office of the Clerk Please distribute to all City Council Members 250 Hamilton Avenue, 7th Floor Palo Alto, CA, 94301 11 i1pl\J,IjJ1IIp1j 11h11l1i 11jI11lI1i1j1II111111jlj111111! 1111 I RETURN ADDRESS: :Ya\4,jf \?-.!'9\.. ,.. Eh,,'1 (~~ l'fa ch\.lr-d,..,)I i\v!""1.u ... 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Office of the Clerk Please distribute to all City Council Members 250 Hamilton Avenue, 7th Floor Palo Alto, CA, 94301 I ; ~ RETURN ADDRESS: "-..:i:jr·I~1 & C01iot ,"'{~. · 375 C'clt;i ·,;ye Ave"'"'' I support Castilleja's proposal to increase enrollment and modernize its campus because ... ~~~pc-i-1-J WDrrvM? ~c-tUhw\/. wa,-nuA--~-1i ~ oPJru;;y ~-1- l/YJ~'h1~ RETURN ADDRESS: I support Castilleja's proposal to ~ increase enrollment and modernize its campus because ... -n!2 _, -..... -::::!-< Q -C: nO r-""" c:; ""'~ Office of the Clerk ~,.... Please distribute to all c!r=ou~i'.embers 250 Hamilton Aven'= 7t~~r Pa lo Alto, CA, 9430r :!!o -o· -f"Pl~ ()G O T f St.N FRAt C·IS RETURN ADDRESS: I support Castilleja's proposal to -= increase enrollment and modernize its campus because ... the. ~c.h Oo I evn powt. rs voun0 MYY\th ~ ~ \ea.tiers o.na ~ b<.. Pl'OciuGtivc_ man~ of th<. l0mrn1-tn1ty. ~e. 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Cas\lU~ct \s ~ ~ \ (\"\~( ~ o/1-V-lj ~°'\o t\ \.\o s ~is~_A ~has be2A\ ~r:\ ll~ on i+s ~~~ ~r 0~ Office of the Clerk Please distribute to all City Council Members 250 Hamilton Avenue, 7th Floor Palo Alto, CA, 94301 -n~ _. --1 z :::::< g no --,-n (A) ~~ ~o ~ ~J> -"TtCf .. ~C> Office of the Clerk -n(-, Please distribute to all ~Cou~iJ!flembers 250 Hamilton Avenue, 7th Floor Palo Alto, CA, 94301 \CO ~€{);( 5 . c1' ~ a1t.-~lA~ 11\•~1~iiti11 '1ii11i•1il''I ioji1i1i1p1iiJilljuiiiil,1 c lo.s.s RETURN ADDRESS: C> Q:-• OM "9 "'"""--"'°-+=--JC.--'-'-.L.:--:..:...>...~l~z~-;1 -~ -? e:-.. "'.1. 8 ti {!( ,- ~ '~"" ' .~'t_. I / ' I support Castilleja's proposal to "" ~~ increase enrollment and modernize its campus because ... )~'2:ti, -\-Wt (_~l~u.._ \)~ V\tt<-1-~~'S\. of- leo~-~ o~v~ ~d" [ 0 (Ci'•..\~ ¢.VJ. ~ (~ b ti\_\~ • Office of the Clerk Please distribute to all City Council Members 250 Hamilton Avenue, 7th Floor Palo Alto, CA, 94301 St.N 1:r At~ .............. ~ ~·:-ii.~~~" C:: ("')~OSTCARD I USA r-: -. . -FTl::-0 w ::ol> :xr- 2:1111 uio :z o:> --,,r:; .. ~o -n-~ m~ Office of the Clerk Please distribute to all City Council Members 250 Hamilton Avenue, 7th Floor Palo Alto, CA, 94301 ij1Jiii1111111IJii111 !11 i l I Ii Jl 1 /i I I j j i1i 111III111111J1Ij11J1i /I I support Castilleja's proposal to increase enrollment and modernize its campus because ... '(),14--(f/(L/ J,v I!~ rJf , 1v c~ ~ ~ ITY OF PALO ALTO. CA CITY CLERK·s OFFICE 17NOV 14 PM 9: 3& Office of the Clerk ., Please distribute to all City Council Members 250 Hamilton Avenue, 7th Floor Palo Alto, CA, 94301 1k ~~i11lJlfl•IJ1i1JJi;jp•lj,jiJJ•iwJ.ij•jj•j 17 NOV 111 PH 9a 36 Office of the Clerk Please distribute to all City Council Members 250 Hamilton Avenue, 7th Floor Palo Alto, CA, 94301 RETURN ADDRESS: Pl4Dml1 ~, · ~ ful\J lA qif¥fO'F p LO ALTO.CEA cnY CLE K'S OFFIC I support Castilleja's proposal to increase enrollment and moderni i.~~V l PH gt t.2 campus because... l I RU Office of the Clerk POSTCARD I USA Please distribute to all City Council Members 250 Hamilton Avenue, 7th Floor Palo Alto, CA, 94301 Future Meetings and Agendas P&S MEETING D POLICY & SERVICES COMMITTEE-TENTATIVE AGENDA 11/14/2017 lZI Received Before Meeting 11/14/2017 1. Discussion and Recommendation to Council to Adopt Legislative Priorities for 2018 2. Discussion and Recommendation Regarding Permitting and Regulations for Bike Share Operators in the City of Palo Alto 3. Discussion of City Auditor's Community Services Department Fee Schedule Audit Recommendations and Recommend That the City Council Accept the Status of Audit Recommendations Report 3A. Staff Recommendation That the Policy and Services Committee Recommend the City Council Accept the Status Update on the Audit of Parking Funds 3B. Staff Recommendation That the Policy and Services Committee Recommend the City ·- Council Accept the Status Update on the 2015 Utility Meter Audit: Procurement, Inventory and Retirement 3C. Staff Recommendation That the Policy and Services Committee Recommend the City Council Accept the Status Update on the 2013 Inventory Management Audit 1. Review proposed, revised Palo Alto Municipal Code 4.42 in order to allow taxicab service to be prearranged through a mobile device application and an internet online service (PD) 2. Anti-idling Ordinance -referred by Council Colleagues Memo (PCE) 3. Discussion and Recommendations for the 2018 Priority Setting Process (CMO) To be scheduled and potential P&S agenda items: 1. Council Referral -P&S to review revised language, options, and implications associated with modifications to seismic compliance in the City's Municipal Code 2. Update on ThinkFund Programming (formerly Bryant Street Garage Fund) (CSD) 3. Human Relations Commission -potential policy recommendations in response to Council referral of Resolution to Reaffirm Palo Alto's Commitment to a Diverse, Supportive Inclusive, and Protective Community 4. Community Health Needs Assessment (FIRE) 5. Library collaboration with PAUSD to issue students Library Cards 6. Palo Alto and Stanford University Air Quality Project -Array of Things (IT) POLICY & SERVICES COMMITTEE-TENTATIVE AGENDA Audit Updates: 1. Audit Status Report -Citywide Cash Handling and Travel Expense. This was issued in September 2010 and has one remaining open recommendation, which is the one about meal reimbursements. 2. Audit Status Report -Disability Rates and Workers' Compensation. This was issued in October 2016 and has not had any status updates 3. Audit Status Report -Cable Franchise and Public, Education, and Government (PEG) Fees. This was issued in June 2016 and has had one status update. 4. Audit Status Report -Continuous Monitoring: Payments. This was issued in August 2017 and this would be the first status update. 5. Audit Status Report -Green Purchasing Practices. This was issued in August 2017 and this would be the first status update. 6. Audit Status Report -Cross Bore Inspection Contract. This was issued in August 2017 and this would be the first status update. 7. Auditor's Office Quarterly Report for the quarter ending December 31, 2017. 8. Presentation of the Triennial Peer Review results for the Auditor's Office 9. IT System and Data Governance Audit Herb Borock P. 0. Box 632 Palo Alto, CA 94302 November 13, 2017 Palo Alto City Council 250 Hamilton Avenue Palo Alto, CA 94301 ORAL COMMUNICATIONS CALIFORNIA HIGH SPEED RAIL AUTHORITY APPLICATION TO ASSUME THE FEDERAL RAILROAD ADMINISTRATION'S ENVIRONMENTAL RESPONSIBILITIES UNDER THE NATIONAL ENVIRONMENTAL POLICY ACT (NEPA) Dear City Council: At the November 15, 2017, Board meeting of the California High Speed Rail Authority, the Board will receive an update about the application of the Authority and the California State Transportation Agency to assume the federal government's responsibilities under the National Environmental Policy Act and other environmental laws. If the application is approved, there will be no separate federal review of the Environmental Impact Report/Environmental Impact Statement for the high speed rail project. The Authority is soliciting comments about its application until December 11, 2017, but there is no indication of any standard way for comments to be sent to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to influence its decision about whether to approve the application. In view of the fact that the City Council is on record as opposing the high speed rail project, I believe the Council should go on record as opposing the Authority's application to become the only agency that will act on the completeness and adequacy of the environmental analysis of the project. I urge the Council to take action to express its opinion to the FRA and U.S. Department of Transportation that the City of Palo Alto is against the application that would remove federal en~ironmental over~ight of the project' a...s-(,,IJVU. ~ ~'"if ~r vf'"i""-·bo Hv. ~'~ b()-i-ls 'O.eu.."°"l.&< l\1""2.-61-/'t ~a..d lu ..... ~- Attached to this letter is a copy of the Authority's November 9, 2017, press release about the subject of this letter. Listed below are links to the documents included in the agenda packet for the Authority's November lS, 2017, Board meeting. Update on application for National Environmental Quality Act (NEPA) assignment: http://www.hsr.ca.gov/docs/brdmeetings/2017/brdmtg 111S17 Items Update on Application for NEPA Assignment.pdf Letter from Governor Brown May 12, 2017: http://www.hsr.ca.gov/docs/brdmeetings/2017/brdmtg 111S17 Items ATTACHMENT Letter from Governor Brown May 2017.pdf Letter of request: http://www.hsr.ca.gov/docs/brdmeetings/2017/brdmtg 111S17 Items ATTACHMENT Letter of Request June 2017.pdf Draft application for NEPA assignment: http://www.hsr.ca.gov/docs/brdmeetings/2017/brdmtg 111S17 Items ATTACHMENT Draft Application for NEPA Assignment.pdf Thank you for your consideration of these comments. Si~ Herb Borock Press Release CONTACT: Lisa Marie Alley DATE: November 9, 2017 (916) 384-9026 (w) (916) 212-8108 (c) Lisa.Alley@hsr.ca.gov California State Transportation Agency and High-Speed Rail Authority Release Draft NEPA Assignment Application for Public Review and Comment SACRAMENTO, Calif. -The California High-Speed Rail Authority (Authority), in partnership with the California State Transportation Agency (CalST A), today made available for public review and comment a draft application to the Federal Railroad Administration (FRA) to assume the federal envirorunental responsibilities under the National Envirorunental Policy Act (NEPA) and other federal envirorunental laws. The State of California is seeking federal envirorunental responsibilities to enable more efficient reviews and approvals of the envirorunental documents required to advance the high-speed rail program and related rail projects. Through this process, the State of California would assume federal environmental responsibilities on all projects comprising the Phase 1 system of the high-speed rail program connecting San Francisco to Los Angeles/ Anaheim, and projects extending service to Sacramento and San Diego as part of the Phase 2 system. Additionally, the State is applying to include the ACEforward project on the Altamont Corridor Express System, and projects that will directly connect to stations on the high-speed rail system such as Link Union Station (Link US) and West Santa Ana Branch Extension projects in Southern California. Through NEPA Assignment, the Authority will manage both NEPA and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) document preparation for the Phase I and Phase 2 system of the high-speed rail program, finding efficiencies where possible to complete the process faster without diminishing the rigor of the environmental analysis or the opportunities for the public meaningfully to engage with the program. The official comment period begins Thursday, November 9 and ends on Monday, December 11. There are several ways to submit a comment regarding the NEPA assignment application: • Online via our web comment fonn • Via email at NEPA@hsr.ca.gov • Mail your comment to: o Attn: NEPA Assignment Application California High-Speed Rail Authority 770 Street, Suite 620 MS-1 Sacramento, CA 95814 • Provide written or oral comment at the Authority's Board of Directors meeting on November 15, 2017. Comments received during the public comment period will be reviewed and considered before submitting the final application to the FRA. The state anticipates the completion of NEPA Assignment in spring 2018. To view the draft NEPA Assignment Application visit: http://hsr.ca.gov/Programs/Environmental Planning/nepa assignment.html High-Speed Rall Authority: Connecting and Transfonnlng California 770 L Street, Suite 1160, Sacramento, CA 95814 • T: (916) 324-1541 • F: (916) 322-0827 • www.hsr.ca.gov 0 0