City Council - Regular Meeting

It having reached the hour of 5:30 p.m. I am calling the April 7th, 2026 Modesta City Council meeting to order and ask the city clerk to please call the role. Council member Alvarez. here. Council member Ricky here. Council member Bavaro here. Vice Mayor Williams here. Council member Wright here. Council member Scutia Breachen here. And Mayor Swallen

here. In the complete spirit of transparency, I'm going to say I had cataract surgery in my right eye last Wednesday and I'm having this one tomorrow. So, I'm going to do I I can read and see you all very well. This is 2020 as of last Wednesday, but just bear with me as uh if I struggle a little bit um being as quick on the draw as I typically try to be. Thank you very much. Will everyone please rise for the pledge of allegiance followed by the invocation from Mark Kger, Modesto Covenant Church. I pledge algiance 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.

Let's bow together in prayer. Heavenly Father, as we gather here today, we pause to recognize your presence. Lord, you are with us and in humility we recognize our need for you. God, you have been our help in ages past and you are our hope for years to come. God, as citizens, we we recognize that you've placed before us governing authorities and tonight we pray for our city leaders, for the various levels of city officials, workers, and Lord, specifically for our city council today. Lord, we ask that you graciously give them wisdom as they make decisions. Lord, give them a sense of the needs of the people of the city. Give them a thirst for what is right and just. Lord, also give them the ability to work together. Help them find harmony even when there's honest disagreement. And Lord, for each of them, we pray for personal peace and joy in their lives. And God, we pray for the agenda that's before our city council today. Lord, give them your direction as they consider what would be best for those of us who live and work in our wonderful city of Modesto. And I pray this in Jesus name. Amen.

Amen. Amen. You give the blue card right here. Thank you to Diane, our city clerk. Thank you very much. All right. Does the city clerk have any announcements?

Yes, mayor. Just a reminder, public comment is three minutes. There are blue speaker cards at the entrance of the chambers. Also, written public comment was received for item 12 and forwarded to the council. In addition, item 13 has been updated to include only the property on Francine Road. The revised report and resolution have been provided to the council and copies are also available for the public. Thank you. Thank you. Do any of the council members have any conflicts of interest? Seeing none, will the city attorney report out on close session? Uh, yes, mayor. The council met in closed session today to discuss three items regarding existing litigation. No reportable action was taken.

Thank you. Next on the agenda is acknowledgements and presentations. The first is a proclamation declaring April 2026 is Arts, Culture, and Creativity Month. I will read the proclamation. April marks the eighth 8th annual celebration of arts, culture, and creativity. This celebration of human innovation is about building joy, action, and power, illustrating the vital role that the arts play in our community. The theme for arts, culture, and creativity 2026 is boundless culture and creativity. The essence of freedom. This inspires individuals to explore the infinite capacity of art. The freedom to explore the different modes of creativity brings value to our everyday lives from painting to dancing to music and so much more. The arts bring vibrancy, emotion, and culture to our to ourselves and to those around us. Art enriches our lives, fosters creativity, preserves culture, and enhances emotional and social well-being. It allows us to express emotions and experiences in way that words cannot. It can also preserve our history and offer insight into cultural identities which while encouraging dialogue and the opportunity to see things from a new perspective. The city of Modesto values art as an investment in our community and we will continue to celebrate arts and culture and encourage everyone to explore their own creative outlets. Now therefore, I, Suz Wallen, mayor, do hereby proclaim April 2026 as arts, culture, and creativity month and encourage our residents to participate

in activities that celebrate the artistry and culture of our community. And Dominique Johnson, um, the executive director of St. the Stansaw's arts council will accept the proclamation and we'll be making a few remarks. Welcome. Thank you so much and good evening Mayor Zoalin, council members and members of the community. On behalf of the Stansel Arts Council, I extend my sincere gratitude to the city council for proclaiming April as arts culture and creativity month here in Modesto. This recognition underscores the underscores the essential role the arts play in strengthening community connection, inspiring innovation, and contributing to the overall well-being of our residents. I would also like to acknowledge and thank our dedicated board of directors Ryan Foy, Veronica Torres, Sarah Hosner, and John Tillitson, as well as our culture commission. The culture commissioners uh chairman is here, Miss Venezuela. Thank you so much. Um for their dedicated and continued leadership and commitment to advancing arts and culture throughout our community. As many know, our region has long been recognized for the rich agricultural legacy, for the food that we grow and share with the world. Yet, increasingly, people are discovering that here in Santa Los County, we cultivate far more than crops. We cultivate creativity. We nurture the arts with the same care and intention and recognizing them as a vital force that fuels our spirits, strengthens our sense of place, and drives community well-being. The creative economy is a powerful and growing contributor to our region, supporting local artists, generating economic activity, attracting visitors, and enriching the cultural fabric that makes Modesto a vibrant and dynamic place to live and work. This month, we celebrate that impact and the extraordinary talent that exists all all around us. From our artists and cultural

organizations to the many individuals who actively engage and support in the arts and support the arts, we thank them. and in and it is an honor for the the Stannis Los Arts Council to serve this community as the county's designated local partner to the California Arts Council. Our work remains focused on supporting, promoting, and adv advocating for the arts across our county. And we are continually inspired by the depth of creativity and expanding opportunities and engagement throughout our region. Thank you again for this partnership and for recognizing the essential role that arts and culture take in shaping a thriving, connected, and inspired community. We look forward to continuing this work together. Thank you.

All right. Thank you for your remarks and stay right here for just a moment. Are there any comments from council members tonight? All right. Um Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see your That's okay. name. I Your name is not there and it's not because of my eye problem. You should check your eyes. Oh, wait. Tomorrow.

Thank you, mayor. Uh, I just want to say to all of those who are here representing all of the arts, Gallow Center, Symphony, and others and yourself, the actual painting arts, it's a beautiful thing. It it really milds the the mind, the heart, the the whole existence of mankind. So art is very very very needed in our community and we have all of the arts in our community and it's a wonderful thing to have. So thank you and congratulations. Thank you very much. All right. Thank you for being here this evening and I will bring the proclamation down and present it. Thank you. Great.

You know what? This must not be working. Trust me. It's it's some with my right eye. I can see this brighter than I ever could before. And there are no names there. So, all right, Council Member Ricky.

Uh, thank you so much for being here tonight and, uh, I just I'm really pleased that we're doing this. I think that the arts are actually a very important, uh, piece of our economic development future. Um, especially as, you know, as we as a community continue to grow and as we try to create new industries, creativity is something that you can't replace with AI, right? And so we need, I believe, to make the arts an important component of our economic development plan because it's it brings people to our community. It brings um confidence in our community. It brings passion and it brings pride. And so I'm really pleased about what you guys are doing and uh I'm happy to support you.

Thank you so much. And I do brag about our arts council, art, art walk, and the fact that we are one of the very few cities in the United States of America that has a ballet, symphony, and an opera. So I agree, Chris. All right, we will come down and I invite you all to come join me. It's so good to see you again.

Thank you. All right. So, well, why don't you be even? Yes. Be even. You come over here because I want us to be even and then our council will be on the end. There we go.

Yeah. And thank you so much. Thank you all for being here. Thank you so much for being here. Appreciate you. I'm just All right, everybody. Ready and smile. Thank you. Thank you so much. Take care. Be well. Drive safely. Had to get that in. Thank you.

We don't have

good. Thanks for doing this. We appreciate it. Nice. Okay. 31. I think I'm going here. This for general public. is after those I got them mixed up. All right, melt this here. And these are here. That's the order. 3031 item 12. Right? Because we'll be doing this one first, then that, and then that. All right. Next is item two, proclamation declaring April 2026 as donate life month. And I will read the proclamation.

Oops. April is acknowledged as donate life month dedicated to raising awareness about the pressing need for organ and tissue donors and honoring those who have saved lives through the gift of donation. This year the theme is using uses trees as a symbol of life and connection. Just as trees grow and support each other in a forest, donation connects people and leaves a lasting legacy of hope and life, the need for donor registration and education is critical in highlighting the need for transplants. There are currently more than 105,000 individuals in the United States waiting for life saving organ transplants with 13 people on average tragically dying each day while waiting for a life-saving organ. Notably, more than 90,000 people on that list are waiting for a kidney transplant. Tissue and organ donations save lives and offer recipients the opportunity for renewed health and a second chance at life. One person can save up to eight lives through organ donation and improve over 75 lives through tissue donation. Now therefore, I, Suz Wallen, mayor, do hereby proclaim April 2026 as Donate Life Month in the city of Modesto and encourage residents to learn about the donation process, register as donors, and discuss their wishes with their families. Dated this 7th day of April, 2026. Uh my understanding that accepting the proclamation would be Alyssa Garcia,

community engagement specialist with Donor Donor Network West. Please come to the podium. Thank you. Welcome. Hello.

It's always great to be back every year. Um hello city council. Um, thank you so much for continuously supporting Donor Network West's mission to save and heal lives um, every year by proclaiming April as donate life month. Um, as you said, our mission is to save and heal lives and anyone can register to become an organ and tissue donor to do just that. We partner with our local Modesto hospitals and families who decide to give the gift of life and we honor them throughout this month and every day. um just here in Stannislo County um as of um this current year we have 333 people that are waiting for a life-saving transplant that live in this community. Um so we're hoping that everyone is able to understand and realize the impact that they all can make by registering to become an organ and tissue donor. So I want to say thank you all for acknowledging April as donate life month.

All right. Thank you for your remarks. Did you have a comment to make? No, no comment. I think you have a story. I'm just h I just have her back. Okay, great. That's great. Thank you. Um any other com any comments from All right, Council Member Ricky.

Thanks, Mayor. Uh I just want to thank you for your work in this area. I think that sometimes people hesitate to become donors and uh the the work that you do and that education uh convincing people that that's an important thing to do for your community is just it's can't be replaced in our community. So, thank you for all the work you do. Thank you. I can I just respond to that? Sure.

Just quick. You may or may not know that um we do go out to the freshman health classes in the local high schools to educate the students about organ and tissue donation and I'm one of those volunteers who goes Alyssa and I go with other people so because they're going to get their driver's license and so they need to know what that question means when they get to that point and very careful not to um be assertive about our opinion about this, but just to strictly educate them. It's a very personal choice if they want to be a donor or not. Um but it's a it's I think it works. It's working really well and the kids are very receptive to what we share with them. So, we appreciate going out and being able to do that. We're glad that the schools allow us to come and do that. It's a it's a great opportunity. So,

all right. Thank you, Council Member Scootia Brightton.

Thank you, Mayor, and thank you, ladies, for being here and drawing attention to this very important subject that touched my life personally. Um, I had the absolute honor and privilege when I was 40, actually on my birthday to um donate an organ. I donated bone marrow to a young girl whose last who only whose only chance for life was a full and complete bone marrow transplant. She was in a different state. When my bone marrow was extracted, it was lifellighted. It needs to come out of my body and into hers within 24 hours. And it was lifellighted to Texas at the time Hurricane Ike. Those that are history buffs will be crunching the numbers know that was some time ago. U because that airplane was carrying life matter, it was allowed to land and um it made it into her body. years later. Um, she's still alive and healthy and we remain very close. But it was an experience that it wasn't that I felt that I had anything. I received more than I gave and it was just an amazing experience for me and truly an in it was not inconvenience in any capacity and um there was as was referenced earlier there was a lot of misunderstandings and misnomers about the process but it was an easy process and it was a process that um from beginning to end from getting a little swab in my mouth and having that put into the national bone marrow registry to 3 months later being called and told that I was a perfect match to now me staying in contact with her and and look forward to her upcoming wedding is just again an amazing experience. So um I'm uh I could provide personal testimony to how doable and how lives can be saved and how one person can make a

difference. Thank you. All right, Council Member will or Vice Mayor Williams. Thank you, Mayor. And that was a a wonderful story. Uh thank you for doing that for that family cuz it was a family. It wasn't just that individual. And uh now she's going to have a family because she's going to get married. That's wonderful. I I am a um a donor. I've have been for a long time and I do my best to take care of my body so that when and if it is ever needed, it will be there. So thank you for being in our community.

All right. We I did in the proclamation and I do review these and and wrote it and the last thing I said was discuss the your wishes with your family and um the 42 years that I worked in the emergency room I can attest to how important that is because it is truly one of the most inspiring u times to be a part of someone's life when they receive the worst news possible. how quickly the human spirit is so resilient to want to help. It's pretty amazing to watch when someone a mother, a spouse, a family member hears that someone in close to them is not going to survive. If they have been prepared and it has been shared with them how important this is to this person, it's abundantly easier for them to just on the spot make that decision and so many lives are helped. We received the letters later back in the emergency room of all the lives that that are saved and stories just as Rosa described. So, thank you again for being here this evening. I will now um bring the proclamation down to present it. or they get put on the wall. Yeah. Keep forgetting the camera. Thank you so much for being here.

I had cataract surgery, too. So, right there with you. Yeah. Thank you. participating. You're going to love it. It's just huge. Hi, Nick. Good to see you. Thank you so much. Thank you, young lady. Thank you. Nice to see you. All right. Give that to her. We'll share.

Thank you. Thank you everybody.

Thank you so much. Next is item three, proclamation declaring April 2026 as National Volunteer Month. And I will read the proclamation. Modesto is a giving community with almost 1,000 nonprofits. Our community best exemplifies the true meaning of service and volunteerism. During National Volunteer Month, we recognize the impact of individuals who dedicate their time, energy, and skills to support communities, nonprofits, and people in need. Volunteers are the heartbeat of our community and contribute so much more than is seen. Volunteers take on a variety of roles, offering skill sets such as event planning, physical labor, recruitment, training, and much more. They also serve as a network bringing donors, supporters, and advocates to create a strong sense of commitment and establish deep connections to projects unifying the community. They are truly the essence of giving. By working together with nonprofits, community organizations, and the private sector, we can make our community stronger, more successful, and a place where everyone thrives. During National Volunteer Month, we celebrate those who volunteer

and encourage more to follow their path. Everyone can have an impact through service. Now, therefore, I, Suz Wallen, mayor, do hereby proclaim April 2026 is National Volunteer Month in the city of Modesto and encourage our residents to join others in our community to volunteer and serve, dated the 7th day of April, 2026. So, accepting the proclamation will be Jeff Pishny, um, CEO and founder of Love Stannis Laws. Welcome. Yay. Yes, I got a fan. I got a couple people. Thank you. No, you know what? It is an honor to accept this and to recognize the amazing community that that we live of so many just people who want to give give back, help make this community the best it can be. So love Modesto has been a part of this community for 18 years and this is our 18th year of of pull remember Chris 18 years ago it's amazing we all a little older 18 years ago but it's amazing to see again how this community has come together and in these 18 years I tell you I appreciate so much just your all your support all of your encouragement all of your affirmation and in 18 years there's been different people in these seats I've seen them I've seen you know, coming here, different mayors, different city managers, different city staff, different council, and you know what? In all these 18 years, I have felt affirmation. I have felt support from everyone who's been here, everyone who's still here. So, I just want to say thank you for that kind of support and and encouragement. April 25th, I got to tell you guys, April 25th, here we go. We have over 80 projects available. I'm going to have these out front so you guys can all have these as well. But sign up to volunteer and you guys can see these projects. Look at this list. Look at all the good that is going to go on in Modesto on April 25th. Is this

inspiring or what? I mean the this is just so moving to see the amount of people that are going to come together and we're hoping you obviously thousands of people coming together to love our community here. But you know what? This is not the end goal though. This is the beginning. I say this all the time. Love Modesta isn't just about a day. It's about year round loving our city, year round getting involved. And this last uh a little over a year ago, we launched something called volunteer central. So, it's an easy way for people to sign up to get involved all year round. We've had over 600 people who have signed up to volunteer year round in our community. And I, you know, I think that's our secret sauce. We've made it easy for people to sign up to volunteer to do what they love to do, whatever their interests are. And we made it fun. That is, that is our model here. And so what's what's amazing is every year there's cities all around us that are doing what we're doing. We're kind of the model. We started this thing and now in on April 25th there'll be around 20 cities in our community from Tracy Ripen all the way down to Turlock and all the cities in between all loving their city on that day. And then also in the spring a lot of it is on this date some are on other dates. There's cities all over California doing this in Sacramento area the Bay Area down south. If you drive around LA right now in the LA suburbs, you'll see the same signs that you see in Modesto. That that message is it just resonates and it's easy for people to get on board with volunteering in that way here. Not only has it spread in California, but around the country as well with Hartford, Connecticut, and Houston, Texas, Albuquerque, New Mexico. City after city is loving their city. And you know what's crazy is they're coming to Modesto to learn how to do it. This year, Mayor Sue, you've seen these people. You've met these people that have coming from all over the country. This year, we've got Raleigh, North Carolina, Spokane, Washington, um, Chico, La Marada, and other cities that are come here just to observe what we're doing. On a Friday night, I get to take

them around town and show off my hometown. I love it. And I get to tell stories about my town here and how just there's so much beautiful collaboration and friendship here. I think that's another secret we have here. We're the envy of other cities. they don't have that collaboration that and that friendship that we have here as much. And so then on Saturday they get to see what we're doing and they get to take it back to their city. So let me just leave in this is I know I know you all get to hear from some critical people sometimes and how bad Modesto is. And I'm telling you that's less than 1% at best. Majority of people in this town love this town. They want to see it to be a better place and I know you all do as well. And so I'm telling you, it's a pleasure to serve alongside of you and to be in this together for another 18 years. How about that? Thank you so much.

All right. Thank you. Uh any comments from um council members? Uh Vice Mayor Williams? Thank you, Mayor. And uh thank you, Jeff. It's really easy to volunteer to a city that you love. Yeah. And I definitely love the city of Modesto. It has done wonderful things for my life. But I know you have some other people that are here that you would love to have them stand. Yes. All right. Well, I'm going to ask my chair of my board, Craig Arona, to come on up here. Is that who we're referring to? They could just stand right where they are and recognized. And David Collins, our love our schools director. We have love our kids, love our schools, love our neighbors. We got a lot of love to share. And David's our love our schools director here. So, love to acknowledge them as well. Thank you for all you do.

Thank you. All right, Council Member Ricky. Yeah. I just want to I just want to thank you Jeff for like sticking with it over all these years. Um there's no question that you know Love Modesto has made a huge difference in our community and I love the evolution of it. I love how it's gone from being one day to being some you know drum beat that's going through our community um you know throughout the entire year. And I've just seen the evolution and you know when it first started I had my criticisms of it.

I remember. And what I love about that with you is that you've, you know, you're resilient and you just fought through it and look at it now and look at how it's grown everywhere and look at how it started here and how it's it's spreading positivity and creativity and making communities better all over the state. And I I'm proud of you, man. Good job. Thank you. Thank you so much. Uh, Vice Mayor Williams, did you have another pancakes? Oh, well, yeah, of course there is. Uh, anybody like pancakes?

Anybody love pancakes? So, pancake breakfast that morning. Skip your breakfast at home. We got a great pancake breakfast. North Medauas puts on a pancake breakfast at venue 833 there starting at 7:00. So, yeah, 7 o'clock kickoff party, all kinds of free food and music and giveaways. And then we send everybody off around 8:30 all over the community. Great. Looking forward to it. Uh, all right. Thank you for being here this evening. And I will now bring the proclamation down.

Hi Jeff. Thank you so much for being here. Hi. How are you? Congratulations on your Congratulations. Oh, thank you.

Is that good or should we? I know you like to have it even. Do you want David over here or No, we're good. Okay. All right. Are you ready? Right. Thanks again. Appreciate you so much. Thank you so much. We'll be in touch on that Friday. Oh, yeah. I'll be there.

All right. Right. Next is item four, a pro proclamation declaring April 12th through 18th, 2026 as emergency dispatcher week. I will read the proclamation. All right. Emergencies happen and the response from law enforcement officers, firefighters, and paramedics is critical to the protection of lives. When emergencies occur, a prompt response is imperative as minutes can be the difference between life and death. Emergency telecommunicators are essential as they support our first responders by providing accurate and important information. They are also the first contact our residents have with emergency services. Staying calm and compassionate during a time of crisis serves as a lifeline, offering support while responders are on their way. Emergency telecommunicators have contributed significantly to our community as they have helped with the apprehension of criminals, the suppression of fires, and the treatment

of patients while also assisting emergency providers during these demanding events. The city of Modesto encourages all businesses, institutions, and individuals to celebrate the dedicated telecommunicators that work every moment of every day and night making our city a safer place for all of our residents. Now therefore, I Suz Wallen mayor do hereby proclaim April 12th through 18th, 2026 as emergency dispatch appreciation week and encourage our residents to participate in activities that recognize our devoted emergency workers dated this 7th day of April, 2026. Accepting the proclamation uh will be Casey Young, executive director of SR 911. Welcome.

Hello. Good evening, mayor and council members. I'm Casey Young, the executive director of SR 911, and we are recognizing uh National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, or as we like to call it, Dispatch Appreciation Week. Uh, this is a time dedicated to honoring the voices behind the scenes of public safety, the calm in the chaos, the unseen first responders who answer the call when someone's worst day becomes their reality. Every time someone dials 911, they're not just calling a number or a service. They're calling a person, a highly trained professional who must make sense of fear, confusion, and urgency in a matter of seconds. Someone who gathers critical information, provides life-saving instructions, and coordinates responders while staying on the line with you long after help has been sent on the way. At Samos Regional 911, our team answers hundreds of thousands of calls each year. But what matters most is not the volume, it's the impact. It's playing detective to find someone who's lost. It's coaching a mother through CPR. It's guiding officers safely to a scene. It's juggling multiple radios while firefighters are sizing up the scene. We shine in the moments where we make a difference. And these moments don't just happen by accident. They happen because of the skill, resilience, and dedication of our dispatchers. Over the last few years, Stannis Regional 911 has faced significant challenges and continue to excel in the face of adversity. Not only was the entire team recognized as Northern California Team of the Year, but our very own operations manager, Wana Carrasco, she's right back there over on this side. Wave a hand. Uh was recognized as first responder of the year, which marked the first time in California history that an individual

911 professional received this award. Stannis Loss Regional 911 ignited an international movement within the 911 profession, advocating not only for appropriate recognition, but for educating the public on what it truly means to be a 911 professional and the realities of the work of our headset heroes. And this is something the entire community can be proud of. While I'm here, I would also like to recognize our partners at the Modesto Police Department's Realtime Crime Center, whose team works alongside us in a different but equally critical way. Much like our dispatchers, their work often happens behind the scenes, gather gathering and analyzing information in real time to support field responders and enhance situational awareness. Their contributions are an important part of the broader public safety system and we are grateful for their partnership. I also want to acknowledge the reality. This work is not easy. It requires emotional strength, technical expertise, and an unwavering commitment to service. Our team shows up every day through challenges, through change, and through some of the most difficult moments imaginable with professionalism and with heart. To our dispatchers, call takers, supervisors, technical staff, and support team. Thank you for your voices, your compassion, your courage, and your commitment to this community. You are the hidden heroes, the angels of the airwaves, intervening on someone's worst day to make things better. Your work is noble and it makes a difference. Thank you.

You're welcome. Uh thank you for being here. Are there any uh comments? Uh Vice Mayor Williams. Thank you, mayor. Hello. Thank you, Mayor. Uh Casey, thank you and definitely all of your staff. Uh you you and your staff are there for this entire community at dire needs in their life. And it's nothing like calling and not getting an answer or calling and getting the wrong person and having to be transferred to someone else. But 911 is not that way. and uh truly appreciate the service that's here in Modesto and Status County. Thank you. Thank you, sir. All right, Council Member Scootia Breton.

Thank you. Um thank you, Miss Young, for being here and accepting this recognition. I had um the privilege of touring your center a few weeks ago and it was quite opening eye opening to me to see so many working professionals doing such an important service under such calm and collected environments. Um calls were coming in in front of my eyes and who was receiving them were they knew what they were doing and they were doing it well and I was it was very impressive. it did not look like a stressful work environment. And so, and that speaks to your uh leadership and that of your team. You gave accolades to Miss Huana for receiving her state legislative award, but um I believe you were the second

was you you were the second well the with the women of the year for in recognized in the California State Assembly floor. So that is congratulations for that and thank you for for your service and that of your peers. Appreciate it. Thank you very much. All right. Thank you for being here this evening and we'll bring the proclamation down. They don't want to come up to the picture. What? She can. Oh, come on.

Take a picture. Yeah. Why don't you come over here? You want to maybe you want to come over this just so it's like even Steven. You want to balance this out? Yeah. This is important.

Sure. We hold it together. Okay. Ready? And smile. All right. Thanks so much for your appreciate your congratulations.

Thank you. Thank you, Matthew. Go get him. All right. Item five, a proclamation declaring April 24th, 2026 as Earth Day. I will read the proclamation. Earth Day has been celebrated ever since it was first established in 1970. It is a time for everyone to stand side by side to educate each other and take action to protect the Earth. The very first Earth Day inspired many, resulting in a number of important legislations, including the Clean Air Act, the Water Quality Improvement Act, the Endangered Species Act, and the establishment of the Environmental Protection Agency. 56 years later, we continue to make progress. The theme for Earth Day 2026 is our power, our planet. inviting individuals around the world to unite towards a common goal. It emphasizes the importance of collaborating on environmental sustainability so future generations can inherit a clean, healthy environment that supports a thriving economy. We can work together by using reusable bags, enhance environmental literacy, reduce plastic waste, conserve water, and reduce energy use. The city of Modesto continues to celebrate the earth and commits to caring for the planet and its resources. Now therefore, I susan mayor do hereby proclaim April

22nd, 2026 is Earth Day and encourage our residents to participate in activities that promote environmental protection and create a healthier, safer, and brighter future for all people dated this 7th day of April, 2026. And accepting the award this evening or the proclamation this evening are Modesto City Schools my people from back on my schoolboard days. It's so good to see you. Um sustainable leaders Gilbert Blue Feather Rosus director to sustainability and adaptation. Tim Zerley associate superintendent business services. Alejandro Isara Izzo, excuse me, a student, Enox High School, and Dev Patel, a student from Gregori High School. And please step to the podium for your remarks. Welcome. Thank you. Good evening, Mayor Zallen. Council members, my name is Tim Zerley. I'm an associate superintendent of business services for Modesto City Schools. And on behalf of Modesto City Schools, I would like to express our gratitude um to each one of you for this proclamation and also our support uh as a school district, a public agency for Earth Day. Um you have a handout, I I believe it's a a colored handout in front of you. We'll we'll talk through this quickly. Um but uh slide one is a small uh representative picture of our 30 battery electric school bus fleet. Um you'll notice in the far right corner or the bottom right corner there is a QR code. Um you can scan that. That'll take you right to our Modesto City Schools sustainability web page. Uh slide two represents our eight focus areas of our web page. Each one details accomplishments and provides resources on each topic. Uh for example uh diesel fuel savings um is under transportation,

solar production is under green infrastructure and air quality monitoring uh is under air monitoring. Slide three um we want to highlight the following three items. Our Modesto city school's vision recent accomplishments uh and water quality. Slide four um lists our vision statement that every student graduates with the skills, knowledge and character traits essential to thrive and contribute to society and also um our sustainability statement. Um what you are willing to do individually or collectively to have a greener future. Um slide five represents uh just a four-year report card of our recent accomplishments. Um you can see there that um we've utilized um grant funding uh to um build our green solar infrastructure. In addition, we've been able to recapture over $5 million um in investment tax credit opportunities. Um and we expect another 6 to9 million in the future. Um I'm pleased to introduce uh one of our students uh Mr. Dev Patel.

Right. Welcome. Greetings council me city council members um and members of the community. My name is De Patel and I'm a senior at Gregori High School. I plan to major in biomedical engineering in the future, but I have a strong passion for raising awareness about sustainability which brings me here today. Turning to slide six, the district has done amazing work to install sustainable infrastructure within our community. We have installed renewable solar um in the in the form of solar at our seven high schools that offset 70 to 85% of the entire campus load. We have also have six souls which is solar outdoor classrooms at six sites one displayed on this uh on the slide throughout the district. Moving to slide seven. And on top of leading the region in sustainable infrastructure, our district board has approved annual stipens for our teachers to run environmental clubs for for all 34 school sites. This has helped MCS establish a culture of promoting sustainability. Moving to slide eight. As a highlight to our achievements in sustainability, MCS was awarded the California Green Ribbon Schools Gold Level Award as a district in 2024. Moving to slide nine, you can see that everyone's getting involved in sustainability at MCS. In fact, two of our elementary school students drew artwork for the Sanwaqen Valley Air Pollution Control District's 2026 health air calendar specifically for the months July and August. And MCS has partnered with slide 10. MCS has partnered with climate action pathways for schools to provide paid student internships for students like me who are convinced who are committed to advancing sustainability within the district in regards to energy conservation, waste management, and student engage engagement.

Good evening, city council members. My name is Alejandre Razo. I'm a senior at Enox High School and I'm an aspiring environmental engineer with a specialization in industrial water pollution. Um on slide 11 you can see the air purifiers and MV 13 filters that we've implemented across our school sites. Uh those are meant to improve indoor in indoor air quality. And we've also implemented on the right the purple air monitors um that help evaluate outdoor air quality. These monitors are for sustainability analysis projects like Dev mentioned for climate action pathways and for local research but they also help with student safety and um for sports events. Uh on slide 12, you can see the water bottle refill stations that we've implemented across our school sites. Um those support uh reusable water those support reusable water bottles and prevent the need for single-use plastics with plastic water bottles. And um they provide filtered water for students and staff across the district. On slide 13, you can see some of our local events. Um Modesto City Schools has been a project partner at Gada Park Earth Day Celebration since 20 since 2024. And we invite everyone to come see us on April 18th this month or on Saturday, April 18th. Um, and on slide 14, you can see um some of our more national um events like uh Mr. Roses has um represented Modesto City Schools and the city of Modesto at national events like Harvard's Climate Action Week in 2023. Um putting our district's name on the map for sustainability. On slide 15, uh he was asked to speak on numerous podcasts, webinars, and panels promoting sustainable schools. He's also speak he's also spoken at the White House um for the climate policy summit in 2024 promoting sustainable buildings and grounds for school sites and we invite everyone to check out our web pages for more details. Thank you.

Thank you. I've I've got the easy one just slides that show who our in-house supporters are. The board has voted to to cover all these things and our superintendent's very supportive of all these different acts and the administrative team and especially Mr. is early making it all add up so that we can make these things possible. Um all of our students and staff and the student progress just like you've seen are what we love. Our project partners are listed on the next item that starts with synergistic and the most important page is the last one that tells that the city of Modesto supports us along with our uh utility companies that do it. So we just appreciate you acknowledging all these things and we thank you. You're welcome.

All right. Is that it? That's it for all right. Uh, Council Member Scooty Brighten.

Thank you, Mayor. Thank you, gentlemen, for that very comprehensive um presentation. Very impressive. Most impressive was the two young gentlemen. Um, if our future is in your hands, we are in really good hands. And thank you all for the work you do. I know it makes an immense difference in air quality in the valley. um we live in the valley and I don't know um by living in the valley we live in a very challenged uh location but every different every every every bit counts. So the work you're doing does um serve to make an impactful positive difference for the valley. So thank you very much for what you do. All right, Vice Mayor Williams.

Thank you Mayor. You can't get any more grounded than having this from the Modesto City Schools. So, thank you for being here. You young men did a wonderful job. All right. Uh, thank you again all of you for being here this evening, taking of your valuable time to be with us. And I will now bring the proclamation down to present it.

Scared. Thank you so much for being here. Hi, Roger. Good to see you. Appreciate you, buddy. They did a wonderful job. Thank you so much for being here. I spied your picture in one of those slides. Great job. You know what? You guys get a raise. Let's get closer. There you go. Good. present this to you.

All right, there you go. You can give it to maybe

I'm not sure. Yeah, thank you. Thank you, Mr. Zurly. Maybe I don't want How about All right. Next on the agenda is item six. Consider accepting the resignation of Ivan Valencia from the airport advisory committee. Does council have any questions of staff? Rosa, I see your

Okay. All right. Uh, I will open this up to the public. Any members of the public that would like to speak regarding this item? Seeing none, I'll close public comments. Any comments from council members? Well, we miss Ivan. He retired and uh we miss him and I'm appreciative of his his service. This was just one more way that he he served our community in addition to um being such a cherished member of our police department. Um all right. I have a resolution accepting the resignation of Ivan Valencia from the airport advisory committee. Do I have a motion? So move. Second.

Moved by council member Wright, second by council member Alvarez. Will the clerk please call the role for this item? Council member Alvarez, I. Council member Ricky, hi. Council member Bavaro, I. Vice Mayor Williams, I. Council member Wright, hi. Council member Scutia Breton. Hi. And mayor Wallen.

I carries unanimously. Item seven, consider approving the reappoints of Chris Guptal for the district four seat, Jesse Franco for the district six seat, and appointments of Monica Williams Brown and Martha Martin for two atlarge seats for the city of Modesto Measure H oversight board beginning April 7th, 2026 to serve their respective terms ending December 31st, 2029. Does council have any questions of staff? Uh, council member Bavaro, just comment. Sorry.

Okay. After first we'll hear from the public before we make comments. All right. No questions from council. I'll open this up to the public. Any members of the public that would like to come forward regarding item seven? Seeing none, I will close public comments. Any comments from council members? Uh, council member Bavaro.

Thank you, mayor. I just would like to acknowledge uh uh two members of u oversight measure h oversight committee from my district uh reappoint Chris um Guptal and a new appointee uh Martha Martin who's here tonight and Martha serves on district 4 advisory committee uh for me and uh she's the ideal person for this position. She's got a quick mind and good at math. Thank you, mayor.

You're welcome. Uh, I'll make a comment regarding Chris Guptal. He is the person that has been organizing the 9 to99 cleanups every single month for I believe it is 12 years with a countless number of people that go and and help keep the river area clean uh by the Seventh Street Bridge. His family, it's a generational um situation with the Gupt family. I remember his grandfather, his father, all of his siblings, and their his aunts and uncles were community-minded people. So, I want to publicly recognize Chris for his efforts. It's really incredible. Uh, I have a resolution approving the reappoints of Chris Guptal for the district 4 seat, Jesse Franco for the district 6 seat and appointments of Monica Williams Brown and Martha Martin for two at large seats of the city of Modesto Measure H oversight board beginning April 7th, 2026, that's today to um to serve their respective terms ending December 31st, 2029. Do I have a motion?

So moved. Second. Motion by council member Bavaro, second by Vice Mayor Williams. Will the clerk please call the role? Council member Alvarez. I. Council member Ricky. Council member Bavaro. Hi. Vice Mayor Williams. Hi. Council member Wright. Hi. Council member Scutia Brighten. Hi. And mayor wallen.

I carries unanimously. Item eight. Consider approving the appointment of Shammy Kareem and Christian Simon to the city of Modesto Citizens Housing and Community Development Committee for 4-year terms expiring December 31st, 2029. Does council have any questions of staff regarding item 8? Seeing none, I'll open item 8 up to the public. Any comments? Seeing none, I will close public comments. Any comments from council members? Uh, Vice, excuse me, Council Member Alvarez.

Thank you, Mayor. I just want to uh congratulate these folks for stepping up and acknowledging their their contribution or willingness to contribute to the housing stock here in Modesto. This is this the housing committee that uh my colleague Chris Ricky and I sit on. I believe uh Vice Mayor Williams is alternate also on the committee. This is where the motel conversions become reality. This is where the debate happens. This is where we set um the recommendation to head to council for all the housing projects in our community. So, I I'm really excited to work with these folks uh and thank them for their contributions to uh contribute to our housing stock here in Modesto.

Thank you. And in light of the fact that this is National Volunteer Month, when you think of the dozens of people on our committees, commissions, and boards that give of their time freely to serve in this capacity and and apply, go through the apply application process, the appointment process. It really speaks so well to our community. I'm so impressed. All right. I have a resolution approving the appointment of Shammy Kareem and Christian Simon to the city of Modesto Citizens Housing and Community Development Committee with terms expiring December 31st, 2029. Do I have a motion? Second. Moved by Council Member Alvarez, second by Vice Mayor uh Williams. And will the clerk please call the role for this item? Council member Alvarez.

I. Council member Ricky. I. Council member Bavaro. I. Vice Mayor Williams. Hi. Council member Wright. Hi. Council members Goodier Brighton I and Mayors Wallen

I carries unanimously. Next on the agenda is public comment. Public comment tonight is in person only. Zoom remains available for viewing and for wordly translation. Thank you for joining us. The city council meetings are a place where everyone is encouraged to share insights, listen and participate in the decision-making process that benefits our community. To ensure a fair and respectful environment, the mayor is responsible for maintaining order and decorum is outlined in the city charter and the rules of decorum posted at the entrance of the chamber. I ask that we are all respectful of all members of the public, presenters and council members. Anyone who disrupts the meeting may be asked to leave. I appreciate your cooperation as we discuss key issues and make decisions that affect our city. We will now open public K comment and this is for items that are not on the council agenda and you have um three minutes to speak. So I have a lot of cards. Several of them are for item 12 which will be discussed later um under consent items. That one will be pulled for discussion. Um and several for items 30 and 31. But I will start with the blue cards that I have in the order that I receive them for items not on the agenda. And the first is uh Jerry Thompson. Good evening, mayor, city council. Uh the reason why I am wanting to speak tonight is on behalf of the low rider community and other uh attendees at the Caesar Chavez Park. Uh we're all in support with the name change. However, we request that when you consider uh voting for the top three names that you will go with uh four street park or you could call it four street community park as long as four streets in there. And

the reason why uh we're we're behind this is because of all the controversy that is involved with Caesar Chavez. Now a lot of people may not under may not uh remember uh a individual that was involved with the movement at that time and his name was Larry Itlong. itlong is out of Bakersfield area and he was also involved with uh the strike that took place in 1965. Uh and he worked alongside with Dolores Horta and with um Caesar Chavez. However, he has been forgotten throughout history and unfortunately there has been victims from this and also enablers. But the the purpose of choosing Forest Street Park is to keep it neutral, to keep away from the controversy from future uh names uh on future parks uh because of what has happened currently and still uh there's a lot more coming out about it. But uh Larry Long uh he was involved but he tried to speak out against what was taking place with Caesar Chavez and he was actually censored from doing that. uh his son has come out just recently to speak on behalf of his father that has now passed away because of that controversy. So that's why we feel that if you choose Four Street Park, it'll be a neutral name, but it also be an embracing name if you throw in community because it's represents everybody, not just one certain group. It's allowing everybody to feel like they're welcomed and going to be a part in the park's use and participation. So hopefully you will take that all into consideration when you do come to that day to vote for this uh new name change. Thank you.

Thank you. Next is uh Brian Eugenie. Welcome.

Thank you, Madame Mayor. Council members, staff, members of the community. My name is Brian Eugenie and I am the campaign manager for Jiren Brandon for state senate in district 4. District 4 encompasses all of Stannislaw County. All are part of 12 other counties and Modesto is the largest city in the district. So it is fitting that the first debate between all three candidates will be held right here in Modesto. And that's going to be this Thursday, April 9th. The Stannislaw Taxpayer Association is going to be hosting the debate right here down the street, a stones throw from where you are at at the Century Venue. Normally, you have to crash a wedding to get in there, but for this event, uh you can get in for free. It'll be this Thursday. Doors open at 5:00 p.m. and the debate will begin around 5:30 p.m. Once again, there's no cost. Everyone is welcome to attend. Now, if you don't get all of your questions answered on that night, because uh it's they're going to have a moderator taking care of that. Uh Jiren's also going to be hosting a town hall for people also here in Modesto at the Bookish Bookstore over on Roseberg Avenue, 811 Roseber Avenue on Saturday at 6:00 p.m. Uh all are welcome to attend whether you support him or not. uh he likes to engage with people and so you can make an informed decision whether you will or will not support him in the June primary. So that's all I got. Thank you.

Thank you. Next is Bevy Santos.

Hi, good evening Mayor and um city council and community. My name is Betty Santos. I was born and raised here in Modesto all my life and um I'm up here to speak about the name change um from Caesar Chavez Park to going back to Fourth Street Park or Four Street Community Park. Um again, I've had a lot of great memories growing up uh there and uh recently I took a friend out to um his retirement breakfast in Councilman Jeremiah Coral William I mean Coral Anderson, you remember him? Okay. Uh we had a conversation about um Caesar Chavez Park and he says Caesar Chavez is I'm sorry Betty I gotta say Fourth Street. I go you say whatever is on your heart. So he talked about how he grew up and he had a lot of great activities memories as well as so as I did and back in the day he said they used to uh donate to the community as he still does to this day. Um, however, um, my sentiments are as well with Jerry Thompson and, um, back in the day, late 70s, early 80s, I used to go hang out when cruising was going on and, uh, my acquaintance here used to, uh, cruise back in the day with his car club. So, I'm up here to maybe reconsider uh, changing the name back to Four Street Community Park. Thank you.

You're welcome. Uh, next is Steve Hi. Hello. Welcome.

It's with great displeasure that I speak with you this evening, but I did want to talk about some stuff that's very important. Um, and that is just the simple truth that fighting fascism is a local struggle just like protecting democracy is a local struggle. Ever since I've um been coming to these meetings, I have seen from y'all little smirky smile over there. Hi Jeremiah. Y'all already starting up with the the facial expressions I see. I have seen nothing but disdain. I have seen nothing but y'all trying to basically work against democracy and in the process enabling fascism. When you refuse to hold killer cops accountable or at least try to use your influence, you are aiding and abetting fascism and the death of democracy. Just like when you are perfectly okay with whatever Brandon Gillespie dictates to you. When he tells you, "Hey, this should be a new law, you say yes sir." A lot of people talking about love this evening. But I found it disgusting the fake depiction of what love is. And you know what? Dissent is one of the most important parts of a democracy. Am I right? You know what I think love looks like? It looks It doesn't look like someone coming down here and and and bow bad mouthing people who don't just suck up to the sick of fans at city hall. Love is me coming down here, all the other people coming down here to stand up for what's right, especially when we may or may not, you know, have even been

directly affected by it. I have seen you guys discredit people with love in their hearts for a long time now. This morning I shot a man in our county and immediately I saw the same thing I saw from your police department and I've seen from police departments everywhere which is to craft a ridiculous false narrative which is already beginning to be uh dispelled and we'll wait and see what kind of information comes out. But Modesto is making itself known for a place where people empower, elected officials, say no to the people, and say yes to fascism. You might deny it. You may even think that's not what you're doing. But if you break it down and you look at the the characteristics of a fascist society and what the Trump administration is currently doing, you are on the wrong side of history. And no matter how much you lie to yourselves and to all the people of our community, you are playing your small part in paving the way for more and more and more violence from the Department of Homeland Security in our neck of the woods. You should be ashamed of yourselves. You should stop spending our money to fight ridiculous legal battles and you should support the community.

Thank you. Next is Milt Treeweiler. Good evening, uh, council staff, Milt Treeweiler. Um, I wanted to talk about planning for the future again for Modesto and actually all of Stannislas County. Uh, part of that, of course, is learning from the past. We learn from the past, we live in the present. We're in the present now. We have to plan for the future. We have to do that because we have children and descendants that need to be taken care of and we're the only ones that can take care of them. So, the one first thing I want to start with is something like planet warming. Um, I'll have one of these later on to hand out to you, not tonight. But anyway, this is shows us how the planet's warming up since 1980. It's an exponential curve. This is the 1980 to here is 2025. And just to give you an example, you can see it goes up, but 2023 was the hottest year on record on our planet Earth. And 2024 was even hotter than that. 2025 was slightly lower or slightly above 2023, but the chart is continuing to go up. So, very something we need to really be conscious of because it affects all of us. Um, and by the way, you wonder how this is taken. This is taken by 24,000 plus monitoring temperatures all around the world. 24,000 places. So, it's pretty accurate. Second thing I want to talk about is we're on our way to another into another drought. I don't know if you've heard that or you realize that we're going to be another we're going to be in another drought. Is it going to be one year, two years, three years? I don't know. But it's going to be another

drought. And that means we have to realize that that's going to be a hardship on us. We're going to have low water u table levels that's going to go down. Um so it's very important that we understand that that drought is what makes the farmland north of Modesto so important. the fact that this county is the only county it has water to water its irrigated irrigatable farmland which is the best farmland on earth for reef three reasons we have the soil very deep soil for tree root crops we have the water we have Don Pedro Dam right now it's at 80 over 80% capacity and there's plenty of water there to take us through this year and we also have the climate so we've got the only place on earth that has all these three things that give us this. So what are we doing? We're talking about growing north of Modesto. Come on. Come on. Come on. That is not the solution to our problem. Our children have to eat. We all have to eat. Our descendants are going to have to eat. They're not born yet, but they're still going to have to eat. It is our responsibility to do what's right for them. And what's right for them is to preserve this land. We can build up and not out. Thank you.

You're welcome. Next is uh Francine Cena.

Good evening, city council and mayor. Nice to see you again.

Mhm. I was just um here asking um who's here defending our children's democracy here in Stannis Los County. Who is upholding our children's constitutional rights? Article 1 subsection 28. Our children have a right to enter into a public school that is safe, secure, and peaceful here in Stannis County. That is not happening. you're going I'm going before um city council to bring awareness that ed codes is one thing but when our children are victimized and it goes into civil codes who protects them here in this county at this council I would like to reach out to the DA I have reached out to the DA I've reached out to the Modesto police department I have no answers to my child who has been victimized I even reached out to um yeah I said Modesto Police Department. Nothing has been done. There is no voice for us in the civil side. Thanks to Debbie Martinez, founder of We Are Rasa, Parents Union, Social Justice Movement, Student Advocate, Parents Advocate, we are now active members in the Silven District. We come before this governing board to seek a voice when our children are victimized under their civil codes. I've already voiced our concerns to the governing board school board. Now I come before this board. Also, I would like to state that my daughter's case is at the DA's office right now, which they said that no crime has been committed, but my daughter's constitutional rights and seph law, those are laws and those are crimes when a school is committing this crime. So I would like please um Rosa to um look into this or you mayor also I have come

before you regarding our children's safety of the crosswalks and we worked with the city engineer on that and things have been done in that in that sense but things are going on and I would like someone to look into this please. Thank you. Thank you. Next is Patrick Cena.

Hello. Hi, I'm Patrick Senna. I am a Purple Heart vet. I served in United States Army. Um, I'm one of two survivors from IED blast in Iraq and I'm still here. I moved to I'm from Modesto and I moved back to Modesto. My daughter's constitutional rights are being violated. Um she's it's not safe, secure, and peaceful. My daughter was get she's a fourth grader. She was getting bullied by a fifth grader and it went on for 3 weeks. She stressed it to all her chain of command from campus supervisor, head campus supervisor, her counselor, her teacher, vice principal, principal. Nothing got done for 3 weeks until we called the 911 and got police over there and they did an investigation and then um to come to find out the school hid the nurse and didn't interview my daughter and so they never got the facts straight. And um good thing for We Are Laar Rasa because with Debbiey's help we were able to get our voices heard and get HR involved, the district involved, but all they did was go to the district and the school lied. Nothing but lies I got back from a packet. Just nothing but lies. And the only the lies are this big on the packet and the only thing that's factual is this small that my daughter was in seen by a nurse and what time she got there and then that she did have a kidney problem and the matter of the fact is my daughter now has a kidney issue that she never had because her her rights were being violated. The principal allowed a substitute teacher to torment my daughter for over an hour, not let her use the bathroom or seek the nurse, and she has a kidney issue. We She went to the nurse and

voiced her opinion, closed the door, and had confidence to let her know what was happening. No one interviewed the nurse. And somehow we can't find this nurse, but she's a nurse at a school in our in Silven District, the same school that the mayor goes to. The same school. And that's why I want to know, can we get my daughter's rights? Can something be done? This is a kid, 9-year-old little girl that everyone is covering up to protect adults that harmed a child. If this was the other way around and a parent was victimizing a kid, 911 would be called, CPS would be there, and they would take the kid away. But my child has severe anxiety now. Severe anxiety. She cannot leave her mother without crying because this grown adult that was a stranger to her got to torment her because her principal allowed it and told the substitute teacher to do it to her. Thank you.

You're welcome. So, uh, for this particular situation, I would like for you to talk to our police chief in the, uh, back of the room. Yes. Please proceed with that and have a conversation. Thank you. Is it Chris Adams? Our police chief, Brandon Gillespie, is here and he would be the one that would direct any further conversation regarding this situation. Thank you. You're very welcome. Let Jesus guide you guys. Thank you. Thank you. Next is Nora uh Garcia.

Okay. Uh next is Nick. Uh good evening. Uh I don't have much to say. I'll be setting it for uh item 12. But I do want to address what uh one other um um speaker has spoken up about today was the um involvement of the ICE shooting in Patterson today. Um I know the sheriff's department is involved with it. Um current um talking about it has already kind of labeled it as a gang shooting, which come on, that's definitely not true. Um, I just kind of want to briefly mention about the whether law enforcement um is helping ICE regardless of what uh California stature is. I know they are currently um helping in the investigation, which to me kind of sounds like a conflict of interest, but um I'm not an expert in that matter. Um but yeah, um ICE is, as one other person has already mentioned, is definitely a fascist organization. um targeting specifically people uh immigrants and people of not uh lighter skin tone like myself. Uh and I feel like it's important to be brought up. Um also there was a speaker earlier today that talked about um uh land development and um preserving that in the face of the climate crisis which um definitely is one of the most important things that we need to address in our age today. Um, and we need to be doing more about that. And that definitely starts at the city council level, uh, at local city officials and at community involvement. And it it definitely sounds like more

community involvement in terms of making decisions, maintaining, uh, resources um, for what's best for the community is what should be done. But, uh, that's, uh, my humble opinion. Thank you.

Thank you. Uh, next is Anthony Dronik. Hello. I haven't been to a meeting in a few months. Uh I was upset with y'all for not listening us on another issue, but I'll cover that when we get to that agenda item. I wanted to take this chance to actually highlight some positive things in the community. Uh because I really do love the city. Uh first of all, shout out to our MCS staff. I'm a proud MCS employee dev who came up and spoke as a Gregori student. Go Jaguars. Uh he's a great kid. Uh, also our advisory groups, love to see more people getting involved, especially those going back for the reappoints. Special shout out to Housing and Community Development. Uh, I served on that committee in the past myself and it was always a pleasure working with y'all. Uh, so glad to see more people are filling in there and helping out. Um, we've seen great stuff with Hope Works team. Like there are a lot of really good things happening. Uh Milt made some great points about protecting our biosphere and the valuable nature of our land and what that means for future generations and how we can be stewards of the community. Um but what I did want to talk about uh is the renaming of Caesar Chavez Park, Fourth Street Park. Uh I couldn't make the culture commission meeting, but could make this one. I think it goes without saying that Chavez uh was a monster. We absolutely need a new name. I not liked him for years because he was so staunchly anti-immigrant. Um, but I noticed the name Larry Itlong was brought up and I want to say as an ethnic studies teacher, uh, a lot of people maybe don't have familiarity with Larry's work, uh, but Larry alongside the members of the agricultural workers organizing committee were instrumental in the Deleno grape strike. UFW that we all highlight, it was a merger of Ilong's organization and Chavez's organization. Ilong began the strike I think a full week before Chavez joined. He was the one who was really setting the standard of what it meant to take a

stand and to go on strike to believe in workers rights. And I think that the labor leader that a lot of us imagined Chavez to be doesn't exist with Chavez, but it does with itong. Uh and for that reason, I think that it'd be a great opportunity to highlight our labor community, specifically our Filipino labor community who often goes unsung. Uh and just in case people didn't know, because a lot of people don't know really anything about Larry Atlong, his full name is Modesto Larry Dulelong. That's right. His first name is literally Modesto. That is a great opportunity. We'll never get that with anybody else unless one of you names your kid Modesto. Just a thought. Um, but Fourth Street Park sounds neutral, but I think it's actually just erasing our labor history. If we were willing to name the park after Chavez because of who we believed him to be at the time. I think this is a chance to name the park after Larry Leong. If we still want to include Fourth Street in there, we've seen like King Kennedy Center. We can do both. We can walk and chew gum at the same time. But I think that our Filipino community never gets the respect they deserve for the sacrifice and the strategy he that they put in day in and day out throughout our farm workers movement and continue to do so. So I hope that when it comes to that you at least consider that name strongly. That's all. Have a good one.

Thank you. Is there anyone else wishing to come forward to speak under public comment? This is for items not on tonight's agenda. Welcome.

Hi Kevin McClardy. District 1. I wanted to uh ask uh whatever happened to that kiosk sign that used to be above the Bank of Agriculture and Commerce on Mckenry and Nem that that sign was awesome. It told everything that was going on in the city. You could look at it. You could stand on the corner of Needam and Mckenry or J Street in Mckenry or Downey and Mckenry and you could read it and you could see everything that's going to be happen in the city for the next few days. And then one day the sign was gone and I'm wondering if we could get that back up again. Um it really served a purpose and uh nobody seems to know what happened to it. I've asked around. I've asked at city hall. No one seems to know what happened to it. No one knows who was responsible for it. No one knows anything. The Bank of Agriculture and Commerce doesn't know what happened to it. So, I'm wondering if we could get that back up there again. It was a very uh good sign, very good indication of what was going on. Provided a lot of useful information to everybody. And I think that part of the problem is that we've got all these different websites. We've got all these different places to go to get information on what's going on. But that's a lot of different places to go to, but this sign had it all. It was all there, everything. So, that's that was a real loss when that sign went down. And I'm wondering wondering what ever happened to it and if it could be brought back up again. Then I also wanted to discuss um another subject that's been brought up earlier today and that has to do with the city growing up instead of out. You know, when I was a teenager, I used to

help Peggy Minsinger with her um campaigns to uh ex have initiatives whereby sewer pipe extensions had to be approved by the city by the voters of the city before they could be implemented. So in other words, you could not just extend sewer lines without it voter voter approval. And it seems to me that now the sewer line extensions are just an automatic thing. They're just done almost automatically. They're not done with the same a forethought with which they were done when Peggy Mininger was mayor. and pegments. They were encouraged people to really think about it. Do you really want the city to grow out and um the city is, you know, growing north of Kernan now and taking up all that valuable farmland and all we have all this infill in the city that's being ignored. Why are we not growing up instead of out? Why are we not protecting our farmland? I think that um this has to this is incinable that we're not protecting our farmland. Thank you. You're welcome. Just for clarification, Nora Garcia, is that for current public comment for items?

Okay. Thank you. Um All right. Anyone else for items not on the agenda tonight? Good evening, city council. Today, Carlos Ivan Mendoza Hernandez was shot by ICE near Sperry Avenue and in on Interstate 5 in Patterson, California. Sergeant Veronica Eskez says it is an isolated incident. nothing to worry about. What is it? On July 1st, 2025, a man was detained at the Modesto courthouse by ICE, despite it being against the law and extremely unethical. ICE was also confirmed to be spotted in East Modesto by the Valley Watch Network, a knocking on people's doors just a few months ago. At ICE facilities in Stockton and Sacramento, individuals are detained, no, kidnapped, almost daily at their immigration check-ins. Several months ago, there was a confirmed ICE raid in a Stockton neighborhood where a man was detained, also confirmed by the Valley Watch Network. ICE continues to terrorize our communities with impunity and our local police departments that are supposedly supposed to protect us are complicit by either refusing to act or by actively collaborating with ICE. In fact, just a month ago, several federal agencies, including Border Patrol, were found with data from Modesto's automated license plate reader system, which is against the law. Whether this was negligence or an act of breach, it is still reprehensible. So what is going to stop ICE from raiding and kidnapping people at their court and immigration appointments in Modesto or in their

homes if we don't stand up, fight back, and prepare now. I ask the members of the Modesto City Council to use whatever powers you have to act now to protect our city from ICE and the Department of Homeland Security, which is currently running a muck unchecked and unfettered. Do something I don't know what. Um perhaps pass a sanctuary city ordinance. uh reach out to Stockton or Sacramento city councils to plead with them to end their contracts with these federal agencies or at least act to ensure some oversight for these federal agencies. Perhaps join uh your the other civilians in demanding that our senators and representatives one publicly call for an independent in investigation into the shooting in Patterson. Two, demand full release of all video and evidence. Three, support oversight stronger oversight and accountability. measures for ICE or four ensure protections so that this does not happen again. You have more power than us citizens do as city council members. So I ask that you please use it to protect the undocumented immigrants and people in vulnerable populations that are your con constituents. Fight against fascism fascism today before it consumes us all. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else? Excuse me. under public comment. No one. All right. Next on the agenda is consent. I just wanted to make sure if was the person Okay. Not. She's not planning on coming up. All right. Next on the agenda is consent items. An item may be removed from consent and discussed at the request of a member of the public or council member. Is there anyone on the council that would like a consent item removed for further discussion? Uh count um did you have one an item you want to pull?

Said item number 12.

Okay. It's all right. I that was it's already going to be pulled by request of the um public. All right. Is there anyone in the public that would like an item removed from consent for further discussion or comment? We will be pulling item 12 for discussion. Uh will the uh city clerk please read the consent items? Yes, mayor. Item nine, consider approving the minutes for the March 10th, 2026 council meeting. Item 10, consider approving final adoption of ordinance 3807 CS amending section 9-3-9 of the zoning map of the city of Modesto to reszone from professional office zone to medium density residential zone for property located at 3213 Coffee Road west of Dorson Avenue. Item 11, consider accepting the 2025 annual report of the city's citizen advisory boards, commissions, and committees. Item 12 was removed from consent. Item 13, as revised, consider confirming the detachment of a non-contiguous city property located at Frenzine Road 133001 026, reverting the property back to unincorporated status within uh within the county of Santaas and authorizing application to the Santaas Local Agency Formation Commission to annex the territory back to the Santaas Consolidated Fire Protection District. Item 14, consider accepting theformational fiscal year end 2025 2026 midyear general fund update report and approving the recommended budget adjustments to the major general fund revenues and expenditures amending the fiscal year 2025 2026 annual operating budget. Item 15, consider approving the recommended budget budget adjustments to fiscal year 2025 2026 annual operating and CIP um program budgets. Item 16, consider repealing and replacing chapters 1, 2, 3, 7, and 11 of title 9 of the Modesto

municipal code to adopt by reference the 2025 California building, plumbing, electrical, mechanical, and existing building codes. Item 17, consider accepting the Claus Road and Scenic Drive signal coordination CML5059245, CML5059246 project as complete, releasing securities, releasing payments totaling $864,20 to Tennyson Electric LLC of Liverour, California, and authorizing the city clerk to file a notice of completion. Item 18, consider accepting the 2024 restroom replacement project as complete, releasing securities, releasing payments totaling $570,290 to Platinum General Engineering LLC of Waterford, California, and authorizing the city clerk to file a notice of completion. Item 19, consider approving the safe streets and roads for all SS48 action plan and adopting the vision zero resolution authorizing city staff to apply for SS48 grant implementation funds to eliminate fatal and serious injury crashes. Item 20, consider approving the subdivision improvement agreement and fiscal map and final map for McCclure Meadows subdivision consisting of approximately 4.15 acres for 38 residential lots and 0.945 acres for public road rightway dedications located at the northwest corner of Mccclure Road and Euseite Boulevard APN number 033089041. Item 21, consider approving the P plans and specs for the retroreflective back plates LED stop signs installation rectangular rapid flashing beacons RRFB HSI PSL5059253 25251 project accepting the bid and awarding a construction contract to St. Francis Electric LLC of San Leandro, California for a total amount not to exceed 2,716,890. Item 22, consider approving an agreement with the state of California, Office of Emergency Services to provide reimbursement for eligible expenses

related to the training and staffing of a hazmat type 1 team. Item 23 23. Consider approving the first amendment with CSG Consultants Incorporated of Foster City, California for fire prevention plan check services, increasing the agreement amount by $164,000 for a total amount of $539,000 through the term of the agreement and extending the term of the agreement from June 30th, 2026 to June 30th, 2027. Item 24, consider approving an agreement with Miracle Play Systems, Inc., San Francisco, California for playground equipment and replacement for a total amount not to exceed $150,263 over 5 years. Item 25, consider approving a first amendment to the agreement with American Chiller Service Incorporated, Modesto, California for HVAC maintenance and emergency repair for the Modesto Center Plaza, increasing the agreement amount by $157,900 to account for an anticipated emergency repair. Item 26, consider approving an agreement with Clark Pest Control Incorporated, Modesto, California, for pest control services for a total amount not to exceed $425,95 over 5 years. Item 27, consider approving an agreement with Specialized Elevator Services LLC, DBA, Elevator Industry, Sacramento, California, for elevator maintenance and repair services for a total amount not to exceed $435,000 over 5 years. Item 28, consider approving an engineering services agreement with Trih Hydro Corporation of Laramie, Wyoming in the amount of 3,212,14 plus $160,61 in additional services if needed for total amount not to exceed $3,372,615 and accepting a Proposition 1 Groundwater Grant Program award from the California State Water Resources Control Board in the amount of $9,434,45. $5. And item 29, consider approving an asset management gap analysis agreement

with Woodward and Kuran, Sacramento, California, in the amount of $460,680 plus $92,36 if needed for an agreement total amount not to exceed $552,816. All right. May I have a motion to approve the consent calendar as read? So move. All right. I have a motion by Vice Mayor Williams and a second. Do I have a second? By uh council member Wright. Will the clerk please call the role? Council member Alvarez. Hi. Council member Ricky. Hi. Council member Bavaro. Hi. Vice Mayor Williams. Hi. Council member Wright. Hi. Council member Scutia. Hi. And mayor Wallen. I. Carries unanimously.

All right. We will go back to uh item 12. Consider approving a fifth amendment to the legal services agreement with Single Van Edgeman Heitinger for continued representation in tort cases, increasing the amount by $250,000, and a third amendment to the legal services agreement with Meyers Nav, amending the scope of work, and increasing the agreement amount by $250,000. And we will have a report by our city attorney, Jose San Jose Sanchez.

Thank you, mayor. Mayor, members of the council, Jose Sanchez, city attorney. The item before you is an amendment of two outside legal services agreements. The first one, as the mayor mentioned, is with the law firm of uh Swingle, Van Eggman, and Highinger. They provide services and they've been providing services for several years to the city on tort cases. Those are the the slip and falls, sidewalk cases, the uh tree issues. Um they currently have quite a bit of cases that they are dealing with and the amendment provides additional um uh additional funds to their contract to continue those services. The second amendment in this uh in this item is the third amendment to the legal services agreement with Meyers Nave. Meyers NAV has provided uh legal services to the city related to the public assembly regulations. Um the as the agenda report mentions mentioned the city did uh get sued related to the public assembly ordinance. The amendment increases the compensation under that um under that agreement for two for uh $250,000. Now it's important to point out that both of these agreements that amount that's added to the to the contracts it's it's called the not to exceed amount. What that means is uh it only gets used it only gets uh used if the services are provided. If services are not provided that amount does not get spent. Happy to answer any questions of the council.

All right. Are there any uh questions of council for staff? Uh council member Bavaro. Uh just a clarification. If we do reach the 250,000 that would then come back to the council regardless of the dollar amount. That that is correct. What once like some of these amendments, it's because the amount was reached. Therefore, that would come back to the council for another amendment if we needed additional funds. Thank you.

Right. Any other questions from council regarding this item? All right. Seeing none, I will open uh it up to the public. And the first uh will be Nora Garcia. Good evening everyone. Good evening. Guess my punishment for messing up the card is to go first.

When I was young, my mother taught me an important lesson about budgeting. always put the price of frivolous purchases into perspective by comparing the cost to the time it would take to earn it. Do you want that trendy new thing? Would you like to spend 6 hours working for it? With this lesson in mind, I would like everyone here to consider that the city is spending a good chunk of $350,000 on a lawsuit against the ACLU. A lawsuit that you were warned about, a lawsuit that you were advised against by both the public and internal review, a lawsuit that would have been prevented had it not been for the overstepping insistence from the chief of police and this council's taste for his particular brand of boot. To put the cost into perspective, $350,000 is approximately six years worth of the average Modeston's yearly earnings. Six years we all collectively have lost because of the stubb stubborn failure to see reason from the people sat in front of me today. It's easy to smuggly proclaim, as some have, that whatever the cost is, we'll pay for it. It's easy when the cost of this lawsuit isn't coming from your salaries. And it's so easy to pay for something that will buy you police endorsements. Instead of you paying for it, the parents and teachers who could have used $350,000 to improve their schools are paying for it. the people who have been who have to sleep on the streets because the shelter doesn't have $150,000 for additional beds are paying for it. It is the motorists that have to buy new tires because there wasn't $350,000 to repair the roads that are paying for it. And ironically, it is the home and business owners spending $350,000 in property taxes who are paying for it. The same home and business owners who may have been convinced to support the council's decision by scapegoating over public safety. To anyone still convinced that this is worth the spend and that this is worth defending, I would simply ask, do you still want your streets overpoliced to remove a handful of masks? And is it something that you're willing to spend

six years working for? Thank you. Thank you.

Uh, next is Veronica Ambrose. Hi everyone, my name is Veronica. I wanted to take you back and give you my perspective as to the whole mask ordinance and protest. So I'll take you all back to 2019 and there was a group that was holding a rally in Modesto. They have called themselves a peaceful racist organization and they have been holding this um first in Modesto but has since been replicated otherwise um hate rally. And at that time when this was being organized, the people in Modesto and in Stannis Los County came forward to this this governing board and asked asked that they speak up against hate. asked that they do something to stop this gathering of hateful people from happening in our city when it was organized by people that were not even from our county and why they felt like it was okay to come to Modesto to spew their hate. The city came here filled this room to tell you they wanted a statement. So saying that you don't endorse hate and Modesto but what did you do instead? pass an ordinance for safety. Right. At the time, I was the director of the Pride Center, the longest running Pride Center in Modesto and in Stannis Los County. We had hate propaganda posted on our walls, right? And did did anyone in here care about our safety? No. When we called the police, they put a 1970s cop cruiser in front of our center, which we didn't want. Our community didn't want. We

don't feel safe with police around, right? We all the community wanted was for you to say that we don't want Hayden Modesto. And what we got was an infringement on our First Amendment rights. And when it came to the safety of the pride center that I was director of, no one from this council, no one from the police department came to help us to come up with an emergency plan if we were targets of d domestic terrorism. And as a queer individual in this city, in this country, we are seeing the rise of hate happen all the time since 2019, right? And all the city wanted was for you to say that we don't want a hate group, but instead we were infringed upon and our first amendment rights. Right. This made national news. And you're making national news again. Again. And it's not a positive thing. Being the birthplace of a hate rally is not a positive thing. Not speaking up about it is not a positive thing. when your people come up here and ask you to support them, ask you to stand up for our rights, like we we want you to hear us. Thank you.

You're welcome. Next is Haron Driven Dven. Sorry. Don,

mayor, city council. My name is Harlon Divven. and I'm a resident of Modesto. Um I've been listening throughout the city council meeting. A lot has happened here already. But at the beginning of the city council meeting, the invocation said something that was really um important and hit my heart. Um it said that we must work together to find harmony amid disagreement. Um a lawsuit has been filed. You've come to a decision point. Um, as a taxpayer, my concern is that the cascade of foreseeable consequences here. Bad law led to bad policy, which led to unnecessary and dangerous policing. There is an opportunity right now to find a different path. This situation, which has become a fiscal emergency in Modesto, is foreseeable, presentable, and is about to be devastatingly expensive. This is just the start. It's sewing discord in our community. Doubling down in defending against a preliminary injunction is wildly expensive. I don't know if the city understands how expensive this is about to be. The reality is Modesto is about to spend nearly half a million dollars to defend an unconstitutional ordinance. It does not serve the community. This council has turned the city of Modesto into an ACLU test case. You can do better. There is another way, a way to uphold community safety and well-being and respect the rights of citizens. I have heard council members say that they want to consider the public. But my question is, which public are you talking about? The community police review board recommended repeal. You've heard over 140 comments in favor of repeal, less than 10 in favor of support. The majority of comments were by younger residents of color. They have been ignored. They have been dismissed. and they have been alienated and otherred through this process for the last 10

months. Again, I ask, who is your public? Who are you listening to? Are you listening to Meers Nev? You're paying them. Of course, they want to tell you to continue with the lawsuit. They are a business and real estate litigation firm with a little tiny First Amendment practice with three lawyers in it against the ACLU. Like, what are you guys doing? There's a different, better way forward. Repealing the unconstitutional portions of the anti-protest statute is more than politics. It goes to values. Whether your concerns are the misallocation of public funds, upholding First Amendment rights, or the government limiting our closely held freedoms, whatever your primary concern is, there is another way here. repeal the areas of the the ordinance that are unconstitutional. Leave the rest. Leave the rest. You're not going to spend half a million dollars on this. You're going to pay Myers Nev half million dollars. You're going to pay the ACLU half a million dollars and you're going to leave us in exactly the same position. Thank you. You're welcome. Next, Ann Marie. Hello again, city council. M so it's already been made clear uh what the third amendment for the Meyers uh Nave um lawyer group is for uh but I'll just read I'll state it again. Um

this is to defend against a lawsuit brought forward by the ACLU regarding the Modesto ordinance title 4 chapter 23 section 12 subsection 13 I believe uh 15 and 18 as well. Um they're suing on behalf of local plaintiffs and also on behalf of a journalist union news guild regarding the unconstitutional nature of outlawing face coverings and basic personal protective gear at protests. I'm sure you have a copy of the complaint in your mailboxes somewhere. So you can read the full thing and see the ACLU is saying the same things your constituents have been coming here to tell you since June of 2025 that this ordinance is a violation of our freedom of expression and ability to protect ourselves from state retaliation when we exercise our constitutional right to protest and it is redundant, vague, and unconstitutional. Between peacefully repealing this ordinance and a lawsuit, you chose the lawsuit. So, I'd like to ask where is the money coming from for this? I want would like this answered directly. Is it coming from Measure H tax dollars? Since the MPD wanted this ordinance so badly, maybe it can come out of their $1 million annual budget. After all this time, I see why MPD wants this ordinance so bad. They want another justification to arrest those who dare to speak out against the violence perpetuated by the state, by our local government, by ICE. Because wearing a mask, protective gear, or bringing a metal water bottle or umbrella to a protest are not crimes. There's already a penal code that justifies arresting those who wear masks when they commit crimes. But peacefully protesting is not a crime, and MPD knows that. Unfortunately, our favorite fortune teller, Mr. Magnificico, had another group of politicians to entertain today. I'm sure some of you are very disappointed as you are big fans. But do we need him to predict that you will all vote unanimously to fund this lawsuit

anyways despite public outcry? So go ahead, play your politics. But these games you're playing affect real people's lives, including your constituents that you claim to care about. Go ahead and say in front of the good people of Modesto that you'd rather waste money on a lawsuit that you will lose instead of putting that money into food, homes, or transportation for your constituents. and go ahead and miss us with your hypocrisy when you privately tell us that you support us and love what we do, but then ignore us when it's convenient for your career. There's a lot of good happening in our city as we've seen today, but this is not one of them. It is a sane. You talk about loving art, expression, freedom, justice, love, but do you or do you just love to talk about it? Let me be plain. repeal the Modesto Municipal Code of Title 4 section 23 and the subsections listed in the lawsuit or pay money to lose a lawsuit. The choice is yours. Thank you.

You're welcome. Next is Gavin Bruce. Good evening, council. Um, I just wanted to um um reiterate some of the um uh comments brought up by uh some of the others tonight. Um I uh probably can't top any anything that they have already stated, but um I would just like to uh reiterate the ridiculousness of this prospect that we have before us tonight. um an additional $250,000 on top of the $100,000 already being paid to this law firm uh in order to again go against the ACLU. Um and it was mentioned right before this uh these public comments started that that 250,000 is just to to uh increase uh you know the max limit that you know that we would pay. But make no mistake I mean it hasn't been that long and we've already exceeded the 100,000. We are going to use the whole 250,000 and we'll probably be in this situation again in the not too distant future approving another 250,000. Again, we're going against the ACLU here. Um uh I also want to just reiterate that this council had approved the creation of the citizens review board um who had recommended along with as was mentioned before um hundreds of community members that have come up here against this ordinance. And despite the despite those comments from community members expressing um expressing our desire to have that ordinance removed and despite the recommendation from your own citizens review uh citizens review board, um I I think it was a a very big act of disrespect against all of these community members and all the community members that weren't at those meetings

to to express that opinion. and its disrespect against the citizens review board as well and their recommendations. It just showed us that you don't uh you don't take their uh their recommendations seriously. Um and uh unfortunately if you move forward with this uh with this item tonight, this is going to cost us dearly. Um $250,000 can go through to a lot more uh programs. um as was mentioned, housing, um roads, parks, there are countless things that it could go to. And I I frankly I've heard uh many uh this council and many other councils and committees say that we don't have the money. Whenever something is brought from the community, hey, we would like some investment in this park. We would like, you know, right now there's the 12mir River Regional Park plan and the uh you know, the the uh leadership says, you know, we don't have money. We're concerned with money. I never want to hear it again. if if you move forward with this item tonight. I never want to hear that there's no money ever again. Um so um so uh uh please um respect uh your community members. You've heard from the majority a massive amount of people. A vast majority have been opposed to this ordinance. And um yeah uh don't be giving wasting taxpayer money. It's irresponsible. Thank you. Thank you. Uh Francis Lopez, Mayor Swallen, and council members. I live in Modesto. I live in Rosa's district. I'm very impressed by what I've heard from the speakers who are telling you what they think about this agenda item. I think that this ordinance needs to be

reshaped, repealed, and I am very disappointed that the opinion of the Civilian Police Review Board did not seem to be heated in any way. Um, I do want to give you a little bit of background. I worked as a litigation parillegal in law firms in Beverly Hills, Los Angeles, San Francisco. I know how expensive it is to retain a law firm. I know what lawyers do. I know what unmmerritorious lawsuits look like. And one of the things that I personally am proud of is that the firm I worked at for 17 years in San Francisco did a lot of pro bono work and I got to work on on some of those cases, first amendment cases and others. And sometimes we partnered with the ACLU. So, you may have some really crap lawyers working in tandem with the ACLU against what you're doing here. And I want to thank all the speakers who have spoken out about this horrible ordinance. You have been very eloquent. Thank you.

You're welcome. Um, Anthony Drobnik, Madame Mayor, members of the council, tonight I have the pleasure of awarding this governing body a check for $349,500. Come on down. YOU'RE A WINNER. OH, LET'S THE PEOPLE AT ZOOM. SEE, don't cover your faces. WE KNOW YOU DON'T LIKE THAT. OKAY, THERE WE GO. Leave this here for y'all. So, because nobody on this council had the courage to speak up when our First Amendment freedoms were chilled by a bad ordinance, congratulations. This is what you get. Modesto is less free and less wealthy because of your inaction. Any one of you could have made a difference. You all chose not to. We don't want our tax dollars going to your frivolous lawsuits. When the city loses in court, we'll be out more than a third of a million dollars. With that kind of money, we could have bought over a million eggs, 85,000 cups of coffee, 60,000 gallons of gas, 185 months of rental assistance for low-income families struggling to pay their bills, 140 months of a Modesto City Council member's salary, 35 million pennies stacked all end to end, laid out nice and long, 20 million miles, enough to wrap around the whole earth. Or maybe I made those numbers up. I don't think you'd know the difference cuz if you understood basic math, we wouldn't be in this mess. When you look in the mirror, I need you to look back at yourself and know that you did not stand up for freedom. Fact of the matter, you didn't. The First Amendment was under attack and you chose political expediency and cowtowing to the police chief to cozy up and get an endorsement and and protect your own political futures instead of choosing the people

that you are supposed to represent. So, I can give you this check. cost me two bucks at the dollar store. A lot cheaper than the mess you've made for us. But what I wish I could give you is a reality check. Except I can't give you that because you DO NOT LISTEN TO US. If you did, you would have already amended or repealed this problematic ordinance. If there is any offramp still, please, I don't know what you discussed in close session and find some way to save face or just swallow your pride and fix it. This is not a lot to ask. That's for you. All right. Are there any other public comments regarding item 12?

All right. Um

Oh, sorry. Apologies. I did not fill out an additional card to talk about com uh number 12, but I am more prepared. I have a speech. Um I find it very fitting that I'm currently wearing a Karl Marx shirt while being here to talk about the misuse and unnecessary usage of public funds. If for many of you who may not know, Markx is the foremost philosopher humanity has ever produced and analyzing capitalism and how the social interactions between those who have and those who don't form human society. I am currently dipping my toes into the Marxist's ocean of analysis of capitalism and the human condition. And I promise you he has a quote on literally everything. And fittingly, I have brought one here today. Mark says in this case regarding local government, the state is the form in which the individuals of a ruling class assert their common interests. Very fitting because this mask mandate is not the interests of the workers. They are not the interest of the average citizen. They are not the interest of many people who have talked here today. This mask mandate only serves to further consolidate p consolidation of police power. Police power that works against the interests of the people they supposedly supposedly serve. And this could go all this could go all away so easily so so easily by just dropping the mask mandate. Hell, it even allows a city to relocate funds to better usage. On the agenda, there's already been talked about and I'm assuming it's been approved about a kids park. We could build more of those. Those are fantastic. Those are great usage of public funds. There also has been a talk about using it for dealing with the climate crisis, which needs to be addressed. That's easily funds we could do save for a rainy day for something like that. I'm

not smart enough to do that, but that definitely seems smart enough to put those funds away for that. But it is it is it is it is frustrating. I've been in these chambers many times. And I've also brought up how some people say that insanity is doing the same thing over and over and over and over again and expecting different results. And trust me, I feel insane doing that. I hopefully you guys feel insane that we have to keep bringing this up and keep allocating unnecessary funds for a lawsuit that could easily go away. A lawsuit against the ACLU. That's like suing a kindergarten. Like what are we doing here? And come on. Lastly, I'll leave it with this. Ladies, gentlemen, and however else you selfidentify, the state in this country makes me feel insane enough. Let's please not add my own city making it worse for me. Thank you.

You're welcome. Anyone else for item 12?

Well, I've been sitting here thinking about this and uh let's just take this down to the lowest common denominator. So, we've got a city that wants to defend an ordinance that prohibits people from wearing a mask during a protest and exercising their First Amendment rights while exercising their First Amendment rights. and believes that it is the will of the people of the city of Modesto that it carry this on to the point of bankrupting the city or ver or nearly bankrupting the city or at least bankrupting it enough that it doesn't have money for things like parks and roads and the basic services that the city is supposed to provide. So the lowest common denominator of this is that you were willing to put the services of the city, the expenditures of the city, and the things that the city is supposed to be doing. You're willing to put all of that at stake to defend what you think is a is some sort of a virtue or a right, which is to fight the First Amendment or to fight people who are exercising their First Amendment rights because you believe that principle is more important than anything else. I I don't understand it. Why not just give up the lawsuit and just, you know, um

give up the parts of that ordinance that are um violating people's first amendment rights. Violate those parts of the of the ordinance. I mean, excuse me, delete those parts of the ordinance and surrender the lawsuit and allow the city services to be able to be provided in such a way that the city is able to function. Once again, I I don't I don't understand what principle it is that is so important to you that you want to hold on to this and you're willing to risk losing basic services to for the city and you're willing to spend money that you don't have. I I don't understand what what it is that's so important to you. Maybe someone else can explain it to me, but I don't understand it. Thank you.

You're welcome. Next.

Hello, my name is Adakus Stenson. I'm a constituent of District 4. As if it's not enough that the anti-mask ordinance tramples on the rights of city residents to protect their privacy while practicing their First Amendment right to protest, now the city wants to spend another $250,000 defending this ill-considered ordinance instead of simply rescending it. If you all have so much money to burn, I'd expect Modesto could say, "House its homeless, improve its public spaces, expand its public services perhaps. Instead, you're doing this. Uh, why is there always the will among this city council to budget money for anything that extends the reach of law enforcement and never money for actually improving the city? In what way does this ordinance actually serve to make us safer? It doesn't. All it does is give law enforcement officers another tool to wield against free speech that they don't agree with, which was exactly how it was used during last year's ICE out protest. I was at that protest when the cops lined up and forced their way into a peaceful assembly to frog march out a gentleman who was doing nothing more aggressive than standing and listening to a presenter speak. I was there. Despite MPD's best efforts to stir up violence, it was a peaceful protest and it remained peaceful. This shameful ordinance is a tool of intimidation. Going so far to defend it makes you all complicit in the way law enforcement has abused it and will continue to abuse it if it is not rescended. Do any of you expect to get reelected, wasting city resources and curtailing your constituents rights like this? Do you even care?

I support the ACLU for standing up for the rights of Modesto residents when our city council isn't willing to.

Thank you. Anyone else regarding this item? My name is Eden Daniel. I am also a constituent of District 4. I used to be an investigative reporter in Turlock. I worked for a myriad of outlets and in a myriad of beats. In that time, I was stalked. I received emails and messages from someone who saw me on the job. And this was for years. I I had to endure harassment like this, contributing significantly to the stress that has now started to literally kill me. I was told by Tolllock Police Department that I had quote unquote excited another man uh who had assaulted me because he knew I was bisexual. I'm sure you can read between the lines. Or can you? Because I will remind you that the ACLU stands for the American Civil Liberties Union. The type of person who can't see the transparent villain in opposing American civil rights is quite interesting to me. I would far rather you contributed this money to the community police review board which was explicitly stated in December of 2025 to be underfunded. The same meeting where the ordinance was given additional problematic amendments. I have been a taxpayer in Modesto for years. I used to write for a Modesto community magazine that focused on the beautiful facets of the city. I want to love Modesto. In fact, I love that Modesto is home to people like the plaintiffs in the ACLU case. And it is my solemn belief that recognizing the beauty of such passionate voices is a responsibility of the city. In fact, I beg you, you should be encouraging brave people like the

plaintiffs in this case to approach a nationwide legal organization because that is what I love about Modesto. Thank you.

You're welcome. Juantes, West Modesto community leader. Um, I want to go ahead and second the comments made by Harlon. I think she said it well. I think we need to um repeal. We need to come back together as a group and kind of look at how we can go back to common sense law policy. Uh, I think tonight's a perfect time to pivot. Thanks.

You're welcome. Anyone else on item 12? All right. Uh seeing none, I will close public comments and ask uh council for any comments regarding this item. Uh all right, Council Member Alvarez. Wow.

Thank you, Mayor. Sorry, I had a a mint in my mouth I had to take out. Um, I'll be I I want to be comprehensive in in and I've not spoken on this publicly um in a while. So, I will be try to be comprehensive and respect uh everyone's uh time here. So, I represent district 2, which is the west side, southside, downtown, airport neighborhoods. Uh born and raised there. Family got there late60s. So, I understand historically the district and I also understand the district of today. So, District 2 is safer today than at any point in recent memory. Uh, that's not rhetoric. That's just reality. In the 80s, 90s, and early 2000s, District 2 struggled deeply with gang violence, drug activity, theft, and chronic crime. Families lived with instability uh that many newer residents may not fully remember. The progress we see today did not just happen by accident. It happened because sustained investments in public safety work. In 2022, voters overwhelmingly passed Measure H, approving approximately $39 million annually dedicated to public safety and safe and clean streets and parks. That vote was not uh that vote was decisive. It reflected a clear priority from the residents of Modesto that safety is first. Tonight we've heard passionate testimony and I and I respect every voter who who who had the courage to speak up and have consistently speak up on this. Uh I respect anyone who chooses to participate in in our civic process. But I also represent thousands of residents who are not here tonight. The silent majority of folks uh in district 2 that are not paid advocates.

They are not serving on boards or speaking on behalf of organizations. They are not serving uh their employer's interests. They are at home after a long day of work, making dinner, helping their kids with homework, as my fiance and I do every night when I'm not here on Tuesdays, preparing to wake up early to do it all over again tomorrow. Those are the folks I represent that elected me to represent them at this in this office. And what I hear from them is consistently simple, very simple. keep our neighborhoods safe, protect our businesses, maintain order, and be respons a responsible steward of our taxpayer dollars. Because of these decisions this council has made, prioritizing law enforcement resources, accountability, transparency, and fiscal discipline, Modesto is both safer and a more fiscally stable city than it has been in decades. So I cannot ignore that progress and I will not disregard the mandate voters gave me that public safety is first. Public safety is not theoretical for district 2 residents. It is lived experience. It's hardearned progress and it's something that we have a responsibility to protect.

Thank you, mayor. You're welcome. Any other comments from council members at this time? Uh, Vice Mayor Williams. Thank you, Mayor. Uh, that was well said, Councilman Alvarez, and thank you for that. All right. Any other comments from council members? All right. Seeing at this time, I'm going to clarify with our city attorney. I notice on item 12, there's two res uh resolutions. Should they be separate votes or one vote? They could be done together, mayor. That's the choosing of the council.

Okay. So, I have a uh resolution approving a fifth amendment to the legal services agreement with Swingle, Van Edgeman, and Heightinger, increasing the agreement amount by $250,000 for a total agreement amount not to exceed $1,450,000 for continued representation in tort cases and authorizing the city manager or his designate to execute the amendment. and a resolution approving a third amendment to the legal services agreement with Myers NAV amending the scope of work to include litigation and trial council support and increasing the agreement amount by $250,000 for a total agreement amount not to exceed $349,500 and authorizing the city manager's designate to execute the amendment. Uh do I have a motion?

Motion. Okay. Motion by council member Alvarez. Second by council member Wright. Will the clerk please call the role for this item? Council member Alvarez. Hi. Council member Ricky. No. Council member Bavaro. Hi. Vice Mayor Williams. Hi. Council member Wright. Hi. Council member Scutia Breton. Hi. And mayor Wallen. I. So it carries 61. All right. Uh at this time we're going to take a break for everyone's benefit. Uh we will return at um 8 p.m. Thank you.

All right. Uh, next on the agenda is, uh, council comments and reports. Do any council members have comments and reports this evening? Council member Scooy Brighten.

Thank you. Mhm. Um, a few of us, um, may the mayor, uh, Council Member Alvarez, Council Member Williams, and myself, um, as the immediate past president of the California League of Cities, Central Valley Division, attended since the last time we convened as a council, attended a the quarterly meeting, and it was in the city of Tracy at specifically Tracy City Hall. It was a very good meeting. It was representative of uh council members of throughout the valley and they convened at this meeting to discuss um um legislation and policy all impacting central valley and it was very informative um to see what the California legislature was working on on um and how it impacts our cities. Also, um, Assembly Member Rohdasia Ransom spoke and one of the things she mentioned was that the California Legislature um has assembled u what's called the California Legislative um Central Valley Caucus and that is a bipartisan entity whose main purpose is to convene and h in one voice talk about issues that impact impact central valley. So the fact that this legislative body has been put together specific to look over the best interests of Central Valley um was refreshing and I wish them well and I hope to that they were able to be fruitful in their work and and doing good for the Central Valley. Um also since the last time we met um we convened uh at a public um general plan workshop and I participated in that just like all my other colleagues did as well and it was very well attended by the general public and as all you all I'm sure you must know the general plan has not been updated since 1995. It's been

quite a long time and it is a critical document and blueprint for what Modesto will look like in years to come. And what I was so pleased to see is that so many people from the public were very interested in in expressing their opinion and giving us a lot of information for us to take into account um so that uh that general plan really reflects the entire communities. So that was done on a day that um the seventh street bridge the seventh street bridge replacement project also um uh was um there was a ceremony and as many of you know that that is a bridge that's over 100 years old but it was one of the top bridges in the nation that was needed repair and it was in disarray and it was basically dangerous. So, I'm glad that we are now focusing on that reconstruction and that's going to end up being a beautiful bridge. Much efforts being made to maintain the look and feel and a lot of its beauty that it has that it has. Um, so they're going to retain that. So, lots of good stuff going on the city Modesto and it's what's so beautiful about it is that it's done in unison with the community and um and we're moving forward in a very positive way. That's it. Thank you.

All right. Uh, Vice Mayor Williams. Thank you, Mayor. First thing I want to start off with, and it looks like he brought the Mabel crew in his district and wish our wonderful city council member David Wright. It's his birthday today. A

and he has a whole entourage over here from Maple Maple Avenue to celebrate with him. They didn't bring the cake though, but uh or maybe it's in the car or did it mount? Let me stop. Uh so also I wanted to uh make sure that the folks in the city of Modesto understand uh that there is uh no pain no gain. And what I'm talking about is all the traffic, all the traffic improvements that we're doing in the community. I have learned by our uh information officer Sonia who is going to update us weekly on the matter and she is going to get that information to us. So then that we can also turn it in to others in our community or in our prospective districts so that they can have an update weekly as to what's taking place when this will be completed when that will be completed. Really appreciate our information officer. Thank you very much for getting that uh to us in the next week. I believe it's going to happen. And then uh lastly, I was at uh a Buddhist temple dedication. They had been working on that since 2011. They started in 2007 and uh the Buddhist temple was dedicated off of Grimes Road. It's a beautiful facility. They have done marvelous work in that facility. Uh it is just incredible. and I was happy to represent the city Modesto in celebrating their dedication of that temple. And that should conclude it for today. Madame Mayor, thank you very much.

You're welcome. And council member Alvarez.

Thank you, Mayor. I'll be brief. In light of uh the recent uh horrible allegations of Caesar Chavez's wrongdoings, uh the city of Modesto is in collaboration with the West Modesto Community Collaborative and Dr. Perspective Munoz who is their executive director is hosting a community town hall uh tomorrow or sorry on the 9th in district 2 to discuss the process of renaming Caesar Chavez Park. Uh opening remarks will be given by myself and um I hope that folks can join me and to um express their their name ideas for a potential new name. So right now there's a process open that has been open for several days. It's open uh per the policy for 30 days and that 30-day mark is April 24th. So responses uh for new names will be collected and submitted to the city Modesto Culture Commission for review and the top three names will be then be uh recommended to the city council for uh vote on the ultimate new name. So, as uh District 2's um uh Caesar Chavez Park uh the largest park renovation in the city's history gets closer to completion, uh collaboration is critical to capture the sentiment of our community and to guarantee the name of the park reflects the shared values of of all residents. So, that's all, mayor. Thank you.

Uh you're welcome, Council Member Ricky.

I know you guys are getting tired of this, but here it goes. Uh it's time meow for uh Standards Los Animal Services Agency to address their structural problems. Okay. Due to the lack of a spay and neuter program, we have a massive feral uh dog and feral cat and stray dog overpopulation problem. And in recent years, animal services has somehow decided that they're just no longer responsible for managing local animal populations. And the results have been catastrophic. Um they make int intake difficult and they close it for months on end. They don't answer the phones. They require appointments to drop off strays and their strategy is focused on one thing which is lowering their youth in Asia rates which is a totally meaningless number because whether the dogs die in the streets or in the shelter, it's the exact same thing. And while it's admirable to get a $4,000 grant to do spay and neuter, that doesn't begin to address your responsibility to the community. You need to budget probably $400,000 for spay and neuter to address the problem. And that's your job. And we can't rely on grants to solve a problem that regular budgets do. And this is a pattern that Salsa has had for years. The shelter is in disarray because Salsa has just decided to let the animal population problem get totally out of control and we need them to adjust their budget and their fees to reflect the reality on our streets and so we know that budgets are coming up soon and so now is the time to address this and thank you again mayor.

You're welcome. Uh, I will just briefly mention that on March 14th, uh, Vice Mayor Williams and I attended, uh, the 10K with a cop. And, um, our detective Sha Dodge does an incredible job all year round. This starts in the fall of every school year with thousands of elementary students uh that he uh speaks to uh for positive self-esteem and relationships with officers as well as running and uh it's very motivational and the students show up. It's like a major marathon downtown Modesto and uh it's really exciting and it was fun to be a part of that again. On March 26th, I supported our series uh neighbor and attended uh Mayor Javier Lopez's state of the city address. And I want to invite everyone to our city of Modesto state of the city uh address and activities on Thursday, April 16th. Uh doors open at the state theater at 4:30 p.m. Uh with remarks beginning promptly at 5:30 p.m. Uh that's it for me. Any other comments? Seeing none, does the city manager have any comments and reports? Not tonight. Thank you. Next on the agenda is hearings. Item 30, hearing to amend the land use diagram of the Tivoli specific plan. Approve area plan number four for the Tivoli specific plan. Approve the Mabel Tivoli final development plan and approve the Mabel Tivoli vesting tenative subdivision map to divide 22.8 acres into 92 single family residential lots and we will have a staff report.

Great. Thank you, Mayor, City Council. Jessica Hill, director of community and economic development. So for a little bit of background regarding this project, Mabel Avenue Property submitted an application to the city on January 22nd, 2025. This application including four separate items. A specific plan amendment to amend the land use diagram, amendments to the Tivoli area plan number four, a vesting tenative subdivision map to subdivide 22.8 8 gross acres to 92 residential units and then a final development plan for setback and other development standards. So this is all in relation to the Tivoli specific plan which is about just over 450 acres and approved and annexed into the city around 2008. So for the first portion of the application the specific plan amendment. So, this needs to be completed prior to approval of the vesting tenative subdivision map for the proposed land use change. And so, you can see the cross-hatched area in the screen there where the applicants looking to change this land use designation of 2 acres from very low density residential to low density residential. And because this is an upzone, no SP 330 analysis is needed as we move on to the next section. In the next section is our area plan and an area plan needs to be completed for every project within the TIVY specific plan. This area in the specific plan is identified as area number four. And this plan reviews utility, circulation, landscape and connectivity to the neighboring parcels to ensure that uh the consistent consistency and alignment in these areas. Next up is the vesting tenative subdivision map. And so this is um again looking at the 22.8 8 acres and looking to subdivide them into 92 specific units. And so in order to do this, the project was referred out to all city departments and outside agencies to review the project and add any

associated conditions. All standard conditions were added to the project. And these are some key other conditions that were added. So there's the developer responsibility for the design of three proposed roundabouts along Bridgewood um and adjacent to the project limits. the design and installation of full street improvements along Bridgewood Way, full street improvements of street A, design and install the pedestrian PO and then a temporary gate on Mabel Avenue subject to the fire marshall and city engineer approval. And what this does is ensure that the ranchets on Mabel Avenue then have that separation with this gate um from the future development within Tivoli. So for the final development plan, the final development plan outlines the precise location of buildings, lot lines, setback and dimensions of all structures. We've reviewed all this information and it's alignment with city standards as well as the Tibill specific plan. So our planning commission meeting um it was moved forward from planning commission and approved 61. However, there was some concerned property owners on Mabel Avenue who had some concerns about some of the conditions. Some of the conditions were uh regarding the timing of Mabel Avenue improvements, single sttory homes adjacent to the current um homes, and then a 7-ft wooden fence. In working with both the applicant and the property, and our staff added the following conditions. First up is the future residential lots that are adjacent to these existing Mabel homes will be subject to the second the city's second story review process and that's required for all properties that are adjacent to singlestory homes that are two stories and so that is a a specific condition outlined in our conditions today. Also the developer is responsible for constructing a 7ft wooden fence. Traditionally, they're only required to do a 6ft wooden fence, but both parties agreed to the 7 foot wooden fence. And again, this is just adjacent to the uh current parcels along Mabel.

So, for the environmental, so the project was previously studied in this TIVY specific plan EIR and certified in 2008. The staff prepared an addendum to the final EIR which concludes no final revisions are necessary as a result of the project and an addendum was prepared to the environmental assessment. Like I spoke about the item was taken to planning commission on February 23rd and was approved 61. Before I move forward to the last one, I will mention the Mabel Avenue improvements. And so the Mabel Avenue improvements are actually going to be spoken about in the Parisian property just because the Parisian property is the one that actually triggers those improvements. So, that has been worked out. That will be at our next item. Um, and is not mentioned because this property does not trigger the Mabel Avenue improvements. So, with that, I'm happy to answer any questions.

All right. Uh, Council Member Bavaro. Thank you, Mayor. Question for Oh, yeah. Excuse me. Go ahead. Yep. Thank you, Mayor. Question for city attorney. I need to have a disclosure uh for the record that do I do it now or when do I do that?

You can. Um uh council member I think this is more of the expparte communications as far as folks meeting with uh with uh either the the property owners or developer or whatnot. So, for the record, I I did meet with uh the property owners uh on Mabel Avenue, east of Oakdale Road, uh both at City Hall, as well as uh at their properties on uh Mabel, as well as uh meeting uh with um representatives of the developers and the landowners. So, thank you. All right. Uh Vice Mayor Williams.

Thank you, Mayor. I also met with the Mabel neighborhood coalition or whatever you want to call them. And uh they were quite pleasant and uh it was great to meet you all. I only met you once. Huh. Oh, and I I also met the the distinguished gentleman in the camel jacket, uh Dave Romano as well in his office. All right. So, you can tell that we don't share information, which is a great sign for a city council. I too met with the members of each party as I think the majority of our council members did. It's part of the job

when it's not a confession. It's when people want to meet, we meet. Uh and that's good that we didn't um know who met or not. So that's a good thing. Uh all right. Any other uh questions from council for staff regarding item 30? Seeing none, I'll now open the public comment public hearing. Are there any members of the public that would like to come forward regarding item 30? I have uh four three cards that say item 30 and 31 and one that says just 31. Uh Do the members of the public want to speak on both of those items who have that listed? The first one is Becky Spear.

What could you just tell us what the difference between 30 and 31 is? Side of the street is south. Maple is behind us. Yeah. Yeah.

Okay. All I want to say is that um I appreciate what the planning department, the information they've given us. Uh Jessica specifically uh with the second story review. It's something that um uh gives us a tool to uh use and that information has been dispensed to the last four uh residents, me being one. Uh and so we know how that process works if if big if the builder decides to build wants to build a two-story home uh next to our singlestory home. So we appreciate that. We also appreciate the seven foot fence. So, I just want to make those remarks and we appreciate uh the planning department working with us as well as Mr. Romano and we love meeting with you and uh getting to know you and uh we appreciate your time to have met with us and listen to our concerns.

Thank you. Next is Bob um From this year. Oh gosh. You want to do on the back one or you want? Yeah, I was thinking I'd do 31. Next is uh Denny Jackman. I saw him here earlier, but I believe that he departed the meeting. All right. All right. Uh any other members of the public regarding item 30?

All right. Please step forward. I attended the U planning commission meeting and u went through the whole thing. Um so that's why I'm here. Um but what there were things that were brought up at this planning commission that are very disturbing because they're not actual facts. They're just uh myth and uh just myths. One of those was that farming uses more water than housing. Okay. Farming uses more unpottable water than housing uses. Housing uses potable watering. The two are not interchangeable. You can't well you can drink you can water with potable water but you can't drink water from the Sierras that come down the Talamy River until it's been purified. But the point was that farming uses more water than housing. And by gallonwise it's true, but it's different water. And the reason it's good water because what does the farming water do? It recharges your aquafer. So, you're getting recharged aquafer from the farming water. And that's what we need to recharge the aquafer. When you just have housing there, it just takes away water and that's it. It's not replenishing water to the area. Okay. So, that was one of the myths I wanted to talk about. The other myth I wanted to talk about is that you can mitigate the loss of prime farmland. That is a myth. That is a falsehood. You cannot mitigate the pro the loss of prime farmland because we have those three factors that I brought to your attention before. You have to have the

land, the good deep soil, you have to have the water, Don Pedro Dam, and you have to have the climate. We have all three of those. What they've mitigated already in this county is they put it down south of Patterson. They planted some uh almond trees there that's supposed to mitigate the loss of land in the other areas. You go down there, all the trees are dead because it's rocky soil. They don't have the water. They're dead. You're not replacing the farmland. So, what do we get back to? We get back to growing up and not out. And I'm sorry. I, you know, I hear so much of this. Oh, wow. There's going to be a two-story house across from my one-story house. My god, you plant a tree, a tree will grow 30 feet. a 35 foot sto uh building is actually a threestory building. A tree will cover that up. I don't know what people are. They're so I mean I'm not being you know I'm not picking anyone out but it's just so selfish to think of the fact that you know we're going to destroy the best foreign land on earth when we can build high-rise condos and apartment lands or apartment buildings um to take care of our housing needs. Let's see. I still have another second or two. Okay, the other second or two is Okay, thank you.

You're welcome. Thank you for being so polite and aware of time. All right, welcome.

Thank you, Mayor Dave Romano, on behalf of the uh applicant group. It's pleasure to be here. um you know in 2007208 we had a big arm wrestle with the Mabel neighborhood at that time over the commercial and what was going to be done with the neighborhood and I think we threaded that needle. we got to a spot where they were supportive of the project and we're able to move the project forward. And again, we're developing near their homes and they have questions and concerns and not everybody gets everything they want, but I think in this circumstance, everybody got everything they needed and we worked really hard and we'll talk a little bit more about it on the next application. But I really do want to commend um Miss Hill and Mr. Wells. They really worked hard to come up with conditions that they felt worked well for the city, work well for the neighborhood, work well for the developer. So, um, we're going to ask for your approval, but since Denny's name is mentioned and I wished he was here and since Milt wanted to talk a little bit about Ag Soil, you know, I can take you back 20 or 30 years when Denny was on the city council and Bruce Froman was on the city council and Tim Fischer was on the city council and what were they all telling us? We need to grow to the north and the east. We actually need to grow in village one and we need to grow where Tivoli is because these are our lesser soils. And we can have an argument over whether they're class two and class three or class one. But we were actually directed to grow in this in this area. And this property was acquired over 30 years ago for growth. And if you try to dig a hole and plant a tree, you may hit some hard pan. And if you expect that water to perch into the deep aquifer, it may just sit in a perched area. And so, you know, it's nice to say that everything is of equal quality. Uh but we were really directed to move over here and we think this is appropriate place for development. We appreciate the planning commission's deliberation comes to you with a recommendation for approval. So we would ask for your approval.

Thank you. Any other comments regarding item 30 from the from the public? All right. Um seeing none, I will close public comments. Any comments from council members? Council member Scooty Brighten. Thank you. And um would it be okay in addition to my comments, can I ask a very simple, concise question? Sure.

I'm so sorry. Um Jessica, you had made reference and I'm not quite sure if you elaborated on what um is likely when you made reference to a temporary gate on Mabel Avenue subject to fire marshall and city engineer approval. What length of time are we really looking out for that temporary gate? So, the future Mabel um or the current Mabel Avenue is going to be future Mabel Court. And so, we'd want to ensure that we have that gate until the the complete improvements are done for the culde-sac of the court.

Okay. Okay. All right. Thank you. Um and having served on the um planning commission for several years, I um saw that a lot of community concern surfaced when there was seconds story development to singlestory residential areas. And um having served that long, I saw the development occur and the um s second story provisions be enacted and they always worked well and everyone was happy because those um mandates, those provisions really do provide for security and safety of the entire community. So they work well. So I would hope that everyone would trust that they are going to do their job. I also um um um met with um one of the parties um the residential community and had a very lengthy um conversation on their perspective. It was very interesting. I did not have the opportunity to meet with the developers. Um but um just wanted to make that transparent. Um, there was one other question I had other the last comment I have is I I gotta give kudos to our our our staff, everyone, because they have really bent over backwards to um meet the community halfway and really understand their needs. Um they started off with a good plan and it was what it was. But when the community stepped forward and expressed their concerns and reservations, um our staff really stepped up and were open to hear and to compromise. And I just think that that is a wonderful um professional group and I appreciate that they do that and they they work with um with good intention and I love that they represent the city.

Thank you. That's all I have to say. All right, Council Member Bavaro. Uh thank you, mayor. Um question for uh Jessica. Thank you. Um on Oakdale Road south of Mabel, that will be four lanes. Am I correct? You confirmed that there's going to be four lanes. Yes.

Okay. Thank you. I just want to make sure on that. And number two, you know, um, on building up instead of out, do we get very many inquiries from developers about permits on growing up? I know that we did have one on Coffee Road. It was landfill that converted from professional offices back to residential. That's going to be what, three or four stories. But do we, you know, I like the idea and as well. I mean, I think that's good use of uh land use, but do we do we get inquiries from developers?

No, we don't. And we even reach out and speak to them and right now there's they're stating there's a trouble with financing that type. Okay. Thank you. And also would like to echo uh Rose's comments about our staff. Um, first of all, not everybody's going to get everything they want, but our staff, from what I hear from all parties involved, our staff and Jessica's department really went the extra mile to get this done. And, um, the communication is is a standard for other cities to follow. That's that's all I have to say about that. Thank you.

All right. Um, Council Member Ricky.

Thanks, Mayor. Uh, I also want to echo uh uh Council Member Babaro and Council Member Scia Brighton. I really appreciate our staff and how hard they work on this stuff. It's hard and the compromises were impressive. So, I'm really pleased with it. Um, but I do want to address like the building up uh issue because it's something we all want. We want to see building up. We don't want to be building out. We don't want endless sprawl. Like, nobody wants that. But when our neighbors are expanding 500%, uh, it's going one it's going to one city or the other. Basically, that's kind of where it's at. And the problem is it's math. The problem is math. If you're building a single family home, let's say it's going to sell for around 400K. If you're building a high-rise, you're looking at like 600K. It's just math. And so until the county or whoever laughco whoever's in charge of that whole charade deals with that particular issue and makes it so you aren't continuing to sprawl out. Uh we're going to be stuck in this conundrum. So if we want to address it, we have to address it. But if we can't, we have to have housing. And we're in a housing shortage right now. It's a housing emergency in this state. We've got uh one-bedroom apartments in this city costing $1,600. It's ridiculous. And so we have to we have to increase supply. Thank you.

All right. Uh Vice Mayor Williams. Thank you, Mayor. And I also agree with all of my colleagues, but the one uh person I do want to also say thank you to is Toby Wells, who really does a great job working with the economic development and uh sleepless nights, I'm sure, trying to figure all these things out. So, thank you very much, Toby Wells, and your staff. General. All right. Any other comments from council members? All right. We'll have to do four. We will do four separate votes on this. I need have a resolution approving specific plan amendment number eight to the typoly specific plan. Do I have a motion? So move. Second.

Motion by council member Wright. Second by council member Ricky. Will the clerk please call the role? Council member Alvarez. Hi. Council member Ricky. Hi. Council member Bavaro. I. Vice Mayor Williams. Hi. Council member Wright. Hi. Council member Scutia Breton. Hi. And mayor Walla. I. Carries unanimously. I have a resolution approving area plan number four to the Tivoli specific plan and the Tivol in the Tivoli specific plan. Do I have a motion? So move. Motion by council member Right. Second by Vice Mayor Williams. Will the clerk please call the role? Council member Alvarez. Hi. Council member Ricky. Hi. Council member Bavaro. Hi. Vice Mayor Williams. Hi. Council member Wright. Hi. Council member Scutia. Hi. And mayors Wallen.

I carries unanimously. I have a resolution approving the vesting tentative subdivision map of Tib Tivoli Maple Parcel. So moved. Motion by council member Ricky. Second. Second by council member Scooty Brighton. Will the clerk please call the role? Council member Alvarez. Hi. Council member Ricky. Hi. Council member Bavaro. Hi. Vice Mayor Williams. Hi. Council member Wright. Hi. Council member Scooty Brighton. Hi. And mayor Swallen. I. Carries unanimously. I have a resolution approving the final development plan of Tivoli Mabel Parcel. Do I have a motion? Motion. Motion by Vice Mayor Williams. Second. Second by Council Member Wright. Will the clerk please call the role? Council member Alvarez. Hi. Council member Ricky. Hi. Council member Bavaro. I.

Vice Mayor Williams. Hi. Council member Wright. Hi. Council member Scootia Breton. Hi. And mayor Wallen. I carries 70. Uh, next is item 31. A hearing to consider approving the proposed amendment to the land use diagram of the Tivoli specific plan with proposed adoption of Tivoli area plan number one, the Alves Tivoli and Parisian Tivoli vesting tenative subdivision maps and final development plans together with an amendment to the land use element of the general plan and we will have a staff report.

Great. Thank you. Mayor, City Council, Jessica Hill, director of community and economic development. So, for a little bit of background on these two properties, the applications were also received on January 2nd, 2025. And between these two applications, they were looking for four approvals on the Alves map and then two approvals on the Parisian map. So, I'm going to go through what those approvals are. So overall the Tivoli specific plan like I talked about was adopted and annexed in 2008 and is just over 450 acres. So the proposed um projects are above. So we're talking about the two northern properties or the green and blue properties here. So first up for the Alves um we're going to be requesting a specific plan amendment. So this needs to be completed prior to the approval of the vesting tenative subd subdivision map due to the land use change. So the applicant's looking to change the land use just designation from 6 acres of medium high density to low density due to market demands and financing. In order to facilitate this and when any down zoning is proposed state requires jurisdictions to demonstrate upzone elsewhere to result in no net loss and this is called SB 330. So the amendment from medium high to low shows a density loss of 96 units. Um we have an item later regarding a general plan amendment um for regional commercial which would potentially lose 64 units. But we do and you just approved an amendment from very low to low density that adds 10 units. And so with all of this math that we're doing, we also are taking in account to the recent annexation we had in the city of Founders Point East. With that, 70 acres was transitioned from business park to residential, resulting in 420 new units that we never anticipated here in the city. So overall through this fiscal analysis, we do have a net increase of units of 270 units.

So as we look at the area plan, this is area plan number one. Again, this aerial plan is required by the Tivoli specific plan and just ensures all the neighboring parcels are connecting to ensure alignment with utility, circulation, landscaping, and connectivity. Next up is a vesting tenative subdivision map for owls. And so again, this project was referred out to all city departments and outside agencies to review and add any associated conditions. All standard conditions were added. Some key other conditions was full street improvements and associated landscaping along K Street and Southern Travel Lanes are in Clarentina, pedestrian improvements connecting the subdivision to Oakdale Road or Silvin Avenue as applicable. And then to design and install a CMU Wolf against Clarentina Avenue frontages. This again also acknowledges the temporary gate along Mabel Avenue subject to the approval of the fire marshall and city engineer. So then the final development plans the last things for owls which again outlines a precise location of buildings lot lines and setback dimensions and this all aligns with the Tilly specific plan and city standards. So now we'll move on to the Parisian map. So the Parisian map's looking to develop 17.4 acres into 97 lots in phase 2 and 13 lots on Mabel Avenue in phase phase one and then phase two. And in order to do this, we have a vesting tenative subdivision map and a final development plan. So again, as we're looking at the vesting tenative subdivision map, it was referred to all city departments and outside agencies and all standard conditions were added to this project. So because of the proximity of the parcels, if per region constructs before ALS, all ALS conditions will also apply to this subdivisions. Some key things um that I also wanted just to highlight was again the temporary gate associated with it and the design and construct of the full frontage improvements adjacent to the project.

So following the planning commission meeting the property owners on Mabel had some concerns regarding the conditions. They had the three concerns we talked about in our last one. The Mabel Avenue improvements, the singlestory homes and then the 7 foot wooden fence. As we worked with the property owners, we were able to resolve the first two ones, which is the seconds story guidelines and the uh homes that are adjacent to the current Mabel properties as well as a 7 foot wooden fence in those areas. So within the um Tivoli specific plan um the Mabel Avenue improvements and the and the Mabel Avenue improvements are specifically identified in the specific plan and it says Mabel Court will be constructed and in place prior to issuance of any certificates of occupancy in the regional serving commercial construction will include the underground utility sewer and water service um subs and 5t behind the curve on the south side of Maple. And so it's all kind of tied to the regional serving commercial. So when we brought this forward to planning commission, we actually said we know regional serving commercial is not moving forward now, but we do have some property that's adjacent to to Mabel Avenue, which we want to make sure that we address this as well. And so what we originally stated is that in phase two, so Parisian has phase one, which is the smaller lots and phase two to the area that's along Maple. So at phase two of the larger lots along Mabel that would trigger the improvements on Mabel Avenue and that was the concern that the Mabel property owners had um as we brought this forward to planning commission and so city um has been working very closely with both um the project applicants as well as the Mabel Avenue property owners and we were able to come up with a solution. So, this solution is amended in a resolution before you today. But with that, uh, the property owners have agreed to instead of the Mabel improvements being triggered by phase 2, they've agreed

that the Mabel improvements will be triggered by phase one. So, before you is the specific condition that's outlined with the changes that is also outlined in our amended resolution today. Key things regarding this is um that will include all of the road improvements to the Tivoli specific plan standards which will include sidewalk to the north but it will only be curb and gutter on the south because that's what the MAL property owners requested. It's not going to be an overlay. It's actually going to be full construction of the street as well. And so I know those are two kind of outstanding questions that the property owners did have that the sidewalk would be installed with this and the actual roadway would be. The reason why the culde-sac cannot be completed at this time is right now we don't have another entryway to Mabel Avenue in order for them to have the entry exit to their property. And so everyone does know that the culde-sac will happen in the future. Um, but it is something that will have to be triggered by either that phase two or when we get the roadway improvements to have another access point for Mabel Avenue. So, next up is the final development plan for the Parisian property where again this outlines the pre precise location of buildings, lot lines and setbacks. Again, this aligns with the typally specific plan and city standards. So another thing so we are proposing a general plan amendment to the land use element to reconcile an inconsistency was that was done in 2022. So in 2022 we did both a specific plan amendment and a general plan amendment for the Arcadia property which was um another property which is currently developing in Tiboli. When this was done you can see the cross-hatched areas on the map above was inadvertently changed to residential instead of regional serving commercial. And so this is reflected in our specific plan. We just need a formal action to ensure it's properly reflected in our general plan as well. So um again this was previously said in

our specific plan EIR. We prepared an addendum um for the environmental assessments which um no major revisions to the final EI are necessary and this item was taken to council on February 23rd and it was approved 61. With that I'm happy to answer any questions. All right. Thank you very much for your presentation. Uh any questions? Council member Wright. Thank you, Mayor. I do have a couple of questions. Uh am I on? Yeah. Okay. Yes.

Um so on the gate that they want up on Mabel right now, it's a dead end street at Mabel and it it's it's have to be approved by the fire marshall and then also the uh city engineering. Correct. Is there any chance of it not being approved? They would just want to ensure that the gate had proper access. Um it wouldn't be something that a gate would not exist. It just m make sure that the type of gate that's determined at the time has the proper city city. So there's no indication that a gate would not be um approved.

Correct. So yes. And then also on phase two, um do we have any indication uh when phase two will start being developed? Um we are working directly with the property owners at this point. And so I anticipate after these or if these get approved, there's going to be some conversations on when potentially either phase could be sold. And do we have any um commercial uh entities out there that are interested in that piece of property? We've had different inquiries that were hopeful that this could be brought forward in the future as well. Thank you.

All right. Uh any other questions from council members regarding item 31? Questions? Questions? Going once. Going. Okay. All right. I will now open the public hearing. Uh and I will read the names for the speakers. Becky Spear.

Thank you, Mayor and Council members. Um, this blew my original presentation out the window uh today when I received the the call from an email from Jessica. I'll just start with saying that in 2005, as Mr. Romano indicated those of us in our little swath of Mabel banded together to initiate what turned out to be a three-year expensive negotiation with developers regarding the Tivoli specific plan which would eventually surround our homes with new development. At the time, we were told a regional shopping center was to be built directly across from our eight homes. The resolution approved by the planning commission in February put us in a phase two postponing Mabel Road construction and infrastructure until the reduced size RSC1 was constructed. This was not in accordance to the Tivoli plan. The trigger for Mabel Road improvements and infrastructure is the original area of RSC1 uh that was turned into residential. We've retained an attorney to represent us and I believe you've received a written notification from him regarding our opposition to those changes and we really prefer not to take legal action. Um and but we're prepared to do so just as we did 20 years ago. However, just this afternoon, we received a phone call and an email from Jessica Hill with a new proposal with uh the amendments that she indicated basically that our road improvement and infrastructure will be included in phase one, which made us very happy. And we feel like our efforts in meeting with all of you helped that process, helped you at least understand where we were coming from. We've never opposed the the development. We've never said no, we don't want it at all. We just said we want to protect our homes. Um Jessica answered all of the questions I had regarding the aspects of the

proposal. So thank you Jessica for that. Um I do want to understand that the west end of the court will be constructed in concert with phase two and the temporary gate will be uh placed on the east end of our street until the west end of the court is completed in phase two. I believe that that is the uh the case. Um I want to thank you again for meeting with us. We know that you're busy people. We know you have other jobs besides this, but taking the time to meet with us meant a lot to us and uh we felt like that you listened and that you uh represented us well in that process and we appreciate that and we appreciate Mr. Romano and his willingness to meet with us as well. Thank you.

You're welcome. Uh, next is Bob Promos. Yes, pardon me,

Mayor and uh, council members, thank you so much. I appreciate appreciate your job. You have a hard job. Just spent three hours watching you in action. Um, I really uh have pretty much uh been I guess the the things that have happened in the past couple of days has sort of um emptied what I needed to say. So, um it looks like the things that that I was concerned with are are being resolved. I just want to make sure you understand that uh the RSC1 and I I'm sure you do at this point. The RSC1 was the entire Pregian project, the residential and and the uh the what's left of the RSC1. And that was meant to to fund the uh Mabel uh the Mabel Court development. And so I think that was changed in in 22 and it was that area RSC1 was reduced by about 40%. And and that area was turned into residential. So, um, we're just concerned that, uh, the the the payment, you know, the the amount of money that's going to cost to develop our court, um, which is an obligation apparently by, uh, by the specific plan from 2008. Uh, we just want to be sure that that's funded somehow. I'm not sure how that's going to work, but, uh, we we trust you guys and trust the developers that they're going to get the job done. And uh thank you so much again for for hearing us and uh taking us seriously and uh I'll just leave it at that. Thanks.

You're welcome. Uh next is Scott Spear.

Okay. Uh thank you, Mayor Council. Uh my name is Scott Spear. I'm the son of Randy and Becky Spear. Uh Mabel Avenue residents. Um, I was, uh, on Maple Avenue for the bulk of my life. Um, I'm a city planner. I'm currently the planning manager of one of the largest cities in the state. Um, so I speak from professional experience, not just some rando. Um, Tivoli policy 5.1.1 repres uh requires Mabel Avenue to be improved before any certificate of occupancy is issued within the original RSC1 area. Several years ago, almost half of RSC1 was relabeled to lowdensity residential as part of the Arcadia thing getting more density. Uh that relabeled area is now the Preian map. The developer's original claim that re relabeling removes the obligation to construct Mabel um is obviously incorrect. Um changing a label doesn't eliminate a requirement just like changing my name doesn't get me off a speeding ticket or something. uh not requiring maple court to be constructed prior to Parisian uh would have violated the Tivoli Pacific plan and it's adopted EIR and would have exposed the city to litigation. So I'm very grateful that that did not happen. Um, even the EI addendum that was uh done for the preing project did state that Mabel Avenue was part of its off-site improvements and it did not state any other um timeline or trigger aside from what's already in Tivoli. So, that's good that that's staying. Uh, luckily staff has added this requirement as a condition. Um, and they have also made it clear that it's not just the southside, it's the north side, too. It's the whole street. I'm I'm really grateful for that. Um, I would just like to conclude that um I'm thankful that staff has realized

all this that they have added the condition to improve the street. Um, it is a sad reality that the residents had to retain legal counsel to get the staff to enforce the requirements of Tivoli, but I'm glad that it's worked out in the end, and I'm grateful for your time. I still have a minute, but I'm gonna leave it up to you. All right. Thank you. Anyone else regarding that would like to speak regarding item 31? I did have Denny Jackman's blue card, but one more chance in case he's hiding, but I don't see him. So, that's it.

Mayor and council, it's time to make the statement again. I think I've done it before. No one pays me to come to these meetings. I get absolutely no money. I take time out of my own life to come to these meetings because I'm concerned about our children and our descendants. And this is the perfect example of high-rise apartments and condos. You just took out 75 residents resident places by taking out the apartment building complexes in this project. At least that's what I understand. Okay. If you're going to continue to do this, we're never going to get high-rise apartments and condos in Modesto. It's never going to happen. You are the people that are have to going to enforce this. These people are not going to enforce it. The developers make more money building single family homes than they do building multi family homes and also unless they're high-rise condos. But also, it is the financing. But you still look to the cities to the south. Merced has just unbelievably number unbelievable number of three two and threetory apartment complexes and condos. Turlock is now building one on Monav Vista and actually it's built next to a single family home on the same footprint. We have two footprints and what do you think on the threestory apartment complexes you get three times as many housing units as you do on the single story. two footprints, same thing. It is going to be you up there that make the difference because Reena numbers are actually all phony. There is no there's no stipulation that says you have to follow the Reena numbers and it's never going to be followed because the developers can make more money. They're not concerned about our children, our descendants. They don't give a damn. They give money, money, money. Give me

money. I'm sorry. I'm getting excited, but I see this all the time. It is true because it's all right. It's it's your time, Melt. Please continue.

Okay. But this is what I'm seeing. It's not going to stop. If the developers have their way, and that's what's happening here in Modesto. The developers have their way. You're going to have to stop it because Reena numbers are not enforcable. You are going to have to stop it as a body. You're going to have to stop it as a body and say, "Okay, well, you can't take this out. Why did you let them? Why did you allow them to do that? Because it's dealing and wheeling. Dealing and wheeling or wheeling and dealing. It's not helping you. It's not helping our children and descendants in the future. It's not It's They'll go all the way to Stannislas River. They don't care about farmland. They don't care about food. They don't care. And we're going to see climate change. We're going to see droughts. And they're going to be bad. So, we have to think this through and do the right thing. Thank you.

You're welcome. Anyone else that would like to comment from the public on item 31, please?

Hi. Uh, good evening again. Um, if I could, I might want start with a comment and then ask a couple of questions maybe for Jessica if you'd be able to clear some things up for me. Um, so first I wanted to reiterate um, and I know people say this all the time, so I don't want to be a dead horse, but um, uh, we do have some of the best soils in the world here for, uh, for agriculture, for growing food that obviously we need in order to survive. Um, I also want to reiterate the point about climate change. So, um, we're projected to have much more drought years, but then also they'll be punctuated by extremely wet years. And when you have a warming climate, um you have warmer winters, but you get a massive amount of water like we did in uh 2021 2022, um there are that all comes down as uh as rain. It all comes down as water. It doesn't get locked up there in the Sierra snowpack anymore because we're not going to have snowpack in the future. So you have three like one way I think that's helpful to think about it for me anyway is there are three um water storage uh infrastructures that we have obviously we have the dams uh we have the snow pack and then the third one we have is our soils here that are uh when they flood they uh replenish our groundwater and that's another uh that that is another huge asset that we have uh right here literally under our feet um in order to uh to draw from for water storage. Uh so please when you think about about how we're using our lands, it's it's not just you know agriculture is not just a nice thing to have. It's not just nice to have uh you know healthy soils. It's actually an essential piece of infrastructure that I think that we constantly um negate and overlook uh to our detriment. um the uh so I just want to start saying that um but uh specifically to this thing some of the things that were made up maybe um

if if you know the um if they can be answered um so there's uh market demands had been brought up as a reason for reducing from the um uh medium density to low density um and I'm curious to know a little bit more about what the dynamics of those market demands look like because we are in a housing crisis as you all had mentioned um So I'm not sure what what uh the market demand look like looks like and how that has been um sort of assessed in terms of going from high density to low density. It's all housing. Um and then also there was a um mention about uh some financing in order in order to get uh you know developers to build uh you know higherrise buildings and infill and stuff like that that they don't have the financing. Um, but I'm kind of wondering what's the difference between here and down in Merrced or Fresno or Sacramento or any of the other places in the valley where they are building infill. Um, and then the last thing and I think it's is it SP33 I think. Um, so what would keep us from being able to comply with that mitigation of like you know downzoning uh but being able to keep the same amount of housing units in our um in our uh plan. uh what what mechanisms are to keep us from say saying saying like you know on these 10 acres over here we're just going to put all of the housing numbers on there and we'll just change all of the other zoned areas for high density down to low density and we're going to put it all in one big mythical high-rise that we know is never going to get built. Um so I'm wondering like like what that looks like. I'm sure there's mechanisms in there to keep that from happening. So anyway, I appreciate it. Thank you.

You're welcome. Thank you. So I do have three questions that I heard from Gavin today. So one was the market demand. And so what we did is we actually received the application in January 22nd, 2025 from the property owner looking to make this change. And so this wasn't a change initiated by city staff or initiated by city at all. It was something that the property owner was looking to see if the city would then consider. Um, in regards to financing, um, you know, I could see in Merrced and Trow there could be a higher demand, especially for the student housing component. I do think that we do need more apartments here as well. Again, this is just kind of feedback we've received from um, different developers that we've spoke to. Last up with SB 330 is this again is a requirement by the state just to ensure that we plan for the same number h of housing units and never not plan or plan for less. And so um the state does look at other jurisdictions who are doing these types of things to ensure that we are not planning for less or have a mythical thing but that is something that's monitored by the state and then our analysis was on the PowerPoint tonight. Thank you.

All right. Thank you. Any other public comments uh regarding item 31? All right. Um, seeing none, I will close public comments and any uh comments from council members. Uh, council member Wright.

Thank you, mayor. I want to thank you for coming out and um sharing with us your concerns and after our meeting uh I did have some concerns about your street and uh uh when you're promised something and it seems like someone's taking it away or moving it down kicking it down kicking the can down the road that does concern me and I I reached out to the staff and I I want to commend our staff to really look at some alternatives what we could do to take care of Mabel. I've been down Mabel several times. I only live about two blocks away from Mabel. So, uh I know I have to put my car in four-wheel drive, my truck, and to go down Maple sometimes. And uh I really uh appreciate staff to really um thinking outside the box to really accommodate this and everything. So, uh my hats off to you, uh for bringing that to our attention and also my hats off to our staff to really working hard to make sure that this all works. We do listen to our residents in Modesto. Our staff listens to our residents and we want to make this a great city for everyone. So, thank you again for coming out. Thank you, Mayor.

Uhu. Council member Ricky.

Thanks, Mayor. I just want to say like this whole process isn't wheeling and dealing. It's just it's just math and it's free markets. So, if you're a developer and you know, Modesta requires you to build up and it costs $200,000 extra per unit, you got Riverbank next door who's building hundreds of houses and has been for the last 20 years, you just build them there. So, until that that's the fight that you need to fight if you actually care about this, coming here and telling us about it is not going to fix the problem. The actual problem is that you got other communities that also have this whole set of rules and are doing it a different way. And so that as long as developers have that option in this geographical area, Stansel County, that's how it's going to be. So that's where the actual change needs to be.

All right, Vice Mayor Williams.

Thank you, Mayor. Uh, I'd like to thank we thanked a lot of people today, but I'd really would like to thank the the developers uh who had the foresight who sat on property for years and years and years and years and were patient enough to make this happen uh today or in this time that we're in. Uh so I congratulate them all of them and I thank them uh for investing in the city of Modesto. Uh, I think that's wonderful. And I also am uh pleased and thankful that the now that the Mabel neighborhood uh has a document that they can take to the bank. And we appreciate you coming to us and showing us speaking with us and being pleasant with us. That's the most important thing. You all were very pleasant and we don't get that all the time. Obviously, you saw that tonight, but thank you for being pleasant. And again, uh, Dave Romano, thank all of those, uh, developers and land owners who just said, "Well, we're going to sit on it until it happens, and it's happening, and we're happy that it's happening." That's it, mayor.

All right. Any other comments from council members? All right. This will be uh, seven individual votes. So, I have Oh, sorry. There is one resolution that is going to be as amended. It was the handouts for today. And so do we have it on the I do have it on the PowerPoint Andrea. So it is resolution approving the besting tenative subdivision map of Tivoli Parisian as amended. So is that an is that an additional

that's all right. So where is that oneision? Right. That's this one. Correct. So, as amended. And hopefully by next meeting I will have great vision. This has been a challenge. All right. First, a resolution approving specific plan amendment number seven to the Tivoli specific plan to amend the land use diagram of 6 acres for mediumigh density residential to low density resolution. Do I have a motion? So moved.

Second. Motion by council member Wright, second by Vice Mayor Williams. Will the clerk please call the role for this item? Council member Alvarez. I. Council member Ricky. Council member Bavaro. Hi. Vice Mayor Williams. Hi. Council member Wright. Hi. Council member Scutia Breton. Hi. And mayor Wallen. I a resolution that was unanimous. A resol resolution approving area plan number one in the Tivoli specific plan property located between Mabel Avenue and future Claritina Avenue east of Oakdale Road. Do I have a motion? So move. Motion by Council Member Wright, second by Vice Mayor Williams. Will the clerk please call the role? Council member Alvarez. I. Council member Ricky. Hi. Council member Bavaro

I. Vice Mayor Williams. Hi. Council member Wright. I. Council member Scutia. Hi. And mayor Wallen. I. Carries unanimously. A resolution approving the vesting tended subdivision map of Tivoli Owls. Do I have a motion? So moved. Second. Motion by council member Bavaro. Second by council member Scooty Brighton. Will the clerk please call the role? Council member Alvarez. Hi. Council member Ricky. Hi. Council member Bavaro. Hi. Vice Mayor Williams. I council member Wright I council member Scutia break I and mayor Wallen I carries unanimously a resolution approving the vesting tenative subdivision map of Tivoli Parisian as amended. So move motion by council member Wright.

Second second by coun Vice Mayor Williams. Will the clerk please call the role? Council member Alvarez. Hi. Council member Ricky. Hi. Council member Bavaro. Hi. Vice Mayor Williams. Hi. Council member Wright. Hi. Council members Goodier Breton and Mayor Zwellen. I carries unanimously. A resolution approving the final development plan for Tibbley Owls. Motion to approve. Motion by Council Member Scooby Brighten. Second by Council Member Ricky. Will the clerk please call the role? Council member Alvarez. I. Council member Ricky. I. Council member Pavaro. I. Vice Mayor Williams. I. Council member Wright. Hi. Council member Scutia Brighton. Hi. And Mayor Zwellen.

Hi. Carries unanimously. Resolution approving the final development plan for Tivoli Parisian. Salute. Second. Motion by council member Ricky. Second by council member Alvarez. Will the clerk please call the role? Council member Alvarez. Hi. Council member Ricky. Hi. Council member Bavaro. Hi. Vice Mayor Williams. Hi. Council member Wright. Hi. Council member Squidier Brighton. Hi. And Mayor Swallen. I carries unanimously. Uh resolution adopting an amendment to the general plan to restore the designation of 8 acres to regional commercial from residential to reconcile inconsistency between the general plan and the land use diagram of the Tivoli specific plan. Do I have a motion? Motion by council member Alvarez.

Second. Second by council member Scootia Brighten. And will the clerk please call the role? Council member Alvarez. Hi. Council member Ricky. Hi. Council member Bavaro. Hi. Vice Mayor Williams. Hi. Council member Wright. Hi. Council member Scootia Breton. Hi. And Mayor Swallen. Hi. Carries unanimously. Uh, okay. Are there any matters too late for the agenda? Seeing none, I'm calling this meeting of the city council to be adjourned.