City Council - Regular Meeting

. . . . . . . . . Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I'm Kevin Wilk, Mayor of the City of Walnut Creek, and welcome to the regular meeting of the Walnut Creek City Council. The City Council is conducting this meeting from the City Council Chamber. This meeting is being video streamed and can be viewed live or later on the City's website. As some attendees may be participating in their first Walnut Creek City Council meeting, I wanted to welcome everyone and talk briefly about the public comment process. For each agenda item, there will be an opportunity for public comment on the item. Thus, if you desire to speak to an item on the agenda this evening, please hold your comments until the City Council considers that item. Additionally, we have a section on the agenda titled Public Communications, which is for public comments for items not on the agenda. Any comments during public communication should not relate to an item that is on the agenda this evening. Consistent with section 9.5 of the City Council Handbook, 30 minutes will be initially allocated for public communications for items not on the agenda. Additional time for public communications for items not on the agenda will be provided at the end of the open session portion of the meeting if necessary. If you desire to provide a public comment, please complete a speaker identification card and line up behind the lectern at the appropriate time. Wait your turn, and then when you approach the lectern, please state your name and city of residence for the record. You will have two minutes to address the City Council. Pursuant to California Government Code Section 54953.4 SB707, members of the public may also participate remotely via Zoom. If you are participating via Zoom and would like to make a public comment, please use the raise hand feature or press star 9 if you're calling by phone during the agenda item on which you wish to comment. Again, you will have two minutes to address the City Council. Please keep in mind that this is a City business meeting. The City Council has adopted rules of decorum to ensure that meetings are conducted efficiently and effectively and that all members of the public have a full, fair and equal opportunity to be heard. The City Council Handbook outlines decorum expected in the Council Chamber and can be found on our website. All remarks should be addressed to the city council. Please do not use threatening, profane, or abusive language which disrupts, disturbs, or otherwise impedes the orderly conduct of the council meeting. Again, each speaker will have two minutes to make your remarks. Written comments submitted and received up to two hours before the meeting have been posted to the city's website for public review and are included in the meeting record, but will not be separately read into the record. Welcome to the Tuesday, September 15th, 2026 regular meeting of the Walnut Creek City Council. And if you'd all please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. And City Clerk Susie Martinez, would you please call the roll?

Council Member Darling? I'm here. Council Member Devaney? Here. Council Member Silva? Here. Mayor Pro Tem Francois? Here. Mayor Wilk?

Here. All right, first we have a proclamation for Hispanic Heritage Month. We did have somebody lined up to accept this. Unfortunately, the recipients for tonight's proclamation are unable to join us in person. But I'd like to take a moment to read a few statements of the proclamation for the record. Hispanic Heritage Month is an official celebration of American citizens whose ancestry can be traced back to Spain, Mexico, Central and South America, and the Caribbean, a recognition that started as a week-long celebration in 1968 by the federal government and is now celebrated across the United States. The start of Hispanic Heritage Month on September 15th is significant as several Latin American countries celebrate their independence from Spain on this day, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, and Nicaragua. Mexico and Chile also celebrate their independence on September 16th and 18th, respectively. Hispanic Heritage Month uplifts a cultural legacy that shares values deeply rooted in rich traditions that harbor a deep commitment to family and community, an enduring work ethic and perseverance to succeed and contribute to society. And whereas in the city of Walnut Creek, Hispanic and Latino community members, business owners, residents, and students continue to foster the culture and tradition as a whole while also advocating and ensuring a voice on behalf of the Hispanic and Latino community with recent focus on immigration, education, health, wellness, financial stability, economic and civic engagement, and social justice. Hispanic and Latinos continue to enrich our nation's character and contribute to our common future. And together, we honor the invaluable ways Hispanics and Latinos contribute to our common goals and work toward a stronger, more inclusive, more prosperous society for all. And therefore, I, Kevin Wilk, Mayor of the City of Walnut Creek, on behalf of the Walnut Creek City Council, do hereby proclaim September 15th, 2026 through October 15th, 2026 as Hispanic Heritage Month and encourage all members of the community to recognize the significance of Hispanic and history in our nation and city. So I'm going to start. And if I could ask the city clerk to please make sure that the recipients do receive this. Thank you. Next, we have a presentation by the Diablo Valley Giving Partners. I invite Julie Braun-Martin, president of Diablo Valley Giving Partners, up to the lectern to present.

Thank you for having us tonight, and we appreciate this time. Diablo Valley Giving Partners is a volunteer-driven Walnut Creek-based nonprofit, and we're trying to serve the unmet needs of children, individuals, and family in Contra Costa. So we started this organization in 1967 in the Walnut Creek area under the National Assistance League and we were known as the Assistance League of Diablo Valley. And then for the past 60 years we have enjoyed working with the community and providing a variety of services and programs that address unmet needs or resources that people would appreciate having. And then of course, in June, 2026, we decided to become an independent organization. And at that time we named ourselves Diablo Giving Partners and we started a new organizational structure. But we are the same people with the same commitment and desire to serve our neighbors and be part of our community. So we want to begin by talking about the fact that our organization recognizes there are varying needs within our community. And so we are looking at addressing those needs, food insecurity, clothing issues, literacy, and the idea that all citizens should feel connected to their city and that they have a community connection. So we work on those issues. And we're also available in crisis or difficult times to help pitch into. So how do we do this? We have 15 programs, as we said, and they fall into four areas. And we meet basic needs through food and clothing. We support education with preschool programs, elementary programs, high school programs, and college. And we provide community support to people at different stages of their life, from infants to families, from foster youth to older adults. In addition to the three areas of food and clothing, education and community needs, the last one listed there is volunteer service. And I want to make the point there that not only do we find ways to raise money for clauses, but our people create the programs, they run the programs, they're interacting with the clients. So we are a human resource, not just a money fund. So here's a few highlights, things we're proud of that happened during the last year. We raised over $913,000 that went directly back to the community and was used by them in various sources of our programs. We know we serve 10,000 individuals. We know we clothed 3,400 children with clothing. We distributed 5,400 food boxes, and we raised $300,000 that went to 73 scholarship recipients. So that's just a few highlights of this year. So what we do is the Walnut Creek residents give to the Giving Partners, and then Walnut Creek residents receive the benefit of the Giving Partners programs. And we're really clear that we're not just trying to meet the current community needs, but we're trying to build a community service model that serves Walnut Creek and the adjoining areas for the future. And so adults bring their energy, their time, and their talents to create that community investment and to encourage the next generation. And one of the ways we do that, if you look at that cute little picture, that's one of our volunteers, and that's our teen auxiliary. And these are young people who volunteer. They don't just simply volunteer, they organize leadership projects, they raise funds, and they take on leadership roles with help from the adult volunteers in our organization. And so they're developing leadership skills, organization skills, and communication skills. And so we see that we hope that we are part of building a community service model and civic responsibility. So what's been going on right here in Walnut Creek? If you look at that picture on the left, that cute little lady there, that's our telecare program and she's one of the seniors that we serve in our phone program where we check in with seniors every day. We have about seven Walnut Creek residents plus some adjoining people in adjoining community areas. And this client told us, you know, I live alone. And these calls provide some connection to the community and some reassurance. And if something happened to me, there's no one else that would know. So we really appreciate the check by your organization. If you look over the other corner, you can see smiling faces of people that got our scholarships. And we had five Walnut Creek recipients this past year. Two from Los Lomas, one from Ignacio Valley, one from College Park and UBC. And so they were thrilled. And up in the right-hand corner, the puppets are giving a lesson to the elementary students. So we have what we call the Kids on the Block program, and they talk to the kids about challenges that they face, like bullying and so forth, and how they can handle those challenges. Okay, what else is happening right here in Walnut Creek? Well, we reached the residents of Walnut Creek through the county agencies, the schools, and the non-profits that exist here, and we really do have a model that we work with partner organizations, and by doing that, we avoid duplication, and we're working with the structures that exist that are the ones people know and the ones they go to for help, so we feel like our efforts are really efficient and focused that way. We also have community partners to help us out. And so the Rotary Club is up there helping us bag the uniforms to send out to the schools. So that's what you're seeing in that picture.

Okay.

We wanted to mention that Giving Partners Thrift Shop is located in downtown Lafayette. It generates nearly half of our revenue, but it's very conveniently located. It's right on the border. So all the Walnut Creek residents can come over and shop and donate things. And we have them coming from Walnut Creek, but also Labyrinth and the other adjoining areas. When someone makes a purchase or makes a donation, those are dollars coming right back to the residents of Walnut Creek and the adjoining areas. So that's part of our model also.

So, did it go off? There we go.

All right. So I'd like to close by saying that for nearly six decades, our organization has been part of this community. We're really proud to call Walnut Creek home, and we're really grateful for the city's longstanding partnership with us. Your mayor and your city manager came to our May meeting when we announced our new name, and they joined in the celebration with us, which we were appreciative of. So we're hoping that today gives you a little bit of update about what's been happening and how we're trying to serve the community. And we thank you for letting us be part of your meeting tonight also.

Thank you so much. Do we have any questions here? Council Member Silva.

Julie, thank you so much for your work with the community and all of your colleagues. And congratulations on the naming change. Just a reminder, I'm on the board of the Civic Pride Foundation. Yes. And we have been giving small grants to your organization for about 30 years. Yes, you have.

And we're deeply grateful to you.

And October 1st is the deadline for 2026. Okay.

We'll remember. Thank you very much.

Thank you for coming, and it wouldn't be an official presentation unless we got a picture with all of you, so let's do that.

Oh, okay.

One, two, three, at that one.

Okay, next on the agenda is the consent calendar. Does any council member wish to pull any item for discussion?

Move to approve the consent calendar items 2A through.

Hold on, we have to still.

I'll hold my motion.

So we have nobody here that's going to pull. Do we have any staff member, city manager want to pull any? Does any member of the public wish to speak on any item on the consent calendar? Do we have anybody online that would like to speak to an item on the consent calendar? Council Member Silva.

Well, it may now. I move to approve consent calendar items 2A through E. Second.

We have a motion and a second. Susie, could you call the roll, please?

Council Member Silva. Aye. Mayor Pro Tem Francois. Aye. Council Member Darling. Aye. Council Member Devaney. Aye. Mayor Welk.

Aye.

Motion carried.

All right, next on the agenda is public communications. This portion of the meeting is reserved for comment on items not on the agenda. All remarks should be addressed to the city council. Please do not use profanity during your comments. Under the Brown Act, the council cannot act on items raised during public communications, but may respond briefly to statements made or questions posed, request clarification, or refer the item to staff. Consistent with Section 9.5, the City Council Handbook, 30 minutes will be allocated at this time for public communications for items not on the agenda. Additional time for public communications for items not on the agenda will be provided at the end of the meeting if necessary. Written comments submitted have been posted to the city's website for public review and are included in the meeting record but will not be separately read into the record. At this time I'll note that the time is 621 and we'll take public comments and items not on the agenda until approximately 651 and then the remainder of any such comments at the end of the open session portion of the meeting. Please use the raise hand feature, press star nine if you're calling in, if you'd like to provide a remote public comment. And this person will take in person comments, and then I'll ask the city clerk if there are any members of the public who would like to provide remote comments. So please step forward and provide your name and city.

Thank you council, thank you mayor. I'm Glen McBee, live in Walnut Creek. And I'm a member of the Walnut Creek Racquet Club, as I've spoken to you before about lights at our Heather Farms tennis courts. And I'm not here to complain. I'm just a reminder that I know what we're working on. I met with Rich and Mike before. And I'm confident that we'll get there. But the lights that were out last month, they're still out this month. And there's more that are out. And it's nobody's real fault. It's equipment failure. It's supply line. It's our vendor. So our partners' lifetime are working hard to get these things replaced. It just doesn't happen because of the age of our equipment and the supplies, the replacement. So just a reminder, I'm not... Doing anything more than that. And we'll probably be back until we get those done.

And so you mentioned that you've spoken with Public Works Director Rich Payne.

Yeah, after last month, you directed the two of us to get together. He told me about the process. It's going to be presented to pros in October.

That's the plan.

And we're grateful for that. We've got a great club. We've got a great partner in a lifetime. But we got bad lights.

So I appreciate you coming forward letting us know. Do me a favor. Yeah. And it's mid-September. If it hasn't improved by, let's say, the first week of November, come back and let us know.

Yeah, I will.

All right.

Thank you all.

My name is Tristan, president of Walnut Creek, here again about flock cameras. In the last month alone, over 100 cities Counties and jurisdictions have canceled their Flock contracts. Accounts are coming out now of people being misidentified through Flock's use of AI or providing wrong, incorrect searches. People are spending weeks in jail before they're being let go. Just yesterday, the Boston Globe reported that when Boston, who also like the city of Walnut Creek does, has in their contract that other jurisdictions cannot look at the footage in their pilot program, that was ignored. They brought that to Flock's attention. The Boston Globe reported it's still being ignored. The local police are not being notified when other people have access, which is something that I know you have all told me we have here. So I would like that, again, we get this as an agenda item and possibly Chief Hibbs' own suggestion of making all the reasons entered into the Flock app for requesting to search the footage, have those made public, which is something he suggested two meetings ago. Thanks.

Thank you, and I'll just say that at our last meeting, Chief Hibbs spoke on this in detail, gave some indication of the procedures that we take and implement, and it was Council's decision to have Chief Hibbs come back during the annual report and let us know an update on everything when it relates to flock cameras. So we will not be taking action on this until then, as per the Council decision.

Sorry, when is that?

I believe that is in springtime of next year. So that will be agendized.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Hello, my name is Barbara Guinness. I've been a resident of Walnut Creek since 1996. Realize today that's 30 years. I want to thank you all for asking for input on the city council's priorities for 27-28, and I have just a couple comments on them. In the city council's 23-24 priorities for environmental sustainability and climate action item, They listed open space protection. Now that climate change is upon us and there needs to be more of an emphasis on environmental sustainability and climate action. However, in the 2025-2026 priority, City Council left off open space protection. in their environmental sustainability goal. The sustainability action plan does not contain goals for open space protection. As we all know, the city owns about 3,000 acres of open space land. This land was purchased by the citizens of Walnut Creek via a bond issue in the 1970s. It just paid off early in 2004, I believe. Because of citizens actions Walnut Creek became a pioneer in municipal open space funding Ask any resident what they value or what they find special about Walnut Creek and many people will say open spaces It'll be at the top or near the top of their list Walnut Creek residents have pushed for that open space bond issue to preserve and conserve the open space lands therefore it should be a city council priority to include open space protection conservation preservation into their 27 28 city council priorities thank you for your support in conserving preserving and protecting our treasured open spaces thank you barbara

Hello, I'm Kevin Dowling. I work for Habitat for Humanity East Bay Silicon Valley and I'm a proud resident of Walnut Creek. Here to support Prop 1. Prop 1 is an $11 billion bond on the November ballot. It would support 40,000 shovel-ready homes waiting for funding Our project in Esperanza Place next to the Contra Costa Center Station, which the city's been great in supporting, was delayed because we were not able to get funding from the state. The funds we accessed in the state is called Cal Homes funding, and it's been zeroed out of the budget for the last two years. This measure would provide $500 million in those funds. Supporters of the Prop 1 include League of California Cities, the Democratic Party, Bay Area Council, which are the large employers in the Bay Area, and California Professional Firefighters. So I hope when you go along the way, I don't know if the council does propositions, but if you do, I hope you consider Prop 1. We also started our second phase of Esperanza Place. And we have a three-day build-a-thon coming out Thursday, Friday, Saturday. Mayer is coming out on Thursday. The start is off. About 100 volunteers each day. If you're open or willing to come for lunch, we would love to have you, give you a tour. And we have about 100 volunteers coming out per day. So hope to see you out there. And we're also looking for homeowners for that project. So thank you. I have a flyer. I'll give it to the city clerk.

Thank you.

Good evening, Mayor, Mayor Pro Tem and Council. My name is Lisa Chow. I'm Chief of Staff for Supervisor Ken Carlson. And Mayor, maybe we'll see you there on Thursday morning at Esperanza Place as well. I'll be there. I'm here tonight to introduce you to Samantha Lennon. She is our newest district representative here for the supervisor. She'll be taking over acting as a liaison for the city. And so I hope we'll also leave some business cards with you as well. But in addition to the city of Walnut Creek, she'll also be taking on staffing the supervisor at the Bay Area Air District, our Veterans Services Office, Animal Services, and the library as well. So we just wanted to take a moment to introduce you so you see a name and a face. And of course, if you need anything, you all know how to reach us.

Thank you. Thank you. And actually, Sam, pleasure to meet you. Would you or somebody from the office send out your information to all of the council members here so that we have it too?

Yeah, absolutely. Thank you. Thank you.

Do we have any more public comments here? Do we have any remote?

No remote public.

And no remote. Okay. So we will close our public comment then.

Excuse me, Mayor. I have a question for the city manager. Yes. It seems that our general plan overarching statement about open space and continuing open space protection, there seems to be an impression that because it didn't hit a priority in one year, it isn't a priority. Can you remark on that or provide remarks?

MR. Yes, certainly. Preservation and use of the open space remains a priority for the council. It may not be stated as such. It has been identified in prior priorities. It continues to be important. As you noted, it's covered in other documents such as the general plan and other recreational related documents as well. So yeah, it's very important to this city.

Any further comments by council? No. All right, so we'll move on to council member and staff announcements, reports on activities or requests. And do we have any closed session announcements? Mayor, there are no closed session announcements this evening. City Manager reports?

I do not have an update this evening, Mayor.

And City Council Member reports on AB 1234 activities, Council Member assignments, various activities, and upcoming events. We'll start with Council Member Silva.

Thank you very much. The Walnut Creek Sister Cities International Program is very excited because the 23 youth ambassadors for 2026-27 will be leaving for our sister cities of Sheafolk and Noceto in the next two to three weeks. They're actually not traveling at the same time this year. One group is going, the group that is going to Noceto is leaving in two weeks, and the group that is going to Sheafolk is leaving a week after that. But that just was a reflection of the scheduling in those two sister cities. But the kids will be back, and they're looking forward to coming and presenting their thoughts to the council on Tuesday, October 20th. The other thing is that they've started a new program which is an alumni ambassadors program. So any youth ambassador that has participated in previous years and their families can join the youth ambassador alumni program. And there are 31 youth ambassador families that have now joined. And they're working on things such as mentoring programs for the new class of students that will be traveling. So that's very exciting. for them, and then as the liaison to the Diablo Regional Arts Association, I will remind everyone that Saturday, October 3rd, is the annual On Broadway event, and it should be a great event, The Bedford Gallery closed the kaleidoscope exhibition this last Sunday, but the new exhibition, which is called High Pile Concepts in Tufting, is opening on September 26th and will be available for viewing by the public through December 13th. And last weekend was the opening session for Center Rep's production of Glass Menagerie, and it will run at the Center Rep through September 27th, which I think is a Sunday, if my math is working correctly. And tickets are available by looking up online at leisureartscenter.org, and they're presenting Glass Menagerie, which is the famous Tennessee Williams play. And that's what I have to present. Thank you.

I think that's the first play that ever ran when I was in high school in theater arts. Council Member Darling.

They had theater back then.

Yeah, well, you know, it was vaudeville.

And Council Member Silva and I did the housing and community development work group, and that was a great one. We walked through the request for proposals coming out to allocate city funds for affordable housing this year. A couple MCE highlights. The executive committee met and reviewed their budget for the end of the year from FY26, which closed last April. We did manage to increase our net position, which is a great place to be. But more importantly, we were able to refill our rate stabilization fund. That is what we had used over the last year to provide rebates for families facing affordability problems with the elevated prices of electricity. And so we used our rate stabilization fund, and we were able to completely refill that based upon our year's budget closing. A couple interesting highlights. In May, California became the first major grid system in the world. to generate over half of its electricity from solar for an entire month. It was 51% for the month, and it was a pretty amazing accomplishment when you think about how much power California uses. In addition, I think many of us remember the rolling blackouts that used to happen during heat waves, and the battery storage that's been developed in this state has really shifted how California handles the 4 o'clock to 9 o'clock time period in the evening. um in 2020 just six years ago we had 500 megawatts of battery storage now we have 16 gigawatts it's a more than 30-fold increase in the amount of battery storage and that has allowed most of the ramping in the evening when the sun stops shining and our solar stops working We can use the energy stored earlier in the day to provide the resources that people need to keep the lights on at night. So those are two nice accomplishments for California, and MCE has been very proud to be part of that success story.

Great. All right. Thank you. And let's move to Council Member Devaney.

Okay. Thank you, Mayor. I sit on our regional transportation planning committee called Transpac and we met this past week and talked about how to spend the Line 21A funds that were approved for transportation to schools, kids safe travel to schools. And so we approved the funding for four programs. One of them is walk and roll that has become very successful in elementary schools and junior highs. And so we're seeing a lot more kids walking and riding their bicycles to school. As a result of that, the schools have identified that there are some multifamily areas that don't have adequate places to store or lock up their bikes. And some schools, they don't have sufficient storage. So we approved bike racks for those facilities and for the schools that need them. In addition, we approved funds for the student transit pass program. which essentially provides a Clipper Bay Pass to students that have significant challenges getting to school or getting transportation to and from school, for example, kids in the foster program or meeting other challenges. So we approved up to about 2,000, I believe, passes that will go out to help those students get to and from school. In addition, we approved funding for the Bike Family Fest, which took place this past Sunday in Pleasant Hill in the DVC parking lot. That's basically a family bike safety and skills event, and it's been very successful and growing each year. And I was not able to be there this weekend, but I heard it was a big success. And those were the four programs that we approved, and that's my report.

Thank you, and let's move to Mayor Pro Tem Francois.

Okay, thank you mayor had a relatively light last few weeks, but it'll I'll make up for it in the last two weeks of September and There were two items that I wanted to raise for the good of the order and may result in a motion after we finish the discussions. One was a few months ago we had a discussion about potentially changing our council handbook to address the 30-day certification of the election results, given that the elections generally happen not on November 1st, but like November 3rd to November 7th. And they have to be certified within 30 days. And our first council meeting this year, for instance, will be on December 1st. In light of the fact that it's not a contested council race this year, this seems to be less of a priority item. And so my recommendation would be that we table this to a date uncertain and let the future council consider that when and if the need for it arises. That's item number one. And... The second item is in regard to the Ocalaunee's Union High School District. They have a measure on the ballot. I believe probably all of us have individually endorsed it at this point. They have requested, they sent a written request that the council formally endorse Measure W, which is a partial tax measure and would raise much needed funds for teacher pay, class size reduction, important career training, and AP classes, counseling, and the like. And so my ask would be that we, I'd also point out that I believe Arenda Moraga councils have already endorsed this measure and Lafayette's probably not far behind so I would ask that we agendize this for our next meeting in October to take a formal action on endorsement

So the next meeting in October is the same day that people will be getting their ballots. So an endorsement by us at that point in time is almost like the horses out of the barn. Is there a way for us, city attorney, to be able to endorse as a group in some other way without having to wait until October 6?

No, this would need to be an agendized item. And so if the council wanted to call a special meeting, you could do that. If the council does have a legislative committee, that you could refer the matter to the legislative committee. But really for it to be a statement that the city council endorses the measure, that needs to be a council action, and that would have to take place at whatever next meeting you hold, whether that's a special meeting or your next regular meeting.

When do the ballots actually come, or when are the ballots mailed?

The 5th. 29 days prior to the election date.

So, I mean, if we meet on the 6th, there'll be indication within a day.

People will be voting while we're doing this. I feel like they should have been here and asked us earlier, but I just want to figure out if there's a way for us. We have to convene a special meeting?

Obviously the council can all individually endorse a measure if you want before then, but if it's going to be a collective council endorsement, That really does need an agendized item for consideration.

You know, and I appreciate the effort. I don't think it's worthy of a special meeting. I think I had relayed what the likely time frame would be to the committee proponents, and they were okay with that. I think it would still hit at an appropriate time. And I can't remember the date they sent the letter, but it was at least a couple weeks ago now. So if I had jumped on it faster, perhaps we could have got it on this agenda. But it was tight. in terms of the timing.

All right. Thank you. As long as we're doing that, could I recommend that we also add Measure T, which is our treasure measure, for consideration at that same meeting, along with Measure RTM, which is the regional transit measure that is put out as well, and recommend that maybe we agendize all three of those at our next meeting.

So is that a motion?

Sure. I'll make that motion. Second. Susie, we have a motion and a second. Could you call the roll, please?

Mayor Will. Aye. Mayor Pro Tem Francois. Aye. Council Member Darling. Aye. Council Member Devaney. Aye. Council Member Silva.

Aye. Okay.

And then I probably should formally make the motion to continue to a date uncertain the potential modification to the handbook to address the election certification results.

And I'll second that.

That's really just in the form. Again, that's not on your agenda tonight, but that's in the form of direction to staff not to work on the issue right now. Yes. We understand that.

Thank you. We have a motion and a second.

Mayor Pro Tem Francois. Aye. Council Member Darling. Aye. Council Member Devaney. Aye. Council Member Silva. No. Mayor Wilk.

Aye.

Motion carries 4-1.

What else have you been up to?

That's all I got.

All right. Okay, so I did have a few things over the last couple of weeks, one of which was... was truly something that I hope everybody takes advantage of at some point in the next few years. The Walnut Creek Aquanuts showcase this year over Labor Day was Viva Las Vegas. And these are future Olympians, current Olympians, coached by Olympians for what was synchronized and is now artistic swimming. And if there is ever a sport that doesn't do justice from watching it on TV versus being being right there on the side of the pool to watch it, it is this. This is amazing. When you think about people being, these athletes being flipped, doing complete somersaults in the air, where the people below them that have flipped them are in 12 to 14 feet of water, and the only way they're getting that thrust is by athletes below them pushing up their feet, and they're not stepping on the ground either. You've got to see it to believe it. So they do this show every Labor Day for four nights, and hopefully people will come next year if they haven't seen it before. And of course, if they have seen it before, then go again. I was also at the Walnut Creek Band Civic Park for Labor Day. Terrific performance by the band, as always. I think they'll be... When is the next time they're performing? Is that on Veterans Day? I think Veterans Day? So... November 11th, we'll talk about that in October. I was also at the Employee Institute kickoff where we had a couple dozen employees, and this is an annual program, coming to learn about all the aspects of the city that they are not involved in on their own departments necessarily. So public works will learn about the police department and planning and people in arts and rec will learn about the city manager's office. So anyway, kick that one off. It was also at the Walnut Creek, I'm in liaison with the Walnut Creek downtown board of directors. Oktoberfest is on September 25th and 26th. It's a huge event. Lots of people will come out. I encourage people, the residents and visitors to come out for this. Something for the whole family with kids games and rides and petting zoo, face painting, balloon artists, magicians, live music and costumes, all sorts of performances and dance performances. And yeah, there'll be a beer garden too. So anyway, come out for that. had the opportunity to go to the Contra Costa Senior Legal Services Dinner last week with a lot of our partners for senior care services in attendance. Seniors are the fastest growing demographic in the city, probably in the state actually, so it was great to see that level of involvement there. I did do a ride-along, or I guess more of a walk-along, with the Walnut Creek Police Department and Officer Lengeek this past Saturday night. Thank you, Chief Hebb, for setting the whole thing in motion there. We hear that there's a lot of activity that's happening in downtown on the weekend nights, of course, and it's active, and Walnut Creek is definitely the place to be on the weekends for pretty much anybody within about a 10 to 15 mile radius. So a Walnut Creek PD presence is there to ensure safe practices for businesses and residents and visitors to downtown. Great to see the knowledge and experience of our police department in handling any downtown issues that came up. There were a few, nothing major, but I do encourage my fellow council members, if you get a chance, just set that up for a couple of hours on a weekend night. It's really interesting to see how they're engaging with the public, the managers of the different night places, and just a chance to see downtown at night if you haven't been out past, let's say, 8 p.m. Right. No judgment. So, again, thank you very much to Officer Lengeek for chaperoning me around for that. As a liaison to the county connection for the school year 2022-23, 511 Contra Costa will fund the purchase of unlimited ride passes for students that will be valid throughout August and September. Applications are now available and the pass is valid on all county connection fixed route buses or services. Also, County Connection will be providing free rides on County Connection throughout October for everyone. Federal stimulus funds will be used for this to help encourage more ridership. And last year saw a 30% increase in ridership for the month that this was offered, so take advantage. And lastly, I just want to mention that we are right now in the high holidays of Judaism, and Rosh Hashanah was last week, and next week is Yom Kippur, which is the holiest day of the year in Judaism. That begins on Sunday night, and again, the designated high holy days. The Hebrew greeting of L'shanah Tovah means Happy New Year. Whatever one's religion may be, may the year ahead be a sweet one for us all. And with that, we will close our Councilmember comments. and move on to our public hearing. So the next item on the agenda is the public hearing for consideration of zoning text amendments for accessory dwelling units, public hearing notices, and implementation of housing element programs. And I invite Associate Planner Allison Rustick forward to provide the presentation.

Thank you. Good evening, Mayor Wilk and members of the council. I'm Allison Rustick, Associate Planner in the Community Development Department. And this evening, council is being asked to consider zoning text amendments relating to accessory dwelling units, hearings and notices, and our housing element program, H4I, which we will get into shortly. Tonight's presentation will briefly cover the proposed amendments and more importantly, why we're making each change. We will then wrap up with the considered, the recommended council action. First, we have accessory dwelling units. The proposed changes refine our regulations to make them easier to understand and navigate. The addition of a definition of state exempt ADU per state law clarifies which development standards are applicable to different types of ADUs. Additionally, the revision of the number of allowed ADUs on single family lots has been updated from three to four, which is consistent with the State Housing and Community Development Department's recently updated guidance. And finally, updates to our junior ADUs make kitchen deed restrictions and owner occupancy requirements consistent with state law and our local practices. Next, we'll highlight the proposed changes for notices and hearings, which are administrative in nature. It's important to note we are not changing which projects require public hearings or notices. As mentioned for the ADU amendments, the proposed changes for public hearing notices are intended to make it easier for readers to navigate the ordinance while maintaining compliance with state law. They clarify planning commission notices, reorganize existing provisions, and provide a summary table of notice requirements for a particular action or project. The last set of amendments are related to the implementation of housing element program H4I. One of the goals in our housing element is to reduce governmental constraints on housing development. Program H4I recognizes that the planned development permit, which is required for projects in the MU and MHD zoning districts, adds a discretionary approval for residential development along with design review. Proposed amendments would remove the plan development permit requirement for new residential development in these two districts. Instead, residential projects that comply with objective design standards and existing development standards would just proceed through the city's existing design review process. The PDP requirement would remain in place for non-residential development. But importantly, the amendment does not change what can be built or increase development capacity. It lessens the level of discretionary review for residential projects. In conclusion, the Planning Commission recommended approval of the proposed amendments on August 13th, 2026. Therefore, staff recommends that the City Council find the project exempt from CEQA, waive the first reading, and introduce the amended zoning ordinance. I'm happy to answer any questions.

Any questions? Yes, okay, Council Member Silva.

I did have a couple of questions and I sent them late this afternoon and I apologize for failing to do but it's quite it's a technical question and it's the first one is in the exhibit a of the accessory article five of the accessory dwelling units where it defines in section 503 allowable accessory dwelling units and it says 480 use may be allowed on a single family residential lot oftentimes sometimes a single family residential unit can be on two parcels. Is there any issue with the term lot that's being used presumably by the state versus the term parcel?

I don't believe so. We don't typically see a home that straddles a lot line or a parcel line. So in this case, we're just considering the lot as the parcel. And a parcel that's residential, that's zoned for single family housing, would have typically one primary residence on that lot or that parcel.

OK. So there's no issue that we're using the term lot versus parcel? No. OK. The second part is related to, in the same section, On lots with existing multiple family dwelling structures, multiple conversions, da-da-da-da-da-da, not to exceed 25% of the total number of existing multifamily units or at least one unit. That would presume the way they've written that, because I assume this has come from the state, that multifamily can be three or two, which would not get 25. Is that the way the state is defining multifamily?

Yes, I believe we interpret multifamily as two or more units.

OK. And that's also the interpretation in the state ADU handbook.

My last question, well, actually, I forgot to ask this one. There's a definition of the junior accessory dwelling unit in terms of the kitchen facilities that must be included. So a room with a hot plate is a room with a hot plate, not a JADU, is the way I would interpret what they're requiring.

The junior ADU must have an efficiency kitchen. And so we've clarified it by defining what an efficiency kitchen contains.

OK. So this doesn't preclude somebody from renting a room and providing a hot plate. They just don't have a JADU on the property when they do.

Yeah, that's correct.

And my last question is in the noticing. It refers to that the Community Development Director is responsible for noticing the hearings of the Planning Commission. Does the Design Review Commission no longer do any hearings that you would be noticing, or is this so restrictive to housing law?

We don't recommend a change to that section in part. The Design Review Commission is advisory, but the design review activity is actually done sometimes by the planning commission, sometimes by the zoning administrator, sometimes by the CDD director, and that may require a hearing. So it's a design review hearing. It's just not a design review hearing before the design review commission. So we recommend that it stay as is.

What about commercial property? We didn't change their role in the commercial. Don't they still have some authority? No. Okay. Thank you.

Questions?

Just one about the... PDP process to try to kind of flesh it out a little bit. I know it's in our housing element as a goal that we're going to remove that requirement. And so what that means then is for a residential project in a specific plan area, all residential, no subdivision, it just then will not, now it would have to go to the planning commission for approval of a PDP. Is that correct?

For a PD.

For a PD. Correct. After this change, it would only go to the Design Review Commission for design review approval?

The process for the PDP, which is not a PD zoning district, it's a permit, is applied to these two specific zoning districts. There are PD zoning districts, if you will, so the mixed-use plan development district and the multifamily high-density plan development district. They're long names.

these are the only two areas in the city that this PDP applies to and it was created for these districts so in our the way we've set it up in our specific plans remains unchanged because I was thinking about community benefits and that seemed tied to the we call that a PD permit too don't we we call it something else

So I'm not really sure exactly where you're headed with this, but what I can say is that Design Review Commission doesn't have any decision-making authority anymore, with one exception. So they're a recommending body to Planning Commission. The one exception to that is with regard to signs, and that will be a discussion at a future council meeting about the sign ordinance.

Okay. I'm going to let it percolate a little more.

Okay. All right. Well, I see no further questions. Do we have any comments, public comments? And we'll now open that up. If any member of the public wished to provide public comments at this time, please come forward. Use the raise hand feature. Press star 9 if you are calling. If you'd like to provide a remote public comment. If you're attending in person, please complete a speaker identification card. If you already completed a card, don't worry about completing a second one. And line up behind the lectern at this time. Written comments submitted have been posted to the city's website for public review and are included in the meeting record, but will not be separately read into the record. As a reminder, each speaker will have two minutes to make their remarks, and all remarks should be addressed to the city council. And we have a speaker.

Kevin Dowling, Walnut Creek. I was also on the Hayward City Council for 12 years. I'm a very big supporter of ADUs in people's backyards, like granny units, extra units. But in high density districts, what does that mean? Well, a friend of mine called me about a year ago. He lives in San Jose. He's in a three-story above parking development in San Jose, right on the Campbell border. He said, they're putting an ADU in my garage. I'm like, what? You can't be right. I found the city council members district. They're like, oh, yeah, that was approved. And it's being built. And so they're putting two units of ADU in his parking garage. And I can pass around a picture of the parking garage. It has a lovely window with a bar on it. It looks like something you'd see in a prison. So when you talk about high density residential, that's what they're talking about is putting ADUs in parking garages. He's also having his laundry rooms replaced. They're getting washers on their balconies. And then they're putting units in like all three of the Imagine living in a former laundry facility. So I don't know if anybody in Walnut Creek is thinking about that, but that's what apartment buildings are doing in San Jose. And then I don't know if this would apply to Rossmoor. I mean, could I convert my, if I get rid of my car, could I convert my parking space? And Rossmoor does have garages. Could people in Rossmoor do an ADU? Applying director saying yes.

That would also depend on what the Rossmoor regulations are as well.

Yeah. Yeah. I know you don't have a lot of say anymore about ADUs, but that might be what's coming to Walnut Creek. Thanks.

Thank you. Council, if I may, I'll just offer a little bit on that. I think what the gentleman is referring to, there are state law provisions that allow, if you will, underutilized or no longer utilized portions of multifamily developments to be converted into additional units to ADUs. Okay.

But the state would allow an ADU to be built in a garage? I mean, who's to say if it's being used or underused?

Well, the state law would allow that. And remember, also on single family, you can already convert garages to ADUs as well, too. But it's still going to have to meet building standards for safety and code requirements, but it's allowing them to utilize, you know, portions of the building that are no longer being used for their intended purposes so you can think about I mean the the most obvious thing that one might start to think about is the Kind of ground floor retail and buildings that are not being utilized Right now for ground floor retail whether they start to convert some of that as well, too Thank you Any more public comments in the room doesn't look like it anybody online.

I All right. We will then close the public comment, bring it back to council for any further comments or motion.

Move to waive first reading and introduce an ordinance amending various sections of Title 10, Chapter 2 zoning of the Walnut Creek Municipal Code to implement housing element program H-4.1 to update regulations regarding accessory dwelling units and public hearing notices and making CEQA exemption findings under section of the CEQA guidelines.

Second. We have a motion and a second. Susie, could you call the roll, please?

Council Member Silva? Aye. Mayor Wilk? Aye. Council Member Darling? Aye. Council Member Devaney? Aye. Mayor Patron, Francois?

Aye.

All right. Next on the agenda is a public hearing for the consideration of an adoption of a resolution approving the Community Development Block Grant. 2026 to 2027 annual action plan substantial amendment and appropriation for an amount up to $210,000 to support CDBG activities. And I invite administrative analyst Jennifer Yamas forward to provide the presentation.

Hello.

Hello. Good evening, Mayor Wilt, council members, city staff. My name is Jennifer Yamas, housing analyst in the community development department. For tonight's second public hearing, I will be presenting on the proposed substantial amendment to the 2026 through 2027 annual action plan for the CDBG grant. To provide a little background, the city is an entitlement jurisdiction for the federal CDBG program. Each year the city prepares an annual action plan that identifies how CDBG funds will be used to implement the goals and priorities established in the city's five-year consolidated plan. The 2026 through 2027 annual action plan was adopted by city council on May 5th, and it was submitted to HUD on June 3rd. Following the fiscal year end reconciliation, staff identified approximately $210,000 in unallocated CDBG program income. This program income was generated primarily through the repayment of city home rehabilitation loans. Because these funds are CDBG program income, they must be used for eligible CDBG activities. A substantial amendment is required because the proposed use of these CDBG funds represents an addition to the annual action plan. Under the city's citizen participation plan, a substantial amendment is required when a proposed change or addition to the use of CDBG funds exceeds $25,000 or 10% of a project's total funding, whichever is greater. Staff is proposing to use the approximately two hundred ten thousand in program income for ad a accessibility improvements to downtown sidewalks The proposed project is an eligible CDBG infrastructure and public facilities activity Specifically the project would improve accessibility for older adults and adults with severe disabilities By addressing accessibility barriers along the sidewalk The city's public works department identified a project located along the west side of North Main Street between Bonanza and Lincoln Avenue. The work would include replacing ADA curb ramps and damaged sidewalk sections, as well as removing and replacing several trees where roots have lifted the sidewalk and created obstructions and potential tripping hazards. The proposed substantial amendment would allow the city to formally incorporate this project and funding into the annual action plan. Following council approval of the amendment, it would be submitted to HUD and the CDBG funds would be transferred into the capital budget at a later council date so that Public Works can proceed with project design and the construction process. With that, staff is requesting that the city council adopt the resolution approving the substantial amendment to the 2026 through 2027 annual action plan. Staff is also requesting an appropriation of up to $210,000 from CDBG Fund 160 to support ADA accessibility improvements to downtown sidewalks. Thank you, and I'm happy to answer questions.

Great, thank you. And I believe this is the first time that you have presented to city council. Is that right?

I actually presented the annual action plan on May 5th. So this is my second time on the same item.

Now you're a true veteran. Thank you very much. Do we have any questions? Yes.

Thank you very much, Jennifer, for the presentation. Just out of curiosity, were there any other projects discussed by staff for the $210,000? And we did receive a public comment letter suggesting an idea which would probably not be feasible for the amount of money. But were there any other projects discussed and why was this one?

Slaughterman, but why yeah, so when we brought it forth to our Public Works Department We asked them hey Do you have any projects that you think would be a good fit for the CDBG funds and this project specifically is ready and also It's a good fit for the CDBG funds for the scope of work and for the cost that we have that's why it kind of became a priority and

And I might have to ask Public Works this question. There are two outdoor dining patios that are sitting adjacent to the public sidewalk. Are there any concerns with the engineering around replacing the sidewalk? And it's not a no. I just am curious.

Rich Payne, Public Works Director. The question, is there an outdoor dining area?

There are two of them, one at 1515 and one at, oh, what's the?

Yes, this area, it has no conflicts with those other two areas.

Even though they're adjacent to it?

Yeah, it's a little bit different area. This is a corner of Main and Bonanza. And if you are familiar with that area, there's some.

I can see the outdoor dining spot. They're not on the sidewalk. They're set back.

Yeah. In that area. Yes. Okay. There's no conflict.

There are no engineering conflicts. Okay. Thank you.

You're welcome.

Rich, before you go. So just this project's in the capital budget already.

This is one that has been on our list. In fact, this whole intersection needs to be redesigned. And so this is a piece of that entire intersection.

And I'm just curious, how much does the 210 cover of the cost of this component of the project?

So my understanding is this project is going to be fully covered by that amount. It includes some drainage, some tree removals, and some uplifted sidewalks.

With the tree removals, I do know that 1515 has a big patio there and the trees are a big part of the neighborhood. Have we talked to the businesses along there and talked to them about the tree removals?

It's funny you should say that. I think the businesses along this area are happy to see the trees. They've outgrown their area, the space there. They're premature and they cause some other issues related to the buildings.

Okay, great, thanks.

Actually, the owner has said a few times he'd like the trees removed, so I think he's probably very happy.

That's correct, Mayor.

Okay, no further questions here. Let's open it up to any public comment. There's no public comment for the public hearing here. Do we have anybody that's online? Nobody online. All right. We'll bring it back to council for any further comments or a motion.

Let me move to adopt the resolution approving the substantial amendment to the FY26-27 annual action plan and appropriation for an amount of $210,000 in the Community Development Block Grant Fund 160 to support CDBG activities. Second.

I have a motion and a second. Susie, could you call the roll, please?

Council Member Darling. Aye. Council Member Silva. Aye. Council Member Devaney. Aye. Mayor Pro Tem Francois. Aye. Mayor Wilk.

Aye. At 7.10, we are adjourned.