Pretty diverse night.
We start the evening with a joint study session with the Parks and Recreation Commission to discuss possibly amending the Municipal Code regarding our rules governing the sale of recreation properties. This is followed by a fun one – our annual public safety awards. I believe this is when we honor officers and civilians who performed extraordinary services on behalf of the city.
The general session starts with recognition of National Public Works Week. The consent calendar is pretty small – our annual approval of the assessment for the Downtown Parking Maintenance District, a custodial services contract, and an application for green bicycle lanes.
Item 2 is a quickie. We were originally scheduled to consider an amendment to the Lawrence Station Area Plan regarding housing, but staff is requesting that we continue it for a month.
Item 3 is the big issue for the night – consider the results of our Charter Review Committee. We tasked them to look at the City Charter’s provisions regarding council vacancies, in light of the $800,000 special election we were forced to call in 2016 after the unexpected resignation of Councilmember Whittum. They’ve come back with a “hybrid” proposal for a Charter amendment that would allow the Council the discretion to make an appointment, call for a special election, or leave the seat vacant in some cases, while requiring specific Council action in others. Council will discuss this with an eye towards a Charter amendment ballot measure for the November election.
Item 4 gives us the results of polling on a possible Transient Occupancy (hotel) Tax increase and a possible real estate transfer tax increase. In short, polling shows broad support for a TOT increase from 10.5% to 12.5%, but little support for a real estate transfer tax. Staff wants Council to provide direction on next steps.
Item 5 is approval of our 2018 Housing and Urban Development Action Plan.
Item 6 has us adopting positions on June ballot measures. Staff is recommending the following:
- Proposition 68 Bonds for Environment, Parks and Water – support
- Proposition 69 Transportation Funding – support
- Proposition 70 Cap-and-Trade Amendment – take no action
- Proposition 71 Ballot Measure Effective Date – take no action
- Proposition 72 Taxes for Rainwater Capture Systems – support
- Regional Measure 3 Bay Area Traffic Relief Plan – take no action
And finally, item 7 is our regular appointment of boardmembers and commissioners.
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