City Council - Regular Meeting

If having reached the hour of 5 30 p.m. I'm calling the April 7th, 2026 Modesto City Council meeting to order and ask the City Clerk to please call the roll. Council Member Alvarez.

Here.

Council Member Rickey. Here. Council Member Bavaro.

Here.

Vice Mayor Williams. Here. Council Member Wright. Here. Council Member Sklickier-Brachan. Here.

And Mayor Zwollin.

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. I can read and see you all very well. This is 2020 as of last Wednesday, but just bear with me if I struggle a little bit 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 Crager, Modesto Covenant Church.

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 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 more 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.

You get 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 Franzine 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 closed session?

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 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 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 a way that words cannot. It can also preserve our history and offer insight into cultural identities, 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, Suze 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, the executive director of the Stanislaus Arts Council, will accept the proclamation and will be making a few remarks. Welcome.

Thank you so much and good evening Mayor Zwollin, council members and members of the community. On behalf of the Stanislaus 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 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 Tillotson, as well as our culture commission. The culture commissioner's chairman is here, Miss Venezuela. Thank you so much. 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 Stanislaus 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 around us, from our artists and cultural organizations to the many individuals who actively engage and support the arts. We thank them. And it is an honor for the Stanislaus 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 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. Oh, I'm sorry. I didn't see your name. Your name is not there. And it's not because of my eye problem.

You should check your eyes.

Tomorrow.

Thank you, Mayor. I just want to say to all of those who are here representing all of the arts, Gallo Center, Symphony, and others, and yourself, the actual painting arts, it's a beautiful thing. It really milds 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 that's a wonderful thing to have so thank you and congratulations thank you all right thank you for being here this evening and i will bring the proclamation down and present it thank you you know what this must not be working

Trust me, with my right eye I can see this brighter than I ever could before, and there are no names there. All right, Councilmember Rickey.

Thank you so much for being here tonight. I'm really pleased that we're doing this. I think that the arts are actually a very important piece of our economic development future, especially 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 brings people to our community. It brings confidence in our community. It brings passion and it brings pride. And so I'm really pleased about what you guys are doing and I'm happy to support you. Thank you so much.

And I do brag about our Arts Council, 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 to give the proclamation.

Thank you so much. And I invite you all to come join me.

Thank you.

Thank you so much. Thank you all for being here.

Thank you so much.

Yeah. All right, everybody ready? And smile.

Thank you.

Thank you again. Thank you so much. All right. Take care. Be well. Drive safely.

Okay.

I think I'm going here with this for general public. And this is all . I don't know. This is after those other ones I got them mixed up. All right, I think melt is here.

And these are here. That's the order. 31, item 12, right? So 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. 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 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, Suze Wallin, 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 the seventh day of April 2026. My understanding that accepting the proclamation would be Alyssa Garcia, Community Engagement Specialist with Donor Network West. Please come to the podium. Thank you. Welcome.

Hello.

It's always great to be back every year.

Hello, City Council. Thank you so much for continuously supporting Donor Network West's mission to save and heal lives every year by proclaiming April as Donate Life Month. 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. Just here in Stanislaus County, as of this current year, we have 333 people that are waiting for a life-saving transplant that live in this community. 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 just have her back.

Okay, great. That's great. Thank you. Any other comments? All right, Council Member Rickey.

Thanks, Mayor.

I just want to thank you for your work in this area. I think that sometimes people hesitate to become donors, and the work that you do in that education, convincing people that that's an important thing to do for your community, can't be replaced in our community. So thank you for all the work you do.

Thank you. Can I respond to that? Sure. Just quick?

You may or may not know that 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 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 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. But I think it's working really well. 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 great opportunity.

All right. Thank you. Council Member Scootia Brayton.

Thank you, Mayor, and thank you, ladies, for being here and drawing attention to this very important subject that touched my life personally. I had the absolute honor and privilege when I was 40, actually on my birthday, to donate an organ. I donated bone marrow. to a young girl 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 life flighted. It needs to come out of my body and into hers within 24 hours, and it was life flighted to Texas. At the time, Hurricane Ike Those that are history buffs will be crunching the numbers. That was some time ago. Because that airplane was carrying life matter, it was allowed to land, and it made it into her body. Years later, 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, it was not an inconvenience in any capacity. And 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 from beginning to end, from getting a little swab in my mouth and having that put into the National Bone Marrow Registry to three months later being called and told that I was a perfect match to now me staying in contact with her and look forward to her upcoming wedding is just, again, an amazing experience. I could provide personal testimony to how doable and how lives can be saved and how one person can make a difference. Thank you.

Right. Council Member Williams or Vice Mayor Williams.

Thank you, Mayor. And that was a wonderful story. Thank you for doing that for that family because it was a family. It wasn't just that individual. And now she's going to have a family because she's going to get married. That's wonderful. I am a donor. I 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. I did end the proclamation, and I do review these. wrote it and the last thing I said was discuss your wishes with your family. And 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 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 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 are saved and stories just as Rosa described. So thank you again for being here. This evening I will now bring the proclamation down to present.

Can you get the cameras on?

Thank you so much for being here. I had cataract surgery, too, so I'm right there with you. Thank you so much for sharing. I know. You're going to love it. It's huge. Hi, Nick. How are you? Good to see you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you.

Thank you.

Nice to see you. Give that to her.

Here. We'll share.

everybody ready 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, Suze 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 seventh day of April 2026. So accepting the proclamation will be Jeff Pishny, CEO and founder of Love Stanislaus. Welcome.

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 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. This is our 18th year of, remember Chris, 18 years ago? It's amazing, we're 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 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 it 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 and everyone who's still here. So I just wanna say thank you for that kind of support and encouragement. April 25th, I gotta tell you guys, April 25th, here we go. We have over 80 projects available. I'm gonna 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, this is just so moving to see the amount of people that are going to come together. And we're hoping, obviously, thousands of people come 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 Modesto isn't just about a day. It's about year round loving our city, year round getting involved. And 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 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 our model here. And so what's amazing is every year there are cities all around us that are doing what we're doing. We're kind of the model. We started this thing. And now on April 25th, there will be around 20 cities in our community from Tracy, Ripon, 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. Somewhere on other dates, there are 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 message, 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 Hsu, you've seen these people, you've met these people that have come here from all over the country. This year, we've got Raleigh, North Carolina, Spokane, Washington, Chico, La Mirada, and other cities that have 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 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. Any comments from council members? Vice Mayor Williams.

Thank you, Mayor. And 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 and my board, Greg Arona, to come on up here. Is that what we're referring to? They can just stand right where they are and be recognized. And David Collins, our love our schools director. We have love our kids, love our schools, love our neighbors. We've 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 Rickey.

I just want to thank you, Jeff, for sticking with it over all these years. There's no question that Love Modesto has made a huge difference in our community. I love the evolution of it. I love how it's gone from being one day to being some drumbeat that's going through our community throughout the entire year. 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'm proud of you, man. Thank you.

Thank you so much.

Vice Mayor Williams, did you have another comment? Isn't there something about pancakes?

Oh, well, yeah, of course there is. Anybody like pancakes? Anybody love pancakes? So a pancake breakfast that morning, skip your breakfast at home. We got a great pancake breakfast. North Middles Aquinas puts on a pancake breakfast at venue 833 there starting at 7 o'clock. So yeah, 7 o'clock, kickoff party, all kinds of free food and music and giveaways. And then we send everybody off around 830 all over the community.

Great. Looking forward to it. 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, Craig.

Congratulations on your signing. Congratulations, Jeff. Oh, thank you. Thank you. all right is that good or should we i know you like to have it even do you want david over here or no okay all right are you ready all right thanks again appreciate you so much we'll be in touch on that front oh yeah i'll be there all right

All right. Next is item four, a 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, Suze Wallenmayer, do hereby proclaim April 12th through 18th, 2026 is Emergency Dispatch Appreciation Week and encourage our residents to participate in activities that recognize our devoted emergency workers, dated the seventh day of April 2026. Accepting the proclamation 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 National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week, or as we like to call it, Dispatch Appreciation Week. This is a time dedicated to honoring the voices behind the scenes of public safety, the calm and 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 Stanislaus 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, Stanislaus Regional 911 has faced significant challenges and continued 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, Juana Carrasco, she's right back there over on this side, wave a hand, was recognized as First Responder of the Year, which marked the first time in California history that an individual 911 professional received this award. Stanislaus 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 Real-Time 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 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. Thank you for being here. Are there any comments? Vice Mayor Williams.

Thank you, Mayor. Casey, thank you and definitely all of your staff. 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. I truly appreciate the service that's here in Modesto and Stanislaus County. Thank you. Thank you, sir.

All right, Council Member Scudia-Breaton.

Thank you. Thank you, Ms. Young, for being here and accepting this recognition. I had the privilege of touring your center a few weeks ago, and it was quite eye-opening to me to see so many working professionals doing such an important service under such calm and collected environments. 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. IT WAS VERY IMPRESSIVE. IT DID NOT LOOK LIKE A STRESSFUL WORK ENVIRONMENT. AND SO THAT SPEAKS TO YOUR LEADERSHIP AND THAT OF YOUR TEAM. YOU GAVE ACCOLADES TO MS. HUANA FOR RECEIVING HER STATE LEGISLATIVE AWARD, BUT I BELIEVE YOU WERE THE SECOND. You were the second woman of the year recognized in the California State Assembly. Congratulations for that, and thank you 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 and take a picture. What? Oh, come on up. I was taking a picture. Yeah.

Why don't two of you come over here? One and two. Or maybe you want to come over this side, just so it's even somewhat. You want to balance this out?

Yeah, it's important. Sure, we hold it together. All right, ready? And smile. All right, thanks so much.

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, Suze Wallenmayer, 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 seventh 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 school board days, it's so good to see you, sustainable leaders, Gilbert Blue Feather Rosas, Director II, Sustainability and Adaptation, Tim Zierle, Associate Superintendent, Business Services, Alejandro Irazo, excuse me, a student Enochs High School, and Dev Patel, a student from Grigori High School. And please step to the podium for your remarks. Welcome.

Thank you. Good evening, Mayor Zwollin, council members. My name is Tim Zerle. 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 to each one of you for this proclamation and also our support as a school district, a public agency for Earth Day. You have a handout, I believe it's a colored handout in front of you. We'll talk through this quickly, but slide one is a small representative picture of our 30 battery electric school bus fleet. You'll notice in the far right corner or the bottom right corner, there is a QR code. You can scan that. That'll take you right to our Modesto City Schools sustainability webpage. Slide two represents our eight focus areas of our webpage, each one. details accomplishments and provides resources on each topic. For example, diesel fuel savings is under transportation, solar production is under green infrastructure, and air quality monitoring is under air monitoring. Slide three, we want to highlight the following three items, our Modesto City Schools vision, recent accomplishments, and water quality. Slide four lists our vision statement that every student graduates with the skills, knowledge, and character traits essential to thrive and contribute to society, and also our sustainability statement, what you are willing to do individually or collectively to have a greener future. Slide five represents just a four-year report card of our recent accomplishments. You can see there that we've utilized grant funding to build our green solar infrastructure. In addition, we've been able to recapture over $5 million in investment tax credit opportunities, and we expect another six to nine million in the future. I'm pleased to introduce one of our students, Mr. Dev Patel.

All right, welcome. Greetings city council members and members of the community. My name is Dev Patel and I'm a senior at Grigori 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 in the form of solar at our seven high schools that offset 70% to 85% of the entire campus load. We also have six SOLs, which is solar outdoor classrooms, at six sites, one displayed 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 stipends for our teachers to run environmental clubs 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 San Joaquin 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 committed to advancing sustainability within the district in regards to energy conservation, waste management, and student engagement.

Good evening, City Council members. My name is Alejandro Erazo. I'm a senior at Enochs High School, and I'm an aspiring environmental engineer with a specialization in industrial water pollution. On slide 11, you can see the air purifiers and MERV 13 filters that we've implemented across our school sites. Those are meant to improve indoor air quality, and we've also implemented on the right the purple air monitors that help evaluate outdoor air quality. These monitors are for sustainability analysis projects like Deb mentioned for climate action pathways and for local research, but they also help with student safety and for sports events. On slide 12, you can see the water bottle refill stations that we've implemented across our school sites. Those support reusable water bottles and prevent the need for single use plastics with plastic water bottles. And they provide filtered water for students and staff across the district. On slide 13, you can see some of our local events. Modesto City Schools has been a project partner at State of Park Earth Day Celebration since since 2024. And we invite everyone to come see us on April 18th this month or on Saturday, April 18th. And on slide 14, you can see some of our more national events like Mr. Rosas has represented Modesto City Schools and the city of Modesto at national events like Harvard's Climate Action Week in 2023, putting our district's name on the map for sustainability. On slide 15, he was asked to speak on numerous podcasts, webinars, and panels promoting sustainable schools. He's also spoken at the White House or 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 got the easy one, just slides that show who our in-house supporters are. The board has voted to cover all these things, and our superintendent's very supportive of all these different acts, and the administrative team, and especially Mr. Zurley making it all add up so that we can make these things possible. 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. It starts with synergistic and the most important page is the last one that tells that the City of Modesto supports us along with our utility companies that do it. So we just appreciate you acknowledging all these things and we thank you.

You're welcome.

Right. Is that it? That's it. All right.

Councilmember Scootia Brayton.

Thank you, Mayor.

Thank you, gentlemen, for that very comprehensive presentation. Very impressive. Most impressive was the two young gentlemen. 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.

I don't know.

By living in the valley, we live in a very challenged location, but every bit counts. So the work you're doing does 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. Thank you again, all of you, for being here this evening, taking your valuable time to be with us. And I will now bring the proclamation down to present it.

Thank you so much for being here. I spied your picture in one of those slides.

You're a race. You're a race. Let's get to the side thing. The side thing. There you go.

Good?

No, no, no.

We'll make this to you. Oh.

Mm-hmm. OK. Ready? And smile.

Thank you. All right. There you go. You can give it to me. I'm not sure. Yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Mr. Zerling. 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. 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 we miss him. And I'm appreciative of his service. This is just one more way that he served our community in addition to being such a cherished member of our police department. All right, I have a resolution accepting the resignation of Ivan Valencia from the Airport Advisory Committee. Do I have a motion? So moved.

Second.

Moved by Council Member Wright, second by Council Member Alvarez. Will the clerk please call the roll for this item?

Council Member Alvarez? Aye. Council Member Rickey? Aye. Council Member Bavaro? Aye. Vice Mayor Williams? Aye. Council Member Wright? Aye. Council Member Scudia-Breton? Aye. And Mayor Zwollin?

Aye. Carries unanimously. Item seven, consider approving including the reappointments of Chris Guptill 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 for the City of Modesto Measure H Oversight Board beginning April 7, 2026 to serve their respective terms ending December 31, 2029. Does Council have any questions of staff? Council Member Bavaro.

Okay.

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 7? Seeing none, I will close public comments. Any comments from council members? Council Member Bavaro.

Thank you, Mayor. I just would like to acknowledge two members of the Oversight, Measure H Oversight Committee from my district. Re-appointment Chris Guptal and a new appointee, Martha Martin, who's here tonight. And Martha serves on District 4 Advisory Committee for me. And she's the ideal person for this position. She's got a quick mind and good at math. Thank you, Mayor.

You're welcome. I'll make a comment regarding Chris Guptill. He is the person that has been organizing the 9 to 99 cleanups every single month for I believe it is 12 years with countless number of people that go and help keep the river area clean by the 7th Street Bridge. His family, it's a generational situation with the Gupta family. I remember his grandfather, his father, all of his siblings, and his aunts and uncles were community-minded people, so I want to publicly recognize Chris for his efforts. It's really incredible. I have a resolution approving the reappointments of Chris Guptill 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 7, 2026, That's today, 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 roll? Council Member Alvarez?

Aye. Council Member Rickey? Aye. Council Member Bavaro? Aye. Vice Mayor Williams? Aye. Council Member Wright? Aye. Council Member Scudia-Breton? Aye. And Mayor Zwollin? Aye.

It 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 four-year terms expiring december 31st 2029 does council have any questions of staff regarding item eight seeing then i'll open item eight up to the public any comments Seeing none, I will close public comments. Any comments from council members? Vice, excuse me, Council Member Alvarez.

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

So moved. Second.

Moved by Councilmember Alvarez, second by Vice Mayor Williams. And will the clerk please call the roll for this item? Councilmember Alvarez?

Aye. Councilmember Rickey? Aye. Councilmember Bavaro? Aye. Vice Mayor Williams. Aye. Council Member Wright. Aye. Council Member Scudier-Brayton.

Aye.

And Mayor Zwollin.

Aye. 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 as 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 comment, and this is for items that are not on the council agenda. And you have three minutes to speak. So I have a lot of cards. Several of them are for item 12, which will be discussed later under consent items. That one will be pulled for discussion. And several for items 30 and 31. But I will start with the blue cards that I have in the order that I received them for items not on the agenda. And the first is Jerry Thompson.

Good evening, Mayor, City Council. The reason why I'm wanting to speak tonight is on behalf of the Lowrider community and other attendees at the Cesar Chavez Park. We're all in support with the name change. However, we request that when you consider voting for the top three names that you will go with, 4th Street Park, or you could call it 4th Street Community Park, as long as 4th Street's in there. And the reason why were behind this is because of all the controversy that is involved with Cesar Chavez. Now a lot of people may not remember an 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 the strike that took place in 1965 and he worked alongside with Dolores Huerta and with Cesar Chavez. However, He has been forgotten throughout history and unfortunately there has been victims from this and also enablers but the purpose of choosing 4th Street Park is to keep it neutral, to keep away from the controversy from future names on future parks because of what has happened currently and still there's a lot more coming out about it but Larry Itlong, he was involved but he tried to speak out against what was taking place with Cesar Chavez and he was actually censored from doing that. 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 4th Street Park It'll be a neutral name, but it'll also be an embracing name if you throw in community because it represents everybody, not just one certain group. It's allowing everybody to feel like they're welcomed and gonna 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 new name change. Thank you.

Thank you. Next is Brian Eugenie. Welcome.

Thank you, Madam Mayor, council members, staff, members of the community. My name is Brian Eugenie and I am the campaign manager for Jerron Brandon for State Senate in District 4. District 4 encompasses all of Stanislaus 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 Status Law Taxpayer Association is going to be hosting the debate right here down the street, a stone's 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, you can get in for free. It'll be this Thursday, doors open at 5 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 they're going to have a moderator taking care of that, Jaron's also going to be hosting a town hall for people also here in Modesto at Bookish Bookstore over on Roseburg Avenue, 811 Roseburg Avenue, on Saturday at 6 p.m. All are welcome to attend, whether you support him or not. 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 primaries. So that's all I got. Thank you.

Thank you. Next is Betty Santos.

Hi, good evening Mayor and City Council and community. My name is Betty Santos. I was born and raised here in Modesto all my life and I'm up here to speak about the name change from Cesar Chavez Park to going back to 4th Street Park or 4th Street Community Park. Again, I've had a lot of great memories growing up there and recently I took a friend out to his retirement breakfast and Councilman Jeremiah, Carl Anderson, you remember him? Okay. We had a conversation about Cesar Chavez Park and he says, Cesar Chavez, I'm sorry, Betty, I gotta say 4th 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, donate to the community as he still does to this day. However, my sentiments are as well with Jerry Thompson and back in the day, late 70s, early 80s, I used to go hang out when the cruising was going on and my acquaintance here used to cruise back in the day with his car club. So I'm up here to maybe reconsider changing the name back to 4th Street Community Park. Thank you. You're welcome. 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. 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 been coming to these meetings, I have seen from y'all A little smirky smile over there. Hi, Jeremiah. You're already starting up with 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 OK 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 doesn't look like someone coming down here and bad-mouthing people who don't just suck up to the sycophants 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 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 dispelled and we'll wait and see what kind of information comes out. But Modesto is making itself known for a place where people in power, 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 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 and 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, Council, staff, Milt Treeweiler. I wanted to talk about planning for the future again for Modesto and actually all of Stanislaus County. Part of that, of course, is learning from the past. We learn from the past and 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. I'll have one of these later on to hand out to you, not tonight. But anyway, this 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. 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 into another drought. I don't know if you've heard that or you realize that, we're gonna be in another drought. Is it gonna be one year, two years, three years? I don't know, but it's gonna be another drought. And that means we have to realize that that's gonna be a hardship on us. We're gonna have low water table levels, that's gonna go down. 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 that has water to water its irrigated, irrigatable farmland, which is the best farmland on earth for 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 over 80% capacity. 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 francine cena

Good evening, City Council and Mayor, nice to see you again. Mm-hm. I was just here asking, who's here defending our children's democracy here in Stanislaus 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 Stanislaus County. That is not happening. I'm going before 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 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 a Raza, Parents Union, Social Justice Movement, Student Advocate, Parents Advocate, we are now active members in the Sylvan 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 CEFS law, those are laws and those are crimes when a school is committing this crime. So I would like Please, Rosa, to 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 sense. But things are going on, and I would like someone to look into this, please. Thank you.

Thank you. Next is Patrick. Sina?

Hello. Hi, I'm Patrick Sena. I am a Purple Heart Vet. I served in the United States Army. I'm one of two survivors from an IED blast in Iraq, and I'm still here. I'm from Modesto, and I moved back to Modesto. My daughter's constitutional rights are being violated. It's not safe, secure, and peaceful. My daughter, she's a fourth grader, she was getting bullied by a fifth grader and it went on for three 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 three weeks until we called the 911 and got police over there and they did an investigation. And then 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 good thing for We Are La Raza, because with Debbie'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 lies were 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 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. 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 Sylvan 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, nine year old little girl, then 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 for this particular situation, I would like for you to talk to our police chief in the back of the room. Yes. Please proceed with that and have a conversation.

Thank you.

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 Garcia. Okay. Next is Nick.

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

Thank you. Next is Anthony Drobnik.

Hello. I haven't been to a meeting in a few months. I was upset with you all for not listening to 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, because I really do love this city. First of all, shout out to our MCS staff. I'm a proud MCS employee. Dev, who came up and spoke, is a Grigori student. Go Jaguars. He's a great kid. Also, our advisory groups love to see more people getting involved, especially those going back for the reappointments. Special shout out to Housing and Community Development. I served on that committee in the past myself, and it was always a pleasure working with you all. So glad to see more people are filling in there and helping out. We've seen great stuff with Hope Works team. There are a lot of really good things happening. 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. But what I did want to talk about is the renaming of Cesar Chavez Park, Fourth Street Park. I couldn't make the Culture Commission meeting, but could make this one. I think it goes without saying that Chavez was a monster. We absolutely need a new name. I've not liked him for years because he was so staunchly anti-immigrant. But I noticed the name Larry Itliong was brought up and I wanna say as an ethnic studies teacher, a lot of people maybe don't have familiarity with Larry's work, but Larry alongside the members of the Agricultural Workers Organizing Committee were instrumental in the Delano grape strike. UFW that we all highlight, it was a merger of Ilion's organization and Chavez's organization. Ilion began the strike 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 Itleong. And for that reason, I think that it'd be a great opportunity to highlight our labor communities, specifically our Filipino labor community, who often goes unsung. And just in case people didn't know, because a lot of people don't know really anything about Larry Itleong, his full name is Modesto Larry Dulé Itleong. 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. 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 Itliong. 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 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 McClaughey, District 1. I wanted to ask Whatever happened to that kiosk sign that used to be above the Bank of Agriculture and Commerce on McHenry and Needham? 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 Needham and McHenry or J Street and McHenry or Downey and McHenry and you could read it and you could see everything that's going to be happening 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. It really served a purpose and 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 good indication of what was going on and 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... And that was a real loss when that sign went down and I'm wondering whatever happened to it and if it could be brought back up again. Then I also wanted to discuss 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 Mincinger with her campaigns to 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 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 forethought with which they were done when Peggy Minstinger was mayor. When Peggy Minstinger encouraged people to really think about it, do you really want the city to grow out? And the city is growing north of Kernan now. and taking up all that valuable farmland and 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 this is unconscionable 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. 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 on Interstate 5 in Patterson, California. Sergeant Veronica Esquivez 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, 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 amok, unchecked and unfettered. Do something I don't know what perhaps pass a sanctuary city ordinance, 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 the other civilians in demanding that our senators and representatives, one, publicly call for an independent investigation into the shooting in Patterson, two, demand full release of all video and evidence, three, support stronger oversight and accountability measures for ICE, or four, ensure protection 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 constituents. Fight against fascism today before it consumes us all. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else? Excuse me, under public comment. All right. Next on the agenda is consent ‑‑ I just wanted to make sure if the person ‑‑ okay. 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? Um, did you have one, an item you want to pull? Okay. It's all right. 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. the city of Modesto to rezone from professional office zone to medium density residential zone for property located at 3213 Coffee Road west of Thorson Avenue. Item 11, consider accepting the 2025 annual report of the city's citizen advisory board's 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 Franzine Road 133001026, reverting the property back to unincorporated status within the County of Stanislaus and authorizing application to the Stanislaus Local Agency Formation Commission to annex the territory back to the Stanislaus Consolidated Fire Protection District. Item 14, consider accepting the informational fiscal year-end 2025-2026 Mid-Year 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 adjustments to fiscal year 2025-2026 annual operating and CIP program budgets. Item 16, consider repealing and replacing Chapters 1, 2, 3, 7, and 11 of Title IX 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 CML 5059245, CML 5059246 project as complete, releasing securities, releasing payments totaling $864,020. to Tennyson Electric LLC of Livermore, 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 McClure Meadows subdivision consisting of approximately 4.15 acres for 38 residential lots and 0.945 acres for public road right-of-way dedications located at the northwest corner of McClure Road and Yosemite Boulevard, APN number 033-089041. Item 21, consider approving the plans and specs for the retro-reflective backplates LED stop signs installation, rectangular rapid flashing beacons, RRFB, HSI, PSL 5059, 253, 252, 251 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 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 five years. Item 25, consider approving a first amendment to the agreement with American Children's 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 $425,195 over five years. Item 27, consider approving an agreement with Specialized Elevator Services LLC, DBA, Elevator Industries, Sacramento, California for elevator maintenance and repair services for a total amount not to exceed $435,000 over five years. Item 28, consider approving an engineering services agreement with TriHydro Corporation of Laramie, Wyoming. in the amount of $3,212,014 plus $160,601 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 $9,434,145. And item 29, consider approving an asset management gap analysis agreement with Woodward and Curran, Sacramento, California in the amount of $460,680 plus $92,136 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 moved.

All right. I have a motion by Vice Mayor Williams and a second by Council Member Wright. Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Alvarez. Aye. Council Member Rickey. Aye. Council Member Bavaro. Aye. Vice Mayor Williams. Aye. Council Member Wright. Aye. Council Member Scudia-Breton. Aye. And Mayor Zwollin.

Aye. Carries unanimously. All right, we will go back to item 12, consider approving a fifth amendment to the legal services agreement with Swingle Van Edgeman, Heitlinger, for continued representation in tort cases, increasing the amount by $250,000, and a third amendment to the legal services agreement with Myers-Nave amending the scope of work and increasing the agreement amount by $250,000. And we will have a report by our city attorney, 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 Swingle, Van Eggman, and Highlander. They provide services, and they've been providing services for several years to the city on tort cases. Those are the slip and falls, sidewalk cases, the tree issues. They currently have quite a bit of cases that they are dealing with, and the amendment provides additional funds to their contract to continue those services. The second amendment in this item is the third amendment to the legal services agreement with Myers-Nave. Myers-Nave has provided legal services to the city related to the public assembly regulations. As the agenda report mentions, the city did get sued related to the public assembly ordinance. The amendment increases the compensation under that agreement. $250,000. Now, it's important to point out that both of these agreements, that amount that's added to the contracts, it's called the not to exceed amount. What that means is it only gets used if the services are provided. If services are not provided, that amount does not get spent. I'm happy to answer any questions of the council.

All right. Are there any questions of council for staff? Council Member Bavaro.

Just a clarification. If we do reach the $250,000, that would then come back to the council regardless of the dollar amount?

That is correct. 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 the sitem? All right. Seeing none, I will open it up to the public. And the first 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 six 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 its particular brand of boot. To put the cost into perspective, $350,000 is approximately six years' worth of the average Modestan's yearly earnings, six years we all collectively have lost because of the stubborn failure to see reason from the people sat in front of me today. It's easy to smugly 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. 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 to sleep on the streets because the shelter doesn't have $250,000 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 over policed to remove a handful of masks and is it something that you're willing to spend six years working for? Thank you.

Thank you. 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 first in Modesto but has since been replicated otherwise hate rally. And at that time when this was being organized, the people in Modesto and in Stanislaus County came forward to 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 in 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 Stanislaus County. We had hate propaganda posted on our walls. Right? And 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 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, we want you to hear us. Thank you.

You're welcome. Next is Harlan Driven. Sorry.

Mayor, City Council, my name is Harlan Diven. I'm a resident of Modesto. I've been listening throughout this 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 important and hit my heart. It said that we must work together to find harmony amid disagreement. A lawsuit has been filed. You've come to a decision point. 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, preventable, and is about to be devastatingly expensive. This is just the start. It's sowing discord in our community. Doubling down and 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 othered through this process for the last 10 months. Again, I ask, who is your public? Who are you listening to? Are you listening to Meyers Neve? 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 proportions of the anti-process 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 ordinance that are unconstitutional. Leave the rest. Leave the rest. You're not gonna spend half a million dollars on this. You're gonna pay Myers Neve half a million dollars, you're gonna pay the ACLU half a million dollars, and you're gonna leave us in exactly the same position. Thank you.

You're welcome. Next, Ann Marie.

Hello again, City Council. So it's already been made clear what the Third Amendment for the Myers-Nave Lawyer Group is for. But I'll just state it again. This is to defend against a lawsuit brought forward by the ACLU regarding the Modesto Ordinance, Title IV, Chapter 23, Section 12, Subsection 13, I believe 15 and 18 as well. They're suing on behalf of local plaintiffs and also on behalf of a journalist union, News Guild, regarding the unconstitutional nature of outlying 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 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. Magnifico, 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 stain. 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 four section 23 and the subsections listed in the lawsuit or pay money to lose a lawsuit. The choice is yours. Thank you.

Next is Gavin Bruce.

Good evening, counsel. I just wanted to reiterate some of the comments brought up by some of the others tonight. I probably can't top anything that they have already stated, but I would just like to reiterate the ridiculousness of this prospect that we have before us tonight. An additional $250,000 on top of the $100,000 already being paid to this law firm. in order to, again, go against the ACLU. And it was mentioned right before these public comments started that that 250,000 is just to increase the max limit 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. I also wanna just reiterate that this council had approved the creation of the Citizens Review Board. who had recommended along with, as was mentioned before, hundreds of community members that have come up here against this ordinance. And despite those comments from community members expressing our desire to have that ordinance removed, And despite the recommendation from your own Citizens Review Board, I think it was a very big act of disrespect against all of these community members and all the community members that weren't at those meetings to express that opinion. And it's disrespect against the Citizens Review Board as well and their recommendations. It just showed us that you don't take their recommendations seriously. And unfortunately, if you move forward with this item tonight, this is going to cost us dearly. $250,000 can go to a lot more programs. As was mentioned, housing. roads, parks, there are countless things that it could go to. And I frankly, I've heard many, 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 Tuolumne River Regional Park Plan. And you know, the leadership says, you know, we don't have money, we're concerned with money. I never want to hear it again. If you move forward with this item tonight, I never want to hear that there's no money ever again. Please respect your community members. You've heard from a massive amount of people. A vast majority have been opposed to this ordinance. Don't be wasting taxpayer money. It's irresponsible. Thank you.

Thank you. Francis Lopez.

mayors Wallin 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 heeded in any way. I do want to give you a little bit of background. I worked as a litigation paralegal 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 unmeritorious 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 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. Anthony Drobner.

Madam Mayor, members of the council, tonight I have the pleasure of awarding this governing body a check for negative $349,500. Come on down. You're a winner. Most of the people at Zoom see, don't cover your faces. We know you don't like that. OK, 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 Modesto City Council members' 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, because 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 kowtowing to the police chief to cozy up and get an endorsement 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 off ramp still, please, I don't know what you discussed in closed session and find some way to save face or just swallow your pride and fix it. This is not a lot to ask.

All right. Are there any other public comments regarding item 12? All right. Oh, sorry.

Apologies, I did not fill out an additional card to talk about comment number 12, but I am more prepared. I have a speech. 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. For many of you who may not know, Marx is the foremost philosopher humanity has ever produced, 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. Marx 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 interest of the workers. They're 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 consolidation of police power, police power that works against the interests of the people they supposedly serve. And 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 frustrating. I've been in this 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. 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 self-identify, 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 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. 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 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. 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 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 don't understand it. Why not just give up the lawsuit and just give up the parts of that ordinance that are VIOLATING PEOPLE'S FIRST AMENDMENT RIGHTS, VIOLATE THOSE PARTS OF THE ORDINANCE, I MEAN, EXCUSE ME, DELETE THOSE PARTS OF THE ORDINANCE AND SURRENDER THE LAWSUIT AND ALLOW THE CITY'S SERVICES TO BE ABLE TO BE PROVIDED IN SUCH A WAY THAT THE CITY IS ABLE TO FUNCTION ONCE AGAIN. I DON'T UNDERSTAND THE 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 for the city, and you're willing to spend money that you don't have. I don't understand 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 Atticus Stinson. 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 rescinding 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. 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 rescinded. 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 the science?

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 had to endure harassment like this, contributing significantly to the stress that has now started to literally kill me. I was told by Tolok Police Department that I had, quote unquote, excited another man 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 villainy 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.

Juan Tellez, West Monesto community leader. I want to go ahead and second the comments made by Harlan. I think she said it well. I think we need to 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. I think tonight's a perfect time to pivot. Thanks.

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

Thank you, Mayor. Sorry, I had a mint in my mouth. I had to take it off. I want to be comprehensive, and I've not spoken on this publicly in a while, so I will try to be comprehensive and respect everyone's time here. So I represent District 2, which is the west side, south side, downtown airport neighborhoods, born and raised there, family got there late 60s. 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. 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 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 decisive. It reflected a clear priority from the residents of Modesto that safety is first. Tonight we've heard passionate testimony, and I respect every voter who had the courage to speak up and have consistently speak up on this. I respect anyone who chooses to participate in our civic process. But I also represent thousands of residents who are not here tonight. The silent majority of folks in District 2 that are not paid advocates. They are not serving on boards or speaking on behalf of organizations. They are not serving 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 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 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 hard earned 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? Vice Mayor Williams.

Thank you, Mayor.

That was well said, Councilman Alvarez, and thank you for that.

all right any other comments from council members all right seeing that 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 okay that's the choosing of the council okay So I have a resolution approving a Fifth Amendment to the Legal Services Agreement with Swingle, Van Edgeman, and Heitlinger 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 designee to execute the amendment. And a resolution approving a Third Amendment to the Legal Services Agreement with Myers and Abe amending the scope of work to include litigation and trial counsel support and increasing the agreement amount by $250,000 for a total agreement amount not to exceed $349,500 and authorizing the city manager or his designee to execute the amendment. Do I have a motion? Motion. Second. Okay, motion by Councilmember Alvarez. Second. Second by Councilmember Wright. Will the clerk please call the roll for this item?

Council Member Alvarez? Aye. Council Member Rickey? No. Council Member Bavaro? Aye. Vice Mayor Williams? Aye. Council Member Wright? Aye. Council Member Scudia-Breaton? Aye. And Mayor's Wallin?

Aye. So it carries 6-1. All right. At this time, we're going to take a break for everyone's benefit. We will return at 8 p.m. Thank you. All right. Next on the agenda is council comments and reports. Do any council members have comments or reports this evening? Council member Scootie Brayton. Thank you.

A few of us, the mayor, council member Alvarez, council member Williams, and myself, 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 the quarterly meeting, and it was in the city of Tracy specifically Tracy City Hall. It was a very good meeting. It was representative of council members throughout the valley. And they convened at this meeting to discuss legislation and policy all impacting Central Valley. And it was very informative to see what the California legislature was working on and how it impacts our cities. Also, Assemblymember Rhodasia Ransom spoke, and one of the things she mentioned was that the California legislature has assembled what's called the California Legislative Central Valley Caucus. and that is a bipartisan entity whose main purpose is to convene and in one voice talk about issues that impact Central Valley. So the fact that this legislative body has been put together specific to look over the best interests of Central Valley was refreshing and I wish them well and I hope to them that they were able to be fruitful in their work and doing good for the Central Valley. Also since the last time we met, we convened at a public 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 expressing their opinion and giving us a lot of information for us to take into account so that that general plan really reflects the entire communities. So that was done on a day that the 7th Street Bridge, the 7th Street Bridge replacement project also was 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 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 effort's being made to maintain the look and feel and a lot of its beauty that it has. So they're going to retain that. So lots of good stuff going on in the city of Modesto. And what's so beautiful about it is that it's done in unison with the community. And we're moving forward in a very positive way. That's it. Thank you.

All right, 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. And he has a whole entourage over here from Maple Avenue to celebrate with him. They didn't bring the cake, though. Or maybe it's in the car. Or did it melt?

Let me stop.

So also, I wanted to make sure that the folks in the city of Modesto understand that there is 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 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 that into 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 to us in the next week. I believe it's going to happen. And then lastly, I was at a Buddhist temple dedication. They had been working on that since 2011. They started in 2007. And the Buddhist temple was dedicated off of Grimes Road. It's a beautiful facility. They have done marvelous work in that facility. It is just incredible. And I was happy to represent the city of Modesto in celebrating their dedication of that temple. And that should conclude it for today. Madam Mayor, thank you very much.

You're welcome.

Councilmember Alvarez. Thank you, Mayor. I'll be brief. In light of the recent horrible allegations of Cesar Chavez's wrongdoings, the City of Modesto is in collaboration with the West Modesto Community Collaborative and Dr. Perfecto Munoz, who is their executive director, is hosting a community town hall tomorrow, or sorry, on the 9th in District 2 to discuss the process of renaming Cesar Chavez Park. Opening remarks will be given by myself and I hope that folks can join me and to express 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 for policy for 30 days and that 30-day mark is April 24th. So responses for new names will be collected and submitted to the City of Modesto Culture Commission for review. And the top three names will then be recommended to the City Council for a vote on the ultimate new name. So as District Two's Cesar Chavez Park, the largest park renovation in the city's history, gets closer to completion, collaboration is critical to capture the sentiment of our community and to guarantee the name of the park reflects the shared values of all residents. So that's all, Mayor, thank you.

You're welcome, Council Member Rickey.

I know you guys are getting tired of this, but here it goes. It's time for Stanislaus Animal Services Agency to address their structural problems. Due to the lack of a spay and neuter program, we have a massive 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. They make 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 euthanasia 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. I will just briefly mention that on March 14th, Vice Mayor Williams and I attended the 10K with a cop. And our Detective Sean Dodge, does an incredible job all year round. This starts in the fall of every school year with thousands of elementary students that he speaks to for positive self-esteem and relationships with officers, as well as running. And it's very motivational, and the students show up. It's like a major marathon downtown Modesto. And it's really exciting, and it was fun to be a part of that again. On March 26th, I supported our Ceres neighbor and attended Mayor Javier Lopez's State of the City Address. And I want to invite everyone to our City of Modesto State of the City Address and activities on Thursday, April 16th. DOORS OPEN AT THE STATE THEATER AT 430 PM WITH REMARKS BEGINNING PROMPTLY AT 530 PM. THAT'S IT FOR ME. ANY OTHER COMMENTS? SEEING NONE, DOES THE CITY MANAGER HAVE ANY COMMENTS OR 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 tentative 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, Maple Avenue Properties 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 tentative subdivision map to subdivide 22.8 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 tentative subdivision map for the proposed land use change. And so you can see the crosshatch area in the screen there where the applicant's looking to change this land use designation of two acres from very low density residential to low density residential. And because this is an up zone, no SB 330 analysis is needed. As we move on to the next section, so the next section is our area plan, and an area plan needs to be completed for every project within the Tivoli 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 the consistency and alignment in these areas. Next up is the Vesting Tentative Subdivision Map. And so this is, again, looking at the 22.8 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 a developer responsibility for the design of three proposed roundabouts along Bridgewood 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 paseo, and then a temporary gate on Mabel Avenue subject to the fire marshal and city engineer approval. And what this does is ensure that the ranchettes on Mabel Avenue then have that separation with this gate 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 in alignment with city standards as well as the Tivoli specific plan. So our Planning Commission meeting, it was moved forward from Planning Commission and approved 6-1. However, there was some concern property owners on Mabel Avenue who had some concerns about some of the conditions. Some of the conditions were regarding the timing of Mabel Avenue improvements, single story homes adjacent to the current homes, and then a seven foot 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 city's second story review process. And that's required for all properties that are adjacent to single story homes that are two stories. And so that is a specific condition outlined in our conditions today. Also, the developer is responsible for constructing a seven-foot wooden fence. Traditionally, they're only required to do a six-foot wooden fence, but both parties agreed to the seven-foot wooden fence. And again, this is just adjacent to the current parcels along Maple. So for the environmental, so the project was previously studied in the Tivoli 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 6-1. Before I move forward to the last one, I will mention the Mabel Avenue improvements. And so the Mabel Avenue improvements are actually gonna 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 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. Council Member Bavaro.

Thank you, Mayor. Question for... Oh, yeah. Excuse me. Go ahead. Yep. Thank you, Mayor. Question for a city attorney. I need to have a disclosure for the record that... Do I do it now or when do I do that?

You can't, Council Member. I think this is more of the ex parte communications as far as folks meeting with either the property owners or developer or whatnot.

Okay. So for the record, I did meet with the property owners on Maple Avenue east of Oakdale Road, both at City Hall as well as at their properties on Maple, as well as meeting with representatives of the developers and the landowners. So thank you.

All right, Vice Mayor Williams. Thank you, Mayor. I also met with the Mabel Neighborhood Coalition, or whatever you want to call them, and they were quite pleasant, and it was great to meet you all.

I only met you once.

Oh, and I also met the distinguished gentleman in the camel jacket, 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. It's not a confession. It's when people want to meet, we meet. And that's good that we didn't know who met or not. So that's a good thing. All right, any other 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 four, three cards that say item 30 and 31 and one that says just 31. Do the members of the public want to speak on both of those items who have that listed? The first one is Becky Speier.

Well, can you just tell us what the difference between 30 and 31 is? 31 is outside of the street. 30 is outside.

is behind us.

Yeah. Yeah.

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

Next is Bob from

All right.

Next is Denny Jackman. I saw him here earlier, but I believe that he departed the meeting. All right. All right. Any other members of the public regarding item 30? All right. Please step forward.

I attended the planning commission meeting and went through the whole thing. So that's why I'm here. But there were things that were brought up at this planning commission that are very disturbing because they're not actual facts. They're just myth and just myths. One of those was that farming uses more water than housing. Okay, farming uses more un-potable water than housing uses. Housing uses potable water. The two are not interchangeable. You can water with potable water, but you can't drink water from the Sierras that come down the Tuolumne River until it's been purified. But the point was that farming uses more water than housing and By gallon wise, it's true, but it's a different water. And the reason it's good water, because what does the farming water do? It recharges your aquifer. So you're getting recharged aquifer from the farming water. And that's what we need to recharge the aquifer. 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 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 almond trees there that's supposed to mitigate the loss of land in 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 store a building is actually Three-story building a tree will cover that out. I don't know what people are there 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 gonna destroy the best farmland on earth when we can build high-rise condos and apartment lands or apartment buildings To take care of our housing needs and 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 applicant group. It's a pleasure to be here. You know, in 2007, 2008, 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 were 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 Ms. Hill and Mr. Wells. They really worked hard to come up with conditions that they felt worked well for the city, worked well for the neighborhood, worked well for the developer, so 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 Danny was on the city council and Bruce Froman was on the city council and Tim Fisher 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 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 the perched area. And so, you know, it's nice to say that everything is of equal quality, but we were really directed to move over here, and we think this is an appropriate place for development. We appreciate the Planning Commission's deliberation. This comes to you with a recommendation for approval, so we would ask for your approval.

Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Any other comments regarding item 30 from the public? All right. Seeing none, I will close public comments. Any comments from council members? Council member Scootie Brayton.

Thank you. And would it be okay, in addition to my comments, can I ask a very simple, concise question? Sure. I'm so sorry. Jessica, you had made reference, and I'm not quite sure if you elaborated on what is likely you made reference to a temporary gate on Mabel Avenue subject to fire marshal and city engineer approval. What like the time are we really looking out for that temporary gate?

So the future Mabel 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 complete improvements are done for the cul-de-sac of the court.

Okay, okay. All right, thank you. And having served on the Planning Commission for several years, I saw that a lot of community concern surfaced when there was second story development to single story residential areas. And having served that long, I saw the development occur and the second story provisions be enacted and they always worked well. And everyone was happy because those 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 met with one of the parties, the residential community, and had a very lengthy conversation on their perspective. It was very interesting. I did not have the opportunity to meet with the developers, but just wanted to make that transparent. There was one other question I had. The last comment I have is, I've got to give kudos to our staff, everyone, because they have really bent over backwards to meet the community halfway and really understand their needs. They started off with a good plan, and it was what it was. The community stepped forward and expressed their concerns and reservations Our staff really stepped up and we're open to hear and to compromise and I just think that that is a wonderful Professional group and I appreciate that they do that and they they work with them With good intention and I love that they represent the city. Thank you. That's all I have to say.

All right councilmember Bavaro Thank You mayor Question for 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 as well. I mean, I think that's good use of land use, but do we get inquiries from developers?

No, we don't. And we even reach out and speak to them. And right now, they're stating there's some trouble with financing, that type.

OK, thank you. And also, I'd like to echo Rose's comments about our staff. 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. I also want to echo Council Member Navarro and Council Member Scudia-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. But I do want to address the building up 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. Nobody wants that. But when our neighbors are expanding 500 percent, 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 lafco whoever's in charge of that whole charade deals with that particular issue and makes it so you aren't continuing to sprawl out we're going to be stuck in this conundrum so If we wanna 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 one bedroom apartments in this city costing $1,600. It's ridiculous. And so we have to increase supply. Thank you.

All right, Vice Mayor Williams.

Thank you, Mayor. And I also agree with all of my colleagues. But the one 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 sleepless nights, I'm sure, trying to figure all these things out. So thank you very much, Toby Wells and your staff.

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 have a resolution approving specific plan amendment number eight to the Tipoli specific plan. Do I have a motion?

So moved. Second.

Motion by Council Member Wright, second by Council Member Rickey. Will the clerk please call the roll? Council Member Alvarez? Aye.

Council Member Rickey? Aye. Council Member Bavaro? Aye. Vice Mayor Williams? Aye. Council Member Wright? Aye. Council Member Scudia-Breaton?

Aye.

And Mayor Zwolle?

Aye. Carries unanimously. I have a resolution approving Area Plan Number 4 to the Tivoli Specific Plan in the Tivoli Specific Plan. Do I have a motion? So moved. Motion by Council Member Wright. Second.

Second by Vice Mayor Williams. Will the clerk please call the roll? Council Member Albreth. Aye. Council Member Rickey. Aye. Council Member Bavaro. Aye. Vice Mayor Williams. Aye. Council Member Wright. Aye. Council Member Scudia-Breaton. Aye. And Mayor Zwollin.

Aye. Carries unanimously. I have a resolution approving the vesting tentative subdivision map of Tivoli-Mabel parcel. Submitted. Motion by Council Member Rickey. Second. Second by Council Member Scudia-Brayton. Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Albreth. Aye. Council Member Rickey. Aye. Council Member Bavaro. Aye. Vice Mayor Williams. Aye. Council Member Wright. Aye. Council Member Scudia-Brayton. Aye. And Mayor Zwollin. Aye.

Carries unanimously. I have a resolution approving the final development plan of Tivoli Maple Parcel. Do I have a motion?

Motion.

Motion by Vice Mayor Williams. Second. Second by Council Member Wright. Will the clerk please call the roll? Council Member Alvarez.

Aye. Council Member Rickey. Aye. Council Member Bavaro. Aye. Vice Mayor Williams. Aye. Council Member Wright.

Aye.

Council Member Scudier-Brayton.

Aye.

And Mayor Zwollin. Aye.

Carries 7-0. 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 tentative 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 has just over 450 acres. So the proposed projects are above, so we're talking about the two northern properties, or the green and blue properties here. So first up for the ALFs, we're gonna be requesting a specific plan amendment. So this needs to be completed prior to the approval of the vesting tentative subdivision map due to the land use change. So the applicant's looking to change the land use designation from six 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 up zone 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 we've 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 an 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 area 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 the Vesting Tentative 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 on Clarentina. pedestrian improvements connecting the subdivision to Oakdale Road or Sylvan Avenue as applicable, and then to design and install a CMU wall against the Clarentina Avenue frontages. This again also acknowledges the temporary gates along Mabel Avenue subject to the approval of the fire marshal and city engineer. So then the final development plans, the last things for ALS, which again outlines a precise location of buildings, lot lines and setback dimensions. And this all aligns with the Tivoli 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 two and 13 lots on Mabel Avenue in phase one and then phase two. And in order to do this, we have a vesting tentative subdivision map and a final development plan. So again, as we're looking at the vesting tentative 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 Parisian constructs before Alves, all Alves conditions will also apply to this subdivisions. Some key things 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 single story homes, and then the seven foot wooden fence. As we worked with the property owners, we were able to resolve the first two ones, which is the second story guidelines and the homes that are adjacent to the current Mabel properties, as well as the seven foot wooden fence in those areas. So within the Tivoli specific plan, the Mabel Avenue improvements 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 utilities, sewer and water service subs and five feet behind the curve on the south side of Mabel. 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 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 Maple, that would trigger the improvements on Maple Avenue. And that was the concern that the Mabel property owners had as we brought this forward to Planning Commission. And so Citi has been working very closely with both 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, the property owners have agreed to instead of the Mabel improvements being triggered by phase two, they've agreed that the Mabel improvements will be triggered by phase one. So before you is a specific condition that's outlined with the changes that is also outlined in our amended resolution today. Key things regarding this is 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 Mabel 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 cul-de-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 cul-de-sac will happen in the future, 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 precise location of buildings, lot lines, and setbacks. Again, this aligns with the Tivoli-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 that was done in 2022. So in 2022, we did both a specific plan amendment and a general plan amendment for the Acadia property, which was another property which is currently developing in Tivoli. When this was done, you can see the crosshatched 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 again, this was previously set in our Tivoli specific plan EIR. We prepared an addendum for the environmental assessments, which no major revisions to the final EIR are necessary. And this item was taken to council on February 23rd and it was approved 6-1. With that, I'm happy to answer any questions.

All right. Thank you very much for your presentation. Any questions? Council Member Wright.

Thank you, Mayor. I do have a couple of questions. Am I on? Yes. Yes. So on the gate that they went up on Mabel, right now it's a dead end street at Mabel. have to be approved by the fire marshal and then also the 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 make sure that the type of gate that's determined at the time has the proper severity so there's no indication that a gate would not be uh approved correct so yes And then also on phase two, do we have any indication when phase two will start being developed?

We are working directly with the property owners at this point. And so I anticipate after these, or if these get approved, there's gonna be some conversations on when potentially either phase could be sold to developers.

And do we have any commercial entities out there that are interested in that piece of property?

We've had different inquiries that we're hopeful that this could be brought forward in the future as well.

Thank you.

All right. Any other questions from council members regarding item 31?

Questions, questions? Going once, going, okay.

All right, I will now open the public hearing. And I will read the names for the speakers. Becky Spear.

Thank you, Mayor and council members. This blew my original presentation out the window today when I received 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 2 postponing Mabel Road construction and infrastructure until the reduced size RSC 1 was constructed. This was not in accordance to the Tivoli Plan. The trigger for Mabel Road improvements and infrastructure is the original area of RSC 1 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, 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 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 development. We've never said, no, we don't want it at all. We just said we want to protect our homes. Jessica answered all of the questions I had regarding the aspects of the proposal, so thank you, Jessica, for that. I do want to understand that the west end of the court will be constructed in concert with Phase 2 and the temporary gate will be placed on the east end of our street until the west end of the court is completed in Phase 2. I believe that that is the case. 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 we felt like that you listened and that you 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. Next is Bob from us. Yes.

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

You're welcome. Next is Scott Spear.

Thank you, Mayor, Council. My name is Scott Spear. I'm the son of Randy and Becky Spear, Mabel Avenue residents. I was on Mabel Avenue for the bulk of my life. I'm a city planner. I'm currently the planning manager of one of the largest cities in the state. So I speak from professional experience, not just some rando. Tivoli policy 5.1.1.1 requires Mabel Avenue to be improved before any certificate of occupancy is issued within the original RSC-1 area. Several years ago, almost half of RSC-1 was relabeled to low density residential as part of the Arcadia thing, getting more density. That relabeled area is now the Parisian map. The developer's original claim that relabeling removes the obligation to construct Mabel is obviously incorrect. Changing a label doesn't eliminate a requirement, just like changing my name doesn't get me off a speeding ticket or something. Not requiring Mabel Court to be constructed prior to Parisian would have violated the Tivoli specific plan and its adopted EIR. and would have exposed the city to litigation. So I'm very grateful that that did not happen. Even the EIR addendum that was done for the preaching project did state that Mabel Avenue was part of its offsite improvements and did not state any other Timeline or trigger aside from what's already in Tivoli? So that's good that that's staying luckily staff has added this requirement as a condition And they have also made it clear that it's not just the south side. It's the north side. Here's the whole street I'm really grateful for that and I would just like to conclude that I'm thankful that staff has realized all this, that they have added the condition to improve the street. 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 going to 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 gonna 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 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 unbelievable number of two- and three-story apartment complexes and condos. Turlock is now building one on Monta 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 three-story 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 RHNA numbers are actually all phony. There is no stipulation that says you have to follow the RHNA 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...

That's all right.

It's your time, Milt. 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 RHNA numbers are not enforceable. You are going to have to stop it as a body. you're gonna have to stop it as a body and say, okay, well, you can't take this out. 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 Stanislaus River. They don't care about farmland. They don't care about food They don't care and we're gonna see climate change. We're gonna see Droughts and they're gonna 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, good evening again. If I could, I might want to 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. So first I wanted to reiterate, and I know people say this all the time, so I don't want to be a dead horse, but We do have some of the best soils in the world here for agriculture, for growing food that obviously we need in order to survive. I also want to reiterate the point about climate change. So 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, you have warmer winters, but you get a massive amount of water like we did in 2021, 2022. That all comes down 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 water storage infrastructures that we have. Obviously we have the dams, We have the snow pack and then the third one we have is our soils here that are when they flood they replenish our groundwater and that's another that is another huge asset that we have right here under literally under our feet in order to to draw from for water storage. 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 you know healthy soils, it's actually an essential piece of infrastructure that I think that we constantly negate and overlook to our detriment. So I just want to start saying that. But specifically this thing, some of the things that were made up, maybe if, you know, if they can be answered. So there's market demands had been brought up as a reason for reducing from the medium density to low density. 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. So I'm not sure what the market demand looks like and how that has been sort of assessed in terms of going from high density to low density, it's all housing. And then also there was a mention about some financing in order to get developers to build higher-rise buildings and infill and stuff like that, that they don't have the financing. But I'm kind of wondering, what's the difference between here and down in Merced or Fresno or Sacramento or any of the other places in the Valley where they are building infill? And then the last thing, and I think it's, is it SB 33, I think? So what would keep us from being able to comply with that mitigation of down zoning, but being able to keep the same amount of housing units in our plan? What mechanisms are to keep us from say, saying like, you know, on these 10 acres over here, we're just gonna 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 gonna put it all in one big mythical high rise that we know is never gonna get built. So I'm wondering 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 I heard from Gavin today. So one was the market demand. And so what we did is we actually received the application 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 property owner was looking to see if the city would then consider. In regards to financing, I could see in Merced and Turlock, 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 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 of housing units and never not plan or plan for less. And so 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 regarding item 31? All right. Seeing none, I will close public comments. And any comments from council members? Council member Wright.

Thank you, Mayor. I want to thank you for coming out and sharing with us your concerns. And after our meeting, I did have some concerns about your street. And when you're promised something and it seems like someone's taking it away or moving it down, kicking the can down the road, That does concern me, and I reached out to the staff, and I want to commend our staff to really look at some alternatives that 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 I know I have to put my car in four-wheel drive, my truck, in order to go down Mabel sometimes. And I really appreciate staff to really thinking outside the box to really accommodate this and everything. So my hat's off to you for bringing that to our attention and also my hat's 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.

Council Member Rickey.

Thanks, Mayor. I just want to say like this whole process isn't wheeling and dealing. It's just math and it's free markets. So if you're a developer and, you know, Modesto 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 gonna fix the problem. The actual problem is that you've got other communities that also have this whole set of rules and are doing it a different way. And so as long as developers have that option in this geographical area, Stanislaus County, that's how it's gonna be. So that's where the actual change needs to be.

All right, Vice Mayor Williams. Thank you, Mayor.

I'd like to thank, we thanked a lot of people today, but I really would like to thank the developers who had the foresight, who sat on property for years and years and years and years. and were patient enough to make this happen today or in this time that we're in. So I congratulate them, all of them, and I thank them for investing in the city of Modesto. I think that's wonderful. And I also am pleased and thankful that now that the Mabel neighborhood 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, Dave Romano, thank all of those 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 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 vesting tentative subdivision map of Tivoli, Parisian as amended.

so is that is that an additional that's right that's this one correct so as amended 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 six acres for medium high 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 roll for this item?

Council Member Alvarez? Aye. Council Member Rickey? Aye. Council Member Bavaro? Aye. Vice Mayor Williams? Aye. Council Member Wright? Aye. Council Member Scudia-Brachan? Aye. And Mayor Zwollin?

Aye. A resolution, that was unanimous, a 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 moved. Motion by Council Member Wright. Second. Second by Vice Mayor Williams. Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Alvarez. Aye. Council Member Rickey. Aye. Council Member Bavaro. Aye. Vice Mayor Williams. Aye. Council Member Wright. Aye. Council Member Scudier-Brachan. Aye. And Mayor Zwollin. Aye. Carries unanimously.

A resolution approving the vesting tentative subdivision map of Tivoli Alves. Do I have a motion?

So moved.

Second. Motion by Councilmember Bavaro, second by Councilmember Scudia-Brayton. Will the clerk please call the roll?

Councilmember Alvarez? Aye. Councilmember Rickey? Aye. Councilmember Bavaro? Aye. Vice Mayor Williams? Aye. Councilmember Wright? Aye. Councilmember Scudia-Brayton? Aye. And Mayor Zwollin?

Aye. Carries unanimously. A resolution approving the vesting tentative subdivision map of Tivoli, Parisienne as amended.

So moved.

Motion by Council Member Wright.

Second.

Second by Vice Mayor Williams. Will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Alvarez. Aye. Council Member Rickey. Aye. Council Member Bavaro. Aye. Vice Mayor Williams. Aye. Council Member Wright. Aye. Council Member Scudier-Brayton. Aye. And Mayor Zwollin. Aye.

Carries unanimously. A resolution approving the final development plan for Tivoli Alves.

Motion to approve.

Second. Motion by Councilmember Scootia Brayton. Second by Councilmember Rickey. Will the clerk please call the roll?

Councilmember Alvarez. Aye. Councilmember Rickey. Aye. Councilmember Pavarro. Aye. Vice Mayor Williams. Aye. Councilmember Wright. Aye. Councilmember Scootia Brayton. Aye. And Mayor Zwollin. Aye. 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 aye council member ricky aye councilman bavaro aye vice mayor williams aye council member wright aye council member scudier-brayton aye and mayors wallen aye carries unanimously

Resolution adopting an amendment to the general plan to restore the designation of eight 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. Motion by Council Member Alvarez. Second. Second by Council Member Escutia-Brayton. And will the clerk please call the roll?

Council Member Alvarez. Aye. Council Member Rickey. Aye. Council Member Bavaro. Aye. Vice Mayor Williams. Aye. Council Member Wright. Aye. Council Member Escutia-Brayton. Aye. And Mayor Zwollin. Aye.

Carries unanimously. Okay. Are there any matters too late for the agenda? Seeing none, I'm calling this meeting of the City Council to be adjourned.