 Recording in progress Established a quorum, so we're gonna go ahead and start the meeting Bonnie. Would you mind calling the roll? member is Newsome present Brown here what can hear? Brunner present member Calentari Johnson is absent vice mayor Golder here and Mayor Keely is currently absent Thank you We only have one item on the agenda this evening and this is a special meeting Regarding segment 8 and 9 of the coastal rail trail a 2.2 mile bicycle pedestrian corridor system Along the rail trail, and I just want to just give one Brief announcement that council member Calendari Johnson got invited by the Bidens, and she's not here today She's celebrating now Ruz Persian New Year in Washington DC today, so I'm just really happy for her And thank you for going out there to represent all the Persian Californians that are here in the States So that's really cool, and then we'll just go ahead and get started with the Staff presentation, and thank you Good evening members of the city council My name is Tim air senior planner with the city this evening's agenda item is review of the coastal rail trail segments 8 and 9 project The coastal rail trail segments 8 and 9 project is one component of a years-long multi-jurisdictional collaborative effort and formation of the Monterey Bay Sanctuary scenic trail or MBS ST Once complete the Monterey Bay Sanctuary scenic trail will comprise a 50 mile long Multi-use trail extending from southern San Mateo County in the north To northern Monterey County in the south generally paralleling State Highway 1 in the Pacific Coast The portion of the sanctuary scenic trail within Santa Cruz County is a 32 mile long coastal rail trail Which is a continuous and separated bicycle pedestrian path spending the length of the county coastline Development of the trail network including the coastal rail trail is guided by the Monterey Bay Sanctuary scenic trail master network master plan Which divides the rail trail into 20 segments with logical beginning and ending points with each constructed upon availability of funding Segments 7 and 8 and a portion of segment 9 are located within the limits of the city of Santa Cruz The rail trail corridor is owned by this Santa Cruz County Regional Transportation Commission or RTC It remains designated as an active railway The image to the right-hand side of this screen Illustrates the path of the coastal rail trail in blue with segments 8 and 9 depicted in bright green The project requires approval of several permits including a design permit slope modification permits slope variants and water course variants Besides the entitlements under review this evening a coastal development permit is required for a view of construction within the coastal zone Including removal of existing trees The rail trail corridor overlaps land across the harbor which is a with Excuse me, which is within the original permit jurisdiction of the California Coastal Commission And a coastal development permit application must therefore be submitted for review and approval for the project by the Coastal Commission For the sake of efficiency the city will coordinate with the county to submit a single consolidated coastal permit application directly to the California Coastal Commission Although the council has not requested this evening to take action directly on any permit related to tree removal Associated impacts have been analyzed as part of the environmental impact report prepare for the project and a number of mitigation measures Are incorporated as project conditions of approval which would reduce to the extent possible the impacts associated with proposed removal of existing trees Opportunities for future public comment related to tree removal will be provided through the Coastal Commission's review of the coastal development permit Also of note the city has received full funding of the project as currently recommended This slide shows the path of rail trail segments 8 and 9 segment 8 shown in orange originates at the Wharf roundabout located at the intersection of Pacific Avenue and Beach Street and Run six-tenths of a mile along Beach Street ending at the west side of the San Lorenzo River trestle bridge Segment 9 illustrated here in blue-green Spans a distance of 1.6 miles Continuing from the east side of the trestle bridge to 17th Avenue mostly along Murray Street The portion of segment 8 that continues along the San Lorenzo River Trestle bridge was completed in 2019 all of segment 8 and a portion of segment 9 are situated within the limits of the city of Santa Cruz The part of segment 9 east of the harbor bridge occurs entirely outside of city limits and within the jurisdiction of the county of Santa Cruz In which the city holds no regulatory authority Two possible project strategies or approaches have been considered for development of the proposed project The ultimate trail configuration is the approach recommended by staff and would include in segment 8 improvement of the existing bikeway and sidewalk and in segment 9 construction of a new multi-use trail Positioned on the inland side of the existing railroad tracks Which were later switched to the coastal side of the tracks near El Dorado Avenue in the county's jurisdiction An optional three-part phased approach has been considered for development of segment 9 and Evaluated at an equal level of detail for environmental impact as the ultimate trail configuration has In the first phase or part one of that phased approach all are a portion of the trail in segment 9 Will be constructed in approximately the same location as the railroad tracks the removal of the existing rails and ties In the second phase part 2 the interim trail would be removed in the rail reconstructed And in the third phase part 3 the ultimate trail configuration would be constructed with a new trail Position parallel to the rail line as in the ultimate trail configuration Which again is a preferred and recommended approach as mentioned previously the city has received 36 million dollars for construction of the ultimate trail configuration and The project is therefore fully funded for development of that ultimate trail configuration recommended a preferred approach This slide illustrates improvements proposed for segment 8 the existing bicycle and pedestrian Infrastructure would be replaced and improved for enhanced safety and ease of circulation New bicycle lanes painted green would be included and minor improvements incorporated such as the pedestrian shelter photo opportunity Island Illustrated here in the foreground of this slide Improvements in segment 8 would be the same for both the ultimate trail configuration or a trail next to rail approach as well As the optional interim trail or a three-part phased approach This slide shows a section of the preferred and recommended approach called the trail next to rail line or ultimate trail configuration proposed for segment 9 The recommended approach would include construction of a new 12-foot wide multi-use trail Position adjacent to the existing rail line that would be retained This slide shows for segment 9 a cross-section of the optional first phase of the three-part phase approach called the optional interim trail As mentioned the first part of the phased approach would include removal of the existing rail line Which is considered an historic resource for the purpose of project review under sequel Do it's due to its potential for listing as an historic resource In the first part the existing tracks and trails would be ties excuse me Tracks and ties would be removed and a 16 foot wide multi-use interim trail would be installed on the center line of the existing railroad tracks It's shown on the slide in Part 2 not shown on the slide, but which would follow part 1 the trail would be removed and the rail line would be rebuilt in its Former location in part 3 a 12 foot wide trail would be constructed parallel to the rebuilt rail line The optional interim trail approach would involve three separate periods of construction with an unknown period of time between each part or phase This approach would also require more extensive tree removal as an 8 foot wide trail and 6 inch wide curb Will be built on both sides of the rail center line The project would involve construction of various infrastructure including retaining walls waterway crossings improvements the existing roadway installation of fencing guardrails and lighting new trash receptacles bicycle parking and benches and signage This slide shows a clear span prefabricated bridge as currently proposed for pelkington Creek This slide illustrates the proposed design of the ultimate trail configuration Again in which the trail would be switched from the inland side to the coastal side Reversing the train tracks near El Dorado Avenue to provide access to Simkins swim center within the county's jurisdiction Extensive public outreach has been conducted as required by the California Environmental Quality Act or CEQA and is consistent with the city's public outreach policy Dates of notable community engagement and public outreach events are shown here The city determined early that an environmental impact report would be required for the proposed project and EIR provides for a robust analysis in public review process including consideration of project alternatives identification of mitigation measures while providing maximum legal defensibility At this point, I'd like to hand the presentation over to Kate Elliott Who's the lead consultant with Harrison associates who prepare the environmental impact report for the proposed project? As mentioned I'm Kate with the Harrison associates and the Harris team prepared the EIR The team also includes staff from ecosystems west for the biological resources analysis and from Rincon consulting for cultural resources And aesthetics analysis and some of the other topics as well Very high-level overview of the EIR findings in terms of the significant impacts Most of the potential impacts that were identified in the draft EIR were determined to be less than significant Or were reduced to a less than significant level with mitigation measures However, the proposed project with or without the optional interim Trail would result in significant and unavoidable impacts to aesthetics and biological resources as a result of substantial tree removal For aesthetics the tree removal would degrade local views of scenic resources Which are the the dense vegetation and trees located along the rail alignment? For biological resources the tree removal would interfere with local wildlife movement along the corridor by removing Cover and foraging habitat as they make their way from between different open spaces such as Iran a Gulch and Twin Lakes State Beach Additionally tree removal could affect monarch butterfly habitat By removing trees that provide a wind buffer currently from the ocean breezes Protecting roosting sites. They're a little bit further inland Trail design was modified to the extent feasible to minimize tree removal at these locations For example on both sides of the harbor The trail was redesigned to be a viaduct which is a trail supported by pilings at different intervals Instead of an at-grade trail which would have required retaining walls which would have taken out more trees The trees would be replaced at ratios and locations determined in coordination with the regulatory agencies But it's still considered a significant and unavoidable impact in the EIR Because the exact location is uncertain at this time and because of the length of time it takes for trees replacement trees to reach maturity For cultural resources the optional interim trail results in an additional significant and unavoidable impact which Tim had mentioned Because it's removing the rail line which was identified as a historic resource because of its eligibility for listing in both the state and federal registers of historic places It's for its association with the history of transportation and economic development in the Santa Cruz area This slide compares the tree removal the proposed project without the interim trail would remove 381 trees Including 117 in the city limits The proposed project with the interim trail would remove 404 trees 124 during part one and then later another 280 to implement the ultimate trail configuration Next slide so the proposed project without the optional interim trail or the ultimate trail configuration was identified as environmentally Superior because it would result in less tree removal overall There would be no significant unavoidable impact to historic resources and there would be one construction period instead of three Which would reduce construction related impacts associated with earth movement and emissions So the draft EIR was circulated for a 53-day public review period The city received 92 comment letters and emails which consisted of a total of 292 individual comments which the city responded to in the responses document many of the comments concerns similar issues including those listed on this slide and for these Responses we developed master responses that are a little bit more robust and comprehensive and presented at the beginning of the responses document So the final EIR that you're would be certifying consists of three volumes volume one are all the comments and responses to the Comments volume two is the draft EIR and volume three are the EIR appendices So the benefits of the ultimate trail configuration approach are many Including improvement to aesthetics as the project would facilitate public access to scenic vistas and views of the coast Would enhance air quality and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by reducing vehicle miles traveled Would achieve city land use planning goals through improved connectivity across the city and among neighborhoods through better circulation and safety for motorists pedestrians and bicyclists And would benefit public safety and services by providing direct access to parks and recreation facilities for emergency response This evening the city council is requested to make a decision regarding certification of the final EIR an Adoption of findings of fact as well as mitigation monitoring and report reporting program and a statement of overriding considerations for the proposed project And a rotted to the final year has been prepared to address minor inconsistencies and corrections subsequent to publication of the EIR Please note that the city's planning commission previously reviewed the project and voted unanimously to authorize all entitlements Within its authority the city council has called up a review of the project as a de novo hearing decision this evening Staff have made the required findings and recommended the city council take the following actions number one adopt a resolution Certifying the environmental impact report attached to the resolution as exhibit a the staff report On number two adopt a resolution adopting the findings of fact under sequa a mitigation monitoring and reporting program for MMRP and a statement of overriding considerations and Number three adopt a resolution approving the design permit slope modification permit slope variance and watercourse variance for the Coastal rail trail segments eight and nine project based on the findings listed in the staff report and conditions of approval attached to that and Adopting the findings of fact in the California environmental quality act against statement of overriding considerations and mitigation monitoring and reporting program Staff in the city's consulting team are all available to provide additional information to answer questions Thank you very much for your time. This concludes desk presentation Well, thank you very much. I also want to apologize for being a few minutes late I you'll never guess in a million years got caught in traffic I want to thank the vice mayor for beginning the meeting in a timely fashion. Thank you for your staff presentation Let me see if there are questions from members of the council I have a question. I'm sorry. Did you Question I over the years have Not in this position, but in previous positions been I have I take the concept of Adopting resolutions of overriding considerations very seriously Because I do think it's the part of sequa that not only has evaluated the environmental impacts really worked at finding mitigation measures to mitigate Significant findings to insignificance and that when not being able to do that We should do it very rarely and only under extraordinary Circumstances as I see it that may not be the view that everyone has the view that I have I want you to talk a little bit about what it is. We can't overcome that we need to make this finding Certainly mayor I can Present the slide speaks best to it. I'll take your word So, yeah, there's the significant unavoidable impacts as Kate had mentioned or to aesthetics visual resources due to The impacts of scenic vistas associated with tree removal Also biological resources Largely associated with removal of existing trees and the impacts to wildlife habitat and the cultural resources But that would be for the optional interim trail only so really it's two significant two categories as Significant and unavoidable impacts associated with the project is proposed In that regard Because I don't think I necessarily disagree with that Where is there a point in an evaluation take any one of the three that you wanted to just That you just mentioned in response to my previous question Where is it that it tips over? for you well really the Under sequence the threshold for significance if the impacts associated with a category of impacts Exceeds the level of significance Threshold then it's deemed a significant impact and if it can't be mitigated with Measurements or measures excuse me mitigation measures then that impact or series of impacts category of impacts remains a significant and unavoidable impact So to the extent possible mitigation measures were incorporated to reduce impacts to a level less than significant however Those categories as I mentioned earlier remain significant and unavoidable despite the city's best efforts at mitigation measures this body last week and this week Has been dealing with trees as a component part of issues that we are that are in front of us With regard to the trees What has what is being done in the design of this and the mitigation of the loss of trees Sure mayor Culey so in response to that question the mitigation measures require a One-to-one Replacement for all existing trees proposed to be removed however The city's LCP Does have a goal stating that a two-to-one replacement ratio be enacted so that two-to-one replacement ratio is expected to be the actual replacement ratio minimally that will be included to Less than the impact of tree removal so meaning for every tree removed at least two trees are expected to be planted to replace those lost Much the same as we discussed last week in a different context Time to maturity time to what is it you're planning versus what you're taking out not not you excuse me The project is Replanting versus those that are coming out Right, so if I understood the question Maybe or the the time to maturity Yes, part of this. Yes right, so That you know is an inherent component with tree replacement. Obviously trees take some time to mature so Ordinarily a minimum tree size would have to be Required as part of the project so oftentimes it's minimally a 24-inch box size which is a small tree but depending on the species can grow pretty quickly to maturity and given Habitat, you know, typically tree replacement occurs in relatively open habitats the trees tend to go relatively quickly and with proper care and proper environmental those factors can Reach maturity, you know Thank you your potential. Thank you. You may have something to add to that. Is that correct? The mitigation is is does involve Replacement in ratios, but it's it's much more comprehensive than that And if you'd like to hear a little bit more about some of the other mitigation or in particular One of the mitigation measures in particular is mitigation measure Bionine B which offers this comprehensive program that deals not just with tree replacement But a lot of the other factors that go into Providing replacement habitat so I would defer to the biologists to elaborate a little bit. Well, actually I'm interested in the trees So that's that's the part I'm interested in thank you It doesn't mean I'm uninterested in the rest I think the rest is being done quite well And this is I suspect being done quite well, but I want to get to the bottom and again This isn't a random question. It's how to make a finding of overriding significance Which I think we ought not to do all the time simply because it's an available option It should be the last option seems to me But you have been quite helpful with your good seriously been quite helpful with this Let me see if other members have questions or comments before we go to the public Saying hearing none. I would invite you to come forward and provide testimony. Ms. Bush I'm gonna guess we have some folks online We do going up. Yes. How about we alternate back and forth? We'll hear someone here in the public first And then we'll go online. We'll go back to Someone here present and then back online And everyone will have two minutes on this good evening. Good evening. My name is Grace First let me applaud your work on the rail trail and Santa Cruz no doubt this trail will benefit the community and the environment Each segment presents its own challenges In segment nine the near total devastation of the Eucalyptus Grove Required by the ultimate trail design is unfathomable to me Its absence will invite the pollution noise wind and visual clutter From Murray Street and the beach boardwalk into my neighborhood not to mention the people Most of the destruction can be avoided With little additional cost by building the interim trail design as the final design This alternate design leads the trail where the tracks are and requires the removal of far fewer trees I think we saw the numbers as 381 versus 124 I invite you to end this meeting 30 minutes early and Walk the segment nine. Thank you Walk segment nine from the beach boardwalk along the rail tracks Through the beautiful Eucalyptus trees smelling their fragrance listening to the birds watching the leaves flutter and Imagine it all gone I invite you to walk up the steps of Hiawatha Avenue and imagine now a 12 foot Wide walkway adjacent to it in place of the Eucalyptus Grove Imagine you live there on Hiawatha Imagine you live on the 100 blocks of Mountain View or a Kyuga if it doesn't break your heart. I fear for humanity I Fear it would mean that those people we've trusted to better our community could disregard some of the people they serve Expedience for convenience for something that may or may not be a problem 25 years from now I actually don't know why anyone would consider approving the ultimate trail design Please walk the segment Thank you. Thank you so much Miss Bush, let's go to our first person online And you hear me. Good evening All right. Good evening mayor Kelly bias mayor Golder and council members My name is Rob Tidmore and I work for the county of Santa Cruz as a project manager for the county's various coastal rail Projects including the portion of segment 9 that lies within the county's jurisdiction I'm here tonight to emphasize the years-long multi-agency support and collaborative effort that is behind this project as you know and is Tim presented City is lead agency for segment 8 but roughly half of the trail from the east side of the Harvard to 17th Avenue Is within the county's jurisdiction The county has been partnering with the city and the RTC to deliver this landmark project the past three plus years We have collaborated closely on the design Engineering and alignment including design solutions some of which Tim mentioned the lesson environmental impacts County staff have supported the public engagement process and headed meetings and answered questions Most recently we assisted in the development of the environmental review documents And the county even contributed one and a half million dollars in county measure the funds as a grant match for the recently awarded $35.8 million ATP grant that will fund construction of the segment 89 project County and city staff in collaboration with the RTC have worked closely together to bring the project to this important milestone The county is supportive of this project and is committed to continue to partner with the city through its completion I respectfully urge your support of the staff recommendations. Thank you for your time Thank you very much for calling in good evening, sir Good evening council. My name is David. I am the founder of friends of the rail bikes our acronym is Ford so There aren't two choices here tonight. There are three choices You can give me a million dollars. I'll create a thousand rail bikes and we can use the exact or the existing infrastructure To get people moving today. This is a near-term solution. It is cost effective This will cost one thousandth of the total cost of the rail trail project that's projected and that's before cost overruns We know all these things go over budget They utilize low center gravity technology to stabilize the right rider on a single single rail allowing Bidirectional travel something that could never be achieved with a train the rear wheels allow for travel off rails getting riders to the last mile To their destination did I mention they're environmentally friendly? Rail bikes meet the transportation needs of Santa Cruz residents while appeasing the demands of rail Preservationists who would prefer to see nothing done with the rail corridor in our lifetime For one million dollars. We can make this happen Everyone in attendance today now understands that a false choice between two financially unrealistic projects means that we actually get neither Rail bikes are a clear path forward and we demand it to have a seat at the table. Thank you Thank you very much Miss Bush someone online. Yes. Good evening Thank you, Kaley council members and staff My name is solid in sale. I'm a Santa Cruz City resident and strongly support the rail trail project I urge you to move forward with segments eight and nine in the ultimate trail configuration as soon as possible I'd like to use the remainder of my time To share with you the words of Capitola resident Jim Weller Published this morning as a letter to the editor in the Santa Cruz Sentinel I quote a few die-hards can't take no for an answer Even after 73% of us voted no way Greenway last June in an electoral Shout loud enough to knock a crow off a fence post at a thousand yards Still kicking in a guest commentary March 17 Four heedless flags calling themselves a Greenway committee whose cause is about as popular as a skunk in the parlor Seemingly have nothing better to do than to regurgitate the same failed propaganda. They wasted more than a half million dollars on last year The planned rail trail is being built Beside the rails not in place of them and nothing the resentful Greenway losers say or do is going to stop No matter how much these tiresome covetcher's protest the Santa Cruz branch railroad will stay in place and Public rail transit will proceed in the orderly manner already well under way Jim Weller Capitola Thank You Jim and thank you council members Thank you so much. Good evening. Good evening. My name is Brian Peoples with trail now. We're Advocate organization for the trail I have the sign that says Not allowable and the reason is the ultimate trail Essentially is not allowable the coastal commission has already declined the ultimate trail on the north coast They actually Refuse the permit for the retaining wall and it's called a temporary retaining wall And as you know that project has been delayed for years and it's continues to get delayed because of the cost So there is if we go down the entire corridor down this Aptos La Salva. It's 20 feet from the ocean There are no plans for the ultimate trail being implemented down there the RTC is looking at Going forward with the initial Interim trail because they know they can implement the property right the easements In many sections the village particularly specifically doesn't allow For a passenger train and the trail. Okay, so it's only free So there's a lot of barriers, and that's what you're seeing And so if you go and you try to implement the ultimate trail, you'll never get the trail And that's what happened on the north coast We don't have a trail in the north coast We built 1.2 miles over 10 years and it costs more to build that 12 foot Trail than it is to widen highway one you're cutting down twice as many trees for your trail than highway one Does this make sense? People the RTC staff has said the interim trail is factually the process of preserving the corridor for transit Please approve segment eight move forward with that and go with option two the alternate trail for segment nine It's the most cost effective Most timely It's actually going to be the fastest. We don't have the north coast trail Thank you for your time Thank you, sir Miss bush someone else online Can you hear me good evening Good evening. Um, thank you for taking my comments. My name is Johanna light hill, and I'm a county resident I submitted a letter earlier, but I think I was a little late. So I'm going to read off a few Of the topics that I have today in addition to the significant And unavoidable environmental impacts due to the tree removal I hope that you will consider how or if the segment nine proposed project would serve our community Will your council tonight approve a trail design? That for most of its length meets the absolute minimum width requirements established by caltrans Near the eldorado section The trail is less than the minimum. It does not meet the minimum requirements Something that's kind of been bugging me is the trail designation. Everyone calls this a 12 foot trail using caltrans standards Caltrans would Designate it as an eight foot trail because all trails require shoulders and this has two two foot shoulders. So Um There are no mitigations for A narrow trail. You can't make it wider unless you get more room and the corridor is certainly limited Um, we'll use design a trail that scores an f rating using that eight foot trail um path width It scores an eighth use eight. Excuse me It scores an f rating using the department of transportation shared use path level of service calculator Um, will you approve a trail that proposes to build the trail within the freight easement that is currently owned by a rail operator? Uh, the trail includes fencing and rail crossings that are not yet approved by the california public utilities commission The trail milk may hinder access by emergency responders because 20 of the trail is 10 feet or less And often on biodex or bridges that will limit access. So you guys are in a tough spot I understand constituents have been told for years that both rail and trail fit in the corridor But now we're able to see what what's possible. So thank you for your time. Thank you very much for your time Good evening Good evening mayor council tim bratton. I'm a resident of santa cruz and um You know, I wish there were a way that we could do this environmentally and you know, we have we have two options once Environmental devastation not really part of our dna and this what I think of santa cruz and the other is Is you know something that preserves the corridor Section nine if you've walked it. I'm assuming everybody here has walked it. Yes, everybody's walked it. Okay, cool So you're in there and you're thinking, you know, how quiet and beautiful and you hear all the You know wildlife and you're looking at these trees and you're thinking 400 trees, you know, or whatever it is three and you're wondering you know so in the summer and you've got concrete you've got Trail that that attracts heat you've you've you've decimated all the trees that provide the shade and the and the flood mitigation during the storms we've had And and in place of that we're putting in Something that is like is that what is going to attract people? Will you feel good about your vote? to approve that As a as part of what santa cruz like is I just can't understand how you could approve this ultimate plan And think that look that's really the best we can do um, if you look at section seven quickly and And you see what they've done they bulldozed have you walked section seven? Okay, so the trees are gone from the view you can see the whole water treatment plant now There's no filtering of the smell Into the west side or when the winds roll, you know, the other things that we don't realize Are going to happen when we do this are just devastating and for those of us who care a lot We want to have something that we're proud of so please support The first phase of nine wait for the train If it ever comes wait to do anything in there just leave it rather than do what you're doing in the ultimate plan. Thank you Thank you very much online miss bush Oh, can you hear me? Good evening miss brocklebank Hi, um, there's two people using this computer. There's myself and then um Then there's a second person using the computer michael louis I'll start by saying uh Let's get on with segment eight everybody's for segment eight My purpose tonight is say let's hold off on segment nine because as the arar tells us the project would have an adverse effect On scenic resources and vistas through removal of mature trees It would be inconsistent with policies that pertain to tree and vegetation Removement it could adversely affect monarch butterfly and autumnal or wintering roost sites The project would interfere with wildlife movement Um cumulative impacts significant cumulative. These are not my words. These are what? city planners Incorporated into this document On top of that i'm so glad you asked about overriding statement of overriding considerations because a through f gave all the reasons why these benefits are okay And rationalize destroying and taking out trees because of the benefits and yet every one of those seven benefits are also Available by in the optional first phase interim trail an interim trail That would do all of the above it would provide all of the above benefits But it would do it without deforestation the corridor It would do it without removing wildlife habitat in the vegetative understory without interfering with wildlife movement without building retaining walls and bridges over stream and so Overriding considerations not good enough. Thank you. Thank you Good evening. My name is jt. It's nice to see you all again Um, it's come to my attention that the rail trail permits for segments eight and nine are being appealed with the overwhelming amount of Nose on measure d in our june election 56,342 votes to be exact Nearly 74 of the total and the rtc now moving forward by hiring contractors to study locations For stops passing loops and so forth for electric passenger rail on our branch line I am confident the city council will approve of the ultimate rail trail segments eight and nine Santa Cruz was just awarded more than 100 million dollars to fund the future segments for our rail trail expansion An amount of money so unfathomable be large Uh, we would be silly not to start building tomorrow instead of holding up construction permits Costing us time and money that can be spent building For those unaware Watsonville is currently in talks to construct a caltrain layover facility This would connect Santa Cruz county with the bay area reducing congestion on highway 17 and highway 1 Realistically commuters by car on highway 17 Will not instead choose to bike 30 miles to Watsonville in the early morning to catch the train to the bay area job Electric passenger rail on our branch line will allow commuters to quickly connect to caltrain in Watsonville And service the entire county with zero emission right of way high capacity transit Choosing to instead replace our rails with the trail means Santa Cruz will be completely disconnected with the entire state of california Making our county only accessible by the automobile the very object that is causing more than half of all emissions in Santa Cruz Reducing public space for residents and congests are ever so densifying city All of this opportunity future funding county connectivity and reduction of highway 17 and local single occupancy car Use will open in Santa Cruz to opportunities never seen before and as we just heard The interim option will remove more trees than the ultimate option If public commenters in this room are here in support of saving eucalyptus trees and creating a clean air future They would and should fully support the ultimate option. Thank you very much Thank you, sir Ms. Borsch online And that would be isaia. Good evening isaia Can you hear me? Yes Great. My name is isaia burk. I am a four-year resident student at uc santa cruz I agree full heartedly with the previous commenter I believe that if you were to approve only the Interim trail would be betrayal of the voters who spoke overwhelmingly in defeating measure in defeating the greenway measure Um, I just wanted to speak as a perspective as a cyclist. I don't own a car Like many uc santa cruz students and I commute to work at shadowbrook from near the campus That's a five mile ride throughout the entire City and into neighboring cities and every single day. I risk my life being near cars dealing with shadows and bike gutters and studies have shown that the number one hurdle to Mass adoption of cycling is safe Protected bicycle infrastructure Um This project needs to go forward immediately. It also needs to be ultimate. It needs to include the ultimate option um santa cruz transit is woefully underdeveloped and uh, if If we're looking towards the future, we need to be able to connect to the rest of the state with eye capacity rail Yeah, uh, I urge you to uh, expedite this project and accept the ultimate trail for the safety Of the community and um for the environment. Thank you. You're welcome Thank you. Mr. Burke Good evening No matter what else you say great jacket I'm not sure where we're really even discussing this now the count the voters of the city and the county have spoken We're here to give birth to the future And the future is not cars We are Killing ourselves with emissions We need public transit now people who don't Who are unable to drive I lost my son this weekend. He couldn't drive He needed a way to get to and from He didn't die on a bike, but a lot of people have We know what's going to be faster. The ultimate trail will be faster. We don't have to go back for permits every delay In this trail is going to be measured in the blood of cyclists We need to get people out of their cars today We need to give birth the future right now And we got a bunch of hucksters. I feel like I'm listening to the Simpsons monorail episode here. Yeah, we got this creek or south park mr. Garrison's car great ideas But we've got a plan. Let's stick to the plan. Let's do what we know will work Get people out of their cars. We you know imagine You may know me. I'm the rickshaw guy. I serve the people of this city I want to help people get around. I want to keep people safe this trail the ultimate trail will keep people safe It'll keep drunk people off the roads. It'll help me serve the public someday We can beat this traffic problem that we have down at the beach because 40 of my receipts My credit card receipts are from people who are from counties of the south Those people can just get on a train They can come into Santa Cruz they can bring their umbrellas on the train or they can rent them here, but They can enjoy the city without bringing their cars And to start we've got a start. I know we don't want to lose the trees, but guess what we've got a bigger problem We've got a horrendous environmental problem crashing down on us And yeah, we can replace the trees, but we need we need to move now as quickly as we can for people like my son Thank you, sir miss bush another Person online that would be miss mio. Good evening Good evening And thank you very much for Sorry Just a sec Thank you very much for calling this meeting The fbr suggests that you as the crucial decision maker will be able to decide Which one of the presented design options fastest informed decision making for an environmental superior trail Based on meaningful evaluation of the trail options environmental impacts in the proposed project Object this including alternative to Today A un released the climate report that makes a strong case for an environment and carbon reduction partnership Since trees sequester carbon produce oxygen and the trail reduces greenhouse emission The report also states that land use has to reduce conversion of natural ecosystem And increase ecosystem restoration a forestation and restoration It stands to reason that Santa Cruz is willing to collaborate in this global science-based effort With the 12 foot interim trail built over the tracks because it saves 257 trees fulfills the project Subjectives plus saves money time and avoids people's immediate experience of enduring health and heat impact From the loss of trees in the hope for a passenger train That is 20 to 30 years down the line And by the way, the majority of the eir commons supports this What is not clear to me is up on certification of the impact report At what point the city council exercised their Evaluation ability to decide about the optional alternative interim trail. Thank you. Thank you, miss meal Mr. Farrell, good evening Good evening mayor kealy and city council members My name is matt farrell. I'm here speaking today as the board chair of friends of the rail and trail And I want to speak in support of the staff recommendation To certify the final eir for council to certify the final eir And take the measures necessary to move forward with this project It's my understanding that council received over 200 letters From supporters of fort encouraging you to support the staff recommendation And i'm here to represent them This is a project loved by many in the community And fort's been working for over 20 years to see it come forward So we encourage you to Implement the recommendations included in the staff recommendation And move forward with this project. It would make a huge difference in our community. Thank you very much Thank you, mr. Farrell Miss bush Anna online Good evening Hello, good evening. Thank you very much for giving me an opportunity to speak I just wanted to call in in support of the staff's recommendations for the ultimate trail plan I have born and raised in santa cruz county And I used to live in capitol and worked in santa cruz and did my best to bike as many days as I could Um, mostly because the traffic on highway one was so terrible that it was an awful way to end my day Sitting in traffic at home But due to feelings of not being safe Um, it was it became pretty impossible for me to bike on a consistent basis and obviously and whether like we've had recently That would not be conducive to biking And I know many people who either due to physical ability or time Um, or it finances it in terms of being able to afford a bicycle could not have done that So, uh, I actually ultimately ended up moving to santa cruz to be near my work Which is definitely more expensive And I think um considering How the interim trail leaves behind those in our community who can maybe not afford to sit in traffic And can't afford to bike instead of drive or live near their vehicle We really need to be forward thinking and have public transportation that is You know the ultimate equalizer for those in our community I really appreciate the staff's effort to mitigate tree loss as I think they are a valuable resource in our county But I think we can't limit ourselves to thinking about only the environmental impact of the next Two to three years and we have to think about what kind of county we want to shape for ourselves Moving forward. Um, I really appreciate everybody's effort on this project And hope that the ultimate trail plan can go through. Thank you very much Thank you for calling in Anna Good evening Good evening Hi, um, my name is tina andrietta And I support the ultimate trail because the staff described it will have less environmental impacts Impacts than the three phase interim trail construction Thank you for moving this project along I will use it because um I live along the corridor in aptos What really got me involved in this project years ago before I before I sold my business I lived on the west side and then also I had a business in capitol I had two full-time employees who Lived born in watsonville. They used to bemoan why they couldn't take a train to work And I didn't give it any thought it just kind of went over my head because I had the luxury When I was on the west side Driving against the traffic and then I moved to capitol and I lived two blocks from my business which was Close to gales bakery. They would bemoan it. So that's how I kind of got involved with this And the reason I support also the ultimate trail is that the interment trail removes more trees And i'm looking at children and the safety of children No more delays it's going to cost us more money if we delay And also it's going to cost lives. Let's get the trail built now Get our kids off the streets. That's really important to me And seven sixty excuse me seventy three percent of the voters Support the rail and trail. So let's just continue moving forward. Thank you Thank you so much Miss bush our next person online Good evening Good evening. Thank you. Mayor kealy and honorable city council members. My name is lani falkner equity transit supports the staff recommendation for the city to approve The final environmental impact report for segments eight and nine of the coastal rail trail project We support construction of the ultimate trail beside the rail The majority of our community supports building a world-class trail that connects families in watsonville and the south to our beautiful katoni coast dairies national monument in the north We oppose alternative one the 26 foot wide Trail proposed by greenway as seen on their website Alternative one would require rail banking and removal of the tracks not likely to be approved by federal authorities We goes directly against the almost 74 percent voting majority that opposed greenway's proposal to rip out the tracks Alternative one is the most destructive option requiring upheaval of the toxic rail bed for degrading Far more cutting of trees and more than twice the asphalt compared to the ultimate trail We oppose alternative two the interim in other words a temporary trail on the tracks A temporary trail requires we invest more money and more time More than twice the materials twice as much impact of the neighboring communities and wildlife due to Two major construction periods at least meaning more time people cannot use this trail Over the duration of the project even more trees plants and wildlife would be disturbed and destroyed Building the ultimate trail from the get-go means we save money on and time and reduces construction periods and avoids further inflation Moving forward with the ultimate trail gives community members the chance to walk and bike to school Work and the many beautiful parks like nissin marks and wilder While ensuring that we can still move forward with zero emissions rail So we can be a part of the state rail network, which will connect us by rail to monorail san jose san francisco And beyond thank you very much for your time and I do care about the trees And I hope you will partner with cr club and sc can and other organizations To improve the remediation of the trees and get shade over the track the trail and tracks. Thank you Thank you for your testimony. Good evening Ms. Arnold, how are you? Very well. Thank you. Um, so thank you very much everyone for giving us the opportunity to speak out on this important issue You know, we all love trees who doesn't love a tree. I mean they have important climate mitigation, you know Powers but We have to think that climate change is going to kill way more trees than this trail is going to We can't just keep telling people to get out of their cars and not give them an actual useful alternative Then we're just shaming people and we're not really changing anything By building the ultimate trail We can get more people out of our car out of their cars sooner And then we can reduce our local greenhouse gas emissions more significantly more quickly Therefore saving the environment for the remaining trees The i'd be very interested in hearing more specifics about what the mitigations are planned at the off-site mitigations And where those trees are going to be what kind they're going to be I think that will help to really calm down The reasonable concerns people have about tree laws And I just have to say that a previous speaker's points were So filled with misinformation that I don't even know where to begin But I will start with the north coast trail is fully funded and will begin construction in the near future That that was one of many errors. Um, but please You know, you might want to fact check some of the things that you're hearing here tonight Thank you very much for going ahead. I hope you do approve the ultimate configuration Thank you for your testimony this evening, miss bush. We have Kim online. Good evening. Kim Hi, uh, can you hear me? Yes Okay, kim salisbury here, uh, city, of course. I just sat down so I have to Find my notes. Um city resident for 45 years. I live in the city of centrist I'm a mom grandma retired social worker support public transportation Um in the environment And transportation for all really, um, I'll tell us a little story about my family My son commutes daily from monterey county. He teaches here in santa cruz Takes them at least an hour and a half each way Often with kids in tow because getting dropped it off at different places So it's not feasible for them to All get on bikes at 6 37 in the morning Last week it took him on wednesday five and a half hours to get home And he went through like nearly a tank of gas. So You know, what I see is if if we can focus on, you know, all beings being able to move around the county I love public transportation. My alternator recently went out and actually had to resort to an uber, but Um, because that, you know, again, we're not really set up like a lot of communities with with You know good transportation or if I go down to get the kids To bring them back to santa cruz. I'm not going to be able to get Six bikes for us to ride all the way back on a friday night. So Um, those are some of the things that come to mind. I also am thinking a lot about south county folks that are Working in our hotels restaurants schools gas stations all over the community and I don't see them being able to You know, I'll get e-bikes and you know make stops along the way for the kids and the grandma and whatnot So that's that's my pitch and I appreciate all the hard work you're doing. Thanks so much Thank you very much. Good evening Hi, um I was just thinking that the staff presentation about the mitigating measures for the trees Would you be kind enough to state your vote for the record? Excuse me your name for the record. Yeah Thank you. Okay And they were saying that they're going to plan probably a two they're trying for a two to one ratio of replacement trees But these trees are not going to be replaced where the trees are now Because there's no room with the ultimate trail once the open trail is built It's going to be very little room for tree replacement in that area It's going to be built right up against the property lines on that side of the track And I'm opposed to certifying the EIR and approving the permit Until you get the results of the latest feasibility study on the rail system implementation You cannot make an informed and reasoned choice on the matter until you know If the rail system will be implemented or when it might be implemented If you allow the ultimate trail configuration To be constructed most of the hundreds of trees destroyed will never be replaced due to its design as I'm saying it's There's no room to putting trees On that side of the track at all The trees will be gone forever placed by walls and pavement Why destroy the trees in the hope or belief that a rail system might be implemented? Or if the rail system Implementation might not occur for 20 to 25 years or more Why destroy the trees and all the benefits they provide now? Build the interim trail now and allow us to enjoy the trees as long as possible Interim trail might just become the permanent trail Thank you, sir Thank you Ms. Bush it looks as if someone from fort is going to be calling in now Correct. Good evening Good evening. This is Venus seagulls From friends of the rail and trail I'm sorry you We uh made a little error on the clock. So it's quite all right. Go ahead. Please proceed Great. I just uh wanted to say a couple things of first how excited I am for these trail segments I am a one car family and we ride our bikes otherwise and these safe routes To school to work To wherever we need to be are so important I think we heard it from a couple of our community members and in many of the emails that you received um Safety for bicyclists is is a huge factor here and Human lives. I'm very sorry to say it I think take precedent over Uh plant lives in this case. So thank you so much for Moving forward with these trail projects. It's really going to be transformative I also wanted to just um Put a little note that the IPCC Synthesis report came out today um from The un and It's not likely That if we keep going the way we're going and we continue driving the way we're driving That we will have our redwood forests With us here in a hundred years projects just like this one are what keep our trees in our mountains and Those are the really important ones. We can save an entire forest or We can save a hundred non-native eucalyptus trees and I know which ones Are really important to me Thank you so much for what you're doing Thank you very much Good evening. I'm pat kittle from santa cruz I I'm happy to have the efforts that have been made for bicycles And I ride a motorcycle. I feel perfectly comfortable on a motorcycle I'm scared to ride a bicycle. I mean I'm that's not hyperbole. I am um I'll just have some random thoughts I suppose One of them is that yukes are not native trees and they Have their own problems. I understand their Monarch habitat I respect that But I think we ought to be phasing out non-native trees as much as possible Phasing them out and phasing in native trees. We don't have to just Try to do it all in one swell foop Also, um, what else? Well both sides of this argument seem to be so persuasive that I support both of them But in the bigger picture, um, even if we were all vegan bicycle riding pacifists Eight billion plus humans is far far too many and We really need to come to terms with that. I'm serious about that. I hope that you folks will Become serious about that. Thank you Thank you pat and David is calling in good evening. David Uh, good evening. Can you hear me? Okay? Yes, sir Okay. Yeah, my name is david van brink. I live on the west side in santa cruz So, uh, let me get this straight. There's two general proposals on the table One of which scores higher on on every metric that's using like numbers not crystals or something It's funded. It's recommended by staff that sounds great. I mean, I guess we could vote on it Oh, and by the way, the staff recommendation does not preclude my colleague's most excellent rail bike proposal Which is certainly worth looking into that seems very interesting so But please approve the staff recommended ultimate trail. Thanks for all your diligent and professional work over the years It's been a long journey. It's all very exciting Thanks for your time. Good evening. Thank you for your testimony. Good evening My name is mara kelsey. I live in santa cruz and I recognize the passion and the ambivalence that people have in this matter and I felt the same myself I I hear the urgency to get people out of their cars and onto bikes. This is true However to do that uh, creating a sterile concrete tube Is what we're talking about with the rail trail their Trees cannot be planted along the trail Anywhere, you know to compensate there can't be vegetation So the there will be a loss of the use for the birds and for the wildlife And the bees and who knows what else? So I think that I don't know Answers to things like is there a time limit on your funding that's going to make An expediency over Overriding considerations. I think that's really important. I have no idea on that the extensive engineering that is required To build the ultimate trail is is serious and as you heard is unmedicable in many ways uh, I think We uh doing this before the feasibility study By the rtc is really putting the car before the horse We don't know what's feasible on that railroad track Certainly, I think all of us hope that some kind of transit will be there But their own estimate is 2050 So we're going to knock down all the trees and You know build the ultimate trail and at that point Who knows whether the ultimate trail is the right thing? The tracks probably are not reusable So there's so much more. I want to say You did a fine job. Thank you very much. Thank you I believe we may have someone else online two more online Okay Good evening. Hi. Good evening This is Pauline Seales and I wanted to talk mostly about the trees Um, it's obvious listening that a lot of people care about the trees and a lot of people care about good transit I strongly support the ultimate trail and I Recognize that a lot of work has gone into the mitigation However One-to-one tree replacement Doesn't cut it in this era of climate change Many of the speakers tonight have expressed concerns about that The analysis I did without complete information but using technical resources Came out over four-to-one replacement ratio and may met Peeley you yourself Suggested a three-to-one ratio for the farmers market Well, just last week So I would Really ask that you look into a much increased Tree replacement ratio. Of course, they would not all be planted along the track They would need to be planted and Pogadep or Della vehicle or a land trust land But it could be done and I can get volunteers to help look after them in the first two years So please consider a greatly increased Tree replacement ratio Thank you Thank you very much Good evening My name is Eva Leutoldt. I live two blocks from the railroad Mountain View Avenue And I urge you I beg you dread as lightly on this piece of earth as possible See what comes out of the studies of the further studies Cut not one tree Down which is not really really necessary Thank you Thank you very much Ms. Bush, do we have one more? Two more online. All right. We'll hear the first one No, this I'm going to guess that this is not gene brockelbank. This is mr. Lewis instead. I would imagine That's correct. Very good. Your answer And it's appropriate because I'd like to bring everyone's attention back to Mayor keely's Initial remarks about the statement of under overriding consideration We're all very aware of the impacts of this project and whatever guys it comes out as whatever option It's chosen. They're very well documented. They're very easy to visualize You can go out there and see it in places where it's already happened So we know what's going to happen with that the statement of overriding consideration Is a series of promises that are not supported by fact It promises to improve the vista along the corridor This is kind of a cruel joke because there is no vista You cannot see the ocean from the corridor And segment nine you can only see the forest what's left of the forest So it will not improve the vista in fact the aesthetics of the corridor will be diminished by the project not improved What what is now enjoyable about the project is the the trees that exist there now The wildlife that exists there now the birds the bats all the other animals that exist there now Uh as for climate change the the uh Overriding consideration promises that this will recruit reduce Vehicle miles traveled. There's no documentation for that There's no evidence that the building of this project will change vehicle miles travel in any meaningful way whatsoever This is one project where the statement of of overriding consideration should be Reanalyzed we need to go back and look at it again to see if it really does Provide benefits that encompass benefits to the natural world as well as the human world and rather than Writing off the the impacts of this project. We must make a decision for all of world Not just part of it not just the human part. Thank you Thank you, mr. Lewis Good evening Michael Brownlee and president of Santa Cruz city and I just wanted to Clarify a little bit about this is a discussion. We're having about Where to put a trail? We're not really talking about the rail at this point that is something to be determined down the down the road a little bit So what we're discussing is where to put the trail So the ultimate Plan is to put it alongside the existing rails There was an option Interim trail Designated number two which is part of the EIR That puts the trail on top of the existing rails Not digging them up not getting rid of them, but putting an interim trail temporarily For a decade or two or three Until some decision is made about what to do with public transportation on the rail corridor Yeah, I think it makes a lot of sense to allow a generation or two to enjoy the beauty of what exists now And I think I hope you all will consider that Thank you Thank you, sir Ms. Bush one more Good Robin Belkin. Good evening Good evening. I'm calling to support the staff recommendation for the ultimate trail and I Would like to express my concern that this issue has been voted on already And a super majority voted in support of the ultimate trail and the minority that Lost the vote basically Is just continuing to badger and harass and do whatever they can to undermine the ultimate plan and I think it's Becoming a public nuisance. We need to move forward with what the people voted for It's so unusual to even Receive a super majority vote on anything and the fact that we have it Should put this whole issue to rest The people want the ultimate trail ASAP we've got the funding the staff recommends it. Let's move forward. Thank you for all your work Thank you. Ms. Belkin Good evening How are you mr. Scott? Thanks very much. My name is Barry Scott and I live in Rio del Mar And I'm I just want to thank the council for all of your hard work and the planners expert planners That know what they're doing their their consultants and they've made a recommendation that I strongly support An overriding consideration that occurs to me It's the very fact that I come from Rio del Mar. Why do I care? Because the rail line and the corridor is a commons. It's a county asset It was it's there for the good of all the communities in the county. It's not your little backyard private You know nothing personal, but to those who feel strongly about it. I understand that but it's everybody's corridor everybody's corridor and it's uh Widely important therefore that the rail line be respected another Comment is that the interim trail would require uh Approval by the surface transportation board the federal government which is unlikely Because that railroad is a part of the national inventory of freight lines And uh as was seen during the june measure g battle there's no Political will there's no the the voters do not want to mess with that rail line They want their trail and rail which is what was promised to them all along So I think uh, I think it's important that we respect that Uh, finally, I'm happy to come here because I feel that I'm witnessing history Um, and it's going to be a good history It's going to be a different outcome than the past when street lines Street car lines were ripped up in los angeles and really nationwide because we thought the automobile would be the Solution well, we know We know that the automobile is not the solution even EVs are a big waste of space Compared to public transit So i'm here to witness his history and I i'm just so excited to be here. Thank you. Thank you, mr. Scott One more online a sec correct miss bush. No more online. Good evening. Uh, hello. I'm ryan sanitaro. I live in live oak Across the tracks pretty frequently with our uh middle schooler trying to get to school um The ultimate trail is the industrialization of the corridor and you'll get a good taste of that as 7b is completed The voters really want Trail and train. Well, guess what train and trail don't go. There's not enough room in the corridor You folks here are Going to have the responsibility to take a look at what our resource is what the possibility is Of actually getting what the voters in the fantasies That they've been presented Would like to have and it's just not there The reason we don't have a trail now that goes all 32 miles is advocates for the rail and That is just not something that is likely at this point here your choice really is permanent destruction of the corridor turning it into that industrial tube of concrete or Something that is at least usable now It has the potential for rail in the future should that very long tail possibility come through come through and serves the ecological Yeah, it gives Santa Cruz what Santa Cruz really would like to have um I I don't see how This thing is framed in such a way that there's obstruction as opposed to What the ultimate Benefit to the community is going to be and I think what you folks are required to do at this point is to Rise above the the polemics here and take a look at what's really possible Because if you look at this corridor from 100 years from now and there's no train there Thank you for your testimony Anyone else with us this evening in chambers who wishes to make comments on this item Seeing and hearing none and miss bush. We're finished with folks calling in all right Hearing it's closed matters back before the council. I will recognize a council member for a motion miss brown Thank you. I would like to Move that the council adopt A resolution certifying the environmental impact report Uh and a resolution of finding a fact A mitigation monitoring and reporting program and statement of overriding conditions And adopt a resolution approving the design permit Slope modification permit slope variance and water course variance Is there a second? I second second by miss brunner under discussion miss brown. You may open. Thank you I just want to make a few comments. Um, so I've been the city's Representative to the regional transportation commission for six years now And I have been very fortunate To serve on that body during a time when there was a lot of possibility We passed measure d. Uh, that made us a self-help county. Uh, and now we thanks to that and the Incredible work of staff at these the various agencies that are working on this So the city of sanikers. I want to thank our staff here The strong collaboration that you, um Engage in with the regional transportation commission staff and the county Has made this possible. It's made it possible for us to bring in significant amount of additional funding In the form of competitive grants We have been so successful that People from the state say wow, we can't believe that santa cruz Small county is is bringing in so much money for active transportation For planning and building out public transportation opportunities. So I just want to say That this has been a long haul. It's been I've felt incredibly fortunate To be part of the conversation. It's also been very difficult at times and I'm not going to Relitigate any of the debate that has occurred in our community And I'm not gonna I'm I don't do polemics And I I I do believe, you know, I am I'm far from living in a fantasy world I have been immersed in this for six years And I do think that it's possible for us to move forward And I want to see it happen now I do have a question that I want to ask if I could Because I too am concerned with trees And I I I want us to save as many trees as possible I believe that the benefits outweigh the the cost here So I'm going to move forward in that vein But I would like to just hear because there are folks out in our community who are really actively engaged in this and We've heard that we've heard what the the minimum standard is. We've heard that it's going to be Negotiated and kind of depend upon the particulars of where the mitigations happen off-site etc etc But I I would love to see Pauline seals vision realized of a four-to-one replacement And You know, I I would just wonder if we if I could ask you all to explain Are there opportunities for people in the community to be involved in those conversations? When will they occur? How can how can people engage? About this as we move forward Start by responding to that question. So there will be additional opportunity for public engagement The consolidated coastal development permit application will be pursued to the coastal commission Which affords additional opportunities for public comment and discourse and so on Yeah, and I'll just add to that that The the er does include the mitigation monitoring reporting program that discusses the the initial mitigations that are required for the environmental impacts, but as a part of the Mitigation measures where we're actually going to plant where we're going to find those locations It is going to be in conjunction working with our county partners As well as rtc and trying to find those locations So there'll be additional opportunities to engage or as we proceed in getting those Identifying those locations that we can be working with the public on that as well Thank you Ms. Brunner Thank you Um, I just wanted to I'm glad you brought up that question because I think that One thing we have learned in digging into this data And reading all of this information And following this Not six years for me as council member brown, but over the past A couple years I really think that All of the public input has been greatly appreciated. Thank you to each and every one of you Um, and I really think that what's before us today is The three items in the staff recommendation and that any tree decisions should best be left to The appropriate time as the coastal design permit goes before coastal permission or along the way as Those processes happen This ultimate trail that is recommended. I want to appreciate Give an appreciation to staff for answering a lot of my questions as I read through all the data this weekend to Really understand and also In response to some of my questions with All the emails that came in Thank you for all the emails as well It's always good to get all the perspectives um to consider in making informed decisions and so the The ultimate trail Understanding that section eight and nine is one considered one project And not separable separate not able to be separated Because of the collaboration with county and rtc and the grant funding associated as one project and so hearing from the environmental Report as overall I think the interim trail is very short-sighted and it really does support the long range goals that we have for the ultimate trail to be The best option to move forward. Um, I look forward to Hearing from the other council members and appreciate hearing and discussing and listening to everyone here Thank you Thank you council members further debate or discussion Seen and hearing none clerk will call the roll council member news term Brown I Watkins I runner I Council member calentari johnson is absent by smear golder. I and mary culley. I motion passes and so ordered Just one moment Mr. City attorney, uh, any other business come before No, there is no other business Any for the business come before the council seeing and hearing none a motion to adjourn would be in order Ms. Golder moves. Mr. Newsom seconds non-debatable those in favor signify by saying I oppose motion carries We stand adjourned