November 28, 2022 Special Meeting of Mountain View City Council

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[00:00:07] City Clerk Audrey Seymour Ramberg: Good evening everyone. Welcome to the city council special meeting to interview environmental planning commission applicants. The city is piloting the use of Zoom automated captioning for this meeting. The content represents unedited versions of computer generated captioning of city council meetings, which should neither be relied upon for complete accuracy, nor used as a verbatim transcript. Please select show captions and zoom to view captions. You may also click on the carrot up arrow next to the show captions button to select your preferred captioning language, alter captioning settings, such as spont size, or view the full transcript in a side panel. I will now read the usual announcement as required. This meeting will be conducted in accordance with California government code section 54953E as authorized by resolution of the city council. Please contact city.clerk at mountain view.gov to obtain a copy of the applicable resolution. All members of the city council are participating in this meeting by video conference with no physical meeting location. Members of the public wishing to observe the meeting live may do so at youtube.com forward slash Mountain View Gus. As noted on the meeting agenda, members of the public may provide oral public comments during the public comment period by visiting mountain view.gov forward slash meeting to enter the Zoom weaponar or by phone by dialing 669-900-9128 and entering webinar ID 859-7928-4072. Any emails received by 430 PM today were received directly by the city council. City clerk will take attendance by roll call.

[00:01:47] City Clerk Audrey Seymour Ramberg: Yes, remember, Amicoga?

[00:01:50] Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga: Here, Council member committ,

[00:01:52] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: here, Council member Labor?

[00:01:54] Councilmember Sally Lieber: Sure. Yeah. Yeah.

[00:01:58] City Clerk Audrey Seymour Ramberg: Council member Shelter is not here by Mayor Hicks. Here.

[00:02:04] City Clerk Audrey Seymour Ramberg: Mayor Ramirez.

[00:02:05] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Here.

[00:02:06] City Clerk Audrey Seymour Ramberg: You have a forum with council membership, we'll transfer.

[00:02:09] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Thank you. We will now move to item 3.one conduct environmental planning commission applicant interviews. But any member of the public on the line like to provide comment on this item. If so, please click the raise hand button in Zoom, or press star 9 on your phone. A timer will be displayed on the screen. Uh, so it looks like we have a little bit. different format here. Uh, and I am not seeing any member of the public raising their hand. So we will conclude public comments. Proceed with the item. The council will interview 7 applicants for the environmental planning commission for the selection process outlined in council policy number K2. Interviews will be conducted in a panel format. Each applicant will receive the same amount of time to answer each question. Uh, the questions selected by the council will be asked in randomized round robin order, and the city clerk will alert each applicant when their time has elapsed. The council may ask a limited number of clarifying questions in the event, a candidate's answer was unclear or otherwise not understood. Clarifying questions should not be used to allow a candidate an additional opportunity to expand on the original response. Does any member of the council have suggested changes to the questions utilized last year or the time allocation for each question. And I see there is a list in the agenda flow, and if you do not have that, um, uh, let us know and the city clerk can forward that onto you. Um, I think just to get us started. Uh there are uh 4 uh sorry 3 questions. Uh, the 1st is, tell us about yourself and the role of the EPC, uh, the, uh, I guess the, an amount of time allocated for that question is one minute. Uh, what are your thoughts? What are your thoughts on the city's existing plans, like the general plan and precise plans, 2 minutes for that question, and how would you balance private property rights and community benefits, and how would you consider public comment from residents, and 2 minutes are allocated to that question? Uh council member Mattachek?

[00:04:34] Councilmember Lisa Matichak: Thank you. So, um, I don't so much mind asking. The 1st question of the folks who are not incumbents. But it seems kind of odd to ask an incumbent that question. And I was wondering, um, can we ask the incumbents a different question in place of that? Uh, I'll defer to the city clerk, but historically, I think we've been discouraged from asking applicants different questions. I think just out of fairness, but I could be wrong.

[00:05:07] City Clerk Audrey Seymour Ramberg: Yeah, the policy, um, discusses asking everyone the same question, then giving everyone the same amount of time, so if you want to kind of, Add on to it to maybe capture things that would be more appropriate for incumbents versus other members. That might be a way around it.

[00:05:29] Councilmember Lisa Matichak: So maybe, um, it could be amended to include, um, what have you personally done, um, to make a contribution to the APC? Or if you are not an incumbent, what do you think you would bring to the APC that would be, you know, unique and different and make a contribution that way? But, um, that 1st question, I feel like, um, I I know I don't need, uh, folks to answer a lot of that. Um, because I think we, We read their applications. So, um, I guess I'm looking more for what do you think you bring to it and what have you contributed? Thanks.

[00:06:18] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Thank you. I've, I've captured that as, uh, what, so the 1st question would be modified to, what have you personally done to make a contribution to the EPC, or if you are not currently serving, what would you bring to the EPC that is unique? Their general consensus on that modification? Okay, great, thank you. Uh are there any other comments or questions about process or about time allocation or questions? Um, if not, um, uh, and if there's, unless there's any objection, I was planning to read all of the questions just to, uh, save time and trouble. Okay. Okay. uh well thank you uh We will now begin admitting the applicants.

[00:07:27] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Okay, council member come in?

[00:07:29] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: Thank you. So would question one continue to be one minute?

[00:07:36] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Uh, yes, unless Counsel would like to allocate a different amount of time.

[00:07:42] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: Okay. Thank you.

[00:07:45] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Thank you. Good clarifying question. Let's see, so we've got one. 234567. I think everyone is now in the panel.

[00:08:07] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Thank you for joining us this evening. The question selected by the council will be asked in randomized round robin order. I will tell you how much time you have for each question ahead of asking it, and just as a, a starting point, thank you all for applying, um, it's, uh, it's fantastic to see so much interest in this body. Um, I'm gonna go ahead and start. I have a, a, an order, um, that I'll just read from and then a different, applicant will begin each round of, of uh new questioning, so the 1st uh. 1st applicant uh will be uh Anne Kavanagh, uh the 1st question, uh you will have one minute to respond to, and that question is, what have, uh, in this case, there, it, it will depend on where you are relative to, uh, you know, your, your position on the planning commission. What have you personally done to make a contribution to the EPC or if you are not currently serving, what would you bring to the EPC that is unique? Okay, ready to go?

[00:09:17] Anne Kavanagh: Okay. Um, so, I think, uh, probably the most unique thing that I would bring to the, um, EPC. I mean, I've been a resident of Mountain View for many years, um, 22 years. I, um, grew up in a very well run city and have always been impressed with how well run Mountain View is, um, and would like to do my part to keep it that way. Um, I'm a resident of the downtown area and also a very small um, landlord in the downtown area. And I think that, um, having those 2 different perspectives is something that could be valuable, um, to the commission. Um, in addition, I think uh, I have a talent for perspective taking and assimilating information. And I think, um, one of your very difficult jobs on the commission is to balance a lot of, um, different constituencies needs, and I think I would be able to do that well.

[00:10:08] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Great, thank you very much. The next applicant is Bill Cranston.

[00:10:16] Bill Cranston: Thank you. Um, so what have I brought to the commission? Um, I'm a small business owner and one of the things that, um, as what I've tried to do is bring the perspective of somebody who's trying to work with, uh, that has employees who are trying to live in the Bay Area. Um, The business that I have is, uh, is fairly small. We've, while I'm paying people well above minimum wage. Most of them are in the in the below market rate in uh, in moderate income categories. So making sure that I bring the business perspective, but also trying to bring perspective of what's it like to try to keep people in the area, working in the area, contributing and and looking at how does that affect the mountain view? Um, And what can we do to make sure that we keep those people in the city. Um, I've also tried to be very diligent about making sure that I stay up on the laws in the state, what's being, um, what the legislature is putting through, how are those things going to impact the city?

[00:11:23] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Okay, thank you. Thank you very much. The next applicant is Paul Donahue.

[00:11:31] Paul Donahue: Hi there. Um, so, I think that what I would bring is just, uh, well, 1st of all, I have a passion for for good governance, and I've been involved in the city, uh, various advisory bodies for the last 16 years, 7 years on the PRC, 8 years on the library board. And I have 9 years of land use experience on the county's airport land use commission, which oversees land use near airports to make sure that it's compatible with airports. Um, I have uh, uh, great attention to detail. Um, I also, um, Um, Just excited to, to, to, to give back to the community, uh, and, and be involved with the city as, as I have been for, uh, most of the, the time that I've lived here. Thanks.

[00:12:28] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Thank you very much. Next applicant is Jose Gutierrez.

[00:12:34] José Gutiérrez: Sure, let me know when to start.

[00:12:37] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Whenever you're ready.

[00:12:38] José Gutiérrez: Oh, okay, awesome. Thanks. I'll go for it right now. Hey, so I'm a single parent. I'm got 2 beautiful girls. I've been a member of the community for now over 22 plus years. Have served on prior boards as well. I'm an ethnic uh minority person. Trying to survive in the, um, this crazy rent area that we call our home Mountain View. And during the past year, I've been trying to do everything I can to promote affordable housing, uh, to see what we can do to have partnerships established between the city of Mountain View and others as well. The charities program and our housing project was one example of how we can work together to make things happen for the community. And at the same time, I also like to bring consensus to the group. Uh, I know that we have different opinions with strong viewpoints. And I like to think that I've been able to bridge that gap sometimes. Bring forth a resolution that's going to be helpful for the city council with their government's decisions that come afterwards.

[00:13:34] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Oh okay. One minute goes by quickly. Um, thank you. The next applicant is Celia Pamer.

[00:13:45] Celia Pamer: Hi, um, so I, I'm Celia Pamer. I am also a 15 year resident of Mountain View before that. I grew up in Palo Alto. Um, and I think one unique perspective I bring is, um, that I've been an environmental science teacher, and so I think I can bring, um, kind of an awareness of the nuance of how, uh, we can develop our city while also keeping in mind the environmental impacts. Um, And I'm also a mother and I bike to work every day. Um, so I get to see how our um, active transport infrastructure works around the city quite consistent, consistently. Um, also being a teacher, I have um, kind of an inside view on how the city relates with the schools um, in the area. And so I think those are some of the unique perspectives I might bring too, the UPC.

[00:14:36] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Thank you. You very much. The next applicant is Molly Smith.

[00:14:45] Molly Smith: Hi, I'm Molly. I am manured to the area. I have been here just over 2 years. I came from Boulder, Colorado, but originally from the Greater Bay Area. So I have kind of a outside interest in, you know, options that are available to city development and the environmental impacts. Um, I am also a commuter. I am a trained commuter for my work, and I really want to get more involved in my community. I also have environmental studies degree and I'd love to apply it.

[00:15:22] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Great, thank you very much. And the next applicant is Lee Jean.

[00:15:29] Lee Jean: Hi, uh, my name is Lee. I says I'm mute.

[00:15:37] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Uh, no, we we can hear you, Lee.

[00:15:39] Lee Jean: Okay, okay. Um, I'm, I'm, I want to bring my ecos acetic and energy to, uh, the EPC. Um, I also lived in Mountain View for over 20 years and I've lived here since I was single, then I was married. Then we've raised our kids in Mountain View. So I lived on both on the north side of Al Camino and the south sides of Al Camino. I do want to bring my perspective of, um, you know, sleepy part of the towns to the to the EPC as well. Um, I'm a big uh, proponent for uh, sustainability. I have a PhD degree in chemistry as well. So, um, I'm well uh, worse with the impact of uh, the environment. Um, so I, I wanted to bring, um, uh, the consensus, uh, and how to uh, remove restraints with the development with the housing, which is the challenge. I understand its current challenge with any housing projects. So I wanted to how... Okay. Yeah, outrage to the community.

[00:16:50] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Thank you very much. So now we will move on to the next question and this time you will have 2 minutes to respond. Uh, and we will start with Bill. The question is, what are your thoughts on the city's existing plans, like the general plan, and precise plans?

[00:17:10] Bill Cranston: Good question. Um, so they, the general plan, um, was put in place, about 8 years ago. Um, a lot of things were included in that with the, the change areas, and those have had a pretty big impact on, uh, as we've worked over the last several years with, with Bayshore, um, San Antonio, El Camino, and East Westman. Um, Those have really changed, had a pretty significant impact on where we see the development of the city going forward and what it's going to do from there. Um, There are challenges within that, the general plan, um, was done at a time when the economy was was not in the shape that it was the last couple years, and was definitely not done at a time where we see, you know, the impact of COVID going forward. Um, there are areas of the city that I think uh, potentially, could be looked at for redevelopment beyond where the general plan currently is outlined, but that would require us to look at the general plan potentially, um, and maybe look at additional precise plans. Um, the existing precise plans that are in place, I think, have done, uh, are fairly strong. I, I, I, think the East West Moon Precise Plan, El Camino have been very impactful. We're seeing some of the impact of San Antonio. We, we have, we still have to realize the benefit of the North Bay shore precise planet. Hasn't, hasn't realized what we had set out to do. So, um, do we need to look at that? I'm not sure. Downtown is very much something we did look at. There's been, there was a lot of discussion around the soprano project. There was a lot of interest and we looking at that. I really think looking at downtown. It was something that was done many years ago is going to be important to us going forward. Um, so I think the the plans that we have in place have made progress. There's some opportunity with some of the ones that have that are older. Um, and at least one that has not yet realized the benefit that was, we hoped it would deliver. Thanks.

[00:19:18] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Thank you. And next is Jose. Uh, Jose, you're you're muted.

[00:19:33] José Gutiérrez: Thank you, Lucas. Um. Let's see here. During the past year, I've been doing everything I can to learn what's going on within the life of the city. And I've been able to touch a little bit on certain types of precise plans, and for others, I haven't. Um, but I know in terms of my general opinion for a general plan. It's been a while, and I'm of the opinion, and this is not something that I promote, because I'm on the EPC, uh, when I'm on the APC, I do what's given to us in terms of review of the plans, and, uh, pitching with insight, uh, and and suggestive, uh, options for betterment of the plans. Um, but in terms of the drone plan itself, I like to see it revised. I like for us to be able to, for the city council to sit down, together as a team, work through that because times have changed, needs have changed, COVID has impacted us, and all sorts of different ways. Um, some of us are still working from home, others will not. But the development of the city has to continue on, and those plans sometimes affect and dictate the pace in which developers look at our city for potential output. And if we have a revised general plan that you all can then look at. I think that would give us more of a stronger voice at the table negotiations when and if these new plans come into play, because I think the way it stands now, and one example would be the downtown precise plan. Some dopers may come in and look at this as an opportunity to do something that's not in benefit for the city, up to a point, right? And those are the loopholes that we have to look for. So when we look at this option to set a cap for the parking, for the downtown precise plan, and we went with it to give you all support and time to be able to look at those items in the future to figure out how best can we approach this so that we don't have another sorbado situation. I think that's important to understand. So the way I look at it is, uh, exactly just that, if we have time for the city to have you all look at the general plan. Make revisions to it, like you're thinking about possibly doing with a downtown precise plan. It's going to further enhance and bold in our positions when it comes down to speaking with developers, developers of all sorts when they come into mountain view and suggest what they'd like to do.

[00:21:34] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Thank you very much. Next is Molly.

[00:21:44] Molly Smith: Um. I'm not as well versed as others on this as I'm still pretty new and still trying to learn as much as I can. Um, I did, I am very interested in the fact that we've had the general plan, and, yeah, times have definitely just changed so drastically that I feel that we definitely do need to do a review as others have stated, it's just, Our society has changed so much a 2 year span that obviously nobody would have ever really planned or accounted for before it happened. And going forward with plans that were made before, just seems kind of backwards in that regard. And kind of, I don't want to say this, scrape the plate in that regard, but kind of at least really look at things and see how our growth changes and our need changes have really affected the original goal and where we might need to move those goalposts. From where we were thinking we were going to go and where we might need to go as a city now. Um, Yeah, the, the impacts of COVID, developing downtown in, um, both the, the, Downtown plan in the general plan of, you know, the stores versus the restaurants versus the people versus the walking and the cars. I know that it's kind of, getting there, but I think there could be a lot more attention to it, and the impacts it. Are changing.

[00:23:27] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Thank you very much. And the next is Lee.

[00:23:32] Lee Jean: Yes, hi, um, I understood the general plan was, uh, this, I was, uh, finalized in 2012. It was quite some time ago, but it was a visionary plan. Um, my understanding is, um, it, as in certain circumstances, is not exactly in line with the precise plan, uh, but to rework the general plan. It take may, it's going to take me to 4 years. So I think council will have to evaluate very carefully if we have the resource or manpower to do that. But in the meantime, I did notice with a couple, uh, sites I studied, um, um, say the shopping center, village shopping center side, uh, in housing elements. Um, it was uh, look, the zoning was uh, C on the commercial side, but in the general plan was already mixed use. So, uh, the zoning were be need to be updated in that instance. So I do believe carefully try to align the general plan with the current precise plan and the zoning are crucial for implement housing element going forward. Um, so, I, I don't, I don't really know, at this point, I couldn't say for sure what's the best afford effort, but I do like to see that console, have some direction, give some direction to, uh, the city staff on the R3 app zoning, uh, as, 3 zoning, um, uh, uh, as well as how the displacement strategy is going to work out uh, in, according with R3 A, because that's, um, I think there are a lot of uncertainty on that, uh, amount community as well as, you know, with the CD staff. Um, that direction need to be provided, I would assume going forward. Um, in a, um, in general, I think, you know, It's not like we have a lot of choices at this point with the arena requirements. Um, we have to put our best food going forward.

[00:25:39] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Thank you very much. Next is Sylvia.

[00:25:48] Sylvia: Hi, um, yeah, so, um, I kind of agree that if you look over the the master plan, There's so much good stuff in it, and I know the devil gets in the details. I think there's been some conflict between projects and precise plans. Um, as to how to, like, really meet the master plans goals that sometimes, um, there's a disconnect between the 2 sets of documents. Um, but overall, I think the themes of the master plan are all things that I've really been advocating for already in the city. Um, there's a lot of calls out for um, active transportation planning, increasing park spaces, and um, outdoor use spaces, um, really supporting, um, like our environmental stewardship of stewardship of the area. Um, if we look at the themes of the master plan. It's all about quality of life, sustainability, um, and encouraging more health and wellness. Um, so these are all things that have already been working for, towards, um, by participating in, um, groups like the, um, BPAC and, um, Parks and Rec Commission and Green Spaces Mountain View. Um, so these are all things I'm already standing behind. And then the trick is how do we incorporate them into our, um, design process as we, um, we increase our housing capacity within this city. So it's, it seems like all the general goals are there, and then the question is, how do we implement them in a balanced way to support our growing population and make sure that our city stays in inclusive space by making space for everyone who needs to be here and work to support each other. Um, So, um, I'm actually really excited about the idea of, um, possibly the redevelopment of the, um, the neighborhood centers, like Blossom and stuff because they're not very walkable right now. And so I would really love to see them developed into a much denser, more walkable space for everybody.

[00:27:55] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: That's your time. Thank you. Thank you very much. Next is Paul.

[00:28:04] Paul Donahue: So I, I think I will distinguish myself from a few of the other people, uh, earlier who wanted to reopen the general plan. I mean, the general plan was put in place about 10 years ago, and I, my recollection is it took about 4 years to, to get that thing, uh, through with, uh, so that it seems like a pretty heavy lift, and I don't think that every 10 years we should be spending, we should be spending 4 out of every 10 years, uh, redoing the general plan. Um, So, Of course, that doesn't mean that it shouldn't be amended. I mean, there are, there are some, uh, details around the edges and things that, uh, that could obviously be be tweaked and and improved. I don't have any specific examples in mind off the top of my head. But, um, I think that, uh, the, Precise plans are good, that, and a lot of them are transit oriented, for instance, um, so like El Camino, is a, you know, a transit route, um, downtown is near the train station, uh, cetera. Uh, I think that we need to make sure that all these plans, uh, achieve our sustainability goals, and, um, as as we develop, say, new neighborhoods like North Bay Shore. It needs to not just be, uh, let's just throw a bunch of housing out there. I mean, it needs to be a complete neighborhood, right? It needs to have the services, it needs to have the transportation, it needs to have schools, it needs to have parks. I mean, it was on the PRC for years, so parks are always a big one for me. Um, and, uh, and just all the amenities so that it's not, um, some, you're not living on the wrong side of 101. It needs to, it needs to be just like the rest of the city. Um, And the other thing that I think is is certainly big in everybody's minds right now is the housing element update. Um, that obviously needs to go through the, the, the lead story in the uh, Mercury News yesterday was about the builder's remedy, which.

[00:30:10] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Oh, that's it. Okay, thank you. Thank you very much. And next is Anne.

[00:30:22] Anne Kavanagh: Yeah, so I. um, similarly, I, I think when I look at the, the general plan and um, the precise plans. Uh, you know, I think the question was, what, um, what do you think of the plans? And I think the plans are all very good and they address a lot of the important things that I think we all care about as residents, which, you know, environmental sustainability and, you know, mountain view continuing to be sort of on the cutting edge of developing, you know, environmentally sustainable communities. Um, the, you know, demographic diversity. You know, I think those of us who choose to live here, that's something important to us as well. And so, you know, the plans, the plans definitely, um, value that and and explicitly call those out as important elements of our, you know, urban design. So, I think if things aren't always working out exactly the way we want them to, that doesn't mean necessarily the plan was bad. Um, it might mean that the circumstance it is of, you know, we're, you know, you're dealing with, we're in a, um, an environment where there's just not, um, a lot of land. And so it's it's tricky as, you know, people have flowed into the Bay Area and, you know, I know they're flowing out now. But, but balancing, um, balancing the needs of the plan against sort of the realities on the ground. Um, and I think, you know, that's what sort of all of these answers are, are grappling with is how, how we adapt, you know, using the plan as a guide, but then using, um, adapting to circumstances like COVID and its impact on downtown and, you know, creating a pedestrian mall. Um, and so, uh, from, you know, with the question being, what do you think of the plans? I think the plans are great. Um, to me as a, you know, uh, I think that this body, the environmental um, planning commission has done a very good job than of adapting those plans as conditions change. Um, and, you know, the fact that North Bay Shore promise has not been realized yet. I think is, is not, um, And...

[00:32:31] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Yes. That's your time. You very much. Well, now move on to the final question, and you will have 2 minutes to respond. And we will start this time with Paul.

[00:32:47] Paul Donahue: Question is, how would you balance private property rights and community benefits? And how would you consider public comment from residents? Public comment is super important to me. Um, I think that, oh, well, that's why I have 2 ears in one mouth, right? I, I, uh, it's, it's important uh, to listen to gather the, uh, input from the public. And of course, you're not going to make everyone happy. Um, right? Somebody will always be kind of, you know, if there's 2 sides, one side will always kind of um, end up, uh, losing. But I think it's important for the public to feel heard and respected, right? That's, that's, that's what it, it's all, uh, our, our whole system is built on. Um, The, as far as uh, private property and public benefits, um, The, well, community benefits, I think, are, um, uh, I mean, I, I guess, if, if I were to pick a, a specific example, like, uh, like, private open space versus public open space, generally I would, I would lean towards public uh, that can be used by all of the community and it's not uh, limited to just uh, people in a particular development. Um, because that, that benefits the entire community, right? That's, and that's ultimately what it, what it should all be about. Um, The. Other than that, um, I guess that's about, yes, that's about all the, all the comments that I can think about the top of my head. Thanks.

[00:34:38] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Thank you. The next applicant is Celia.

[00:34:47] Celia Pamer: Um, so, um, I think probably if it was a set of scales, I'd probably lean more towards, um, public benefit when I was thinking about, um, the property rights, especially as we're going more dense. And the reason why is the more dense we are, the more spaces we need to be sharing, right? Um, not everyone's going to have a backyard in these places, so we're going to need a place for them to go and have those outdoor experiences. Um, whether it's in the higher density developments as, um, maybe an on-site shared use space that isn't fully public, but is like a communal outdoor eating area or something, so people get to have that outdoor experience. Or if it is looking at our city trying to incorporate that, um, increased outdoor space like public, um, areas.

[00:35:37] Celia Pamer: Um, I think it's also interesting somehow, sometimes this dynamic has come up when it's how to use the public spaces and who thinks they are private, for instance, the parking along El Camino. Um, we wanted to re claim it as a public space for bike lanes and some people saw it as their sort of private use space. And so sometimes there's also that discussion to be had. Um, and that's where, as Paul mentioned, the public comment is so important. People do need to feel heard. Um, I know that I won't agree with everyone on everything, but I always try to find common ground. Um, and I think as someone who loves to give a lot of comment, I would hope other people would take that seriously and I would take other people's seriously as well, um, because I know how much time it takes for people to be in the meetings waiting for that chance to speak, how much time it takes for them to make sure they can fit it in their 2 minutes. Um, and so they've put a lot of thought and consideration into what they've said. And sometimes possibly even more thought into certain details than I would have had time for. Um, so I think public comment is super important. And as we get denser, we need to kind of look at how we're going to share our spaces more. Um, through the city.

[00:36:52] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Very much. Next is Lee.

[00:36:58] Lee Jean: Hi, uh, regarding to the public comments, uh, I did read through all the public comments uh, with the housing elements, both in both drafts, and I noticed that there are just Pretty geared towards certain groups of people always giving comments. So I'm just wondering, so I would like to be the person if I'm, you know, selected for this commission that reached out to more broader communities, so get more feedback, and we don't want people like in a year or 2 many years into it, then realize they were never being involved. So that that's my feedback on the public comments, just need more diverse feedback from different communities. Uh, regarding to the private properties or uh, uh, public uh, benefits. I'm now very familiar with this subject. So I, I do recall it came up during our 3 uh, zoning outreach, like, uh, weather create more common space for people to share. And I did notice in the past, a lot of condos, they have their private space, inside of a condo, not open to the public. Um, as well, the only other thing I can think about is the private, uh, you know, on the school yard, whether it should be shared with public. Um, I think it's, you know, I don't know enough on the subject to give a lot of comments. That's that's all I know at this point. Thank you.

[00:38:22] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Thank you very much. Next is Anne.

[00:38:31] Anne Kavanagh: Yeah, I think, um, I mean, I think, I think you have to. I don't think it's, I think you'll have to prioritize, prioritize both um private and public and I think getting too unbalanced in that regard, um, is, is probably not the best thing for the city. Having said that, like, I think, It is important to have, you know, shared spaces, um, for people who are not private um, owners. Um, and I think it is also important for, um, you know, private landowners to have, uh, the rights that they have uh, paid for through their investments. So that's my perspective on that. Regards to public comment. I mean, I think it's incredibly important and valuable. I always hear something, another perspective that I hadn't considered another people from another area, who would be affected differently, than I had considered. So I think it's, it's super important to, um, for public comment because it makes people feel heard. And I think it's also super important for the people listening, um, to, to value those perspectives and uh, come up, uh, here input that they um, might not have considered.

[00:39:48] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Great. Thank you very much. Next is Jose.

[00:39:55] José Gutiérrez: Thank you, sir. This is a democracy. This is how it works at the local level and I love it because it's both a challenge and it's manning sometimes because you agree to disagree based on everything that you hear, everything that you read, all the emails that come in. I'm engaged in being able to find out, what are they thinking about and why? Well, if they stop me on Castro, uh, because that's happened. I'll listen, right? And I'll listen to the feedback and I think that's the biggest challenge that we have it sometimes, whether we're in public or on a board or part of a team here in, in, um, government world or at work. The biggest challenge we have right now is listening to one another's spots and ideas and finding valuing the difference that we have to share. And that for me is important. That's why I applaud people who call, who write or who email, who talk to you, because it's not an easy thing to do, and it takes a certain type of person to have that strength, to be able to say, hey, this is what I think. And I know that to say, I agree, but disagree, and you move forward towards something more constructive, and I think it's great that we have this process and place. The other aspect, though, is in terms of like public and private land, rights along with community benefits. Depending on the project, that's going to dictate the conversation alone. And I think if it's a private one or a public one, if you're looking at housing versus a business community, there's laws in place that say what you can and cannot do. And there's also laws in place that say what the city can gain in, uh, terms of the community benefit. So as long as we can figure out what those options are for us when we get those plans at the EPC before they go onto Utah for further review. Our jobs will be able to figure out how much can we get for the benefit of the community, whether it's more units or more green space or more park space. That's where we come into plate to be able to figure out, where can we step in? What can we ask for and work with a developer, to get as much as we can in return for the benefit and value of the city and everyone who lives here?

[00:41:53] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Thank you very much. Next is Molly.

[00:42:02] Molly Smith: Um, I love being heard right here. I loved hearing everybody else. I think it's important to always have public comment and be able to, you know, communicate with everyone and yeah, hearing other perspectives are, is always beneficial, even if you don't like them. Um. The public space versus private space, I have to agree with quite a few others that, you know, I don't like saying that we should be able to infringe. We should definitely have, you know, people own their property that. They should have those rights to their property and their space. But with the new developments, I have to say, I've experienced quite a few. I'm not too far from one off of middle field, that they took down a sizable complex, and they are putting up new complex of, I want to say townhomes. But they took out some amazing trees. And I just want to make sure that whatever steps forward on all of those, the new complexes or developments that are going in, that we make sure that we have breaks and spaces because even if we do have, Spaces are separate. Large spaces. It's nice to have break up within a complex and airflow and plant matter, even just, General openness can help break up a complex and become more approachable and appealing in many ways.

[00:43:40] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: You very much. And next is Bill.

[00:43:48] Bill Cranston: So, uh, when it comes to public versus private, I'm a pretty strong believer in that somebody who owns property should be able to look at the rules that the city has and be able to work within those rules. The the trade-offs of public versus private is when they want to go outside of those rules. And also when the city looks at it, it says, you know, the rules that we've had in place don't work anymore. If it comes incumbent on us as a as a EPC, as a council. Look at those rules and say, do those rules still make sense going forward? And go through a process that make sure that gets that community input, to look at those rules going forward, and if they need to be updated, then make those updates. But during the time that the rules are in place, to, for, to, to use the rules that are in place for their projects and, and move ahead with those. When they want to go outside of those rules and they're looking at something that goes outside of the existing zoning or land use requirements, then asking that question, is that fair? What are they looking to try to do? Are there things that we can do is trade-offs? Um is important. And quite frankly, one of the challenges we're going to have going forward is that the density bonus lot actually puts a lot of handcuffs on cities on how much they can ask in the way of those community benefits because if they're perceived as something that actually impairs the ability to move ahead with the project. It, it limits the, it, the state has basically said, you can't do that. So, getting as much as we can may be a good thing, but the state has also said you need to be fair and reasonable about the way you approach that. When it comes to community input, um, I think it's extremely viable, and quite frankly, some of the most, the thing most some of the most thought provoking things are the letters that come in ahead of time. Um, The League of Women voters is, uh, is in particular has been, is great at bringing forward really great ideas, thought, thought-woking ideas, um, that have helped me in sessions. Um, so it's not just the verbal communications in the, in the meeting, but also the, the emails that come in ahead of time as well as the outreach in the local community. Um, and recognizing that not everybody who's going to be affected is going to be there.

[00:45:55] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: No, that's your time. Thank you. Thank you very much. And that concludes the interview portion of the discussion. Thank you all again for applying, and at the conclusion of, of the deliberation and uh recommendation, um, you, I, I, it is a public meeting, you are not, uh, uh, required to leave, but if you elect to, um, uh, to sign off, then uh, somebody from the city clerk's office will be in touch with you, uh, at the conclusion of the process. So thank you all again uh for uh participating in this process. I will now bring the matter back to the council for voting. There are 24 year terms available for the council to make recommendations for. If there's a tie vote, we will revote on the tide applicants. And I'll note that this process can be changed upon a majority vote of the council. And I think just to make sure everyone is on the same page. Um, there may be a desire for discussion prior to voting, so, um, let's take comments 1st and then once everyone has provided input, um, if you choose to, uh, then we'll start with the, the rounds of voting. And if there are no comments, we could proceed directly to vote. Council member command.

[00:47:17] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: Great, thanks so much, Mayor. I have some general comments. Um, and sounds like now's the time to do so. Great, perfect. So, um, I, I, um, did take the opportunity to watch several, um, EPC meetings and, um, thought that something, I believe the, the city clerk has brought up and I believe our city manager has brought up are worth, um, pursuing and I'm not sure how we do that. Um, which is a, a commission or board training 101. Um, I do, um, think that that was part of the discussion early on and, um, I, I would like to see us be able to do that, particularly, um, kind of, yeah, I'm, I'm grateful that we're going to be moving from Zoom to in person and hopefully that will, um, alleviate some of, I think, the things that I noticed in the, in the virtual APC meetings that I reviewed. Um, but I'm, I'm hopeful that that we do that, um, and that some of the questions can be answered. I think, um, perhaps also, um, some clarity on the questions being asked to to EPC and their advisory capacity. I think, you know, as a former APC member myself. I know sometimes we, um, it can, it can become nebulous kind of, do we recommend according to the commission or recommend according to what we think council needs, and I think some clarity perhaps in that kind of border commission training would, would be helpful. Um, and something that I'm that I'm looking to to see. Um, I think it makes us all more effective and we were received as a council quite a bit of input on like the public comment process and how that's going to be hybrid. And so I believe that EPC might be moving hybrid as well. I'm not sure, but I think that they will as council will be moving forward in hybrid and how that process may work. So those are just some things that I noticed, um, that I think could could lead to some, um, helpful improvements for the EPC in general. Thanks, Mayor.

[00:49:33] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Thank you very much. Bye, Smir Hicks.

[00:49:38] Vice Mayor Alison Hicks: Well, I would, I would support those comments. I would 2nd those comments from a council member to May. Um, I was going to I don't have general comments. I was going to make motion. And uh, then people could 2nd it and talk about it or um, or not. Depending on what they prefer. Um, so, I was going to, uh, um, to put, uh, Bill Cranston on for another 4 years, I have to say, I, uh, 1st became familiar with his work when, uh, I was on a Google walking tour with a bunch of people, and he was just asking, I have to say, the smartest questions in the tour group, and I said, to myself, I'm glad we have somebody, who, um, you know, understands the issues and ask good questions and can do so in public. Um, and I think he has in in EPC meetings as well. So I would uh, move to uh, re-add Bill Cranston to uh, the EPC and then the other person I've been impressed with over, uh, past year or so is Celia Paymer. So, uh, as she's gone to really a tremendous number of meetings, uh, council meetings, DRC, green spaces. I did not bring. I should have brought a list of them and she's made, uh, very smart comments on really a wide array of things, um, as she did tonight, whether it be housing, active transportation, green spaces, parks, et cetera. So I think she has um, the breadth of, um, a background as well. So that would be my motion. Thank you. Thank you.

[00:51:24] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: So I hate, I hate to be the, uh, the stashi bureaucrat, but our policy does prescribe a voting method, and unless I'm mistaken, we may need a majority vote of the council to, to change the process. Um but I'll I'll defer to the city clerk um and we obligated to use the voting process to find the policy um unless there's a majority vote or um could we go straight so soon?

[00:51:55] City Clerk: Um yeah. I mean, I, I think if, if the council wanted to change from what's prescribed in the policy, then it would be good to at least get a show of hands for support to, to change over to, you know, a motion 2nd and all in paper. Um, so it's, it's, entirely up to the council. you would like to do that instead. Okay.

[00:52:22] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: creation from um the the selection product. I have a preference to, to test that with the council 1st before proceeding to a motion and I think part of the value in using the, we may have to go through a couple of iterations of, uh, candidates before we find out where there's majority support. Um, otherwise, we may have to make a series of questions that may have to go back to earlier iterations if there isn't a majority for anything.

[00:52:56] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: The floor back, Vicemer Hicks, did you want a test to see if there was interest in deviating from the selection process?

[00:53:06] Vice Mayor Alison Hicks: I'm these, my comments can just be comments and we can do the voting method. That's, that's fine with me unless you want me to, I can also just run it by everyone. That's, That's simple as well. Um, I could just, I've got my, my tally in the happy market. for around.

[00:53:31] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Why don't we use your tally method and what the statements I made are just my own comments.

[00:53:37] Vice Mayor Alison Hicks: Okay. I work for me. Thank you.

[00:53:39] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Um, any other general comments? If not, then we can just go through one by one and I'll keep a tally and then let everyone know where, uh, whether there are majority. Not seeing any hands up, so why don't we just go ahead and go one buy one and see where the votes land. Council member Abby, hook up. Would you like to?

[00:54:18] Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga: So, which is, we're providing our 2 names?

[00:54:20] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Yeah. Okay.

[00:54:22] Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga: Um, and I was just prefaced by saying, um, thank you to all the applicants. Um, I think we always have a great showing of applicants and, um, it's always hard to, um, hard to pick because they, there, there are many, many qualified folks. Um, but having said that, um, I think that, um, I've tried to follow a tradition where if, um, we have incumbents who have done a good job, that we, um, um, um, uh, reappoint them. And so in light of that, I will be, um, my 2 votes will be going to Bill Cranston and Jose Gutariz.

[00:55:02] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Thank you. Thank you, council member, Kmei. Great.

[00:55:08] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: Uh, thank you. So, um, I also want to thank all of our applicants. I think, um, EPC is the only commission that the full council appoints, and so it's always nice to see a lot of strong interest from um, our residents. So, um, I, um, would like to, um, have my support B for our, our existing EPC members. Um, Bill, who I know it's, it's, I think unprecedented, where he's had 2 back-to-back terms as, as chair. I think somebody cycled through and was chaired twice, but not back to back and I know that part of that was navigating during the pandemic, so I want to thank Bill for that, um, as well as the perspective he brings as a small business owner, homeowner, property owner, and living in Mona Loma community where we've heard a lot of, um, community feedback. Um, my other um, vote will be for Jose, uh, Gutierrez. Um, Jose also offers, I think, a unique perspective in terms of, um, the background that he brings one of our, uh, civic leadership academies is the Spanish language leadership academy, and last year I was proud to see that Jose was a participant in that, and has really been working and advocating with the community in terms of, um, getting that community and public input and bringing some transparency to, to how government can work, which is not always easy, um, that have been appreciative to see of his of his efforts.

[00:56:39] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Thank you. Counsel on Burley Bart?

[00:56:46] Councilmember Sally Lieber: Thank you. Um, well, so it's a good problem to have that we have more great people who are willing to serve the community than we have seats. And, and I think the thing that, uh, so impressed me, reading through everyone's applications, and then their, their comments that they've made here tonight is the, uh, emphasis that they put on, on serving the public and, um, trying to achieve the, uh, the best for our community. And I was really particularly impressed by everyone who talked about the public comments and and how, what a commitment is for, uh, neighbors to uh, come and participate in the process. And so I very, very much appreciate that. So my 2 difficult choices. Our number one, Bill Cranston and number two, Celia Paymer.

[00:57:42] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: You can't remember how to check. Thanks

[00:57:46] Councilmember Lisa Matichak: and apologies for the voice here. I lose it often. Um. I do appreciate everyone who applied. I was very impressed with a lot of the answers here tonight. Um, many of you, I have never met before, and uh, clearly you spent time, um, either preparing for this interview, or you've been preparing all along and brought that forward tonight. So thank you very much. I appreciate it. Um, I do watch a lot of the advisory body meetings, um, including the EPC meetings, and I, um, agree with the comment about the questions that, uh, Bill Cranston asks. I appreciate how thoughtful they are, um, and how knowledgeable he is about land use. Um, so I definitely support, um, reappointing uh, Bill Cranston. Um, I do struggle a bit because then, um, I feel like there were a lot of good folks who spoke tonight, and, um, I um. This one's really, really challenging for me. Um, I think I would like to support tonight, um, Paul Donahue. I worked with Paul on the airport land use commission, um, and he absolutely pays attention to the details. Um, and um, understands land use. And he has been a long-term contributor to the community. via all the other boards and commissions he's been on. And so, um, I would like to see if we could also appointment to the APC.

[00:59:31] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Thanks. Counselor and Bra Shelter.

[00:59:41] Councilmember Pat Showalter: Thank you. Yes, I would like to echo my colleagues, um, appreciation and thanks of the people who've applied. One of the things that I think is so heartening in Mountain View is the high caliber of people we get to step up to serve on these, um, advisory boards. It's uh, it's really wonderful. And I took the time to, um, reach out to everybody and talked to them, because it's, you know, the 5 minutes of questions and answers is so very short, that we have. So, so I, I really enjoy. I appreciate everybody um being willing to speak to me and I I really enjoyed talking to all of the applicants and um getting to know them a little better. Um, I, I, uh, um, I, I'm gonna. I, uh. I I think we can have 2 rounds here. And so, um, with that in mind, I, um, I'm going to put my 1st round vote to, um, soldia, uh, Palmer and Paul Donahue.

[01:00:53] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Nice Mary Hicks.

[01:00:59] Vice Mayor Alison Hicks: Okay. Well, I haven't changed my mind about who I'm voting for since I last spoke. Um, but I did want to say that, um, you know, I think from time to time, I, we don't have a lot of strong candidates and that's not the case this time. I do feel like we have a lot of strong candidates and it's not the easiest decision. But that said, I will be voting for, uh, Bill Cranston and Celia Panger.

[01:01:26] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: And Mayor Ramirez? Thank you, and I will reiterate much of what has already been said. 1st and thinking all of the applicants for applying. Um, it's, it's fascinating to me. watching the council over the years. Uh, how, uh, a lot of the, the popularity of the advisory bodies sort of, you know, ebbs and flows. Uh, sometimes will have, you know, very few applicants for the planning commission, uh, even when there are open seats and sometimes we'll have, uh, many applicants, even when we have, uh, you know, uh, as many incumbents up for reappointment as there are seats available. Um, and when the latter occurs, it's very difficult for us because as everyone is noted, uh, we get a lot of really strong candidates. Um, and this is inherently challenging because picking between, between people is, is tough, right? We don't want to discourage anyone from, uh, continuing to, you know, be civically engaged in our city, uh, especially when, uh, I think clearly, what I'm hearing from the council is everybody has something to offer. Um, it didn't make a difference in this context, but, um, I think it is important to note that, um, both, uh, if, unless I'm mistaken, correct me if I'm wrong, um, council appointments review committee, but Molly and Anne have been recommended for appointments to other advisory bodies, so, uh, you will both have a, to, uh, serve the city in in a different context. Uh but you know we're also grateful for you applying for this body. Um. And um, you know, I, I think getting to where my vote actually matters. Um, my philosophy over the 4 years I've had the honor to serve on council is to reappoint incumbents uh when they've been doing a fine job. Um, unless there is some uh, overriding consideration, um, you know, I feel like uh, a member of an advisory body, um, who has been attending meetings and has been contributing, um, you know, as a, uh, uh, you know, track record of, uh, uh, contributing, uh, you know, uh, in a way that other members of the advisory body, uh, may not be able to just given their, uh, Uh, where, where they reside in the city, their background or education, um, different, you know, subject matter interest, that kind of thing. Um, it, it's good to have sort of a, um, a variety of, of stakeholders represented to the greatest extent possible. Um, in this case. Um, you know, we, uh, we've, we've heard, uh, many members of the council share, uh, the, the contributions that, that, uh, commissioner or chair Cranston has brought over the years, not only on the planning commission, but also as a neighborhood leader, and an active resident for many years. Um, and so I'm, I'm happy to continue to uh, to support him. Um, sounds like I could learn from you, Bill. Um, you ask a couple of questions, someday I aspire to do the same. And then um I I'm also uh supporting uh Jose for reappointment for a couple of reasons uh one he has served I think, uh very well over the past year, um, and uh, I, I, I don't have the ability to watch every planning commission meeting, but I, I've tried to watch as many as I could, and, um, I think there's something to be said for, uh, helping maintain, uh, representation from historically underrepresented groups on, on all of our advisory bodies, and particularly the planning commission. Um, unless I'm mistaken. I think everyone here knows some of the items that are important to me. Um, you know, the, the, uh, R 3 update is, is very important to me, and, uh, I believe commissioner Gutierz is the only member of the planning commission who actually lives, properties owned R 3, uh, just as I am the only member of the council who, you know, lives in a property zoned R 3. I think that's an important consideration. Um, and, you know, we don't, we don't often get um, members of the, the, um, Latino Latinx community, um, on the planning commission, and I think that's, that's a very important consideration for me as well, as well as somebody who speaks Spanish fluently, um, just a, a skill I lack. Um. So, um, as uh, predicted by council member show Walter. Um, just given where the boats have played out, we will have a 2nd round. Um, so congratulations, Commissioner Cranston, unless the council deviates from this recommendation. It looks like um, you'll have an opportunity to continue your service, and now, um, unless there are other remarks from the council, um, we can start with the 2nd round of, uh, votes, uh, to see if there's a majority for, um, a, uh, for, for the, for the 2nd seat.

[01:06:11] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Council member, I think.

[01:06:15] Councilmember Margaret Abe-Koga: Um, I, I'll stick with Jose, the terrace.

[01:06:18] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Okay, council member, can I?

[01:06:22] Councilmember Ellen Kamei: I'll, uh, my vote will be the same for Jose.

[01:06:25] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: House member Libor?

[01:06:29] Councilmember Sally Lieber: Uh, Celia Pamer.

[01:06:32] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Council member Metachek?

[01:06:37] Councilmember Lisa Matichak: I had a cop chop in my mouth there. Um, I will support Jose.

[01:06:42] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Council member, show Walter.

[01:06:49] Councilmember Pat Showalter: Celia.

[01:06:50] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Nice Mayor Hicks.

[01:06:53] Vice Mayor Alison Hicks: Celia.

[01:06:55] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: And Mayor Ramirez. Um, Jose. And uh, city

[01:07:03] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: clerk, will we need a formal motion uh, to make a recommendation or is this, this constitutes the direction that you will need?

[01:07:12] City Clerk: Yeah, it's just a study session, so on December 13, we'll bring a resolution to the council, formally reappointing Bill and Jose. So those next terms.

[01:07:25] Mayor Lucas Ramirez: Okay. Are there any final questions or comments from the council? Um, if not, um, I'll share one more time, thank you again for, uh, for your participation in this process. Um, and uh, so the, the city council has made a recommendation to itself, we still have to vote um, in a, uh, in a, in a regular session, uh, to complete the appointments and that I believe will be wrapped up with all of the other appointments, um, recommended by the council appointments review committee. Thank you so much for joining us. The next city council meeting will be held on December 6, 2022. Until then stay healthy. The meeting is adjourned at 6.38 PM. Thank you everyone.

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