City Council - Regular Meeting

With that, I will turn it over to the city attorney.

Yes, thank you, Mayor and Council. We have three items on closed session. The first is existing litigation pursuant to Code Section 54956.91, OPV Coalition v. Fox Canyon Municipality. GROUNDWATER MANAGEMENT AGENCY. THE SECOND IS REAL PROPERTY NEGOTIATIONS PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54956.8, RELATED TO 2222 VENTURA BOULEVARD. AND THE THIRD MATTER IS CONFERENCE WITH LABOR NEGOTIATORS PURSUANT TO GOVERNMENT CODE SECTION 54957.6. AND IF THERE'S ANY REPORTABLE ACTION, I'LL MAKE THAT REPORT.

THANK YOU. AND WITH THAT, WE WILL RECESS TO CLOSED SESSION.

Thank you. Another one. That's a great color in you.

Mm hmm.

Yes, I got caught up with Reagan.

We are still conducting a test of the remote participation call-in system. We will now move on to remote public comment. There is one remote caller raising their hand to request to speak. When your number is called, Zoom will prompt you to press star six to unmute yourself. I will call the last four digits of your phone number and ask you to begin. Phone number ending in 8943, please state your name for the record and provide comments. Please press star six to unmute yourself.

Hello, this is a test call for SB707, remote public comment for City of Camarillo City Council meeting. Audio test. Can you hear me and is the audio clear?

Yes, Speaker, I can hear you and the audio is clear.

Thank you. This is only a test to confirm that audio communication for the public comment is functioning properly. No action is being taken. Thank you.

This concludes the test.

We will reconvene the May 27th, 2026 meeting of the Camarillo City Council, Camarillo Sanitary District, and Camarillo Library Board. If I could ask the city clerk to conduct roll call, please.

Council Member Santangelo? Here. Vice Mayor Martinez-Bravo? Here. Council Member Kildee? Here. Council Member Trembley? Here. Mayor Tennyson?

Here. Thank you, and if I could ask Mr. Trembley to lead us in the flags.

Thank you, Mr. Tremblay. Are there any changes to the agenda?

There are no changes to the agenda.

HEARING NONE, WE WILL MOVE ON TO PRESENTATIONS. AND WE HAVE TWO PRESENTATIONS TONIGHT. I'M GOING TO READ FROM THE DIAS AND THEN INVITE THEM UP First, we're going to recognize CERT. We'd like to recognize the residents who completed the Community Emergency Response Team, or CERT, training program. We also want to thank the Ventura County Fire Department staff and instructors who make this program possible. Joining us tonight are VC FD CERT instructors Brenda Pasqua and Nick Hyatt. CERT graduates and instructors, please come up and join me in front of the city seal up here. OPEN UP YOUR CERTIFICATES SO THEY LOOK NICE AND PROFESSIONAL. Yes. On behalf of the City Council, thank you for stepping up and completing this training. Programs like CERT help strengthen our community and improve preparedness when emergencies happen, which they will happen. We appreciate your willingness to serve and help others, and congratulations to all of the graduates tonight. Thank you very much, and I'll let our two instructors say a couple of quick words.

First of all, you guys should be very, very proud of what you accomplished. That is a lot of information we gave you in six weeks. Remember, it is the beginning. Disaster preparedness never stops, never ends. And the more you practice and the more you utilize these skills... the fresher it's going to be. Also remember, please feel free, continue to take the class. If you want to take it again to refresh your skills, you are always welcome to join us anytime you want. You guys did a great job and you should be very proud of yourselves.

Anybody else want to say a word or two or talk about your experience? No? Yes. Okay, thank you very much and congratulations. ANY OF MY FELLOW COUNCILMEMBERS HAVE A COMMENT? NO COMMENTS?

Many congratulations to each and every one of you. And unfortunately, yes, we have had emergencies and we will continue to have them. And this community really is stronger because of you. So all that time and dedication that you put into it, it is very much appreciated. So thank you so much for being there.

go ahead Mr. Kildee.

Yeah ditto that I know give up six weeks you all have busy schedules to give six weeks up to this is really meaningful and you know on behalf of all the city residents who really appreciate your time doing this and it's it doesn't go unnoticed and it should not go unnoticed.

Thank you. Being an old emergency room nurse, this is really near and dear to my heart, and so I really appreciate all of you that have stepped up to do this in our community at a time when the need is the most. So thank you again, and congratulations to all of you.

Mr. Trembley.

Consistent with council tradition, ditto.

Congratulations again, thank you. Next up, we have a presentation that probably is one of the most appropriate ones I will make during my time as mayor. Three of us up here qualify for this. Undoubtedly, two are on the way, and hopefully someday they'll qualify. Our next presentation is the Older Americans Month Proclamation. Accepting tonight are Camarillo Council on Aging Board Members Josie Zabarsky and Sandra Melton. Please come on up here in front of the city seal and meet me.

Thank you.

I DON'T THINK THE VICE MAYOR COULD GET AWAY WITH WHAT I JUST GOT AWAY WITH BECAUSE SHE'S NOT AN OLDER AMERICAN PERSON YET. SO ONCE AGAIN, EACH MAY WE RECOGNIZE THE CONTRIBUTIONS OLDER ADULTS MAKE TO OUR COMMUNITY. THANK YOU, MR. TRIMLEY AND MR. KILDE. THEY'VE HELPED BUILD CAMARILLO INTO THE CITY IT IS TODAY AND THEY CONTINUE TO PLAY AN IMPORTANT ROLE IN OUR COMMUNITY LIFE. This year's theme for Older Americans Month is Champion Your Health, which encourages older adults to stay active, informed, connected, and engaged. The Camarillo Council on Aging helps keep seniors informed about available services and resources and continues to be a strong voice for older adults in our community. On behalf of the City Council of Camarillo, thank you for everything you do for our older adult community in Camarillo. And I'd like to present you with this certificate.

Thank you.

And would you like to say a few words?

Sure. All right.

First of all, thank you for the recognition and I'm honored to accept the proclamation on behalf of the many older adults in our community and also the Council on Aging. And as someone in healthcare, my buddy Susan here, And education, I see firsthand the importance of supporting healthy aging and fostering connection and ensuring the dignity of every person in every stage of life. Thank you to the city, most of all, for recognizing this important work and for your support and commitment to our council and to the older members of our community. And I'm pleased to say we have 2,500 people that are signed up to receive our newsletter. And we've just finished our huge drive in putting the resource guide out to the community. And thank you for your support in enabling us to print that and do that.

Thank you very much. Congratulations. Any council members want to make a comment? Mr. Tremblay?

Oh, sure.

So my older American colleague, Mayor Tennyson, hit the nail on the head. Thank you for all the time you spend, just like thank you to our first set of volunteers. Thank you for your dedication to the city. The resource guide, if you haven't had a chance to take a look at it, is phenomenal. It is really, really well done. And I want to congratulate you. I know you have some colleagues who worked on it just like you very hard. So we really appreciate all of your efforts. That's longer than I wanted to go on a ditto.

Mr. Kildee? I want to thank you for what you do. The resource guide is tremendous. As our most eloquent mayor has stated, it's a little story. I had a procedure yesterday, and getting ready for it, Michael Bolton was playing in the background, and their nurse was there. And I said, hey, do you know who this is? Thinking about everybody knows Michael Bolton, right? And there's this long pause. No, I really don't. Well, it's Michael Bolton. He was really popular a number of years ago. But the resource guide is really, really probably more important now than ever because there's a lot going on with our health care, as we all know. So any information that we could give to the public is really good stuff. So, again, thanks for what you do. I'll say it again, it doesn't go unnoticed and it's super important.

Now I'll turn to our two youthful council members, Council Member Santangelo.

You're giving me way too much credit because I'm closer than you think. Thank you so much for all the work that you do. And I'm going to ditto the resource guide because it really is an amazing guide and it's just chock full of resource. So thank you so much for the work behind that.

And now, Vice Mayor Martita Martinez-Bravo, who always points out that I'm older than her dad. Do you have anything to say?

So, yes, I do, as a matter of fact. So, yes, the mayor and I have this running joke. I probably said that one time when I introduced, when we introduced ourselves, and I said, hey, you know what? I think you're older than my dad. I don't think you're ever going to forget that, David, obviously. But having said that, thank you. Thank you so much for everything that you do for the resource guide did on that as well. Your voices are just as important as everybody in this community. So I've always said this is your home. whether you're young or elderly, and I'm very grateful to also sit on a council where we have these differing perspectives. Those who are elder bring in that experience in a very different perspective, and those of us who are younger also bring in new ideas and different perspectives as well. So very thankful to have you in our community for the dedication that you bring, and very honored to also sit here with all of you. Thank you.

Again, congratulations and have a wonderful evening. You can stay for the whole meeting if you'd like. Madam Clerk, we will go to public comments for items not on the agenda. Do we have any speakers?

Yes, we have five speakers. Request to speak. Each speaker will have three minutes. Once your time has expired, the microphone will be muted and we will move on to the next speaker. General public comments will be heard for an initial 20-minute period and, if needed, will continue after all agenda items have completed. The first speaker I have is Axel Zimmerman. Please come up to the podium and state your name. After Axel Zimmerman is Barry Vandeman.

Right up front, Axel. Either microphone should work. Either one?

Hello.

Good evening, welcome.

Good afternoon, esteemed members of the council. My name's Axel Zerman and I'm representing the youth as part of the Teen Civic Engagement Club. So all my people are back there. I want to bring upon a teen involved issue of being e-bikes, as you guys have seen the recent spike in that. And I've observed many students my age or younger use it as both a way to socialize and to get around as transportation. I understand that it's starting to become an issue where it's almost unsafe and I think that bringing to attention and teaching e-bike safety to students starting from middle school, I know there was a assembly when I was a student at middle school but I think it needs to be brought up again and really brought to attention because I've seen unsafe riding in Camarillo And that's just kind of what I've observed, and I think it would be an excellent thing to look into.

Thank you, Axel. Thank you for being here.

The next speaker is Barry Vandeman.

Welcome, Barry. And by way of introduction, Barry is the interim CEO of our newest children's museum, KidStream, or as I renamed, Christie's Dream. So welcome, Barry.

Well, thank you, Mayor. Mayor Tennyson, the city council, and city officials who are here tonight, I'm here simply to thank you. Less than a week ago, we opened this new children's museum, a decade in the making. And without your support, it wouldn't happen. And I wanted to let you know that within the first few days, almost 5,000 children, parents, and caregivers have visited. This is the beginning of having an impact on this community, on surrounding communities, and most importantly, on the lives of the children that are visiting today. So with our deepest congratulations to you and our thanks to you, I'm simply here tonight to reiterate our appreciation.

Thank you, sir.

The next speaker is Evan Rivera, followed by Maria Elizondo Gutierrez.

Welcome. Good afternoon. I am Evan Rivera from the Teen Civic Engagement Club at the Camarillo Library. And I would like to address mental health and suicide awareness within California. Suicide is the second leading cause of death in California for people between the ages of 10 and 25, especially in minority groups where The suicide rates have risen by 22% for black Americans and 21.4% for Hispanic Americans. LGBTQ plus people are four times more likely to consider suicide and the current suicide rate in Ventura County is 10.8 per 100,000 and for every suicide there are an estimated 25 attempts. I think that it would be very beneficial to put more funding towards advertising and financially supporting local suicide awareness organizations. Thank you. Thank you.

The next speaker is Maria Elizondo Gutierrez.

Welcome.

Hello, city council members. I am Maria Elizondo Gutierrez, and I am also from the Teen Civic Engagement Club here at the Camarillo Library. And I'd like to discuss the possibility of organizing teen events in our community. So last summer, me and my family actually had the fortune to go to the VGs tribute. that took place in Constitution Park, and I found myself really enjoying it, not only for the food and the music, but also because for the first time in a while, I felt like I was part of a community. With this in mind, I would like to introduce the idea of inviting local teenage bands to perform in events created specifically for our Camarillo youth. It would provide a safe place to gather, as well as encourage creativity among teenagers. Not only that, but programs such as these are essential in creating a necessary foundation to establish a stronger bond between our local government and our Camarillo youth. Thank you so much for your time.

Thank you very much.

Siddharth Mitrotra.

welcome good afternoon council first let me offer my own praise and appreciation for all the presenters and the good work they've done and for those who just spoke before me i think they have some very good ideas as a general rule and they have done well may i also unfortunately register my disappointment that this council voted against the sea frog resolution at our last meeting That resolution could easily have been the beginning of the end of the crises which make CERT and the fire department and all similar organizations so very necessary and so very overworked in these days. A crisis which has now lasted most of my lifetime and I think most of yours. Third, and almost as urgently, I am here to repeat the request I have given now for nearly a year that the so-called Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency here in Camarillo must leave the city, release their captives, and never return. For over a year now, to this very day, 2,000 people and more, 2,025 by the last count, almost the same as the year in which they began, have been abducted and tortured, deported and worse treated under circumstances unknown for no fault of theirs. Every day we hear the stories of mothers snatched away in the hour of giving birth, fathers taken from their children, children themselves afraid to stir hand or foot outside their own bedrooms for fear that something will get them, and we can no longer reassure them with the former foundation of our educational system, the teaching that such things are not real. And so, I am here to repeat very simply ICE OUT NOW. THAT IS ALL. THANK YOU.

THERE ARE NO MORE SPEAKERS.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH. WE WILL MOVE ON TO COUNCIL STAFF AND INTERGOVERNMENTAL REPORTS AND I BELIEVE WE HAVE A LIBRARY ACTIVITY UPDATE WITH MANDY NASSER. AND MANDY, THANK YOU FOR INVITING THESE BRIGHT YOUNG TEENAGERS TONIGHT.

Yes. Good evening, Mayor David Tennyson and library trustees. Summer is our busiest season at the Camarillo Public Library and where we see the most engagement from the community. On Sunday, June 14th, the library will host a family renaissance fair to launch our 2025 Summer Reading Adventure Program. This event will be held on the library's back lawn and will feature talented musicians, juggling acts, face painting, and sword fighting demonstrations. Participants are encouraged to wear their finest medieval clothing, although it's not required. Earlier this month, we organized our third annual bookmark contest and over 300 people submitted entries. The winning designs will be printed professionally and will be available throughout the library to take home. I want to thank the Friends of the Cambria Library for sponsoring our winners and for providing funding for our weekly summer reading performances this summer. And next month on June 27th, library staff members will join City of Camarillo staff at the first summer concert held in Constitution Park. At the event, library staff will encourage concert goers to sign up for a summering challenge, which is open to all ages. And this concludes my report, and I'm happy to address any questions.

Any comments for Mandy? Thank you, Mandy. Next up, we have the Camarillo Workforce Housing Down Payment Assistance Program update. And Mr. Mike, take it away.

Good afternoon, Mayor, Vice Mayor, Councillors. Over the last year or so, you would have seen requests for down payment assistance program loan approvals on the consent calendar. Well, I'm here today to give you an update on that program and to explain what we did and how we did it. So to give you a little bit of background on this, in 2017, Governor Brown signed SB2 into law, which added a $75 fee on certain real estate transactions. The resulting proceeds were intended to support affordable housing programs. In 2020, the Department of Housing and Community Development, HCD for short, released a notice of funding availability for the Permanent Local Housing Allocation, or PLHA, program. In the same year, the city council, Camarillo City Council, authorized staff to submit an application for that very funding. Finally, in 2022, the City Council adopted the City of Camarillo Down Payment Assistance Program guidelines, which paved the way to the implementation of the program. So what is the DAP? It's a program that offers $50,000 in down payment assistance loan funds issued to qualified first-time homebuyer households. The loans are for 15 years and are at 3% simple interest. The maximum income is set at 150% of the area median income, AMI. And you can see that for a family of four, and this income is adjusted for family size, for a family of four, that figure sits at the staggering $196,950, which underlines the affordability challenges forced by first-time homebuyers here in the county. Overall, the city received just over $782,000 in PLHA dollars, although we did keep the funds in an interest-bearing account, which allowed us to process a total of 16 loans Most importantly, however, the down payment assistance program is a revolving loan program. So as long as the loans get replaced or repaid, the funds can be recycled to assist other buyers further down the road. So who did we help? Well, as mentioned, a total of 16 loans were processed. A vast majority of the loans were used for purchases of properties priced below half a million dollars. This can largely be attributed to the fact that nine of those loans were used to purchase income-restricted, as in affordable, units. This includes purchases of existing affordable units, as well as brand-new townhomes located at the Williams Homes project of Lewis and Pleasant Valley, and the habitat development at Berry Street. Finally, 11 of these loans were issued to households that either work or live in the city itself. While the numbers are important, I do want to underline that behind them are real local families. Staff process loans for local school district and hospital employees, public sector employees, young families, and single-parent households. As mentioned, a couple of these loans have been approved, but are still under processing for ownership units at the 2800 Berry Street project constructed by Habitat for Humanity. It's pictured here in the slide. These units are priced at about $250,000 and are restricted to very low-income buyers. As a bonus update, I have the pleasure of sharing with you that last month, the 2800 Bear Street project as a whole won an award for excellence from our Central Coast APA chapter. This makes the project eligible for state awards. And should that award come home with us, we would be contending for a national recognition. THE RECOMMENDATION TODAY IS A SIMPLE RECEIVING FILE, THE CITY OF CAMERA WORKFORCE DOWNPAYMENT ASSISTANT PROGRAM UPDATE, AND THIS CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.

ANY COMMENTS OR QUESTIONS? GO AHEAD, VICE MAYOR.

THANK YOU VERY MUCH FOR THE PRESENTATION. SO I DEFINITELY BELIEVE IN THIS PROGRAM. I THINK IT OFFERS AN OPPORTUNITY TO PEOPLE IN OUR COMMUNITY I THINK IT'S EXCELLENT. I THINK IT'S EXCELLENT. I THINK IT'S EXCELLENT. A CONCERN THAT I HAVE MORE FROM A CONCERN THAT I HAVE MORE FROM A CONCERN THAT I HAVE MORE FROM A POLICY STANCE IS THE So my understanding is there's no interest that's accumulated, and then they pay the lump sum, up to $50,000.

So there is a 3% interest that is non-compounding, is applied to these funds, and that is primarily to keep up with inflation so that when the funds do get returned to us, they mean as much as $50,000 do now. And I absolutely get your point on repayment. So there is no payments required on an ongoing basis, although people who receive the loan have the choice of making those. We don't see that happening because of the low interest of that loan. That would have to be balanced against their primary loan, which is probably double the interest in compounding. So just from a financial standpoint, it doesn't make sense for them to make payments on our loan first before they make payments on their overpayments on their mortgage. What we foresee happening is the way the funds get returned to us is either, of course, if there's a sale, if there's a cash-out refinance, or at the 15 years when the entirety of the loan plus the accumulated interest is due to us. And I understand that would be the primary concern. Yeah. So I can tell you that When working with these applicants, there isn't like a one-size-fits-all. And I can tell you that I probably sat down with every single one of these people at some stage and explained the program to them and really walked them through what this means and what this could be and showed them all the facets of this, right? We would apply the same approach if and when we are faced with the difficulty of someone not being able to necessarily make that payment. I think we would do that on a case-by-case basis, and we would try and work out a means for them to be able to remain in the home while paying the balance of the loan.

Yeah, thank you. And I think where my concern, and you touched on that, was after the 15 years, paying $50,000 back, you know, it's a pretty big number to pay back. And so I know this is just a receiving file. Having said that, you know, I think there's, I'd like to see other options. to that repayment, whether it's maybe after a couple years, closer to the 15. I don't know what that would look like, but just sharing my concerns regarding that piece.

So the recipients of the loan have the option to pay in installment sooner, should they choose to. And they absolutely can do that, and we can certainly, if there's concerns, we can communicate with them early on. We don't need to wait for the 15 years. To to understand where they are and how we can help to To sort of navigate that so we can staff can absolutely work I've worked with all these people personally and I look forward to working with them when and when and if the loan comes to To be repaid Any other questions?

Mr.

Yeah, you know, solid program in the future is a way that we might be able to expand that money. I know you you were saying they put it in an interest bearing account and hopefully that money grows. But I'd like to open this up to even more opportunities in the future, if at all possible.

So, point of clarification, the grant funds that we had received were in the interest-bearing account. We got about $782,000 with interest. That meant we were able to issue 16 loans, which is $800,000. And if funds were available, and certainly staff are looking at other avenues of funding this project, then, you know, we would absolutely continue it should there be the will required. by the council.

That's good. I've known a few that have received this, and they're very appreciative of this, that it really made a difference. So I want you to keep up the good work there. I'm happy to hear that. Mr. Tremblay.

There we go. Two quick questions. Thanks for the good presentation. Mike, how many loan applications has the city received since the inception of the program?

So the city itself reviewed 40 loan applications that we received for this program. And this program, when it started as part of the approval, it was not run by city staff. It was run by a consultant. And that consultant also received considerable interest in the program. they failed to issue any loans. And that might be a composite issue that isn't necessarily that they weren't trying hard enough, but in September last year, we were directed to bring the loan back into city management. And since then, we were able to issue the 16 loans.

Okay, great. And one last question. Can you go back to slide four?

Absolutely.

Okay, so 16 loans included for those folks. 12 were issued to households purchasing property Below $500,000. Eleven issued to people who live or work in the city of Camarillo. What about the other five?

The other five, so the qualifier was whether they do work or live in the city or whether it is somewhere else. Most of these other loans would have been Ventura County. So outside of the city limits.

Okay, I'm just trying to make sure I understand the local connection.

So still people who are in the county. The program preferred people who live or work in the city, but that preference due to fair housing is a tiebreaker. So if we had an opportunity where we had, for example, two applicants that were apples for apples and we had to decide who we go with, we would pick the person that has the tie to Camarillo. That is correct, yes.

All right, great. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Mayor. GO AHEAD.

JUST KIND OF BUILDING OFF OF WHAT COUNCILMEMBER TREMBLEY ALLUDED TO OR WHAT YOU ACTUALLY MENTIONED, I WAS REALLY GLAD TO SEE THAT THE CITY TOOK OVER MANAGING THE LOANS BECAUSE FOR WHATEVER REASON, IT WAS STIMING FOR WHATEVER REASONS, BUT I'M GLAD TO SEE THAT WE'VE GOT AN ACTIVE PROGRAM AND IT'S REALLY OUT THERE HELPING PEOPLE. SO THANK YOU.

I APPRECIATE IT. THANK YOU.

THANK YOU. EXCELLENT PRESENTATION.

next we will have council comments which of my colleagues would like to go first okay mr kildee yes um meeting attendance uh attended uh thursday march 21st busy day for all of us i had a vrsd meeting in the morning and then i was able to attend the kid stream ribbon cutting and i want to thank kid stream and the board of directors uh... parent involvement and all that they do it's uh... it's a real jewel for our city uh... i can remember many many many years ago that uh... they came to the council meeting with the idea and i kinda left kinda you know kinda scratch my head man that's a tall order and that's a lot of money that you're gonna have to raise to be able to rehab to see the volunteers it's been awesome to see the donors it was awesome that the city of Camarillo stepped up to the level that we were able to do if you thought about uh... some of the ideas for that building uh... through the years here and they end up with kids stream i don't think we could have got a better usage of that building and i think it's gonna build for future in the city It's going to be good for the county. It's going to be good for the young people and the young students in our city. Hopefully, it'll quirk math and science as a very important, you know, subjects here. One of the largest employers in the county gave a sizable donation, and I'm sure that they're hopefully the... that um that'll really quirk the interest in math and science so i couldn't be more proud of what you've done if you could please bring that back to your board of directors and uh all those that that made this happen and boy the saying you know it takes a village and boy this one really took a village so um but the end result is really really good so two thumbs up Monday, May 25th, I attended the Camille Mountain Memorial Day event, and I want to thank our mayor, gave a great talk speech there, brought in his history of being a Marine and how proud he is of our country as all of us are. And it was a day of reflection of those that gave so much to make our community, our state, and our nation what it is. And we memorialize them. And also today, along with Ms. Santangelo, I attended an investment committee meeting. And that's all I have tonight. Susan.

Thank you. Okay, on May 14th, I attended the CPA Board of Directors meeting, and then later that day, I attended the Airport Authority along with Council Member Tremblay. On May 20th, I attended the LAFCO meeting. May 21st, oh, I forgot something. Back on May 14th, I attended the West Ventura County Business Alliance luncheon And it featured nonprofits. And they did a really nice job of highlighting the important work that nonprofits do in our community. And it was really interesting. They were talking about nonprofits not being a type of business, but being a business. It was really nice to hear that discussion. Back on May 21st, I said, oh, CPA Executive Committee, and then also the Kids Dream Grand Opening, and I ditto to everything that Councilmember Kildees just said, but I am just so proud that the city stepped up and that we were able to help this come to fruition. It is such a welcome addition to our city. I'm so proud of everything that and everybody that's put in their hard work to it and many congratulations and I can't see what becomes as the years go by. And then May 27th the Investment Committee this is today earlier today Investment Committee and then later today May 27th was the CPA Finance Committee and now I'm here and that's all I have. Thank you.

Vice Mayor.

Thank you. Meetings attended. May 14th, I attended the Ribbon Cutting at Bucci's Matcha and Bistro. It is a Camarillo family-owned business over on Verdugo. May 17th, I attended the Reboso Festival at the Camarillo Ranch House. They're also a nonprofit. Wonderful festival if you ever have the opportunity to attend next year. May 21st, I attended also the grand opening of KidStream. CHILDREN'S MUSEUM AND TO EVERYTHING THAT WAS SAID ABOUT 10 YEARS AGO I WAS ONE OF THE INDIVIDUALS WHO CAME IN HERE ASKING FOR SUPPORT FOR THIS ORGANIZATION AND IT TRULY WAS AN HONOR TO SERVE ON THE BOARD OF DIRECTORS OF KIDS DREAM AND I WILL FOREVER BE GRATEFUL TO THAT SERVICE, TO THE MANY MEMBERS BEFORE AND AFTER AND SAME THING TO THE COUNCIL. who sat before I did who provided this support and the current council that continued to Provide this as well also to our city manager and assistant city manager. I know there was a lot of work behind the scenes to Help this go through in terms of the donation of the land in the building. So So happy, so happy I can't. Ditto to everything else, just so excited for our community, over 200,000 children in Ventura County. And I'm so glad to hear the stats on already 5,000 children being served. And I think it will continue to amplify. And so I know this is going to be life-changing for so many children and families in our community. And just so ecstatic to see this come to life. And then May 21st, I also attended the Economic Development Collaborative meeting. And May 25th, it was Memorial Day. And I was out of town, but nevertheless, it's such an important holiday. to celebrate and to remember those who sacrificed everything for this country. May God bless them and their families, and I hold all of them in my prayers as well. And I also wanted to thank the youth and everyone who spoke here, but especially the youth from the Civic Engagement Club. I know you only get like three minutes when you come here, but know that you can always reach out. I'm always happy to hear What you have to say, I have three kids of my own, and they are bringing to me very similar issues that they are passionate about, including the music and the bands. In their words, we need music for young people. So thank you so much for being here.

Mr. Tremblay. Thanks, Mr. Mayor. For meetings attended, May 14, the Utilities Committee and also the Airport Authority with Councilmember Santangelo on May 20, the Executive Committee for California Association of Sanitation Agencies, a second meeting of that Executive Committee on May 21, and then the KidStream opening I don't have anything to add. The superlatives, ditto. Norman, I don't think we, or Barry, I don't think we had a chance to meet that day, so congratulations. Welcome aboard. Just, I agree with what everybody else said. Congratulations. MAY 22, A METROLINK BOARD MEETING IN LOS ANGELES. MAY 26, THE TRANSPORTATION AND INFRASTRUCTURE COMMITTEE MEETING WITH THE MAYOR. YESTERDAY, ALSO, FOX CANYON GMA FISCAL COMMITTEE, AND THEN THIS AFTERNOON, A VERY LENGTHY FOX CANYON GROUNDWARNER MANAGEMENT AGENCY BOARD MEETING, AND THAT'S RESULTING IN ME COMING LATE AND ARRIVING HERE AT, WHAT WAS IT, SILVIA? 4.48 P.M. FOR THE RECORD.

CORRECT.

And then also I'm gonna dovetail on on prior comments Thank you to the members of the teen civic engagement club for being here. Thank you for advancing the ideas Keep them coming. We appreciate you being here. Thank you. Thanks.

Mr. Mayor Thank you May 14th. I attended the Utilities Committee meeting May 14th. I also had a VCOG meeting and On the 21st, I also, along with the rest of council and a bunch of city staff, attended the Kids' Dream ribbon cutting. On the 21st, I also had a VCOG special meeting of the administrative committee. And on May 26, the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. Monday, as was mentioned, I attended the Memorial Day ceremony service at Canal Mountain Memorial, and I just want to put a quick plug in for Canal Mountain. Not that I hope to do business with them anytime soon, Eventually, probably. But they have done this, I believe, for 58 years. This is their 58th year of having an absolutely outstanding and emotional Memorial Day service. They read off the names of every... service member from Camarillo that has died in any one of our wars and they ring the bell after each names read. I also want to let you know out on the southeast corner of Constitution Park the city has a memorial to our KIAs and MIAs from the city of Camarillo and all of the plaques that name these individuals and we will be adding four more here sometime in the next few months. Hopefully all of those plaques are purchased by Canal Mountain Memorial. So I appreciate their honor of our fallen service members, women and men, that gave the last measure of their life so that we as Americans can enjoy the freedoms we have. And I believe that's it. Madam Clerk, we will move to consent. Are there any public comments on the consent?

There are two speakers that signed up to speak. The first speaker is Lorenzo Perez.

Welcome, sir.

Good evening. Honorable Major and members of the City Council. My name is Lorenzo Perez. I'm Mayor Manager with West Coast Arborist. On behalf of the company, I want to express our sincere gratitude gratitude and appreciation to the city of Camarillo for the opportunity to serve this community for over the last 27 years. We provide the tree maintenance. It has truly been an honor and privilege to partner with the city, its staff and residents in caring for Camarillo's urban forest. We're extremely proud of the relationship we have built The service we have provided and the many dedicated employees who have supported this program throughout the years. Many of our local residents and members of this community. While we are naturally disappointed by the outcome of this speed process, we respect the city's decisions and remain committed to supporting Camarillo in any way we can moving forward. With our local office, local workforce, and continued presence in the area, WCA remains available should the city ever need assistance, emergency support, or additional resources in the future. Thank you again for your trust, partnership, and friendship over the past nearly three decades. We sincerely appreciate the opportunity we have had to serve the city of Camarillo. Thank you.

Thank you.

Sidharth Mitrotra.

May I first beg the council's pardon for speaking twice? What I have to say will be brief. I do not like the thought of exemptions from the California Environmental Quality Act. California's environmental quality, as you have heard before today from better speakers than myself, is in crisis. And the Environmental Quality Act is part of the modicum of protection we enjoy from the worst of that crisis. To make exceptions from it, especially for such a matter as business interests, seems unsafe at best, seems to place a weakness in that protection. And I do beg the council therefore to reconsider, to consider the possibility that any business which seeks to do business in the city ought to abide by the rules of the state up to and including environmental ones. and that as much for their own reputation, integrity, and reliability as for the safety, security, and health of the city, the county, the state, and perhaps the entire human race. Thank you. Thank you. Any questions from council?

Hearing none, do I hear a motion?

I can motion to move consent, and I will just have one comment on item M. I just wanted to thank Mr. Lorenzo for coming in here and speaking to that. You didn't have to, but nevertheless, I really appreciate the respect that you provided to staff and to council. Thank you so much for that. And with that, I'm happy to move consent.

I'll second. Got a motion and a second. Madam Clerk?

Council Member Santangelo? Yes. Vice Mayor Martinez-Bravo? Yes. Council Member Kildee?

Yes.

Council Member Trembley? Yes. Mayor Tennyson?

Yes.

That passed unanimously.

Thank you, we will now move on to item S, as in SAM, Council Policy 1.05 and SB 707 revisions, and I believe that's gonna go to our city attorney.

Yes, thank you, Mayor and Council. So the item before you is in response to Senate Bill 707, which provided among many changes, a change coming July 1, where the city or all eligible legislative bodies need to provide two-way telephonic or audiovisual ability for the public to participate in council meetings. Part of that bill is a provision that requires us to adopt a policy on how we will deal with technological disruptions that may happen when individuals are using that So the most appropriate place to put that was in the city council's current policy 10.5, which deals with other aspects with the council meetings. So that language is now in our policy. It basically mirrors exactly what is in SB 707. Generally it just provides that we must make good faith efforts for an hour. to try and address any particular issues that come up with the technology. If we are not able to after good faith efforts, we are permitted to then continue on with our council meeting. In addition, because we were making changes to policy 1.05, the committee took an opportunity to make some other changes to the policy, nothing significant, just trying to and make things flow a little clearer. So those are the items that are in front of the council for your approval. I can answer any other questions you may have.

Any questions for the city attorney? Mr. Kildee.

Yeah, Rachel, within that hour, is that an hour in the totality of the meeting or is that specifically when we get to public comments if in fact we have some technical issues here?

It's gonna be at any time during the meeting if a member of the public is trying to watch the meeting and something happens with the technology that the meeting stops, then we would need to try and resolve that before we can continue on, not just during the public comment aspect.

So within that hour, and if we can't resolve that, does it carry over to the next meeting, or how will we deal with that?

Right, so if we aren't after an hour able to resolve that, the statute allows us then to continue with our meeting. That's sort of the trade-off, if you will. Spend an hour making good faith efforts, and if you're not, you're allowed to continue.

So we're not going to stop the meeting for an hour. We're going to continue the meeting while we try to fix that problem. Am I right on that?

No. During the hour, we will be addressing the technological issue. So you put the meeting on hold. And so if anyone's here, we just have to wait. We sort of recess during that time. And then if we cannot, then we can restart the meeting without individuals who may be trying to attend through our video conferencing.

Okay. So we're just going to take a little pause and hopefully they can... Whatever the issue is.

Yeah, I don't think we envision that it's gonna be a problem It's just something the legislature and their you know wisdom determined would be necessary. They tell the council to do Yeah, all right.

Thank you anybody else I Have a quick question for the city attorney the technology disruptions are disruptions that occur with the city's ability to I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA.

I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA.

I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA.

I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA.

I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA. I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA.

I THINK IT'S A GOOD IDEA.

I THINK IT Madam Clerk.

Council Member Santangelo. Yes. Vice Mayor Martinez-Bravo. Yes. Council Member Kildee. Yes. Council Member Trembley. Yes. Mayor Tennyson.

Yes.

That passes unanimously.

Thank you. We will now move on to item T as in Tom, the Camarillo Landscape Maintenance District Zones 1 through 10 resolution. and we have Mr. Cruz.

Good evening, excuse me, sorry. Good evening, Mayor Tennyson and council members. Tonight before you is the annual resolution ordering the levying and collection of assessments in the city's landscape maintenance districts. The assessments are structured to cover the city's cost to maintain the landscaping and related improvements included in each zone. Here we have zones two through 10 shown within the city of Camarillo. Zone one, which was the city's initial maintenance district, is not shown on the map. Landscape maintenance assessment districts were established in prior years for the purpose of funding of maintenance, operation, and servicing of improvements in their respective areas or zones that are considered to provide a special benefit to the properties within the respective zone. These are usually public landscaping or open space areas and stormwater detention or debris basins. Funding from the assessments should cover the city's cost of maintaining the improvements areas. The engineer's report outlines the findings of the assessment engineer in determining the appropriate assessments to be levied in zones two through 10. In this table, the zones with an asterisk indicate a zone that does not have an escalator clause. This means that any proposed increase above the maximum assessment would require a property owner vote through the Prop 218 process. For fiscal year 26-27, the engineer's report recommends an increase in zone nine, identified here in red. I'll note that zone one is not included in this list as it is the city's initial maintenance district which was formed as a tax district where a portion of property taxes are allocated to this zone. IN JUNE OF 2022 THE CITY ATTEMPTED TO INCREASE FISCAL YEAR 2223 ASSESSMENTS FOR ZONE 3. THE PROPOSAL WAS TO INCREASE THE ASSESSMENT FROM $69.24 TO $140. THE RESIDENTS OF ZONE 3 VOTED IN OPPOSITION TO THE INCREASE. CONSEQUENTLY THE CITY'S GENERAL FUND PARTIALLY SUBSIDIZES ZONE 3'S MAINTENANCE. Staff's recommendation is for the city council to adopt a resolution ordering the levy and collection of assessments for the Camarillo Lighting and Landscape Maintenance District, zones one through 10, as shown in the engineer's report. This concludes my presentation. I'm happy to answer any questions that council may have. Thank you.

Any questions for Sean?

No questions.

I will open the public hearing. Madam Clerk, are there any public comments?

There are no comments.

HEARING NO COMMENTS, THEN WE WILL CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING. AND COUNCIL DISCUSSION? SEEING NONE, IS THERE A MOTION? SO MOVED.

SECOND.

WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND. MADAM CLERK?

COUNCIL MEMBER SANTANGELO? YES. VICE MAYOR MARTINEZ-BRAVO? YES. COUNCIL MEMBER KILDE?

YES.

COUNCIL MEMBER TREMBLEY? YES. MAYOR TENNESON?

YES.

THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.

THANK YOU, SEAN. Next, we will move on to item U, the proposed zoning ordinance amending and adding certain sections to chapter 19.56 of Title 19 of the Camarillo Municipal Code. And again, welcome back.

Again, good afternoon, mayor, vice mayor, city councilors. We're meeting here today this time to discuss this zoning ordinance amendment stemming from recent updates to state junior accessory dwelling, or JADU for short, law. So the original ADU law has been in effect since 2017, and since then, the city ADU ordinance has been amended no less than nine times. The amendments were required to maintain compliance with state law. So what is a J-ADU or junior ADU? Well, ADU legislation conceived at a state level allows for a wide range of ADUs to be built on properties where residential uses are permitted. This includes junior accessory dwelling units. J-ADUs are a subsection of ADUs that can be characterized as being contained within the existing primary dwelling or a structure that is attached to the existing primary dwelling. They are limited to 500 square foot in size. A JADU must contain living and food preparation facilities, but, and this is a key difference between all the other ADUs, may share sanitary facilities with the primary residents. AB 1154 was signed by the governor of California and became effective as of January 1st, 2026. The law amended owner occupancy requirements for JADUs. Previously, all JADUs, except for those owned by governmental entities, land trusts, or housing organizations, were required to have an on-site owner residing on the property, or the JADU had to be removed. This bill eliminates the owner occupancy requirements for most JADUs. The owner occupancy requirements now really only apply when a JADU shares the sanitation facilities with the primary dwellings. So when there is no bathroom essentially in the JADU and people residing in the JADU have to use those facilities in the main structure. Additionally, the bill clarifies that the rental term for JADUs must be greater than 30 days. THE PROPOSED CHANGE TO THE CAMERON MUNICIPAL CODE IS REQUIRED TO MAINTAIN COMPLIANCE WITH STATE LAW. THE PROPOSED ZOA IS ALIGNED WITH THE CITY COUNCIL STRATEGIC PLAN OBJECTIVE 4.10 WHICH IS THE DEVELOPMENT OF INFILL HOUSING BECAUSE THE CODE UPDATE WILL ALLOW FOR DEVELOPMENT OF ADDITIONAL HOUSING UNITS ON EXISTING RESIDENTIAL LOTS. Further, the proposed ZOA is consistent with the EDSP, the Economic Development Strategic Plan, because the resulting units will address the community's concern relating to the lack of sufficient housing. The recommended action today is to find that the proposed ZOA is exempt from California Environmental Quality Act and to introduce an ordinance amending the relevant sections of the municipal code. This concludes my presentation.

Any questions from council? Go ahead, Mr. Kildee.

Yeah, Mike, I don't want to put you on the spot, but what's the intent of AB 1154? They're trying to increase the amount of housing opportunities for people, and what I'm seeing is that now the owner of the property doesn't have to reside on that property so technically on that property there can be a rental of a house there can be a rental of an ADU and there can be a rental of a junior ADU with no parking requirements at all on that is that is that correct?

So whilst I can only speculate what the legislature intended, to me, having worked with people who are looking to build ADUs, and specifically JADUs, they fall into two categories. One is JADU is sort of the traditional in-law suite. It's the cheapest way of getting an ADU, especially if you don't have to put a bathroom in without the sewer line. The costs are really potentially only related to maybe closing off a door, or if you want to share the sanitary facilities, not even that, and putting in an additional kitchen. The other bucket, on the other hand, is people who already have the home and another ADU on that property. And they're looking to maximize the revenue that they bring in from that property. Previously, if they wanted to put in a JADU, they had to reside on site. And that oftentimes meant they simply didn't do one because they lived in another home somewhere else, and this is just an income stream, a revenue-producing property. This bill removes largely that hurdle so long as there is a separate sanitary facility. So that's my perception of what... you know, what this bill is sort of aiming at. However, you know, I can't really speak for the legislature. As far as parking, it is true that most ADUs do not require parking on site. You know, generally speaking, there's new ones to it, but, for example, ones within a half a mile of our Metrolink station are exempt from parking requirements. Once outside of that, they have to be able to show that they have a parking space, but that's a single space rather than multiple spaces depending on the number of units.

So the junior ADUs does have to provide amenities, so is that correct? They do have to provide like a bathroom? Yes. They have to provide that?

So the junior is... Every ADU has to provide a kitchen and a bathroom, essentially, plus a living space. Junior is a separate carve-out that... It seems to have been aimed more as the sort of traditional granny suite originally, which allowed the owners not to add the bathroom and still call it an ADU, so long as there was a pass-through from that ADU internally to the main home where a bathroom facility is present. They do have an option of adding a bathroom to the junior ADU and closing off that pasture entirely, and that would still meet the definition of a junior ADU, but this is just the only one that allows them to not necessarily have the bathroom.

So just for the public, We're going to have more on-street parking with these. So we as a city have got to be prepared for this, and we can debate the merits of that. But in the future years, we will have to expect more parking in our neighborhoods and all over the city with this. It will happen to a certain extent. So that's all I have.

Thank you. Any other questions on this? Seeing none, this is a public hearing. We'll open public hearing. Madam Clerk, any public comments?

There are no comments.

We will close the public hearing. Council discussion?

In an effort to comply with state law, I would like to move recommendations one and two.

We have a motion. Do we have a second?

In an effort to comply with state law.

We have a motion and a second. Madam Clerk, would you please call the roll?

Council Member Santangelo?

Yes.

Vice Mayor Martinez-Bravo? Yes. Council Member Kildee?

Yes.

Council Member Trembley? Yes. Mayor Tennyson?

Yes.

That passes unanimously.

Thank you. Thank you, and I believe that is the end of our agenda. We will recess to closed session or adjourn to closed session.

We're going to recess, and just for the record, we did conduct closed session discussions and completed those related to item B, but we're going to go back and recess on items A and C. Thank you.

This council meeting is adjourned. Recess. Recess to closed session.