 Good afternoon everyone very much apologize for the delay in the start of these study sessions We've had some closed lengthy closed session in interviews with housing authority candidates, which was on the good side We had multiple interviews versus previous years We've had four to five of them instead of the I think 12 or 13 we had today So assistant city manager going you want to lead us off with our study session the interviews So the first study session is a 4.1 Which is a pen potential use of former Bennett Valley senior center for homeless services Permanent supportive housing and our affordable housing and state homeless emergency and program Seat funds for Samuel Jones Hall homeless shelter and Bennett Valley senior center and to start off the presentation is director David Guine Yeah, good afternoon Mayor Schwedhelm members of the city council just wanted to put some context to The study session just mentioned by David Guine as well as the second one to follow These are both requested by the city council in recent months The first one with the Bennett Valley senior center We've aligned with what is fortuitous money from the state the homeless emergency assistance program a aid program that as to Has a staff recommendation for you to consider to bring forward to the newly formed homeless redesign leadership council And then the second study session is a review of the community homeless assistance program chat and a term called alternative housing options That is based on on the request that present by the council It'll be a chance for us to review that program where we're at and hear your comments and feedback going forward So Kelly Kajkendal our program manager will walk us through both presentations Good afternoon Mayor Schwedhelm and members of the council So as Dave mentioned in June of 2018 this past summer council requested for a study session on the Bennett Valley senior center for homeless services specifically for Shelter or safe haven I've provided a definition here of safe haven from the US Department of Housing and Urban Development Otherwise known as HUD and they define a safe haven as a form of supportive housing that serves Hard to reach homeless persons with severe mental illness who come primarily from the streets and have been unable or unwilling to participate in housing or supportive services HUD discontinued funding for this program with the passage of the hearth act in 2009 there are still some programs Existing in the United States, but there are very few and I think that there are many components of this original safe haven program That we're seeing now in navigation centers and also in low barrier shelters in terms of trying to engage Vulnerable individuals into services and housing One of the items we're talking about this evening in addition to the senior center in Sam Jones Hall is the homeless emergency aid program I'm going to refer to it as heap In September the state released a 500 million dollar block grant To assist cities and counties to address the homeless crisis throughout California All of these funds so they were Issued and have been allocated all 500 millions have been allocated throughout the state So there will not be a round two for the heat funds The Sonoma County CDC submitted an application to the state for 12.1 million dollars That was Sonoma County's allocation under the heat program in December of 2018 This application included set aside for capital need requests from cities in Sonoma County totaling 4.9 million dollars that included 3.6 million for Santa Rosa the CDC Sonoma County Community Development Commission, which is also the lead agency for the Sonoma County continuum of care issued a NOFA in January applications for the For the NOFA including the heat funds were due to the CDC last Friday, February 8th and Cities that had requested funds under the set aside for capital needs were also Required to submit an application so we submitted an application last week those applications will be reviewed by a technical advisory committee of the new continuum of care, which is called the home Sonoma County An evaluation committee will looking at those applications sometimes in March and be making recommendations to the leadership council of home Sonoma County in March So there is an opportunity to make some adjustments subject to your Feedback this evening on this request to that application. There is more time here even though we've already submitted the application as I mentioned Santa Rosa's excuse me Set aside request was for 3.6 million dollars. This was based on an immediate need to replace the roof at Sam Jones Hall Based on a presentation that was made to council in May of 2018 Regarding the condition of our city facilities, which identified the roof at Sam Jones Hall and then also your prior Interest in potentially using the senior center for homeless services So we requested 1.6 million for the roof at Sam Jones Hall and 2 million for the activation of a navigation center at the senior center And the total is 3.6 million dollars a little more on the roof replacement at Sam Jones Hall This is the cap part of the capital needs request. This is an estimate provided by our transportation and public works department It is a rough estimate I just want to be clear on that at this point in time further inspection of the roof will be required to Develop a full a complete scope of work and develop final cost estimates Some of that work is underway right now with with TPW staff looking more closely at that estimate and The the work that needs to be done at Sam Jones Hall and I see Dave wants to hop in Yeah, the the reason the the estimate is 1.6 million We've heard comments that that seems high just want to elaborate This is much more than a re-roof of the building the estimates and the engineers are looking at structural integrity of the members Holding up the roof deck the roof deck itself And so once that final estimate is refined will know the real number But included in this is the idea that if they have to daylight the roof and work on the structure We will have to relocate the folks that are in Samuel Jones Hall to Bennett Valley senior center while that phase of the work is going on So I just wanted to elaborate that's where the estimate came from for that number and Our staff in the transportation public works department are anticipating that we would have the final estimates and scope of work by summer to summer 2018 the Santa Rosa Navigation Center We've requested two million dollars that's for capital and operating and we're recommending phased Activation subject to the final cost estimates for Sam Jones Hall, so we have 1.6 million right now We won't know for sure what the cost will be until those final cost estimates are in so what we're suggesting this evening is that The Navigation Center be operated in two phases the first phase involves relocation of up to 40 beds from the Sam Jones Sam Jones Hall shelter to the existing facility this summer and then Once we know the costs for Sam Jones Hall We're proposing to expand the Navigation Center to include Temporary structures providing up to 20 beds in the parking lot at this point in time. We're saying Sort of a max of 60 beds at the Navigation Center based on the existing toilets and sinks Could provide for up to 60 occupants, but no no more So there are some restrictions at the facility in terms of how many occupants we can have there So the end goal of the real estate formally known as the Bennett Valley Senior Center is to see if we can't attract Development of permanent supportive housing so during this time frame if you were were agreeable to this We would develop a request for proposal Come back to council with that language to seek a developer partner And if we can time that with the release of the community development block grant that disaster resistant Assistance fund we have a resource potentially for the developer to compete with to actually take the first initial steps to repurpose the real estate For permanent supportive housing, so it's a it's a several ass tonight with the but we're tearing it and we will wrap it up here in a moment Have a few slides here. Just showing you the facility. This is the you're all probably familiar with this is the front of the building along Bennett Valley Road This is the floor plan for the senior center and so at the top of the screen You'll see the entryway of course on the left side of the screen. You have the auditorium and some Offices along this right-hand side of the screen. Those are classrooms At the bottom right of the screen is a large auditorium there And then over sort of moving over to the left side of the screen towards the bottom is the commercial kitchen And with this floor plan We think we have an opportunity to provide more Accommodation to shelter beds by using the existing footprint with without improving it for example the office space the smaller Classrooms could could possibly be used to help folks who might not be Comfortable at Samuel Jones Hall or other shelters Here's an aerial of the facility see the facility in the parking lot and where it runs along Bennett Valley Road and Rutledge So a little bit more about the Santa Rosa Navigation Center Navigation centers in general the concepts they embrace a low barrier model their housing focused and typically on a smaller scale So as you're aware you've provided additional resources to Sam Jones Hall over the last few years to Shift that or transition programming there to being housing focused or in alignment with housing first So we we've worked with catheteries that shelter to to bring it into being low barrier But there are a lot of beds there We have capacity for up to 213 beds and with navigation centers You'll typically see fewer beds than that. There are some models in the Bay Area that are around 40 beds As Dave mentioned the senior center provides us the opportunity to offer more options to serve persons with disabilities So there are two larger Door areas, but then there are also the smaller classrooms to provide people with more privacy And just more more options further for their disabilities As I mentioned we're proposing up to 60 beds so 40 beds in the existing facility footprint Plus an additional 20 beds with in temporary structures in the parking lot area The funding for heap is two years 50% of funds have to be committed by next January and 100% of funds have to be fully expended by June of 2021 We are recommending this This evening that catheteries be the operator of the senior center for a number of reasons one includes the reduction in number of beds at Sam Jones Hall as I mentioned there there really is a need to reduce the number of beds there on an ongoing basis we have 200 up to 213 beds and Excuse me there. It's a lot of beds for the shelter. We have maximized capacity there Also, we're seeing a need to potentially relocate Clients at Sam Jones Hall during construction of the roof We don't know the extent of it yet But parts of the roof if not all of it might have to come out and we could use the senior center for Sam Jones Hall clients during construction also Important to note the continuity of services Catholic Charities being able to serve clients at Sam Jones Hall clearly and then also at the senior center Including those that are coming over from Sam Jones Hall during construction And economies of scale having Catholic Charities operate both facilities does Create some cost savings Having them pull staff and resources from other programs including including Sam Jones Hall And the outreach team there are some cost savings preliminary numbers show about 250,000 to 300,000 dollars in in cost savings Certainly we're we're here this evening to to seek your your feedback on this and so alternatively council might Direct staff to go out for a request for proposals to seek an operator in lieu of just soul sourcing to Catholic Charities this does provide for greater equity among Other providers that might be interested in the in the property And also the potential for serving Vulnerable populations other than those that are targeted Sam Jones Hall Which targets single adults and chronically homeless? But there are providers out there that are that serve youth families veterans older adult older adults and other vulnerable populations Other considerations this evening and includes sustainability. So We have put a budget together for Two years of heat funding, but if we wanted to continue the navigation center past that point in time We'd have to identify other resources and as Dave mentioned the long-term Use of the site including permanent supportive housing and affordable housing subject to your feedback this evening their next steps include Potentially updating our application that was submitted to the CDC last week for heat funds As I mentioned finalizing the scope of work and cost estimates for the roof replacement at sam jones hall returning with a navigation center contract with Catholic Charities or issuing a request for proposals for an operator And obviously we would want to go out and we'd want to have a community meeting Once we know more about what specifically we'll be doing at the navigation center Or doing navigation center. We want to invite the community in to to hear their input and their their feedback And the last point on this slide is also as Dave mentioned The affordable housing piece of returning with a request for proposal solicitation Develop the site as permanent supportive housing and or affordable housing with that We recommend housing community services recommend that council hold a study session to discuss the following the potential short-term use of the former bennett valley senior center for homeless services including Shelter safe haven and our navigation center To be coordinated with Catholic Charities of the diocese of santa rosa and association with sam jones hall or independently through another provider Number two an application to the sonoma county community development commission Which is the lead agency for the sonoma county community care Continue a continuum of care. Excuse me recently rebranded home sonoma county For 3.6 million dollars in state heat funding for both the sam jones hall and bennett valley senior center facilities And lastly the potential long-term use of the bennett valley senior center site for permanent supportive housing and or affordable housing This concludes our presentation. If you have any questions, we'd be happy to answer them. Thank you Thank you for that presentation I just have a real quick question related to a harmless emergency due to this that status and the continuation of that I know it's an item later on our agenda. Does it provide us some Opportunities to expedite whatever we decide to do on the bennett valley senior center versus if we didn't have that declaration That is correct. Mayor if we did not have that declaration We would take longer in the development process But the declaration of the emergency allows us to move faster. Great. Thank you councilman. We're filming. Do you have a question? Yeah, this question is a legal question for miss gallagher. Do we have the Is it legal for us to award a contract to a provider without putting out an rfp? Do we open ourselves up to any liability? We there are grounds upon which we can sole source A a contract and there are we're waive Competitive a competitive process. So they're all there are alternatives Okay, other questions councilmember combs Following up on my colleagues question um I don't want this question to sound as if I have any complaints I just am asking the question When was the last time we did an operator rfp? I don't recall. I recall that we have extended contracts regularly, but I'm trying to sort out When the last time was We did an rfp. Does anybody Remember when we did an operator rfp last? So this predates me, but the best to the best of my knowledge We did do an rfp when we were initially selecting a provider for Or an operator for sam jones hall and that shelter opened in 2005. So that would have been 2004 for sam jones hall Okay, there might be another one along the way, but it's not Coming to mind in about 15 years ago Um just based on the time And because I know things have changed in That we might want to ask for within an rfp um It concerns me to not go not do the rfp process Is it possible for us to do a short term agreement and then a longer term rfp so that we don't delay the process Yes, we can do that. Okay um And one of the other questions I have is at least I'm looking at the slide. I think it's 11 um I know that we have sam jones as a low barrier shelter and I'm strongly in favor of having low barrier alternatives available within our whole system It's not entirely clear that that means that every shelter we offer has to be low barrier And in fact some people have a problem if they don't have a low barrier A barrier option So is is are we committed to having This particular one be a low barrier in addition to sam jones because we're moving people from sam jones to here Or could this be a Not a low barrier shelter in the future I think that we do have some flexibility and I know that in terms of the heat funding As most state programs and federal programs are encouraging that all their programs Are lower barrier There is some discretion provided to you know the jurisdiction and the providers But that's the direction as you're aware that we've been moving With all of our programs. I understand that to me there's a difference between having low barrier system And having individual shelters each be low barrier And I think it in fact creates a barrier sometimes to have there be nowhere to go if you're really trying to avoid exposure to alcohol or drugs Um Can we also clarify I have had this question come up so I'm going to ask you to clarify These heap dollars are specifically earmarked for homeless funds We cannot use these dollars for repairing the senior center as a senior center. Is that correct? That's my understanding of the rules associated with the state funds. Okay. Thank you I'm I'm going to repeat that because I get this asked a lot We have the opportunity to have funds if we use this for homeless services that we do not have for senior Recreational purposes. That is correct. Thank you miss folly Yes, thank you. Um, I've been a clinical social worker licensed since 2012. I have a master's degree in community Mental health and social work from the university of california at berkeley And it's my understanding that homelessness is a long-term problem in the making And is not something that we're going to be able to solve in a temporary manner in 1929 We had 800 homeless individuals living in santa rosa and during the great depression. We had 2000 As a percentage of our population that number has gone down significantly and people continue to suffer Housing first is a term of art and it does not mean that We house people and only provide housing for them It means that we don't provide moral barriers to housing And so I appreciate your efforts and the efforts of catholic charity and providing low barrier housing. However We need all kinds of services and no wrong door and I understand that the county is the The legal authority on this and that we don't exactly have the money to do much here That having been said when I hear the term temporary and we have funding for two years and we have a structural deficit I have real concerns about extending services to solve a problem that I have in my professional opinion I know will not be solved in two years It won't be solved in 20 years We would have to have a new deal or a post world war two like investment in our social infrastructure To actually make a meaningful dent In homelessness that having been said it's gone down since our great recession and so I'm happy to support any increase in homeless services and to do the advocacy and community outreach to take care of our most vulnerable people But when we talk about temporary and two years and a general fund What I want to know from you Is what are we going to do in two years? When we still have all these homeless folks who still need housing and still need a shelter And we don't have any money to pay for it very good points the idea is is that If there are still folks at the navigation center formerly known as benett valley They would have and we have a developer selected and we have preliminary resources to move a development forward They would be offered first rider refusal for an apartment there and or at Caritas should that development move forward We could also have the option of moving the beds back to samuel jones hall after the repairs are done Or perhaps based on the discussion We're following at the state level under governor new sim the It seems like there might be additional state resources coming this way So in two years, we will certainly have this discussion on what our options might be Not not to beat a dead horse and I do appreciate all the hard work and I expect to support your initiative here, but um You know, it's a it's a big undertaking for us to take on with a hope Of having funding in two years and I just think that we need to go eyes wide open I mean I went on a tour of facilities yesterday And I don't think that in the 70s In 60 70s and 80s when we were building these facilities that people were thinking about council members in 2019 Or you know having to deal with these problems And I want to make sure that we have sustainable programs that we can fund in downturns And I expect that in two years Times may not be as good as they are now and times are not that great now so My two cents I have a question just process wise So you're just coming to council for feedback on the applications for the NOFA Then once it gets submitted to the cc or homesonoma county There's an evaluation process of another group from the technical advisory committee will make recommendations to leadership council Who in turn will actually direct that funding, correct? That is correct. So are There's no guarantee that the city of santa rosa will receive these funds for these two Projects that is correct. Great. Thank you. Are there any other questions? Go ahead miss comes Just to clarify the the the process again Are there other Will there be other heap dollars available to the city of santa rosa other than the this 3.6 million through the coc process or the Leadership so we would have there are other funding I mean other funds available through the NOFA that went out but As a city we only applied for the 3.6 million dollars in heap funding Yeah, so we would have had to apply for additional funding. Thank you councillor affluent. I apologize for Taking up so much time. However. I think this is really important and it's a great opportunity for us to Maximize our value Are we certain that repairing the roof at the bennett valley and excuse me at sam jones hall? For 1.2 million dollars is the most cost-effective way of us maintaining those shelter beds for residents Also known as are there is there another building we could purchase or lease or use for 1.2 million dollars that the operator could utilize rather than Maintaining this property to that tune of 1.2 million dollars We we haven't scoured what might be available, but if that was the Conclusion of the city council, we would be tasked with trying to find out what might be available I think some of the premise I'm sorry. Were any other properties or other options considered? No, just the bennett valley senior center and Samuel jones hall All right. We have several cards here. So let's start with scott wagner followed by thomas ells Good afternoon A couple of qualitative points. I guess one is I think we need taxes to answer the the question that Ms. Fleming brought up I don't think that you're going to be able to guarantee continuity on this without doing the kind of thing that was done in san francisco where they They applied sensible taxes That were targeted explicitly to take care of the homeless in their area and they're having transformative results as a matter Of course because this this comes down to an issue of money in my opinion Um, you know, many of us don't want to talk about the money aspects and and one critique I would say also qualitatively here is that there's there's no detail here for us to look at stuff We don't know what's in that 1.6. We don't know what's in any of it And I'd like to see some kind of breakdown between The capital portions and the service portions as a very basic beginning for both those two pieces And we didn't get to see it. We and we're supposed I guess not even talk about it, which I find Just goofy So You know, those are those are the two main qualitative pieces that I want to say I would also just Mention that in terms of going into the navigation center and getting something done one of the things that we wanted to To see in the proposals that we put forth for heap money Is to make sure that we have a systemic way of involving the community early And that involves more than just a community meeting And I don't I don't know what that meant exactly But I believe that we need to do aggressive outreach into all these neighborhoods for two reasons not just because It affects them greatly, but more importantly, there's an educative process here This is a regional problem that a lot of neighborhoods have to take some responsibility for and they're not going to want to do that For all kinds of of good and bad reasons And what we need to do from an education standpoint when we have situations like this is we need to come in there And we need to teach them And help them to reduce fears and commit in ways that the government needs to commit to make sure that the that the neighborhood Is not unfairly damaged unfairly harmed and fairly risked By what it is that we're trying to do to solve a regional problem Thank you Thank you scott. Thomas followed by george uberty Well, thank you very much. First of all Thank you for considering the bennett valley senior center For reuse it's very important. I've never heard of a two million dollar sole source no bid Contract ever issued in my 50 years experience I believe there would have to be significant findings And those findings you cannot have I'm going to talk about bennett valley And sam jones a little bit Christchurch at oxford, which was built in 1190 The roof was oak and the buildings And the builders planted a grove of oak trees called christchurch grove Because the roof would last 400 years and the trees would be built The trees would be grown at that time and matured and replace the roof 400 years in advance of needing the roof You need to think about these things a long term in advance In the abstract bennett valley senior center proposal isn't horrible But in the concrete here and now it does not address the current homeless difficulties It does not increase homeless service capacity whatsoever and it violates every principle of housing first Which is to utilize and create housing rather than sheltering I understand voting half the funds to sam jones re-roofing But let's not exacerbate the situation to throw good money after bad Bennett valley senior center itself does not warrant the investment and expenditure of two million dollars And none of it could be Recoverable Bennett valley senior center would be stuffed to the gills The proposal I heard was a hundred homeless 60 under certain circumstances With no ventilation or air conditioning And so in the best of scenarios subsequent to the re-roofing of the people who returned to sam jones bennett valley senior center Would be no better place than sam jones because the numbers of people I get it it seems like it's a good thing But it's not it's the same old incomplete methods Like it oxford sam jones should have been seriously considered sooner including use of the water agency Which has ventilation and air conditioning. I have a proposal that have proposed to use bennett valley senior center To house 60 people 20 inside the building and 40 outside a building You have a no-source contract Excuse me sole source no bid contract to build items that you have no plan for That's never that's never been done And you could have a Anyway, it's just really complicated. Um I met with mayor on june 30th And we tried to find the heat and and if I could just finish for one second Which was there wasn't enough time from june 30th to actually complete that and I'd like to talk to you further on this I would wish that you would Begin on this process, but to relook at it. Thank you. Thank you, thomas georgia barathe followed by gregor furan Yeah, uh, I'd like to bring to your attention some of the language we're using here It seems like like we're not uh I'd like to shift the way that we're thinking about this because I feel like we're thinking about it in ways That are overly rigid we're behaving as if, um, you know, there are uh concrete categories of person Right, this person is a homeless person Uh, and that's who they are. You don't get you don't get born a homeless person I've heard a lot about talking about people that are uh disabled that are incapable of taking care of themselves Right, so um, and that's a significant portion of our homeless population Right people without the cognitive capacity to care for themselves. We talk about extremely vulnerable populations to disabled um somebody who uh has mental retardation Who's physically disabled, uh, it's not a homeless person anymore than a nine-year-old is a homeless person If they don't have a parent they're not going to have a home These people are wards of the state and as such they are our responsibility They only become homeless people when we fail to house them Right now there are a lot of different options for people that are Incapable of taking care of themselves. I'm wearing the shirt of a organization I used to work for called, uh, bayberry, which we primarily did In home supported services type of things although there's ihss funding, right? There's um, there's supported living funding There's icf's right intermittent care facilities, right? These are all things Uh for people that are incapable of taking care of themselves who are not homeless people They're just people with disabilities Right and so uh thinking that we need to set up shelters to house people who are fundamentally and irrevocably homeless Is a flawed way of thinking about a more uh broad social problem, right? Which is our own need to take care of people who can't take care of themselves, right? That's what a society is supposed to do Um, we're failing in a really significant way when we do that Now another thing that i'd like to talk about is the benna valley senior center, right now I'm hearing talk about is the community development commission, which is the lead agency for the continuum of care now One of the primary features of a continuum of carers that is supposed to have a single point of entry Right, um a single point of entry that coordinates all services because if you're homeless You're not really going to be able to kind of hop and skip around to a lot of different service providers Um, so if that's going to be to benna valley senior center, we're going to spend two million dollars or whatever it is Um getting that set up. I mean how are homeless people going to get there? Right. I mean one of the reasons we do catholic charities, uh downtown is because you know, there's like the bus The bridges, right all these different soup kitchens and everything so we go down there Also, uh, there's absolutely no reason to hand off two million dollars to catholic charities Uh, I had to I mean absolutely not I had to personally get their financial statements myself and they were absolutely important You all need to look at them. That's your job. Thank you very much. Thank you. Greg if you're on followed by christina healy Gregory had an emergency. It had to leave Thank you Uh, christina healy followed by caron Fitzgerald Hi everybody Thank you for all of us all of us on this planet together trying to plan it I don't know is it? Anyway, what do you say help me out? Okay, sir Anyway, I'm I'm not prepped for this at all, but um, I'm new to this town and I think it's wonderful what you are trying to do for the homeless There's incredible services incredible amounts of food but I think rather than Having a hand out We need a hand up And I think you have a lot of things in the waste stream Such as the pallets lying around the fire has it the food scraps all of us are scraping into our You know plastic bags we have An opportunity to do what victoria was talking about I think which is give us The green new deal so that we could have bicycles pull-alongs gardening tools and we could actually Help restore a monarch Habitat Santa Rosa is so beautiful. You have so much open space left Practically every business has a borderland where they could actually house a individual who wanted to be an eco-steward with the proper training you know to help Set up those pallets and create a three bin compost system and actually return the soil from our food scraps and our leaves And our grass clippings that we could make ourselves sequestering the carbon from the atmosphere from our cars You know creating the fungi and the root systems that would then Give us the oxygen that we need and you know any Thing called heap. I think it's kind of ironic heap to me is a compost pile And we are like flesh and blood in the heap and we are suffering from fire and we For some reason refuse to change what we're doing And if we had a green new deal where kids could sign up and learn how to install Stolar Paneling and learn how to retrofit the pipes coming out of your kitchen sink in your bathtub in your laundry And filter it through a beautiful Waterfall system that could then be reintroduced to your yard so that you're going to have a lush yard That's not going to attract fire And you're going to be you know, we're going to be on bicycles, you know But it goes beyond that it goes to the smart train that you have which is another Amazing opportunity that's almost been lost because They choose to put old-fashioned Pavement for the bike trail when we need something that's porous. We need something that's like beveled sand We need to plant and the homeless can do this. We can do it. We're already all along the train tracks You know, we got turkeys walking around hungry. We got possums that are dying of thirst We got raccoons because we put everything in the waste stream and we can't they can't get at it Soil is the one thing that we need to make when we should be given Thank you Christina that opportunity to live and learn in green buildings that are healthy. Thank you all of us Karen Fitzgerald followed by dwayne duit Thank you. My name is Karen Fitzgerald. I'm with the living room I want to take a moment to thank julie combs for the workshop she delivered in the december right in this room I want to uh say that I didn't hear um of all the buckets that were put out for us to uh spend money in A roof for sam jones, but but That said I did hear a lot of good ideas and I made an observation that day when I heard all these good ideas That we could collaborate and we could come up with something new and different And now I want to just take one moment to do a shout out to homeless action Because they have very conscientiously thought this problem through and and the living room has observed what they've come up with and we have Worked or some of their people have come up with and We want to support that and we have put our fiscal sponsorship seal on those programs Some of which include uh benham valley center for What has been identified as true solutions to true emergencies and and Councilwoman fleming thank you for your observations on some of these things about the infrastructure We need to solve a problem that is going to be a long-term problem Anyway, I would simply encourage that The council or those in charge of spending the money look very seriously at those ideas That are more comprehensive and perhaps more closely address Meeting the serious emergencies that we do have in this county at this time In in determining the usage for the senior center. Thank you. Thank you Dwayne do it Followed by adrian lobby Dwayne left Adrian followed by steve dunright. Thank you council members There was a time when we heard a Estimate for the roof of sam jones of I believe 300 000 So I think we would really want to see these estimates and I understand from the staff that this includes maybe more than that original estimate Which leads us to uh council member fleming's point about putting a lot of money into this particular building Which was pretty old and weak when we Turned it into a shelter So we might need to do a little more work on that There is a proposal for the heat money for the use of the sam uh the benham valley parking Lot for some safe parking that proposal asked for 56 thousand dollars from the heat money And it includes the desire and willingness to work with the city It wouldn't change that what the city is also proposing these things are compatible options I just want to say in a general way. My name is adrian lobby. I work with homeless action as Karen said we've been working on this for three or four months now And we believe that the heat money is very specific from the state This is for homeless emergency funding It's for cities that are having trouble with homeless people In a crisis emergency vein So we need to look at things that are not Oh, maybe someday we'll get to functional zero if somebody finally gives us enough money to do that We really need to look at we have people dying right now Maybe three or four people in the last couple weeks We have people cold out in the wind in the weather. We got five days of rain coming up I don't see that this really addresses that And what we've done in trying to bring more people together with new ideas Is to come up with things that are called the tiny villages particularly Safe parking Things that will get people out of the rain fast and provide them with shelter for Four or five six years Maybe more for under five thousand each So let's spread the money around. Let's use it for emergencies And yes, let us put out requests for proposals We believe that we need a very rich and diverse service provider universe here We're not getting new and unusual ideas Because we always have to go to the same providers And that's because the providers do not have the capacity To bid on these large projects because we do not put out enough rfps They do not get the bids. They can't develop the capacity So whenever there is something about homeless services or homeless Capacity you will see me in here saying Please put out rfps invite a lot of people to bid and let's see how this can go. Thank you very much Thank you, agent Steve Dunright followed by Bill Patterson Good afternoon. Happy tuesday I know a word. I think has more letters than mississippi and that's called misappropriate funds Just what I heard about the cost of the roof alone. I built mansions that sleep 24 for less than that. It's a roof I know it was only built by some Probably some lackadaisio homeless cities. Oh, no by the army core engineers and they could land an airplane on it So how much that really needs to be done in that roof structure? Is who doesn't know anybody will believe it does the roof leak? Yes. Where does it leak? I bet they never tried finding a leak on a day when it's raining when it's not raining with the holes and find out possibly it needs flashing So if you want to slam the army core engineer and tell them that all that stuff that they did was a failure I'm really disappointed in the united states army because Well, I'm actually disappointed in the united states army. Anyway, that's vietnam The other thing we're talking about moving beds at homeless action I witnessed people leaving an ambulance more than once and some of them are to this day crippled Because they stepped on some mattresses that should have been replaced 10 or 15 years ago But there's always an excuse why not who the hell wants to spend one dollar to move those mattresses? Which have more swells in them than a ski slope in wisconsin I used to sleep on a bed backwards because people thought they wanted my head to be exposed. I said no less back damage Not even permitted to use a mattress because the mattresses that were good on the floor For the homeless that had to leave at six in the morning So both all these shelters you kick the homeless out Who gives a damn what the weather is come back to six back in the days catholic charities That does nothing for the homeless and say get the hell out of here I've got my car stolen stitches in my face and my glass is broken I've got nothing but a hung-up phone and not allowed on a property I can't put toilet paper in a porta potty that we paid for So why do we want to give these people that's so far approved that they do a little bit more than you? But there's a heck of a lot of misappropriate funds and where's that five hundred eighty two thousand dollars I have sore feet looking for the porta potties that some people three out of four voted for Boy, I sure would hate to be judged by the god whether I was a mayor or the best cheerleader The best football player when I denied hundreds of people a place to go to the bathroom and wash their hands Come on. What are you going to do you waste my time? It's just all these atrocities And and you talk about doing this building on homeless funds at the senior center and I heard about resell Where's that money go whose pocket does that go in? There's five hundred eighty two thousand dollars and I haven't seen the damn thing and oh by the way the rich homeless or Catholic charities, whatever happened to safe parking another excuse. They can't afford it You can't even call beyond five miles when you borrow to use their phone. They must be misappropriating funds, huh? There's money being made for every person that's kicked in and out of sam jones Money's being made off that building money's being made off the casino But none of the money's being spent So you guys are to stand still because there's no more fencing and barb wire to put up and you cut down every damn bush There is to expose the homeless and say they're there But you're asking for more money when I left in June the only time the mayor stood up and had attention was and I heard Five hundred eighty two thousand dollars was coming for the homeless Now we tried to get attention by shutting people by shutting down the council All I said was let's do something different because nothing's being done And what was the fine two thousand five hundred dollars for a seventy seven year old woman? It's a psych evaluator and then and then it was dropped You know how many little shelters I could give a homeless person or how about a hundred ten thousand dollars for the indigenous Let's go to the city hall to see plants that go in santa rosa for a hundred ten thousand dollars How many little homes and the nice little homes that you commended us with that were made out of wood They're not allowed because they don't have a fire sprinkler system We're not allowed to use a hose or tap into fire and where can we get electricity? I'm telling you every damn vets got to be pretty upset any homeless vet And by the way, you're not even filling up how many vets you're supposed to have when you've got the palms which is making money I know a veteran that's out on the street because he can't afford more I know somebody literally has cancer and I put my finger in his whole firm infection The catholic charity's backballed not on the street because he said he failed to sign a release form while being kicked out of Onto the street from sam jones for making a comment of an injustice And if you want to make a report it still goes in a garbage can sometimes a square one sometimes a round one Have a blessed day bill paterson followed by biranna pucca My name is bill paterson. I'm the chapter 28 vice president of the local association association of service council representing the local auto repair shops I'm here today to represent the six automotive repair shops on rutledge avenue across the street from the senior center For the 12 years that i've been at this location. I've seen the senior centers serving the senior people Doing an excellent job. I've seen churches meet there. I've seen ballet classes Numerous different groups meeting for Alcoholics anonymous and so forth And I was really surprised when the city decided to close the center Which was doing such a good job. They had paying clients Using the commercial kitchen there for food catering And the reason that I heard was that it was no longer safe to occupy So it seems ironic that now it's being considered To be reopened as a homeless shelter So we were concerned about the safety of the seniors But now we're going to endanger the homeless there It seems ironic to me But anyway, our big concern is is that we have a serious homeless problem And they choose rutledge avenue to park their rvs their trailers their vehicles And I know the catholic charities has tried to help they provide one day a week That trailer for showers But it hardly gets used and I've I work with catholic charities And I've talked to them To the city about why don't you put a couple porta potties out there? So these people that are sleeping in their cars have somewhere to go Because as businesses we're finding human feces and piles of trash On our property on the sidewalks My customers, especially women with small children Are intimidated when they're walking by all this stuff and seeing homeless people Drinking and doing drugs And We've tried to get help concerning especially the parking situation which is really limited For our small repair shops We called a few weeks ago and asked the city if they could please come and get some of these vehicles to move And a police officer promptly showed up And informed all of our businesses that we needed to move our cars out of the loading zone Behind the senior center Which seemed to me like they were just saying, you know Mind your own business But it is our business. It's our livelihood You know something has to be done. I have I'm really concerned about the homeless and they need help But I don't think the senior center is the way to help them. Thank you bill Brianna followed by Anita Lafellette Good afternoon. Um, I I don't hate this either I think it needs to be a older women's shelter We have so many older women on the street just struggling. They don't think that senior housing is for them Or they don't know how to get senior housing. So Um, a navigation center is definitely the best thing to call it Does catholic charities need to run it as a good question? Um And if they're going to spend the money refurbishing and whatnot also don't park in loading zones people, you know That's just the thing. Um, that's probably why they said that Um, uh, so, uh We have the money To let people live these are souls in a body suffering And we're letting them suffer just like um the last gentleman said or the gentleman before that It's souls in a body suffering. It doesn't matter where they come from. They're mostly from here though born and bred um and They we don't have the shelter space. We haven't been offering the shelter space for it sounds like a decade Going on 20 years. I've grown up here always known to people living in their cars I mean, it's just a thing you do in Sonoma county Um, I knew someone from mexico who was like Oh, you guys live in your cars? And it's like Yeah, that's just the thing we do because we don't allow people to have a spot All you need you own 1600 properties Rent them out to yourselves for a dollar a day or something figure out something with the liability. Sorry It sounds like a lot of work council, but figure out something with the liability Nihai who we can't the lady from Nihai who we came had come here. She had a great insurance company We just need places for people to be they do need to be low different barriers Low barrier is a big one because people need time to figure out their self medication And figure out how to get off of it They all went off of it But they can't because they have to stay up all night being aware of themselves Otherwise people are going to take their one sleeping bag for them and they're one like tiny little shivering old dog and You just need to do it right now You close the armory not you but you know we close the armory on Both weekends and it rains and there's no other place for people to go We are going to spend if the difference is is in the money between 300,000 to fix the roof and 1.6 million to To do it all with moving all the people that's 1.3 million that we're spending on moving all the people If we spent that 1.6 million on yurts and on public property We could house 533 people And they could do things like the composting that we need we could grow food for ourselves You all want to earmark money tax money double tax it whatever Give the police something to do to get over time. It's like Please just stop hurting people. You're killing people four or five people died this week I saw a woman get taken away in the morning under the night street bridge for um freezing to freezing. I don't know if she Dead body I've ever seen except for like in a funeral. So I mean Stop it. You have the power this week to stop hurting people Think about it Thank you. Anita followed by victoria yannis Good afternoon. It's Anita Lafollette It's been a long time. Um, I'm really tired of talking for homeless action because It seems like it goes up to a barrier. I mean talk about barriers I just want to let you know that they're like she said four or five dead people this week That means there was a lady underneath the underpassing that died for freezing I see them every single day up and down santa rosa avenue. They're trying to find enough plastic to wrap themselves in This is a homeless emergency. It's not a time to be thinking about capital improvements You're going to spend heap funds to make a To make a roof What we need to do is put some of these people in shelter now whether it's a shelter That includes safe parking because a lot of people are living out of their cars When are you going to wake up? Do you not see them? They're sleeping in their cars and sleeping under bushes They're trying to prevent being swept By the policemen who don't want to sweep them anyway. We've gone through this so heap funds should be for safe parking in canvass And certainly for homeless shelters ones that can be done At the senior center, we have the water agency vacant. We have a huge bank downtown We have a building right over here that's totally empty It's amazing to see all these empty buildings and people still sleeping in the street. Is this the united states of america? I cannot believe the humanity That's lacking In our city council. Yeah, you guys Okay, so true solutions to problems are what we need with these heap funds So listen to some of the suggestions that are being put forth To the heap committee at this time and make more homelessness Diminish not increase. You're going to put 80 people into the senior center when there are 3000 out sleeping in the rain I Can't believe it and um So I just want to Increase the number of places that people can go and have shelter. I don't care whether they're Drinking or using drugs or eating chocolate candy. I don't care They need to be in a shelter Thank you. Thank you. Nina victoria yannis Thank you victoria yannis homeless action exclamation point But i'm speaking for myself really because homeless action has not reviewed my comments Um, I don't want to be a catholic charity's basher like I always have been Because of their failure to recognize The civil rights of their service population Um I've complained here many times about The failure of catholic charities to have a viable complaint process What we have here is a private organization receiving public funds With no oversight just about because When somebody files An appeal of an action You know, this is still the united states We still go by the u.s. Constitution Once a person is granted benefits by catholic charities the taking of that property interest Kicks in civil rights considerations This is public money Now the meetings of catholic charities are not open Okay, so Them having a viable Appeals process for the actions that they take when they throw people out of the program or just continue their benefits Um, we must have A process I've been representing somebody who was thrown out of the homeless service center for quite a few months already I've sent two letters By snail mail To the homeless service center because it nobody signed the action It and and the appeals rules said to just send it to The person in charge at homeless service centers. So that's what I did twice And this is range complaint. No response It's like it got lost before it got to jenny lin. I don't know what But I'm here begging and pleading and this is the same subject. I come and talk about jenny lin. You know, that's true We really want Because this is public money We have to have a right to challenge catholic charities decisions when benefits are being denied to the homeless. Thank you Thank you victoria Bring back to counseling for staff. Those are all the cards we have Do you have a recommendation because this is a study session? There'll be no actual vote, but you wanted to get feedback from the council Did you want to you have three different items that you were looking for feedback on Do you want to just go through each council member and give feedback on all three or take item? Individually get your feedback. What's your preference? Better if we just did it one at a time one two three Okay So the first uh item Why don't you reframe the first item? We all have an infront of you, but make sure that you get the information you want from us Are you just seeking me to repeat basically the recommendation so so there are three items where We're seeking feedback on this evening. The first is potential short-term use of the former bennett valley senior center for homeless services Including shelter safe haven and our navigation center to be coordinated with catholic charities of the diocese of santa rosa In association with this samuel l jones hall home of shelter or independently through another provider All right, is there someone like to make first comments Let's start the animal work our way this and then we'll alternate councilmember flaming I want to voice my support for much of the work that catholic charities does and this is not An opinion about the work that they do. This is a broader opinion about not having um an rfp or a way of having a review of services for 14 or 15 years and we weren't able to get a specific date on when the original rfp was Issued I don't think that we should be issuing Any changes of contracts with such an old Contract, I do believe that it's in the public's best interest to have an rfp process even if we end up with Catholic charities. I think that that would provide transparency and an opportunity to have a open and robust conversation that meets our needs and meets the needs of Whatever provider would come to us Councilmember combs Before I comment may I just ask this has already been submitted the due date for these applications was last friday, wasn't it? Is that correct? That's correct. Okay I again If I may I just want to clarify that yes the applications were submitted, but they can be amended Okay And I've sorry to interrupt councilmember combs and I've indicated in the application to the cdc That this was not going to council until the 12th and there would likely be changes to the application following the Meeting tonight this afternoon Thank you for bringing us A homeless services shelter safe haven navigation center at the benet valley site. I think that Uh, I'm very supportive of those uses there the exact configuration there I'm not as clear about Uh, but whatever we can do together to get uh additional sheltering there If it's initially supplementing sam jones With a future possible other use that's great if we can coordinate with safe parking on that site. That's great Um, I agree that I think That while I can be very supportive of the work of catholic charities I think 15 years is long enough to be continually extending contracts and that we really do need an rfp. Thank you Vice mayor rogers Thank you, mr. Mayor and thank you so much to staff. I know We have heard a lot from the public Particularly over the last year and I know director you in particular have taken that to heart in trying to balance Not just what you've heard from the council in terms of housing first But also from the public in terms of what the need is so I really appreciate you trying to find a creative solution And I do know We have heard from folks in sacramento like the governor Lauding san eros's efforts and trying to be creative when it comes to creating housing and creating some form of housing unit for folks So I do want to make sure that that's put out there as well I am very supportive of figuring out how to move forward with the benet valley senior center as a long term Supportive services and in the meantime It seems like it's a good nexus to allow us time to make necessary changes to sam jones hall So I think that that is in particular really interesting as a way for us to Start that conversation understanding that we're going to have to talk more about the long term as well But in the short term it does allow us to move forward with changes at sam jones hall It does end up providing us another opportunity potentially down the road for additional capacity of services If if my colleagues want to go the direction of doing an rfp That's fine with me But I do Hear from the public that there's urgency in what we are doing. We have heard that I am also concerned about catholic charity's capacity Because we have been asking them to take on a lot that they did not initially want to do And I know that given the big hearts of folks who are doing the work there that they never wanted to say no But I think it is worth having a conversation with them about what their capacity is How they are able to deliver the services if we are asking and make sure that they are in a position to deliver For us what we think we need to have here Moving forward, so I can go either way on the on the rfp Or on the the sole source But it would really be contingent on whether or not catholic charities has the capacity Thank you vice mayor councilman rooster Thank you, mayor. I agree with the vice mayor In his comments. I'm very very pleased that An alternative to just selling the benna valley senior center has been looked at and that we can Quickly transform it into a into a safe haven in shelter for our homeless Residents and More than happy to have catholic charities be in in in charge of that They have the most Experience of any other a non-profit here in san aroza that may change in the future But i'm very pleased again with the creative use of this building which is now A greater asset than it was perhaps a few months ago, so i'm willing to move forward Mr. All there's thank you, mayor This is a natural next step in our direction as far as meeting some of our needs And of course meeting the immediate needs over at salmon jones hall as relates to the funding to understand This is one time funding that we're dealing with and the other thing that i don't know i'm not clear about is the The allocation to benna valley senior center the the percentage that will be needed for upgrades to make it Inhabitable and so my assumption is the remaining dollars would be used for potential programming of providing the services. Is that correct? Yes, and it would also Sponsor the leasing and installation of another shower restroom trailer to be joined with the one we have currently leasing portable buildings connecting those portable buildings to electricity and a sprinkler system for health and safety Thank you So there are still a number of things that can be contemplated happening at that center as far as the types of services And and then the other question i would have is related to ongoing funding of whatever we decided to do that Will be something we will deal with in a year to year to year basis based on available funding to Be able to manage that site and this angle jones site correct. Thank you. So i i'm not opposed to RFP process, but i would ask that we explore other options I see Three main uses here with the shelter the safe haven The navigation center there may be other Uses that come up as we evaluate the use of that building So i would not exclude the possibility of exploring an rfq process for example In trying to identify What are what are our needs as it relates to providing services to our homeless population? And then in turn trying to identify what are the qualifications of our service providers in a community to provide those services Because i know i'm even with catholic charities being stretched. They do a lot others have certain Tribes and services that they provide others others So I think again if we're looking at this as a more holistic community-wide approach There may be some opportunities that exploit an rfq process where we may be able to use More than one type of provider for different things And i think it also will allow us to demonstrate some stronger collaboration Amongst our providers in in meeting the needs of our homeless community Thank you, mr Oliver's And for me i'm definitely in favor of the ben valley senior senator being transition this homeless services And i am supportive of catholic charities remaining the service provider And mainly the what i heard from you kelly saying that We'd be able to leverage resources It'd probably be two to three hundred thousand dollars cheaper to be able to do that And the assessments that catholic charities is doing at sam jones hall. We're talking about the same clientele They know those folks better than any other service provider And i'm not sure how from the individual perspective how that would improve services by having someone else Actually take the handoff or the transition from Facility a sam jones hall to facility b ben valley senior senator with different operators It adds a level of complexity that i don't think the clients themselves need to be put through So on Bullet point one. Do you have enough feedback and was there i was trying to keep somewhat direction? Did you get what you needed on that item? Yes, thank you, mayor Okay, so then the second item is the applications cdc For 3.6 million in-state homeless emergency aid program funding for sam jones hall and ben valley senior center councilmember combs if we'll start with you um I don't have any uh issues with this particular item though I do have a question about where we actually got the 3.6 million from because i It wasn't clear to me that it That we got it by Adding up the costs, but that we kind of went the other way with it We had this number and we made the cost fit So if you could sort of just clarify that otherwise, um, I think we clearly need to move forward with this So the 3.6 million is based off of for sam jones hall It's based off of a preliminary estimate from transportation and public works to replace the roof 1.6 million dollars Then the ben valley senior center or the navigation center that we're proposing is two two million dollars That's based off of a number of things So there are some capital improvements that need to be made to the facility life and safety sort of things Also the cost of a bathroom shower trailer or shower trailer because there are no showers there And then all also based off of operating costs Which we know from sam jones hall and operating a shelter I also consulted with the communities of berkeley san francisco and oakland on their navigation centers to sort of compare You know costs at the sites that they've opened Let let me also if if I may mayor Um, I had originally asked the question with regard to the rfp if we could do something quickly And then follow up with the rfp or the rfq. Um, I am willing to entertain that conversation further. Thank you Thank you. Mr. Rogers Yeah, no, I definitely am supportive of us submitting this application Going forward Mr. Sawyer Thank you, mayor. I do have a question. Um, though generally supportive of the use of these funds The um, as far as our ability to be creative, um, and consider Possibilities that we have not had the opportunity to do in in No small way due to In some cases a lack of space and our ability to Coordinate for instance safe parking It's a large parking lot at the bit of valley senior center. Um, is it something that the, um, The the sonoma county that the home sonoma county will be considering and could that be A conversation where we actually consider that as a as a short-term potential on that site If I understand your question councilmember Sawyer the We are currently not aware of how many applications are going to home sonoma That may be contemplating safe parking That may be contemplating this site as one of those sites they they have in mind But that certainly is a an evaluation process that'll be working its way through First the technical advisory committee forming a recommendation to the leadership body and then that decision being made Great. Thank you. I'm just I'm looking for um, and I when we first had the conversation About home sonoma county. I know that creativity Was one of the things that they were going to be Putting into high use so I'm I'm looking forward to that as at least as a possibility And moving in directions so we have not moved together or moved in it for one reason or another but I'm very supportive of Getting these funds moving and and used as soon as possible. Thank you Mr. Alvarez Thank you, mayor. I am I am supportive of the application Councilman Fleming I am supportive of the application with the the reservations that I've expressed And I'm also very supportive of the 3.6 million application. Thank you And the last item is feedback on the potential long-term use of the ben valley senior center site for the permanent supportive housing and or affordable housing Mr. Rogers will start with you Thank you, mr. Mayor, and I uh Do want to echo some of the concerns that I heard from councilmember Fleming earlier in the discussion regarding One-time funding in on time and ongoing programs. And so I am cognizant of that I am supportive of us figuring out how to make this supportive housing and affordable housing moving forward For folks. I think we don't have enough capacity in our community and developing that is going to be a challenge given our budget constraints, but I am Supportive of this potential for now and we'll talk about the details as we get there Thank you, mr. Sorry. I am also supportive of the long-term use Mr. Alvarez Thank you. Not knowing what the final product will look like. I am supportive of the concept Councilman Fleming I'm conditionally supportive of this project. I would like to see Some of the questions that I've proposed. I have some answers I know that there's no good answers But I want to make sure that we provide the public with the biggest bang for their buck and that we Get as many services to as many people and prevent any more freezing deaths. I I think that it's unacceptable Councilman comes I'm supportive of this project becoming more permanent And have and recognize the potential for long-term use Um, not generally the person who's willing to make a leap of faith with regard to our finances But in this case, I'm willing to see what happens in two years. Thank you Thank you. I also am very supportive of There's been a valet seen senior senator is the permanent supportive housing I think that is our answer to our homeless challenges And I am hoping I plan on advocating in sacramento for additional funding I know governor brown said this is one time funding for his administration It was but I'm very optimistic with for governor Newsom that it's not the last time that we'll see the state Assisting us not just the city center was the entire state with homeless services. So I'm very supportive of this Anything else to add or is that the conclusion of this item? Thank you that concludes it. Thank you very much Mr. Gowan item 4.2 item 4.2 is another study session community homeless assistance program otherwise known as chap And alternate housing options and presenting as kelly keckendall So as Dave mentioned when he teed off both the study sessions We're here this afternoon almost evening now at council's request to discuss this program as well as Temporary or alternative dwellings before I jump into the community homeless assistance program otherwise known as chap I just wanted to provide you with a brief overview of our homeless services and the chap program is part of that Sort of array of services that the city supports and provides There are four Broad categories that are referred to we have emergency shelter Day services street outreach and rental assistance under the category of emergency shelter The city provides support to the samuel jones jones hall homeless shelter And family support center. These are operated by catholic charities The council has provided additional funding to these facilities or these programs over the last couple years to align them with the housing first model And this year the council also provided some funding to the ywca for shelter beds at its safe house Under day services. We have the homeless service center. This is a drop-in center And under street outreach. We have homeless outreach services team That's operated by catholic charities as is the homeless service center And host and coordinated entry are um their home base is the homeless services center Um council provided additional funding as well this year um and last year for the homeless service center to extend hours Under the fourth category rental assistance. We have the housing first fund This is a new program this year and it's operated under host. This provides landlord incentives risk mitigation and tenant assistance And the hc family fund council has provided funds for administration for this program for a number of years It's operated by community action partnership of sinema county and funds are provided By a private donor to help with security deposits and rental assistance There's the chat program I'll be talking a little bit more about that in the next couple slides. We also have the homeless encampment assistance pilot program That started a couple years ago to address growing concerns around encampments in our community And as you know regional efforts I touched on this in the first study session through our Sinema county continuum of care, which is now called our recently rebranded home sinema county So on to chap um in october 2015 council approved an initial pilot It was the community homeless assistance pilot program That was for one winter and it was for november through april It allowed for the provision of safe parking placement of portable toilets and temporary overnight shelter And the intent of this was to engage the community in developing solutions to address the homeless issue This was allowed at basically for churches to provide these services. It was later extended to commercial properties With the expanded program that i'll talk about A year later in october 2016 council approved an expanded year-round program Under your declaration of homeless emergency that you declared in august of 2016 This allowed for Safe parking safe camping the placement placement and maintenance of portable toilets and access to existing bathroom facilities provision of temporary overnight shelter and storage for personal belongings and as I mentioned This is for churches or Properties or facilities that have the assembly use or commercial properties In a november Following approving the expanded program council directed staff to make available available up to 20 000 for chap applicants There we have a set of guidelines. They're included with the staff report. Um, the process is really pretty straightforward We ask a property owner to fill out a registration form With the following information addressed contact info proposed services hours of service Number of occupants and other information as required Temporary overnight shelter requires an on-site inspection by the fire department prior to occupancy, but the the fee for that is waived And we we ask that the um owners comply with the chap guidelines and coordinate services with host We currently have Two churches uh participating in the chap program The first united method is church. They might have some representatives here this evening I spoke with them last week. They have safe parking. They provide up to 10 spots at their Their campus on giffen avenue And they've they've been approved for a chap grant approximately 9700 dollars And they've had a program since 2015 They first started when catholic charities received funding through the county That program lapsed for a bit until they got it started up again last december so december 2017 Their program's been running for about A year They just submitted a progress report to me which they do from time to time So for 2018 they served about 44 individuals And nine of them have gone to either temporary or permanent housing Christ church united Methodist It just opened up safe parking in december and they are providing Three spots and both of these sites are working with catholic charities and with hosts And in coordinated entry as well to screen applicants for their programs Um first united Methodist church the the safe parking program that they've built Um christ church united Methodist has modeled their program after that as well as a church in sabbasta pool So part of the study session that was requested by council a few months ago Was that we also talked about alternative housing options So in the chap guidelines under the safe camping and safe Safe parking and safe safe camping provision of the guidelines There is some language in there that allows the property's discretion discretion vehicles rvs and trailers And they these shelter tips may include tents or other temporary structures tiny home modular dwellings and or other innovative shelters So the chap guidelines do allow for that These structures do have to comply with our building and fire requirements And there has been some some issue with that and that for example the state has issued some guidelines some temporary guidelines on temporary structures But cities don't yet have guidance on how to Implement those so I know that's in the works And I think that those those guidelines will be be adopted into code at the state level in 2020 And it would require the city to then adopt those here locally for for our use And for guidance and we do have our chief building official here this evening if you have any questions about that And our fire marshal Scott moon and assistant fire marshal Ian heartage To answer any questions that you might have about building and fire requirements as as they apply to the temporary structures With that we can move on to council discussion. I'll cover the recommendation real quick So it's recommended by the housing community services that the council hold a study session to receive a presentation on the community homeless assistance program and alternative housing options So this concludes my presentation. We're happy to answer any questions that you might have Thank you for your presentation council questions Go ahead miss combs you first thing mr. Tivitz Thank you for bringing this forward I would like to ask If we can adopt the state guidelines for alternate housing Uh that are in existence at the state level now in advance of the state building code adoption It's my understanding for example that this happened in oakland And that we can adopt these guidelines in advance of the state code processes Good evening. Thank you Yes, we do have the option to adopt Could you introduce yourself first just everyone? Sorry, uh jesse oswald chief building official So we do still have the option to adopt the previously known interim measures that came out last year The measures are being proposed for the current code That is upcoming to be adopted in one one 2020 and that's Going through the process currently the measures appear to resemble much the same that we saw in the previous measures So the option is to adopt the previous ones or adopt the new ones upcoming Thank you. I would have no problem with adopting the new ones early And hope that we could have that conversation and consider it I'm also I know that part of bringing this forward was because we were somewhat surprised At how few churches took on Safe parking issues Basically as a council we got out of the way of commercial property So they could do it we got out of the way of the benevolent community the churches so that they could do it And we're not seeing the sort of flood of response that we had hoped to see So At what stage do we have the conversation about using city property or public property for Um chap program like Setups and Would that be something that is part of your recommendation as we go forward is that part of the Study session that you're suggesting we come forward move forward So technically i'm saying can we ask to expand the chap program to include city properties That would be a good conversation for the council as the program was conceived a few years ago Is it was for private property to assist us in trying to resolve this issue? Okay The other question that I have is that is your recommendation is to hold another study session We can't hold have votes or have a an opinion a strongly held opinion as a body under a study session Is there a reason you're suggesting a study session instead of a report item so that we could bring the Some closure to the conversation by having a some kind of more definitive conclusion You know, um, we didn't want to confuse the council But this was at the council's request to bring forward a study session about the chap program So as your staff, we thought we'd go through a review which we just did and then hear your discussion on where you would like to Take this item from here All right, thank you. I I would be Very interested in having this come forward as a report item instead of as a study session. Thank you Thank you. Mr. Sivitz. Thank you, mr. Mayor a director grind I think I was one of the people who asked to bring this back just to get an overview of How successful the program has been or what we could do what tweaks we could make to potentially make it more Successful and reach more people experiencing homelessness And and what also kind of moved me in that direction to talk about it was we brought forward the resilient city ordinance in which we created zoning policy that allowed People who were who survived the fires or lost their homes to live in trailers In in front of a residential property In your opinion would could the city basically follow a similar zoning ordinance consistent with the declaration of homeless emergency meaning Can we treat it as the same level of crisis as the fire and apply similar policy standards? Check in with the city attorney about an opinion on that Yes, you may the the declarations are both declarations of local emergency and you can treat them this Essentially the same So i'd be interested in having that conversation. I think it is the same level of magnitude It's something that i don't think can be permanent in the long term But since we are recognizing this is a crisis I think it should deserve the same level of treatment as the other crisis that the city is undergoing right now So I guess that's a as much of a comment posed to my colleagues as it is council any other questions Okay, we have several cards from the public Scott Wagner followed by george uberty Council person tivots you I think you reduced the volume level of my talk by probably five or six db with your statement, um, and i'm not going to dwell on it, but I I find it continually frustrating that we We ignore the shelter crisis declaration when the The virtual purpose of it Is to wave quote any and all on quote ordinances State county local government To place people in homes It's a really really simple point and I just wish that we would begin to use that lever somehow now The wonderful thing about that statute is that it opens up doors and eliminates your liability It doesn't say that you have to do that. It doesn't say that you you shouldn't just Use common sense and try and mitigate risk Safety and neighborhood and otherwise in doing this and I'm deeply committed to making sure that the tensions involved here Are taken care of properly Between neighbors between and homeless people Between freedom and between the constraints of death and and disease The unhealth of living out in the cold Let's please utilize this thing and begin to have it as part of our vocabulary So we're not dancing around it And one of the ways that this comes up is conversation that that we've had with the mayor on several instances Has to do with Neighborhoods You know neighborhoods can say that they don't like something and they should say that and they should be articulate and Coordinative and in making sure that they oppose things that they think are unhealthy for a neighbor a neighborhood But a shelter crisis does not give a neighborhood the same degree of power That the neighborhood has under a normal political setting Where everybody listens to the neighborhood and they just bow over because they say well the neighborhood doesn't like it Well, the neighborhood doesn't get to say that they don't like it under a shelter crisis declaration And have their word be the word of god It is just another factor that we must consider when we are trying to take care of a disaster And we need to listen to them carefully and we need to make All kinds of adjustments to make sure that the neighborhood is taken care of and that was what I was alluding to in my earlier conversation Because it's a big job and it's one that we need to take seriously as representatives and me as an activist trying to take care of people Because there are important tensions that we need to take care of and address But let's please loop this in secondly just in passing I just want to say that the format for this Where you're just going to to staff and back Does not enable the public or yourselves to understand in a rich way how you feel about these situations And any potential conflicts or issues that have nothing to do with what staff is bringing up that you're concerned with I would really love to see you'd converse around these things For us to have an open session. Thank you. Thank you, scott. Georgia berry followed by adrian lobby Thank you I think for reasons that are very clear We need to be very wary of Any measures we take addressing a homeless emergency That are organized around concentrated camps of people For reasons that I think Are unavoidable in the discussion of it. I don't think that we should Focus on anything that concentrates people in camps Period and I don't I don't think I need to unpack that for anybody in this room I don't know if this is a joke to you or not. I really don't at this point But I don't think it's funny And and your inability to stop messing around about it I I don't get it I really don't Um Yeah, I mean people are dying. It's not funny Don't don't concentrate them in camps institutions have a way of repeating themselves if we focus all of our efforts In this direction if we focus all of our efforts around, uh, this emergency this emergency is not something that fell from the sky All right If we are believing the pretense under which we're all assembled here Right, it's that this society is something that we've created Right, so if our society is in a state of emergency then that state of emergency is something that we've created All right, and doing things that reinforce only handling the fallout of an emergency that we've created Right are doing things that reinforce a system of emergency, right? It turns our society into something that pushes people into a life threatening state And then is designed just to handle them there In a way it just makes us into a mechanism that pushes people to the bottom and then That's it Right, we can't be that That can't be what society is At the very least it's not something that i'm just going to accept that my society is just an engine that pushes people to the bottom And then you know is organized around mitigating the erasure of them from there I I just I absolutely refuse to just allow that to just be some Play school production That I that I take part in silently i'm not going to do that And I don't think it's what we should do either and I don't I don't think it's what we have to do All right, there's there's absolutely no reason for it to be this way We've made it we've made it into an emergency we can make it into something better All right Someone else to say Thank you. Yeah, adrian lobby followed by steve den right I'm homeless action. It's really nice to see such a full chamber tonight and at this moment I know that people in Santa Rosa really care about what's going on with homeless people And I think that people will be interested in hearing this discussion I want to first thank the council for the funding that you do do for homeless services I know it's outside your mandate So it's extra that you do and especially for the extended hours for the homeless service Center known as the drop-in center has really been a lifesaver I do want to criticize you for the heat pilot program Which has been a failure Which has scattered people and is one of the reasons we have people dying in the last week or two Because people are so scattered. They're unable to help each other And we need to get rid of that program and reallocate those funds and that staff time About the chat program You know, we've tried the churches. We've tried the private businesses There's been some help, but it is not enough. It's really time for government to step in I want to just point out one of the the elements of the christ church experience Almost for 25 of those people have gone on to something better from their safe parking program As far as I know, that's as good as any shelter any program in town can do Safe parking tiny villages Even sanctioned encampments can be housing first just as anything else can be And I want to talk a little bit about the proposals that you come down because part of this conversation is alternative housing options And because of the amazing heat funding that we've had from the state We've been able to put in proposals not us homeless action, but us the community for a wide variety of solutions And some of the things that I just happened to know about Is applications that that are up to five million dollars of that heat funding Includes two tent villages two safe parking lots One rv parking Six tiny home villages all of these on city owned county owned and private business lots So i'm reason i'm partly saying this is that the city needs to get some skin in this game The city needs to get some private some city owned property involved And why do I say this because the cost Individually to do these programs for each person is four thousand two hundred and ninety three dollars a year Per month it's three hundred and fifty eight thousand What is expected to be raised in donations and rents from people is up to 30 of the amount So this helps leverage other funding that comes in It includes case management It includes some construction costs, but these are low cost options because there are not a lot of infrastructure And they are very quick We have a total peak capacity Were those all to be funded 687 individuals could be inside and dry tonight Thank you very much Thank you jane Steve den right followed by rain You guys don't use the same Trash container that catholic charities use is when you file a complainer in atrocity. Do you? I'm hearing you guys sound like you just realized somebody just said About how this is coming to attention it seems to be an emergency I remember 2015 talking about and I asked you guys to please spell it in capital letters I know when there was a fire there was an emergency and I saw many things done The best the homeless of santa rosa had it was when there was a fire because there was people saying can we help and we got help One of the last times I spoke here years ago before the shooting underneath the 9th street underpass I was dodging bullets because I was going against certain community I had a community people stand up and say, you know what mr. Mayor a different mayor We'd like to get the u.s. For the community involved and the lady stood at this pulpit said we are involved We are the committee. I have a white picket fence farm on morgan street I try to hand out food a hat and a blanket, but your people instructed Instructed and catholic charities has it removed every day No, sooner than she's saying we got the community involved and I go to an advocate meeting on a monday Dumpster came everything I had was underneath there and all I want was my car to be returned It was illegally told by catholic charities and my glasses that got stepped on. That's all I was asking for Now if this is an emergency, why are you guys talking about in 2019 because you're still going to be talking about 2020 2015 this problem has been here. You've cut every damn bush. You've exposed us and yet There's more fatalities and we try to put something together and it's denied we talk about those little houses You commended Homeless action for putting together little houses denied. We've had church people here of different religions Asking for parking lot who needs a fire marshal when you're on a damn black top to have homeless people But no the community said well, we got to have 6700 voters say they can have a parking space on Talbot and montgomery I can come up with some other ones and 3.6 million You could have had the water agency. You could own it. There's buses there. There's water there There's a community that used to bring us food. I have four seven elevens Delivered food to the water agency homeless let the community find a place for the homeless So the community can get involved and make the city of san rosa seem like there's some angelical people here But no every single thing that's been brought to you guys goes in the same waste container as a complaint to catholic charities Have a oh and there's a building on heelsburg that was Government funded for low income. They're charging high rent all those offices on heelsburg have been vacant since the day I've been here, but I can give you 30 places I can go bibwack down and told I can't sleep there It's illegal and only illegal to block passageway of commerce only while commerce is doing business Nobody should ever be kicked in a rib feet or head at three in the morning when it's cold and raining saying get the hell out Unless an owner calls we're not breaking the law But since you guys funded that building on heelsburg and no longer let anything go on It's past inspection time. It's under penalty. Why don't I just start putting some homeless people there? Will I get arrested because every step we take has been thwarted by city council Thanks, Steve rain followed by gregory furan and if gregory's not here john crueger Hi, i'm rain and most of you guys know that i'm um A part-time ethologist that was studying catholic charities And also that I was trained as a pastor So I went to catholic college at concordia catholic college So I am a catholic when i'm about to say what i'm gonna say since they called me out of having been kicked out of the host teams That uh, I got kicked out for trying to offer a couple a ride to see their child And the staff said that they were going to tow their car their housing If they had because they had come too close to there and I was going to get kicked out if I gave them a ride to see their children Which was at cpi So I decided to give them the ride. So then they they discontinued my mail, of course And then all of my uh gym goes off and then the repayments for the joining fees Which resulted in a huge amount of backed-up fees on all the storages and all the showers places and all of those things In the end it cost me about 900 dollars to give that kid those two kids a ride and they did lose their car When I was asking the staff as a christian to christian not to do it I said that would be the workers of iniquity You can't do that And so the point is what some of those these complaints are not coming at it that way is that you trust them because they are christians you say But the truth is that jesus lived in a tent Peter built tabernacles heaven is a tabernacle city You guys are forgetting what the word tabernacle means and what the word home even means home It comes from jom and jom it means tent Tabernacle it was a new word for the bible that meant a tent you live in and also worship in these are holy They're also holy to native americans. I keep telling you you have 1200 black foot cherries not black feet and plus cherries black foot Cherries and they're these people are going to join a study in the midwest I found professors to fully take over Steady in this group because there already is a steady ongoing for 15 years about the black foot cherries and all their Dissemination to different places and yes their food was here. You do not have a treaty with them To kick them out of the trails to kick them out of the tree creeks According to every Siberian tribe in the country. There were redheaded tribes here already when they got here Now we have the genes for those original people. We've dug them up from 50 000 years ago Which is before the Siberians got here every single Siberian tribe says that they try to kill off those people When they got here therefore you did not make treaties with the appropriate parties On this land and you cannot even see these natives. They do look white. They do look really light You're like they're not natives But most of the cherries are blonde and redhead People do not know Why because they had turbines on when they first got here And that's what I usually do talk about because since I was called out about being kicked out of the drop-in shelter And they talk about no fair process There wasn't signed anything that wouldn't respond to anything about about when the length of it was going to be Or a process to appeal it And the hardship of of just giving someone a ride that it was already kicked out They came there looking for somebody who would give them a ride. I did not even know them And nobody would give them a ride that morning. I wasn't doing anything So I got kicked out for being a christian from a christian organization That we keep continuously trusting but none of these campers you call trust them Thank you rain gregory ferron followed by john krueger Good evening gregory ferron 2040 elizabeth way. Thank you very much for the opportunity to speak with you tonight The reason I left earlier Was that I had a urgent Task of trying to help a gentleman whose van Was towed by the city in one of your heap Evacuations I guess we you call it And has been for six months living on the street. He's in memorial hospital right now for the third time And we needed to get his signature on a claim against you which I just filed Now we shouldn't have to do that We should have safe parking a lot of places And he should have been left alone on the what we thought was a fairly safe place over by a challenger way But if there'd been an alternative he'd have been there Now to julie's point. Yes There are safe parking applications for benet valley senior center that have been turned in and we would love to partner with you There are other properties that have been submitted for safe parking We want to partner with the city It is not enough to depend on churches when we went after churches as jack knows They'd complain about two key things that should be changed right now one is insurance There's no reason why your 20 000 dollars or whatever you put can't buy a global insurance policy for the five or six places We end up having a safe parking There is no reason why you should require the churches to allow the people in the parking lots to go into the church We have had those objections and you should end them You should allow us to have safe parking on private On public on commercial on wherever we can do it Now please There are 600 people on the streets of santa rosa who are in their cars And they're chasing Safety they're being busted. They're having to go every 72 hours somewhere else That's inhumane Thank you Thank you John krueger followed by brianna paula I'm john krueger. I'm with the first united methodist church in santa rosa The thing that comes to mind is a story I heard from the church before I was there. It's a couple decades ago at least Used to in an ad hoc way sort of let people stay inside the church at night when it was cold and they didn't have a place to stay One particular night a woman arrived. There were already people waiting there She was the first one that had a key. She opened the door Everybody went in set the place up got ready for people to spend the night Some other people arrived and said, oh my god, weren't you afraid of being in here with all those homeless people by yourself? and she said Well, no, I thought they were us That woman was right. They are us We are them they're people and One of the reasons it's so slow getting churches to adopt safe parking, which is actually very easy to do Is that there's a great deal of fear? Because an image a caricature of homeless people has been created and perpetuated For whatever reason And people are very afraid of that image When I take people from a church to our safe parking site and introduce them to the people who are in fact staying there It's like in one case the the group from the church just looked at me and said well What why are we waiting? Because they realize that these people are just trying to get by they're working They're raising their kids the kids are in school. They're trying to find a place to live Many of them have lost their homes because the rent went up. They did nothing else other than Be just a little bit short of what it would cost to live in a normal shelter. It's not that they Had any other issues except they didn't have enough money And once they're in a car they're living in the car they're Barely able to keep the cars running. They have to leave every day if their car Stops running they can no longer be in safe parking ricks my heart But we've seen people not be able to stay in park safe parking because they couldn't repair their car It was too far gone for us to help them on that so um all I'm really saying here is These people are us. We are these people. I could be that person anytime and I would just hope that there would be people Who would help me? and make it possible for me to somehow maintain some dignity and some health In the midst of all the wonderful plenty we have here in this area. Thank you. Thank you, john Brianna followed by tom sells so To be clear I don't think it takes a lot of money. I don't think we need to find any more money I don't think it needs to take 10 or 20 or even two years for us to actually find an effective zero homelessness Here in Sonoma county a couple weeks ago. We talked about our market ability and Had a lovely presentation by a woman from nevada who you know You know, you talked about progressiveness. You talked about generosity. You talked about all the things that make us Sonoma county And we're not being those things anymore We're going to talk about fire stuff, right? Our our market ability our brand whatever you want to call it. I got out of that business because it's disgusting, but We're a phoenix and we need to show the world that We can rise up and we can take care of people as a community take care of our community We're taking care of all the fire victims And they have from the most part insurance. They have FEMA money. They have the community behind them Um, we're Wasting money 1.6 million dollars is a ridiculous amount of money to fix a roof Um that houses 200 and some odd people when we know and we spend money and time and you went out yourselves to count people Um hashtag invasive. I don't do that much often, but seriously invasive. Um, I know you have to do it legally, but Use that information if you're going to do all these studies use that information to actually make space for people I don't want closure on the issue of um having city property for people to be at because um, you're violating um, the california welfare and institutions code by not actually doing this today um, you're you're Um telling these people that they don't belong here on earth There's no space for them on earth And a lot of them are suicidal. A lot of them are um foster children who have never known what you guys know Um Fuck I hate that i'm doing this, but i'm going to take a cue from san francisco I used to live in san francisco and since they're handling this issue a lot better than you guys I'm going to do something that they do at city council in in san francisco You think i'm an ignorant savage You've been so many places. I guess it must be so But still you cannot see I cannot see if the savage one is me How can there be so much that you don't know? You don't you think you own whatever land you land on The earth is just a dead thing you can claim But I know every rock and tree and creature Has a life has a spirit has a name You think the only people who are people Are the people who look and think like you But if you walk the footsteps of a stranger You'll learn things you never knew you never knew So yeah, you're you're not right. Thank you, bianna. Thomas ells Well, thank you again for extending this Chap ordinance and emergency ordinance. These are very important I want to address essentially very similar comments to what I had before both the bennett valley And the finley property adjacent to sam jones can be used in the chat program I'm representing my church here We are looking at both of those properties. I have an agreement and principle to To lease the finley property and I would put The people from sam jones on that property On the finley property and there's plenty of room and we've built tiny homes Totally willing to build tiny homes on that property Following the chap procedure Building a little chapel A church property that's assembly and going forward with that Similarly with bennett valley senior center They could be done immediately as quickly as the chap process which doesn't require Either council or planning commission actions so they could be done very quickly As far as the tiny homes they could be built really quickly as well and they're very Low cost the savings would be immense of two million dollars would be saved by the city To be utilized in these other programs for instance By utilizing the finley property It's a 40 10 finley and the and the bennett valley over 160 people That would be in addition to the 600 and some people that adrian just talked about So getting up to close to 800 people now they're Their proposal costs money Our proposal saves two million dollars That you could apply to that proposal so there'd be 160 people Let's say you did all of that would be half The number of people that would be protected under that That would be some 200 or 300 people In addition to the 160 people we're up to 460 people approximately Of existing homeless who are unsheltered and taking them into shelters that what we're talking about with tiny homes These are permanent structures in a tiny home facility that is in the nature of permanent supportive housing I'm not saying it's permanent supportive housing Exactly and that has to do with who the client is and how the how the services are provided But the facilities would be there for the long term or for the intermediate term But they should begin immediately. There's no reason not to begin immediately There's no reason for the community itself the churches and so on not to begin immediately to house These thousand people who are homeless who are really unsheltered. It's very very important I could show you little diagrams of drawing that It's immaterial the the drawings are there the the opportunity is there Let's please consider this further. Thank you. Thank you, thomas Those are all the cards I have for today On this side i'm going. Yes, sir Go ahead Hello, my name is dewayne dewitt I wanted to thank You for looking into this issue And the churches the first united methodist church and christ church They've taken the time to make some of their asphalt available to help the folks that are so deeply in need I often go by large churches with large parking lots and I think of That whole approach of asphalt for christ It's only used maybe once or twice a week And then they just leave it like it is So if they were going to walk their christian talk like the first united methodists are They'd be making those spaces available When I talk with folks at some of these churches, they say it's the city that keeps things from moving forward I know you folks would say no, that's not the case But I thought you know I wanted to bring some documents here that could help us to understand something better First I wanted to tell you something from a good american philosopher A man said that goodness is the only investment that never fails So maybe if we get you folks to look at investing some goodness We get some success in this Today I brought with me the comprehensive affordability housing strategy for this city of santa rosa from december of 1993 And in it it points out the fact that prices have outpaced incomes is making it more and more difficult For people to be able to afford Especially the very low the low and the moderate income households They can't afford decent housing That was said 25 full years ago I brought a newspaper article from 1995 which had Affordable housing war heats up And the reporter pointed out a battle is being fought in sonoma county to keep homes affordable Housed by mary fricker. She had been interviewing steve burk on the housing authority I also point out here on number 33 page 33 of this study It says housing prices in santa rosa are among the highest in the nation This is in 1993 It is virtually impossible for most low and moderate income families to be able to purchase their first home Which means their renters And they've always been under a bit of a difficulty So I wanted to thank you and ask you to expand the Program of safe parking and chap and at the same time Have the city staff Work to help folks Get past the obstacles that may came come up I looked over at some projects and I was told that it was the planning department Had actually requested an eir for one project and then just less than a mile and a half away It was approving a 48 unit housing subdivision with no eir And a conditional use permit. It just happened last thursday So if it's good for one, it's good for the other. Please house our homeless. Thank you. Thank you doing Bring it back to davin kelly. Um, I know your presentation has done any other information You want staff to consider this is just a or council to consider that is just an update on the chap program Is there anything else to add? Not on the staff's part. No, if you wanted to have a discussion about Expanding the chap program or other things that'd be fine. Yeah, thank you. That's why I want to bring it back to council And so what I would ask and this is a study session So I'd just like to go to each of you and hear what your thoughts are on the chap program If there are any additions and whether or not as councilmember combs said I would like if we're gonna or councilmember Tibbets if we want to bring it back on a report item so we can actually make some decisions Are we going to go in this direction or not? I think it would be helpful for staff the public and all of us Which direction are you going? So council any start with you? Councilmember soya if you can kind of give staff that feedback and we'll see where we go from there Thank you, mayor. Well, I am a little curious as to why and disappointed there hasn't been more a larger response to the chap program it is um It's Very comprehensive and seeing it all together in one presentation It was it's really pretty impressive what what we what the intention was and what it was to provide I would be curious as to to the reasons behind its lack of popularity. I do question The reality of of um Government being cheaper Then the private sector rarely have I heard the words government at low cost in the same sentence And I would I would like to know Well, I think the the private sector can be more nimble than the public sector And I would like to to continue and my my hope is that we could see some More success stories. I'm just not sure what is holding them back So as far as understanding the lack of the popularity of of of the community homeless Um assistance program I I'm not sure that You know, whatever vehicle we would need to answer that question. I would like that answered First is what what are we doing wrong? Or what are we not thinking about as far as this this program and how might we change it to be more successful Thank you, mr. Oliver's Thank you, mayor. I think uh regardless of who's doing it This is not an easy thing to do is providing shelter for for the homeless And I know that even running the chat program can be complex and complicated for those who choose to do it But I think uh councilmember Sawyer is right. I think it'd be good to try to get some information back to us related to Those who are using it. What's going well? What's not what could they change? Again, it's it's difficult to Put it into context of everything else that we do and related to funding and limited funding I know the expectation is that somebody's running the chat program They're doing it based on what they have as follows their as far as their own resources and volunteers But I think this probably will be a big Part of our discussion as we as we meet later this month So I would hope that we have some information coming back to us at some point Maybe in the form of a report. I don't am I sure yet To help us make some better decisions or or consider changes to the chat program But I think getting a sense for For how it's being used and maybe reaching out those who have maybe thought about it But didn't and try to identify what what made that happen But I think more information will be valuable for us because it's not going to be easy for whoever does it Especially if you plan if you're planning to do it long term Uh and and again even for the private sector or other nonprofits to try to find the resources to make it happen Is also as difficult as for us to find the resources to make it happen Thank you, mr. Shibas Thank you, mayor. I actually want to just take this opportunity to thank the first united methodist church I see some parishioners in the audience and I think it was also christ united church You know for them to come forward and actually engage in this this Policy is a big deal because it requires a lot of oversight and participation from the people in the the respective churches So I just wanted to make sure that that got recognized by the council tonight I also do want to actually underscore what uh, gregrie furan brought to the table You know, I'm looking at this policy thinking. Hey, we created it a lot of time and effort went into it to build it Now it's I think my responsibility to continue to make tweaks and test the results And one of the results that I'd or I'd like to see on the tweak side is Can we have a discussion and entertain private property owners? Allowing for example up to one person to park their trailer there and speaking from example. I was working with a young man over in the west end And he parked somebody gave him a trailer to occupy it was a great situation You didn't I mean truthfully there was zero impact on the neighborhood. He went to work He worked two jobs And then he went back to his trailer and he went to sleep and repeated his day But our code enforcement division came out I told him to move along because it wasn't consistent with our law And I thought that that was such a shame because here was this chap ordinance And if we just moved a couple of sentences in that ordinance He could have stayed in that trailer and not been put back out on the street, which is where he ended up two weeks after that The other thing to look at if that's too far of a stretch for the council or the public and I recognize that it could be Is looking at the global insurance policy ideas. Would that $20,000 be best used? Getting that that policy and just reaching out to the churches in this community to say hey If you have the space we have the policy to protect you Will you be our partner? I think that could increase the numbers Even if it's slightly it's probably worth the little bit of effort that goes into it So I'll I'll be looking for those two things in particular in the future But I do want to thank you Dave and kelly Because I know that this has been a long and evolving process for you Hey, councilman Fleming I don't have a comment at this time. Okay, councilmember combs Thank you So yes, I would like this to come back as a report item so we can take some action Yes, I hope that that discussion will include an expansion of identifying city-owned property I agree with my colleagues that we need to figure out How we do better outreach to the benevolent communities so that more churches understand how it actually isn't so hard and Uh, perhaps we can work with the first united methodists to go to visit folks and and engage them So that the program as it was designed can work better But I think after what is it three four years of trying to engage The benevolent community and the private sector. It's time for government to step up and I hope that we do I also hope that we You can bring back to us The information about the best state guidelines for us to adopt in advance of the formal adoption of the state building code so that we can get Tiny homes The tough sheds like they're using in Oakland or Those other mechanisms for housing folks beyond tents and RVs implemented in our community without Having either no guidelines or You know having to haul them off because we haven't passed the ordinance yet to have there be guidelines for that So I hope we can bring that back also. Thank you very much for the presentation Vice mayor Thank you, mr. Mayor. I think Many of the folks that I've talked to that are have been really deeply invested in this issue Understand that I've been really sort of torn on the city's policies and To scott's point about having a dialogue that actually Talks to the community about where we're at. I think for me in particular I come from a public policy background And I'm taught how to look at numbers and look at what policy outcomes are and how to move in that direction And then I also come from a mom who runs a nonprofit working with developmentally delayed kids And her mentality has always been She does the work that she does because if she had a kid who was in that same situation She'd want somebody to care enough to do that work And so when we have these conversations about the chat program I'm always torn between looking at how we allocate funds in a way that intellectually makes sense for the best long-term outcomes And it is really difficult to say I can allocate these funds in this program And I can help a limited amount of people in a way that I think is going to end homelessness for them long term And at the same time that means that I am ignoring a large chunk of the homeless population Where I could make their life a little bit better But at the same time not move them towards ending homelessness and that's where I always get really caught up in this conversation about Utilization of city properties What doesn't make sense to me and I've I've asked this before As we've had this discussion is Is there a way that we can do both? Where our funds are still allocated towards programs that we have seen successes with while at the same time understanding that We're really good at telling people where they can or where they can't be But we don't have a place for them to be and so I think for me what I would like to see in our discussion And I do think we should continue to have this discussion Is an understanding of utilization of city properties for safe parking at night for Even outside of a car that doesn't require Diverting funds away from the programs that we are doing for example City hall at night. There is nobody here on some nights What is the harm in allowing folks to park in the parking lot? And I don't want to take up staff time and I don't want to take up a lot of resources in doing that But I think that there is room in that conversation for us to Continue to provide places for those 600 folks who do have access to a car Or for those folks who do need to camp in a place that makes them safer That doesn't end up having a long-term impact as well The other thing that I need in that conversation is an exit strategy And that's where my conversations with folks who are doing this day in and day out Their proposals tend to fall short is there is no exit strategy And when those encampments will no longer be Where they're at when they're when we reach functional zero is not a great answer To some of the comments that my colleague made earlier And there's going to be an impact on the neighborhood. So for me Having that discussion understanding an exit strategy and then to councilmember tibitz's point about the insurance Really trying to ask the public to step up in a way that they have not And that if this is a community problem, we need a community solution And that if you're relying on us to be able with our limited resources to solve this for you You are going to be very disappointed So thank you for the presentation and um what it's nice just to get from a council perspective And members of the public to be reminded of all the efforts that we're doing Because since i've been on counseling several uh appear have been here longer The city of santa rosa has been very proactive. I think a leader in this area Do we still have an issue with homelessness? Absolutely. Are we perfect? Absolutely not But we're trying to our darned is you know, I just read another article that um a couple continuum of cares in the state of Minnesota ended veterans homelessness I'm immediately looking okay. What are your strategies? How did you guys do it? And so what i'm really in favor of you and those consistent evidence-based practice that are ending homelessness across the country Not just in our isolated region. So what i'm very interested is actually I am in favor of it coming back as a report I'm sure we can make some decisions so people actually get this is the clear direction the city is going I would also ask that on february 21 and 22nd during our council goal setting this come back because it's I know having been on both sides of the dais here. It's easy to ask. Yes. Staff just come back for us Um and tell us you know give us all the information that means you're not going to be doing something else So I think it needs to be part of our conversation when we do council goal setting So you you actually have the tools to actually have a product ready for us And I believe on the timeline one of the reasons that we did the redesign of the homeless system of care that we're all working together So i'm hoping with the leadership council that you explained on our item 4.1 Those decisions will have been made and we as a body can do things that are going to enhance and complement The decisions that the leadership council as a whole has made whether or not we like them all because I think for me That's what the big important thing us working together in the same direction Even if we don't like it all but we're all moving in the same direction is so much more important Then we start going off and aren't the way we've been quite frank in for the last 20 years. We're not all in unison I'm also very interested in if we do a report I'm to do the community outreach because although some people have mentioned that It's an emergency, you know neighbors may have a voice, but it's not the driving voice Well, I along I know with director guine and some other members of the audience were there on november 30th 2016 when we talked about the chat program. We had about 150 angry neighbors there They they have an opinion and I think it's our duty not to just represent It's our duty. I think to represent the entire community. I want to make sure that they have a voice So I would like to have the discussion Shall we have it on private property and let this community know whether we have to enable the Office of community engagement to help us get this word out. This is something very real. We're considering Where are you with this issue and again? I'd be interested in hearing more is it one position? Is it you know whatever that is but we have to have that community discussion because we're not going to solve it On our own here. This is the bigger picture So I hear private property the public city property that should be part of a report item too So we can give clear direction and make decisions on that the insurance the state building codes I think all of that needs to be bundled together so we can set that clear direction and again I think the timing of it should be again. We'll hear on the 21st and 22nd Let's get the direction from the leadership council. This is the way the rest of the county is going I'm hoping we can come up with some additional things that can complement our efforts Did you get what you needed if not more from this study session? Go ahead councilman fling Thank you So I wanted to echo the sentiments about the code update and hopefully that we can get some codes that are more flexible during our next Opportunity to hear from you and then one of the things that is an opportunity in having moved to districts is that As councilmember rogers mentioned that this needs to be a whole community response And I know as you know, I don't need to go through my soapbox one more time But I do know that we need Multiple right doors, you know, we we should have no wrong door in terms of a navigation center but that we need to have multiple places and coming from a specific district and Not being formally at large I do believe that we need to look at a regional approach to this where each neighborhood comes forward and Says where we would like to have Services and where we would like to accommodate our residents regardless of their income or their mental health status or their Whatever types of moral codes that we would like to impose upon people That having been said, I'm I'm heartened and grateful to have been appointed to the measure The violence prevention partnership and I do see that there are opportunities for the city to Cross utilize our resources. I met with director carter last week and he talked with me about Efforts that they have in tutoring young people and getting Really early intervention around education and reading and my mom being a reading specialist and a professor of education Is constantly harping on me and be very pleased to hear me say this that The the reading ability of a young person is really indicative of their long-term economic And you know, not just economic ability, but also whether or not they're going to be incarcerated or homeless I understand that the city is not involved specifically in the business Of educating people but I do see opportunities for us to use our measure o funds and also for us to work collaboratively with Santa Rosa city schools and other school districts that are in our area as well as the libraries and the library foundation To make sure that young people have as many opportunities as possible because like I said, I do believe that While it is possible in some limited circumstances to get to eliminate homelessness in the short run That it is a long-term problem that's going to make need a long-term solution in that I agree with councilmember rogers that early intervention is is probably our best bet Thank you Are we really We need a quick break to roll back in our regular meeting. Are we ready or Where we go? Thank you. Dave and kelly and jesse Um, all right item five can we get an announcement of roll call? Yes, let the record show that all council members are present. Uh, thank you Study and close item seven sessions. Mr. What since we had one of each or two of each? Who would like to go first? I'll report first on the closed session The council did meet in closed session on the agendized item and gave direction to staff Great anything you want to say on the study sessions that we just experienced Yes, we had two study sessions and received feedback from council on various items to bring back So we have that feedback and we'll report back out. Great. Thank you. I'm seven proclamation. Mr. Surry. You have this item I do mayor. Thank you, and it's my pleasure to um Read this proclamation for the rivet empire chinese association Well-known organization that does a great deal for the community Whereas the rivet empire chinese association is holding their 2019 chinese new year celebration at the veterans memorial building in santa rosa on february 23 And whereas we would like to publicly recognize the importance of this intercultural Organization in the fields of cultural language Education by offering community participation organizational networking public interactions with intercultural activities And there are many additional events which bring members friends and families into social contact And understanding with governmental agencies and diverse people through events such as their chinese new year celebration Pollock socials multicultural poetry poetry reading and chinese language school And whereas we acknowledge the outstanding work done by the edward empire chinese association in providing programs to children and youth By giving presentations to local schools and from elementary through college levels From mandarin chinese classes for all ages and levels for providing two groups of lion dancers who also perform with three dragons And for providing the opportunities for children to perform at community events Also providing an active youth group which focuses on teen self-esteem and positive community involvement And for the r e c a annual scholarship for sonoma county high school seniors And whereas we also acknowledge the benefit of the redwood empire chinese associations adult programs including the adult chorus adult tai chi club adult mahjong club And r e c e's community involvement in assisting governmental agencies businesses and schools With requested assistance in matters concerning chinese and agent cultural and language issues And now therefore be resolved that tom schwedhelm mayor of the city of santa rosa on behalf of the entire council Does hereby program proclaim a sincere acknowledgement of the successes of the redwood empire chinese association Signed by him on this date Congratulations Thank you. It's honor be here to receiving the uh proclamation. I know the meeting last solar. I want apologies to malaya First time coming with me to receiving the proclamation She's here since 3 30. I gotta give her a lot of credit. Thank you malaya to that being so patient Actually, we um, we were gonna bring our lion team because with all the basketball team if I know what's that late They can be here to finish the 5 30 their program So it's okay. If you want to see our, uh, fantastic chinese new year celebration coming to next week saturday The uh center was a best building um, I have some flyer there if anybody interesting can have it and also on the website and Because we're a nonprofit and um Malaya is our drummer for the lion and dragon. She's the youngest team. We never had she's only 10 years old Then she's going to china for the martial art Compete got a qualified patient in june Actually, my granddaughter also she's not my granddaughter, but my granddaughter also I'm gonna be the shop alone going to china in june So i'm proud of our academy too and youngest drummer if you want to see her drummer, let me tell you she's the best Thank you so much. Nancy Thank you. Nancy. Malia for coming here Nancy. I'm sure there's more photo opportunities next saturday Mr. Goodham. Do we have a report on item 8.1? Oops 8.1 is a fire recovery rebuild update. The only report I have is that we do have two employees that are currently up assisting Up north with the water water supply issues And interim director emma walton and deputy director Joe shavoni Are there in paradise working with their staff based on their knowledge on what we went through here in san rosa To help them through their their issue process of recovery on the water system So we're glad they're up there and they should be back tomorrow. Yeah, I know it was referred to as mutual aid I like to call it paying it forward so they don't have to they can learn from what we got to experience So I appreciate the staff being able to go up there City manager city attorney reports I have one update from the police department as part of the police department succession planning Members of the supervisory team attended a complete post supervisory leadership institute course, which is a 12 month program To develop its first line supervisors The individuals that successfully passed that we want to like to congratulate sergeant josh lucky sergeant david betger sergeant tommy isaacan Sergeant rob rinalds and dispatch supervisor jena gemoni on completing the program in addition four other members of the police department Have graduated with a master's degree in law enforcement and public safety leadership from the university of san diego So i want to congratulate officer matt north sergeant janine cooker and sergeant chris maher and lieutenant john cregan great And just to add to the recognition of employees Read in the paper today congressman tomsen recognized one of our fire captains don rishi as one of the heroes of 2019 So I'd just like also like to extend my congratulations to him for that great honor and recognition We have Provided you with our report quarterly report of settlements and active litigation and it is in your packet I will just mention that we did not have any settlements over 50 000 which is our reporting threshold That being said our attorneys were able to obtain dismissals in three actions at no cost to the city We have approximately 15 pending cases active and that includes a full range some personal injury cases some police action cases labor And of course our pg&e litigation which is taking a substantial amount of Two time from two of our litigators We also have received 11 new claims in the last Quarter and we're working on Preparing in case those cases need to go to trial And that's that's a report the details are all in the written materials Great. Thank you I'm ten statements of a stature by council members. Are there any Mr. Vice mayor thank you, mr. Mayor while I was able to watch the beginning of the first study session Coming back from san francisco on something i'll report on in a minute I was not able to do the interviews For appointments so I will be abstaining from 11.3 Thank you any other absences Mr. All there's thank you, mayor. I will abstain from the approval of the minutes of january 15th. That's I was out ill Mr. shorter Thank you, mayor. I'll be um although disappointedly so Needing to abstain from the public hearing this evening And madam city attorney could you explain the reason for my need to recuse? certainly councilmember soyer is on the board of directors for the san rosa community health and The the community health has filed a written Objection and opposition to the Proposal that is going to be before the council this evening that means that councilmember soyer has Dual loyalties as a member of the board of directors. He has a duty to Watch out for and advocate for the best interests of the san rosa community health And at the same time as a member of this council He of course has the obligation and responsibility To have full loyalty to the best interests of the city as a whole therefore with those dueling Loyalties potentially in conflict He has he is required to recuse himself. Thank you for the explanation. Yeah, thank you for that clarification any other comments abstentions All right mirrors and council members reports who would like to go first Mr. Vice mayor Thank you, mr. Mayor, and so as I just alluded to I did come back to the council meeting from a Specific cpuc hearing that was held earlier today down in san francisco related to the jennings crossing And a new administrative law judge has taken up the issue We really to be very frank. We're not quite sure what to expect from the the hearings since it was Really an opportunity to come up to speed And was heartened to hear the alj reiterate multiple times That she was not there to relitigate revoke or reverse the decision from the cpuc related to jennings And was looking to enforce the decision of an at-grade crossing So we will proceed from there as we have been there will still be conversations with smart We are working with to try to make sure they feel comfortable And obviously the city will still be working towards Getting that project completed. I know it came before if the council not too long ago as well Additionally last week. I had my first Sonoma county transportation authority meeting where SCTA moved forward with an rfp for a bike share program That will be linked to both the smart train and also throughout our community and talking about policies around that I had my first smart board meeting where they celebrated their one millionth writer Or I should say one millionth ride and we'll have another significant milestone coming up with their 100 000th bike To be on it as well and then sort of an interesting nexus between both sonoma clean power Which I attended as the alternate as well as our cannabis subcommittee meeting where we were discussing Our code enforcement On illegal grows throughout our community and looking at the data on the cannabis front And then going into the sonoma clean power meeting and hearing that they have actually been having issues where they are having less Load than they expected Because they think as they've run down information We've been shutting down and they've been shutting down illegal grow operations throughout the community So it's kind of an interesting conversation where 20 Of their mega users, which are folks who end up spending more than 10 000 dollars a month on their utility bills are actually no longer there So it does lend some credence to our conversation at the cannabis level that what we are doing trying to help Move people from an illegal black row market into a fully regulated Legitimate business is starting to work. So we'll obviously be taking a look at that as we continue to go through our policies as well Great. Thank you for the forum. So pleased to hear how that cpuc meeting went and thank you for attending that because I know it was in San Francisco Earlier today who else would like to make a report? miss combs Thank you mayor Another update on the association of bay area governments Regional planning committee and the cassa the committee to house the bay area compact. First, let me clarify that The newspaper published in editorial Primarily with regard to jake mackenzie But happened to mention in the editorial that I had signed the cassa compact. This is not the case I have not signed the compact So I just wanted to clarify that That we still have Conversations going on with regard to that I'm going to pass out a document It has the Casa stakeholders letter Emphasizing where the implementation team is going next And giving you the names and contact information for the implementation team I also put on the front of this document A basic explanation of what the cassa committee to house the bay area compact is And this particular document is from a group called public advocates Their concerns about the compact have to do with fear of displacement of vulnerable populations There are also a number of concerns with regard to the compact with regard to how it directly affects cities planning zoning and other efforts And I know that our staff have been meeting with the state legislature and members of the compact To explain why while we have a wonderful for example accessory dwelling unit policy that is working very very well for us Having a state mandated Action overlay that policy may in fact cause us to have fewer accessory dwelling units rather than have more of them So there is some interest on the part of many folks Not only from the social justice and equity side, but from the communities and City sides saying, you know, we may know better what is Best for our community and one size does not fit all for the whole region So based on that i'm i'm passing this document out And I will continue to keep you posted Great. Thank you. Thank you. Councilman Fleming. Did you have a report? Yes, thank you, Mayor Schwedhelm. I'll start with the dry stuff about water This uh, jennifer berke over at the santa rosa water department has been very gracious in Working on educating this social worker on the very complex and frankly interesting water system that we have here With the departure of mark melan from the windsor town council susan harvey Of katadi was appointed as chair of the whack or water. Well, i'm not going to read that acronym For the next year the remainder of mark's term. Dave king of petaluma was appointed as vice chair The technical advisory committee or tac is working with the water agency on their fiscal year 1920 budget rates and in previous years water department staff will have SCwa staff give the council a presentation in marge in order to receive direction on how to vote on the budget And rates at the april whack meeting on a side note This is a really good year for us for a couple of reasons. We got a major deviation from the army corps of engineers to store extra water in one of our reservoirs and The fact that we've been getting steady rain and not intense Bouts of it is is really good. I'm learning Water agency staff provided an update on water supply conditions Both reservoirs are full and the army corps of engineers is operating the dams and making releases water agency staff provided an update on the forecast informed reservoir Operations study the water that the water agency army corps and several other federal and state agencies are participating Which would allow management of water reservoirs to be based on weather forecasts instead of historic data and rule curves Which would improve water supply reliability without increasing flood risk Firo is using lake mendicino as the initial proof of concept reservoir The modeling and data developed as part of Firo study allowed the army corps of engineers to approve a major deviation as I mentioned And so far it's going well and we will go ahead and ask for Another major deviation next year if it continues to go well Which allows us to store about roughly 15 percent more water and That is a good thing And then on something that I have a more commanding knowledge of here Met with transportation and public works. Um, mr. Sprinkle and mr. Nutt Earlier this week and they gave me a briefing on a couple of things and one is that we're looking at the exciting of working with the junior college to close a couple of blocks over on armory And I'll be working with the residents in district 4 to listen to their concerns And one of the benefits of this would be that it would reduce the opportunity for traffic fatalities on a very pedestrian and bicycle heavy Area, additionally it would Put the onus on the junior college district to maintain the the service of the street underneath it We have a bunch of city utilities and if we do it as a pilot it would allow the for us to Still have fire and police access to the road if necessary So that's a really exciting opportunity anytime we have a chance to increase the walk walk ability or the pedestrian pedestrian or bike ability On a personal note, I've been riding the center of the city bus And it's been an informative and interesting experience And I look forward to continuing that and getting back to you and finally on the walk ability score here Mr. Nutt and mr. Sprinkle reported that exciting information on franklin avenue Which is a popular cut through near the village bakery and the pacific market This spring will be breaking ground on a much needed sidewalk. So sometimes good things happen Great. Thank you. Mr. Davis. Do you have a report? Just a couple things I want to report out on Myself and I believe councilmember combs and olive eras attended the state of the county address Last a week ago from friday, which is always a great opportunity I think to hear from the chair of the board in this case david rabbit along with an economist from ucla about just some updates on the current conditions kind of give us some insight into our future And then myself along with the city manager Excuse me our fire chief Transportation and public works director and our communications and intergovernmental relations officer Uh, it took a trip to washington dc with a lot of our uh, elected's actually talked to both our congressman Speaker of the house polosi's office and Both of our state senators and spoke with them Try to encourage them to the funding. Um, that is possible to come back to santa rosa to encourage them to do that There's potentially 150 million dollars in this year's fiscal budget That would be going to those states impacted by 2017 Disasters, so we have some strategies as to how we might want to address that Additionally who we encourage them to extend fema to extend the direct housing allocation It's our understanding that Approximately a little bit more than a hundred of our fire survivors who are still receiving that direct housing They may be in apartments. They may be in fema trailers But on sunday, they got the 60 day notice that that funding may be ending So we're encouraging them to give us another six-month extension to try to find housing for those folks Additionally, director nut did an excellent job of explaining how some of the federal rules for Reimbursing damage to our roads don't quite fit wildfires. They're used to hurricanes and Floods you got to demonstrate visible injuries. And so he did a great job of educating those who were listening And hopefully they were listening how that doesn't really apply to what we experienced in california So I think it's a um, I think it's very beneficial So they actually put names and faces versus you just another number or you just another city We did have one interesting meeting where the partisan politics shown it's face the center Senate appropriations professional staff We have the republican majority and the democrat minority person and It was just telling i'll let you guess which one was warm and attentive Our comments were in which side really didn't feel like he would well It seemed to me like that person was ordered to be there But again, I think it's very well worth our time and appreciate staff that went there and our lobbyists who Arranged you because I really think every time we do those connections there It increases our odds of getting some of that funding coming back to our community So with that 11.2.1 director goon. Do you want to uh intro that and then we'll bring it back to council Sure 11.2.1 is a request for agenda items regarding A report to establish a community wildfire protection plan Councilmember combs you brought this item forward and I received a second from vice mayor rogers. This this is uh I think an important item particularly in light of the continuing uh applications for Uh construction within our wildland urban interface and within a wildfire area such as fountain grove So the motion that I made and this is a part of a series. We don't have the full conversation Today this is to agendize And so the motion I'm making is to request a report item be agendized by i'm i'm Putting out by april with the understanding that staff may need to get back to me to be more flexible about that To establish a community wildfire protection plan Similar to the plan I handed out last meeting from elserito That plan includes identifying and prioritizing fuel reduction opportunities addressing structural ignitability Establishing evacuation preparedness requirements and plans Establishing post occupancy enforcement for wildlands Evacuating and establishing a fire plan uh, excuse me fire flow needs requirement modifications per the report that we received from black and beach And collaborating with all the stakeholders as we move forward on this so that's Um, basically got sort of six elements in it um The black and beach report i'm going to quote said regular Tory requirements Involving fire protection in terms of fire flow Are applied to buildings and property, but do not apply directly to the water system There are no direct regulatory requirements for providing A certain fire flow that applies globally to the water system Unquote their report also goes on to state quote no fire codes exist Dictating a water system to provide a certain fire flow for wildland urban interface areas unquote In the absence of clear regulatory guidelines I think we need to have a discussion on how we establish a community wildfire protection plan And uh, it's been 18 months since the fire and we haven't had that conversation yet Uh, we are continuing to move forward I uh, I appreciate that we may have a variety of goals within our community But I think we have to have this conversation and we need to have it soon so that Groups that are wanting to come forward and provide construction in this area understand what our requirements are going to be Thank you So council any questions or comments? Mr. Vice mayor Thank you, mr. Mayor and really it's um You know, I'm supportive of us having this conversation I am wondering if we Going that we're only a week or two away from our goal setting if perhaps we could Put a pin in this discuss it in goal setting within the context of everything else We're trying to achieve and talk with staff about when they can deliver that that's sort of a plan If the council member would be willing I'm willing to do that But I will say that if we don't have this conversation. We're really I'm I'm anxious that we will go into goal setting. We will see all of our needs of housing homelessness Employee morale And that we will not move this item forward as rapidly as we need to so while yes I will wait the week for goal setting I would be of a mind to bring this back because it seems to me An urgent thing that we have not done for the last 18 months So I appreciate it because I'm in agreement with the vice mayor. It is somewhat out of context Because that's a lot of work for this wildfire protection plan and to see it in the context of competing interests So ma'am said attorney could we say re-agendize this item for the first meeting in march which would be Give us the adequate time to digest what we did and be date specific about when we're not here march 12th So it needs to either be before that meeting or after that meeting so that I can represent my own position And we can certainly do that. Thank you And what and just to clarify what will be on that agenda is exactly this same item Which would be a motion to place it on a future agenda And that's fine with me And we may pull that if it moves forward within the context of goal setting. I'm just really concerned that For example, we are continuing to allow wooden decks to be built within the wildfire area Um We have not addressed structural ignitability. There are existing buildings within that area that have cedar shingle roofs So we haven't established appropriate evacuation procedures. For example, we have not been actively making policy to require To egress from from large building sites So I I appreciate we'll have the full conversation but Right. We'll we'll continue that conversation essentially. We'll continue this item For a meeting in early march. Thank you very much. And thank you counsel for your consideration of this issue And again, I believe all of us share your same concerns. I think we'll have a robust conversation during our goal setting Moving on to item 11.3 board commission and committee appointments For members of the public one of the reasons we're delayed in starting our meeting is we interviewed Very robust number of members of the community interested in being on the housing authority So deputy city clerk dina, would you like to explain the process that we'll be using? Thank you Each council member shall vote for a number of applicants equal to the number of vacant positions plus two in this case There are three at large vacancies Those applicants receiving one or less vote shall be eliminated We'll move on to the next round subsequent votes shall be taken with each council member voting for one less applicant than voted in previous rounds Only applicants not eliminated may be voted on We do this until we get to three final applicants with majority votes Thank you council. Are you clear as to the process we'll be using and I believe vice mayor rogers will be abstaining from this item So will you be doing a real call vote? Yes Please proceed councilmember combs your first five votes up to five no less than three moussa abasi steven berke kasey edmondston david harris and diane test Thank you councilmember fleming moussa abasi diane test Jeffrey owen kasey edmondston and steven berke Thank you councilmember oliveras steven berke diane test Jeffrey olsen and moussa abasi for clarification jeffrey owen Yes, thank you councilmember soyer moussa abasi torothy baity steven berke jeffrey owen diane test Thank you councilmember tibbetz dorthy baity steven berke kasey edmondston jeffrey owen and diane test Thank you mayor schwedhelm moussa abasi dorthy baity steven berke kasey edmondston in diane test Thank you One moment. Well, I total The candidates moving forward to the next round will be moussa abasi dorthy baity steven berke kasey edmondston jeffrey owen and diane test for round two councilmember combs diane test jeffrey owen kasey edmondston Thank you and for clarification vote for vote for up to four but no less than three moussa abasi Thank you councilmember fleming Diane test jeffrey owen kasey edmondston and steven berke Thank you councilmember olivares steven berke diane test jeffrey owen and moussa abasi Thank you councilmember soyer moussa abasi dorthy baity steven berke diane test councilmember tibbetz dorthy baity steven berke jeffrey owen diane test Thank you mayor schwaedhelm moussa abasi dorthy baity steven berke and diane test Thank you one moment The candidates moving forward to round three will be moussa abasi dorthy baity steven berke jeffrey owen and diane test Please vote for three candidates I'm sorry. Can can you explain about who's moving forward and who's not? So at this stage after the second round there were no candidates who received less than one Or zero votes. So we go to they we reduce the Candidate who has the fewest votes So I thought there were two candidates that had two votes and one of them is not showing am I miscounting? I show kasey edmondston was the only candidate who had two votes. Thank you Can you repeat who's moving forward? Certainly moussa abasi dorthy baity steven berke jeffrey owen and diane test Please vote for three and we'll go back to councilmember combs diane test jeffrey owen steven berke Thank you councilmember fleming diane test jeffrey owen steven berke Thank you councilmember olivares steven berke jeffrey owen diane test Thank you councilmember soyer moussa abasi steven berke diane test Thank you councilmember tibbetz steven berke jeffrey owen diane test Thank you Mayor schwedhelm Dorothy beady steven berke and diane test Thank you we're going on to round four Actually one moment, please Thank you councilmembers. Actually we are complete. We have our three at large appointments steven berke jeffrey owen and diane test Thank you Congratulations to them all and thank everyone who applied. We had a record number of applications And that's really wonderful that our community wants to do that We also conducted two interviews for tenant commissioners, but two additional people Were ill so we're not making decisions there to have an opportunity to interview those two additional applicants for the tenant commissioners Uh approval minutes Mr. Olivares abstaining from 12.1. Are there any corrections to either the minutes from january 15th or january 29th? Mr. Sawyer, I'm sorry. I also need to um stain from from 12.1 That was not in attendance. Okay Any corrections to either of those sets of minutes? Seeing none, we'll accept those mr. Gowan consent items Thank you. The consent items has council has three items three 13.1 is a resolution Authorization for the city of centeroza to become an additional member of the california community housing agency known as cha cha Calcha, sorry authorization of purchase option agreements with calcha for For middle-income affordable housing transactions support for calchas Situants of tax exempt bonds for the financing and acquisition of middle-income affordable housing transactions And appropriation of any surplus cash received from calchas middle-income affordable housing transactions into fund 2282 for affordable housing purposes Item 13.2 is a resolution extension of the proclamation of local homeless emergency And item 13.3 is a resolution extension of a proclamation of exist Existence of local emergencies due to fires Thank you. I'm sure the city managers now listen to that 13.1 council any questions on any of the consent items Any questions? Do we have any cards on consent? A couple cards here on iam 13.1 and cealy followed by dwayne duet microphone Please explain something that was deep in the Staff report. It says that current residents of that Facility that is going to be purchased with this agreement Will not be displaced I wonder how that is to happen. All right. Thank you, uh Dwayne duet My name is dwayne duet I am curious about how we intend to help the homeless veterans As you know, there's been a lot of money spent recently now coming forward from the federal government with what are known as HUD vash vouchers and the opportunity that exists to help the veterans Was based on the idea that you'd help them immediately The whole process was set up that they would get help quickly And it's not working here in our county And lots of money is being spent Now there's a new approach called project based vouchers in which It's basically being said we'll utilize these vouchers And people can use them like a bank and get financing and they'll build some housing And that takes years And we are struggling still it snowed the other day And a homeless veteran that had lost his leg Recently to diabetes Was out in the elements And I was just like this is just not good And I'm hoping that you folks As you're doing all this work and the different things you're attempting to do Would take it on through the housing authority to prioritize helping veterans Get places to be in out of the weather now it's really a very Almost inhumane approach that's being taken just because we're looking at it like Money first How do we do this as a business? It should be looked at in a sense of Compassion Empathy I'm especially concerned tonight It was shown that the christian community Very few are actually able to help as much as needed So maybe if we were able to give incentives and have those project based vouchers Instead be turned into immediate vouchers to help with temporary housing On the lands of the churches and the synagogues and the tabernacles And give those people a foot up by helping veterans now Veterans help them in the past and it's just one of these things I think now is the time to address it More cold rain is coming tonight for days on end perhaps So please let's show some humanity and help those who've served our country Last but not least you own some properties. You own some houses Open them make them available to these veterans that hold those hud bash vouchers or even better Those that haven't been able to get one but are still homeless. Thank you for your time Are you going Kathleen Winston followed by George uberty? Is Kathleen Winston in the house? seen then George uberty Oh, man, yellow exhausting you really are So Cal cal cha right is a joint powers authority. Yeah I think I've discussed the problems with joint powers authorities with y'all before but you know just in case you're new To the to the whole arrangement There's there's nothing that regulates joint powers authorities. They don't answer to anybody Right, uh, they're just they're institutions of government that either come from elected or appointed Positions and then they take it upon themselves to form new branches of government Which in turn can form new branches and new and it's it's the public equivalent of shell companies Right, these things are impossible to to keep track of they're impossible to to hold accountable to anything Right now all of the discussion that we're having about About homelessness is all about funding and all about how to secure new funding and none of it Is about how to keep track of the funding that is already there We are we are not in a state of poverty. There's there's no problem with the amount of funding that is present, right now I feel like it's sad that i'm the only one that stands up here and talks about the very very well known audits that were done at the national level Of the department of housing and urban development 2016 by itself at the national level saw 500 billion dollars 500 billion dollars missing from the department of housing and urban development, right 500 billion Right, that's not that's not that means that in every municipality like this one Nothing is being done to keep track of funds Right, that means everywhere across the country. Somebody's got their hand in the cookie jar All right Now if you want me to stand up here like the rest of these yahoos and play pretend like i'm an idiot I'm not going to do it. All right. I just I will not All right, this money is being stolen All right, and and people are dying because of it Okay, and and I don't you're somebody's puppet. There's somebody's I don't care I don't care All right. It's got to stop It has to Right. This is not something that can keep going on. It's it's not easy for people to lie like this Right. It's awkward in this room right now Because this is a ridiculous thing to do with your life All right, and and the idea that you can ask Growing that you could keep this up forever. Did you really think that that's what was going to happen? It just it can't go on All right. It can't now we don't need to join another joint powers authority We don't need to endlessly complicate what happens to our money. We need to simplify it We need to figure out who's not being health accountable and we need to hold them accountable All right. I've got a lawsuit going on right now Uh with the sonoma county board of supervisors and the auditor controller treasurer tax collector Thank you, mr. Baird. Please get your house in order I'm coming back to mr. Gowan The one question about the current residence not being displaced with item 13.1. Can you comment on that or someone from I can't but i'll ask a mega ambassador from housing community services to answer that. Thank you Yeah, thank you, mayor. I I do have a question um Let her answer the question first. I just asked and we'll go Good evening. Megan bassinger housing and community services manager This is a similar action to one the council took in october 2018 With california public finance authority at that time the purchaser of the anadel apartments did a rent survey of the tenants And the majority of them were in the income range that will be assisted through the bonds Which is 80 to 120 percent of area median income if anyone's over they Purchaser said that they would not be displaced through the acquisition Great. Thank you so much. Mr. Taylor. Yeah, thank you, mr. Mayor, this is a question for you director guine. You may or may not be able to answer it but After we did this project a month or two ago a couple of developers Looking at housing projects in the station area Raised some concerns that this could have a negative impact on their financing by dropping Area median rents. Is that a tangential? Is that is that a valid concern that they have? We were contacted by developers who were concerned about this Transaction this particular acquisition The purchasers worked with cal pfa and now the california community housing agency to Acquire the bonds for the project. They will be restricted by a regulatory agreement similar to our other affordable housing projects throughout the city So we do not see it as an issue that will affect Market rents in the area. Okay. All right. Thank you Thank you Council on any other questions Mr. Rogers, you have this item. Thank you. I will move items 13.1 through 13.3 Go ahead doing Thank you, sir. The name is doing to it. I'm concerned that as you do this I hope for the affordable housing Transaction to go into the funds 2282 That you specify that that affordable housing be for extremely low Very low and low Otherwise, it may just get used for market rate housing by using the catchall term Affordable, so I hope you'll put a condition on there for extremely low income Very low income and low income to be the uses of that fund for affordable housing purposes. Thank you. Thank you I'm sorry. Did you get your motion in there? I will move items 13.1 through 13.3 and wave further reading second Mr. Rudy, if you just save your comments you had an opportunity to comment on the consent items. We have next item We're going to go through with this. We'll have an opportunity for public comment shortly after this item So did we have a second? And we have the second your votes, please And that passes unanimously. Thank you Item 14 public comment on non-agent items. Do we have any cards? First card Dwayne DeWitt followed by Pat Mitchell Thank you, mr. DeWitt pat Mitchell followed by Barbara gay Hold on a second. The mic goes on. There you go All right. Is it on Okay. Uh, hello. My name is pat Mitchell. It's going to be very short Um, I'm here tonight because of the proposed compost facility on meadow lane Which connects lono road and walker avenue the property is owned by santa rosa city I've been told by santa rosa city employees that one the compost facility is a done deal And two i've been told that it's not happening at all I live on walker avenue directly across The small street where the compost facility is proposed If it is constructed Um My one-acre property and home would be worthless the stench and traffic would make my home unlivable This is a very personal issue for me and my husband santa rosa city council Council could ruin our lives. We are seniors and we cannot nor do we want to move we love our home I could talk about Um, the many reasons why this facility at this location would be an environmental disaster And a disaster for the neighborhood, but I can't do it in three minutes But I would appreciate an answer tonight Is the city of santa rosa considering or planning to allow a compost facility on meadow lane Thank you for comments If staff may be able to get back to you, but I also know there's also Either senator was a water or board of public utilities may be able to answer that question It's not before the council at this point. So I can't answer that question. The city owns the property I recognize that Barbara gay followed by tyler avry lewis Is barbara in the house Tyler avry lewis followed by tony geraldie. I think you'll be a harder act to follow for tony than the other way around See I'd like to disagree with that Mayor schwell home and Vice mayor rogers and the city council. It is an honor yet again to be before you um and Everybody who is here. I'd like to say thank you for Ooh the pressure. Thank you for constantly supporting me during my year. Thank you for Giving me my own proclamation from the city It's now hanging up in my living room and my mother can't help but stare at it in amazement because she never thought You know, this would be my life and what a life. It's been for the past year Thank you for including penkeo and myself in numerous Appearances the rose parade the sesquence sesquence and ten yule I hope I said that right uh celebration the wednesday night market The sonoma county fair the women's march twice That was a big one because I had never thought I was going to be able to public speak or Uh public speak in the manner that I did and just to speak freely amongst the santa rosa citizens and sonoma county people And I'd like to say personally. Thank you. Thank you all for being my my inspirations. Thank you Councilmember Sawyer for constantly smiling and kissing me on my cheeks and telling me I'm doing a great job Thank you councilmember oliveris for knowing me since I was a we taught and now you see me at 23 and who would have thought this would be me, huh? and uh councilmember rogers for being one of the judges who chose me you have good taste sir Councilmember combs for just being yourself and appreciating me and my voice Excuse me councilmember flumming for not being able to you know, you just got your seat and congratulations on that However, spending time with you has been a pleasure councilmember tidbits You always cause me to laugh and I thank you for your constant support And I thank you all for watching me or not watching me and uh applauding me on my year and I I guess I'll end by saying eventually after we get down the line of people who are going to talk You know tony pinkale myself if we could take a picture if you have time that would be much appreciated But all in all thank you for inspiring me. Thank you for holding me up. Thank you for Loving me from a distance of close and personal and um Thank you for the opportunity It really has been a pleasure to be able to serve This county the city in any capacity and I definitely don't take it lightly and it has been more than a blessing And I now know that when the time comes for me to go out of state, which it will be soon I'll be leaving in june, but um, I'm prepared. I'm ready. I'm ready for wherever god or The universe takes me. I'm just looking forward to it. So thank you Thank you Tony giordi followed by pinkale punza Good evening mayor uh vice mayor members of the city council Tony giordi a proud resident 680 also drive here in san rosa lifetime residence in the county I am the secretary and treasurer of the missonoma county scholarship program I'm also the general operations manager snowman county airport express Which happens to be the primary sponsor of the missonoma county scholarship program I would like to invite our council to our 73rd missonoma county scholarship competition competition Taking place on saturday march 2nd at the spreckles performing arts center in rona park And it's going to be a great night every single contestant For either missonoma county or missonoma county is out saying teen We'll be walking away with scholarship money for future education A couple aspects about this program Again, it's been in existence for 72 years, which is the longest running Program under the miss california organization Our program is known and respected by the miss california organization by having our title holders so embedded in the community Our current missonoma county who you just heard from She's made well over 140 local appearances in the 12 months since she's been a title holder And our teen who you'll be hearing from momentarily our missonoma county is out saying teen pancano panza She's made close to 80 appearances. I believe which is she's set the bar for for a missonoma county is out saying teen The um, I would like to convey a much appreciation as tyler did for your Your support the Tyler avery and pinkale were as you know with you at many different events throughout throughout the year in the community Your your guidance your support was very much appreciated Thank you. I would also like to thank pretty much every council member You've either been a practice judge. You've been a judge before on the judging panel You're are going to be a judge for those of you that haven't had an opportunity yet Don't worry. We're going to get you so I know council member fleming you're going to be assisting the young ladies this sunday with practice Judging on their interview appreciate it mentoring mentoring. There you go judging. Thank you. Yes and marriage by the home you'll be one of distinguish Judges coming up on the march second competition and I thank you very much for your time. So Thank you. And again march 2nd Every if you could attend as elected official, you'll be introduced with 20 30 other other elected officials in the audience. Love to have you there. Thank you. Thank you tony pinkale followed by tom sells Um, good evening everyone. My name is pinkale pong side missonoma county's outstanding teen 2018 I'm a junior at technology high school and I'm a lifetime resident of ronard park But although being a lifetime resident of ronard park, I spent a lot of my time in santa rosa as a child I went to santa rosa dance theater. I started there when I was I think about two And thanks to santa rosa. Um, I now have a passion for dance. Um dancing is actually what I performed on the miss california stage And some of my well, most of my favorite appearances have been here in santa rosa But I always find that the ones I enjoy most are at courthouse square most recently tyler avry and imc the woman's march, which is Something I never would have imagined being able to do Especially only being recently turned 17. Um for which I think the city of santa rosa for that But I would really just like to give gratitude to the fact that you allowed me Whether or not you literally allowed me to represent sonoma county But representing sonoma county has yet again been something I never would have thought I'd be able to do at 17 and 16 years old Um, I actually ran when I was 15 And I ended up getting second runner up and I came back because like tony said we all Walk away from the competition with scholarship money Which was initially my reason to compete because I do hope to go to the university of hawaii and attend the john um a Excuse me medical school because I'd like to be a psychologist And I'd like to be a psychiatrist because I have a passion for helping people And being in santa rosa, I've actually had the opportunity to do a lot of work with um the organization say social advocates for youth Which works towards helping homeless and helping youth which is something that's very near and dear to my heart So yet again, I find myself back in santa rosa And I'd really just like to stress that I will forever be thankful to be a resident of sonoma county and Like I said, although I am a lifetime resident of ronert park santa rosa is definitely definitely my second home. So thank you Okay, thank you so much So we'll have time shortly. We'll take a brief break before the public hearing Thomas ells followed by george uberty Thank you again for the opportunity to speak to you on Non-agenda items. I want to refer to councilmember combs point For the request for the agenda item on wildfire protection plan particularly the black and vech Report which I have not seen and would like to see I would dearly like to see that report I want to point out That there was an event in santa rosa the reason for for such Concern and the change of situation is that um as she mentioned there is no There is no Fireflow necessary for the system system-wide But there's been a change of circumstances and I would point to April two years ago when there was a 91 degree event and the average Temperature for santa rosa 64 and the high temperature on that day ever over 120 year period was 84 and it was 91 So it was actually a standard deviation Beyond three standard deviations above the mean So it means that that's not a part of the previous record Absolutely not a part of any record of temperatures that we've had here Meaning it didn't just break the record. It's There's a change And that's why we need to have wildland urban interface Fireflow plans I would point out also that what they did in los angeles EC eaton was the creator if you will of the Of the los angeles county flood control district and and he said the greatest beneficiary of fire Prevention is the flood control, but I would point out also that that's Evacuation in the case of fire in the case of these major fires that are even More substantial and not just evacuation but all the elements of of Our concern with regard to fire not just evacuation but the saving the protection of the actual Infrastructure and everything It's so important and I've talked about if you look at The geysers geysers has your water there. Why don't they have a fire department? They don't have a fire department like a ship every ship has a fire department on it They're people that are assigned they have duties posts and so on Most most facilities Chevron Chevron they're they're oil refinery They have a fire department. They have a firefighting system on on location on their side geysers doesn't have that they have plenty of water Why don't they have storage? So they need to have storage need to have not just geysers But everywhere needs to have more storage place the storage of water out there reuse the water and develop a fire flow plan. It's incredibly important and I think council councilwoman combs for bringing that point out that That it is so important and that that particular quote in that report says there are no Not that they're not necessary, but there are for instance. There are no fire flow plans or minimum fire flows This water system Your Eight million dollars that was expended but but potentially it could have been the entire water system that could have been destroyed As much as 40 50 million dollars For that part just that little part there and fountain grove That wasn't protected by a fire flow It's not protected itself in other words It's plastic pipe and all those parts contaminated the other parts But there wasn't enough fire flow. There wasn't enough pressure. There wasn't actual system-wide understanding. Thank you Thank you, thomas George you bear tea George you've got two cards. So contain both the topics in your comments, please I you know, I've said this before and I'll say it again But an emergency is not something that lasts for years at a time An emergency is something that you have on the way to the hospital Right. I see a lot of law enforcement in this room Right. Now they just enforce the laws that you all put into place You enforce a state of emergency. What does that mean? Again, I think I've covered this before but the only other example that I could come up with where you enforce the state of emergency Is where you hold someone's head underwater while they drown to death All right, I mean enforce the state of emergency draw me another picture of enforcing a state of emergency because I That's that's what I got now The what I want to talk about that is not on the agenda and which has not been on any agenda is What I mentioned the last time I got up here and spoke which is the 500 billion dollars That was missing from housing development in 2016 things have not gotten better since then All right. Are you going to tell me 500 billion was missing in 2016 2015? Everything was PG keen, right? I don't think so All right. Now there are fundamental problems to the system Okay, no, it's not a problem of getting more money. I just I don't want to hear about getting more money All right. I want to talk about whose pocket the money is going into Because we're not going to solve anything until we solve that All right, you want me to craft the solution and hand it to you All right, there's no you cannot dance around it any more money that you get is just going to keep going into somebody's pocket There is no solving this without somebody taking responsibility. Okay, there just can't be you're not going to invent some kind of civic mechanism That these people are not going to find a way around. Okay This problem is an emotionally integrated one Is a personal one is a problem of us having to look somebody in the eye that we don't feel like looking in the eye That we're scared to look in the eye. You got to look them in the eye and you got to tell them to stop it All right, there is no solving this. That's and this is a democracy. We make it this way human beings make it like this All right, it feels a certain way You got to change it. You got to make it feel different. Okay, there's no non personal non human way to do it There just isn't one Okay, and I can sit here and we can talk about what you write on a piece of paper Okay, but at the end of the day, whatever you write on that piece of paper is going to be have to have to be translated Into an interpersonal relationship. That's why I come up here and talk to you Right, you think I don't know what's happening. You think I can't understand what's going on who actually pays who or whatever You think I can't put all that together. Of course I can Okay, but what I don't think that you can put together is that money ultimately it's an expression of value All right This is about what we want what we're willing to do and what we're willing to stand up for There are only things that you don't stand for if there are things that you won't stand for All right, and that's it at the end of the day It's gotta you got to stand up for what you want and i'm standing right here and i'm telling you that I will not stand for this Thank you We have no report items council is now going to take a brief break We've been at this since 12 30 this afternoon and we'll return shortly for item 16 the public hearing Thank you all for your patience. Mr. Goon item 16 Thank you item 16 is a public hearing Residents in by marriott appeal the planning commission action on the conditional use permit for proposed residents in By marriott hotel at 3558 round barn circle Santa Rosa, california 95403 assessor's parcel number 173-020-008 file number prj 17-045 And c up 118 Sorry c up 18-162 And before you much for the city attorney galler could you talk we're missing one additional council member? Could you share with the audience why there's only five of us up here? There are now two council members who have recused themselves Council member tidbits just recused himself most recently due to a Potential conflict of interest out of an abundance of caution And and i'm sorry and council member soyer recused himself earlier due to a conflict as well. Thank you All right and to kick off the presentation is deputy director of planning claire hartman Good evening It's this next item is an appeal hearing. It's brought to you As a result of action by the planning commission for a three-to-three vote We have noticed this as a public hearing and so we intend to Proceed with the hearing but i want the council to be aware that we have been informed that the applicant Would like more time and they would like to continue the item to have more time to work out issues However, staff's recommendations since the items been duly noticed And people have taken the time to come out to speak tonight that we actually hold the item And get through as much of the item as we can But there will be options at the end of that discussion You can at that point choose to continue the item to work on issues so you can choose to act on the item To support it or to deny it So at this point before we proceed with the item just acknowledgement that if and it's the mayor's Protocol and responsibility to decide if we're going to hold this item But i wanted you to be aware of the applicant's request I do appreciate that and i have to say yes, we're going to have the hearing today We'll leave it up to the council after hearing the public hearing if we want to extend more time to continue the item But I think it's important the folks have stuck around today to give information to the council and I want to hear that information Is it also appropriate at this point for me to ask the rest of the council about any exparte communication So I would do that any council members have any exparte disclosures to make Mr. Rogers, I believe don't we typically do those disclosures after the presentation from staff And disclose any additional information that's not shared Um, you can you can do it either way It's just my first bullet. I don't mind I had an opportunity to meet with both the applicant and the appellant to discuss the project Let's just get it out now I uh met with the appellant and um To assess the project I received no information that was not already in the materials You call this none And I met uh had conversations with the representative the appellant took a tour of the facility and read all the information Thank you, mr. Mayor council members members of the public This is the appeal of the conditional use permit Which has been filed by the residents in by mariette And by mr. Badara For the proposed residents in by mariette hotel The planning commission held a hearing on november 29th 2018 on this conditional use permit application And that hearing resulted in a tied vote by the planning commissioners with three votes in favor three votes in opposition and one obstentia And because of the tie vote it was an effectively a denial of the use permit application The application was filed to allow a four-story 114 room hotel A total of just over 92,000 square feet with 116 on-site parking spaces A fitness facility and a pool with the proposed hotel reaching a maximum height of 48 feet eight inches from grade at its highest point The planning commission at the november 29th meeting did vote for eyes to nose and what abstention to approve the hillside development permit Which was also filed for this application The project is Loading the project's located at 358 round barn circle, which is in northeast santa rosa Uh, here's the project site again round barn circle is a private roadway that Runs off of round barn Uh, sorry round barn. Yes round barn circle is a private roadway that runs off of round barn boulevard Which is a public roadway The application went to concept design review in 2016 It was brought back to design review board with modifications in 2017 And an application was then filed in 2017 with the planning department for the use permit and hillside development permit And the appeal of the planning commission Failure to approve the conditional use permit was filed in a timely manner by december or on december 10th 2018 The general plan designation for the property is retail and business services There are a number of land use and economic policies in the general plan as well as urban design and open space policies associated With the project uh staff found that the application both the hillside development permit and the conditional use permit Were consistent with these general plan policies The zoning for the site is pd as part of the plan planned development pd 72 desk 001 and also a resilient city And the project Under the pd zoning Is consistent with the fountain grove ranch policy statements the application Submitted the site plan for the project showing the hotel with 114 guest rooms The parking lot is between the hotel and round barn circle And the property is the hillside drops as you move from round barn circle to the To the lower portion of the site The applicant submitted these renderings of the project Uh, you can see that in the the lower and the right hand rendering essentially the project Is uh, and i'll jump ahead to the next slide the the project's excavated into the hillside So you have a four-story condition On the lower portion of the site, which would be Visible um from redwood old redwood highway and in the front of the site, which would be visible from round barn circle Sorry Round barn circle, which is the left top left photo You see a three-story condition for the hotel The applicant filed the appeal and listed Seven grounds for the appeal They indicated that it meets or exceeds all requirements and staff recommended approval They indicated that the development meets or exceeds all fire related requirements It's consistent with the zoning and general plan The applicant indicated that dissenting planning commissioners did not recognize findings that the application met city land use requirements And incorporated input from to design review pre-application meetings Additionally the applicant the appellant Indicated that the project complies with all height requirements and secor only requires visual Analysis of impacts to public views not to public private views The development is exempt from CEQA and finally the applicant indicated that any other fact reason or ground allowed by allowed by law Staff conducted a review of the project under the california environmental quality act Staff found in this review that the project qualifies for a class 32 exemption pursuant to the CEQA CEQA section 15332 guidelines It meets the qualifications for class 32 infill exemption in that it's consistent with the general plan It's consistent with zoning designation regulations The parcel size is less than five acres in total size and it's substantially surrounded by urban uses Uh the biological assessment did not identify any habitat for endangered rear or threatened species The approval of the project would not result in significant impacts to traffic noise air quality or water quality Additionally, the city has determined that there are no exemptions to the exemptions Such that would create a possibility that this activity would have a significant effect on the environment And finally pursuant to CEQA guidelines sections 15183 the project is consistent with the general plan and zoning The Issues that were raised In response to these issues There was a concern related with respect to views the proposed Site development would result in changed views from existing Development directly across from the project site on round barn circle was one of the issues That was raised however planning staff has assessed the impact to public views And has determined that those major public vantage points Including highway 101 And as required in the zoning and discussed in the design guidelines There would not be significant impact to public views The compatibility of the proposed development with the existing area has been considered And it's been found that the development is Consistent with existing buildings when viewed from round barn circle That based on the topography the hotel as previously identified is four stories only one viewed From the western vantage point on old redwood highway and 101 And with the exception of the shed roofs on the proposed hotel Development fronting round barn circle is consistent with the 35 foot height requirement The planning and economic development department recommends that the council by resolution approve an appeal I'm sorry approve the appeal and conditional use permit for the proposed residents in by marriott And i'd be happy to answer any questions from council members Thank you for that presentation. Just so members of the council in the audience knows We'll have an opportunity council to ask questions of staff Uh, I'd also ask that staff give the council options at the end of those questions These are your different options before us tonight Then we'll hear from the vice chair of the planning commission who will have an opportunity to ask her any questions Then there'll be the appellant presentation, which is going to be for 10 minutes And then after that, uh, obviously we would have an opportunity to ask the appellant any questions Then we'll open the public hearing Close the public hearing after hearing all the comments and then the applicant rebuttal of anything that was said And then it comes back to council for motions Is that your understanding of the processes? And mr. Mayor, I just wanted to add that we have a representatives from the fire department in attendance tonight as well The guys in the uniform up there. Great. Thanks Okay council questions for staff on this presentation miss combs Thank you, um, I have a A question about the sequel requirements and if you can clarify for me My understanding is that wildfire impacts have been added as a new topic In the appendix g 15 126.2 a To add wildfire impacts I'm not sure if that's taken effect at the time For this property or if uh, if it if we can apply it or not apply it to this property We're going to review and provide a response later. Thank you So part of that of course is that we have a general call upon us to be concerned about the safety When we move this forward And uh, whether or not this applies based on the date of permit I have some concern about not including the information with regard to the The safety of the of the findings. So I would would like to understand that I'd also like to understand The evacuation strategies For the the property I think i'm i'm fairly well known to have concern about having people sleeping In the fountain grove wildfire area Um, the wildland urban interface Uh, this is a place where not only will people be sleeping they'll be sleeping and they're unlikely to have programmed Their phone to receive alerts from our system Um, I know that when I traveled to san diego Um, it was only because I happened to meet with the san diego emergency Procedures folks that I actually uploaded the emergency alert system for the region where I was and I've never done it before So I'm I'm wondering about how we're providing Information if that's a condition of this permit If it can be If someone can clarify for for me how people will be alerted and know what to do Within the context of of this project Since we do have folks sleeping in that area We do have uh Fire marshal scott moon. He can answer questions regarding the evacuation strategies for the city in general, but um This is I suppose not really specific to the city in general But how will folks who are at that site be evacuated be alerted? Okay, you know what the process is that I I appreciate, uh, um Mr. Moon officer Lieutenant, what are you? I'm sorry. I'm terrible with titles Fire marshal moon. Thank you And and let me say fire marshal. I I appreciate that you are here to talk about this. Thank you very much Thank you Mayor members of council and regarding your question council member combs There are specific sections of the california fire code that address evacuation procedures For these types of facilities and they will be required to meet those requirements and what you were those instituted Those are the current code requirements within our current addition of the california fire code What year is that addition? It's the 2017 edition. Okay. Thank you Was was that code instituted before after our recent fires? That was prior to thank you And does that require that we have any role as a city or as our as you as our fire marshal In confirming that staff are appropriately trained or doing the Whatever is responsible Whatever requirements there are for the For the evacuation of the folks who live in the facility There are specific provisions I'm sorry within chapter four the california fire code that are reviewed with the local agency And that's the intention of our agency is to review those with this applicant And did we do that with the hilton that's adjacent used to be adjacent? That I don't know that facility was built many years ago. Thank you I will say I I have some real concern about people who are Who are driving out of here if they want to leave on their own As I look at the route to get out It's a It's like a crescent So folks all end up on what is round barn that has another name going east Can you explain to me how people would evacuate would they evacuate and make it I would guess people would evacuate by coming out To the east and then make a right turn on round barn and then a right turn down the Down the hill Is that is there another route other than that Their evacuation route would be dictated by what the incident was and what is the most appropriate direction to have them facilitated That's a wonderfully worded answer I'm aware that we that the conditions that are typical for The kinds of fires that we saw October 17th is that the wind direction is From the northeast Under certain very dry conditions and that that's pretty typically the conditions. So I think we could assume that the wind would be The fire would be progressing from the northeast Do you have any reason to believe that I mean there may be something under other circumstances? But assuming the wind was coming from the northeast is there another route to get out than to go slightly east and then Onto round barn As you mentioned as that streets designed it is a crescent type of Design that allows for two points of access to the east and there is also one additional road that drops to the west That leads back to old redwood highway I didn't see that. Can you show that to me on the overhead? on the on the map So i'm not seeing how you go get onto old redwood highway without going east I'm told it might be slide four Can you show me the word that is It's a little bit difficult to depict as the corners cut off in the upper center of this area There is a road that extends and then runs down along the north side Of that square if you will back to old redwood highway goes directly into old redwood. Okay, that's correct I have to say I looked at for it on the map and didn't see it. Yeah, it's kind of cut off there So it makes it a little difficult to interpret okay And which way is east on that map? It's is that map going north south If you follow that crescent You would be going more up into The right upper corner would be an easterly direction. Okay And at this time do we have any special requirements for example external sprinklers for Um For construction in the wild land urban interface. No, we do not Did the applicant have any agreements with us about non combustibility Of the construction methods used The construction methods required for this project would have to meet chapter 7a of the california building code Which is specific to wild land urban interface areas And just help me out here. I'm familiar with like type 1 type 3 type 5. Does that code specify Whether it has to be a type 3 construction or That's specific to the ignition resistant materials that are utilized for the structure It doesn't speak to the construction type. It's my understanding that there is not a Any NFPA standard For burning embers That the ignition resistant has more to do with like if you put a flame against a wall and you're watching how it spreads along the wall Um, but that we don't have something for Um a burning ember falling on a building Um, do you are you do you understand that to be the case also? There are specific testing criteria That are utilized nationwide and the california state fire marshal Utilizes that information to approve listed materials that can be used within the state of california Specific to the wild land urban interface areas So they do full-scale model testing within large warehouses of homes that are subject to ember cast To ensure the materials will be ignition resistant upon that exposure Can you get me the information about the ember casts because that's not consistent with what my understanding is and I would love to Be corrected on that but I between now and whenever we hear this again I would very much like to have that information because I understood that we did not have adequate Burning ember protections in place within our fire code So I would love to have you send that to me if you would that will thank you very much. Thank you council those are questions Thank you for your time and for coming out here on this evening Is the ratio of I'm not sure if this is a planning commissioner question or a fire marshal question, but is the ratio of rooms to parking spaces within our typical Boundaries Yes, the zoning ordinance requires one space per hotel room So with a 114 hotel rooms the project provides 116 spaces So it's just slightly above the required 114 spaces at any given time. We'd have 114 Cars and only two staff members at a time. It's not figured that way It's for the whole operation of the use. It's not broken down while it requires a one space per room It's not associated with each room for having one parking space It's for the total operation of the hotel. My concern is is egress I'm well aware that in santa rosa and in particular in district four. We need More hotel rooms to offset. I've gotten a number of concerns from my residents who are impacted by illegal airbnbs and legal airbnbs and all sorts of Housing draws and so I do really believe that we need to have housing and hotel rooms. However Safety, you know having very nearly lost my home and believing that one day I will lose my home Not far from this. It's it's a real concern to me and when you have people who are out of town and Don't necessarily know the geography I have I've real concerns, especially since we haven't done our fire flow study and especially since our codes were done prior to Our last catastrophic event. So where I'm going with this is Does did the applicant put forth a clear plan for evacuation? I'll let you answer that and then I'll keep my follow-up questions I have not had an opportunity to review one at this point in time No, we did not receive an evacuation plan Did the applicant put forth a A plan for providing water or on-site Mitigation for a catastrophic wildfire At this point in time. We haven't reviewed that we have the city municipal water supply That is located in the street on round barred circle And that does provide adequate fire flow for the project site based on the square footage And what we have seen Okay So I understand that in the last Wildfire we lost our fountain grove station And I don't know when we expect that we will have a fire station in the vicinity Rebuilt do you expect that the fire station will be rebuilt prior to or after the opening of the marriott? I did not have an answer on the timing of when a permanent fire station will be built We anticipate the station on parker hill would be the servicing station of this location And they're currently occupying that station now No more questions Not at this time And just so you you will have an opportunity to ask the applicant some of those questions You're asking our fire marshal. Yeah, I just wanted to hear from our fire marshal. Here's our authority on fire safety Vice mayor rogers Thank you, mr. Mayor, and I do have uh some questions for for the applicant Related to that, but I wanted to rephrase the question that councilmember fleming just asked Another way is there currently adequate fire protection? For this site if there weren't something to happen We haven't fully evaluated that what we have seen today based on the square footage And what they've proposed they do have adequate fire flow available I'm not asking about fire flow. I'm asking about response from our santa rosa fire department My understanding is with a current Temporary facility that's up there. It should not impact response to fire. Is that correct? I would agree. Thank you Okay, any additional questions miss fleming Do you have an opinion a professional or personal opinion on if this is a place that you would want to stay on a windy night in november? My job is to provide you with the compliant information of this project And not state any opinion of the project Thank you So if you could reframe again before you are the next speaker or the vice chair of the planet commission What are the options that will be presented after here the complete, you know public hearing to the council? Mr. Mayor members so as uh staff has indicated the applicant has requested a continuance and that Option is available to the council and it can be done at the close of the public hearing So that is one option and that would be consistent with the request The other options are the options that you would typically see at a public hearing on a land use development application The item can be Approved it can be denied it can be approved with conditions and those are all done by motion second and then a council vote Thank you for that clarification Okay, we'll go to the vice chair of the planning commission miss weeks Thank you. Uh, thank you. Uh, mayor schwedhelm and members of the council As um was mentioned i'm here on behalf of the planning commission as previously stated by mr. Broad uh the On the 29th of november We reviewed this project and uh In essence denied the conditional use permit because it was a split vote three in favor three opposed and one abstention The staff report did an excellent job in outlining The pros and cons but i'll just go over them quickly The commissioners who voted in favor of the conditional use permit indicated that the project met fire department requirements And had and that the fire department did not have concerns That the application was filed in good faith prior to the tubs fire and meet city's codes That the project meets the city's existing climate action plan There is no moratorium for building in the fire area And the project represents rebuilding and replaces lost hotel rooms And that the project complies with the resilient city overlay district The commissioners who voted against the conditional use permit commented that the project was located within a wildfire hazard area indicated a concern for the safety of visitors in the event of a nighttime evacuation And lacked an evacuation plan Uh at that there was a concern for putting people in beds on that site And one commissioner would have supported the use if it had been an office building um Another issues were traffic and street parking and that the project failed to take into consideration the quality of life For patients at the cancer center and the concerns of the cancer center staff night Can answer any questions if you have any questions any questions for vice chair weeks Seeing none. Thank you for your presentation That's an opportunity for the appellant to make a presentation If you'd like to introduce whom that might be testing testing Good evening. Thank you very much for the opportunity to Appear before you this evening. My name is tina wallace. W. A. L. L. Is legal counsel for the applicants The first order of business in our quick presentation or my quick part of it. Excuse me It would be to affirm what staff has told you The we have requested a continuance should the council so desire the three reasons for that request are I did receive a drawing on my phone I haven't even seen a hard copy of it yet after five o'clock today That would accommodate potential height changes just so the council is aware we did meet with the cancer center We have not achieved resolution With them which is would be our goal the second reason for requesting a continuance Would be the possibility of a new parking area that would potentially be shared parking For the the round barn community And the third reason to request a continuance is that Late this afternoon we submitted to the city clerk an evacuation plan prepared by retired fire chief burn losh He has over 40 years of experience in the fire safety industry He'll detail that in a moment and we would like the opportunity to vet that plan with staff and with The other community members If the council does not choose or chooses to carry on with this hearing I did want you to know that a jabe bedare the property owner resident of the santa rosa community for over 30 years is With us today. He is also one of the applicants and he's available to answer questions And without further ado, I will turn our applicant presentation over to retired fire chief burn losh Good excuse me. Good evening. Mr. Mayor. Mr. Vice mayor and council members as was stated i'm burn losh and I retired a few years ago from sonoma county as the fire chief and director of emergency services Prior to that I was the county fire marshal and I had some similar titles over in placer county You know quite a few years ago. I have over 40 years experience in fire and emergency services and I'm here tonight representing The project and the applicant in the area of the fire issues for the fire safety issues I've spent time reviewing the application material. I took a look at the videotape. So the planning commission I've discussed this project with the fire marshal and the emergency Preparedness coordinator. I visited the site saw all the access roads the private road of round barn circle and The area up there And I'd like to offer the following few comments Related to the first off the fire code As it's already been mentioned we plan to meet and exceed or exceed All all all fire and building codes for this project This would include specific requirements as as was mentioned by the fire marshal to build In to build and it's included in chapter 7a for the wui areas or the wild and urban interface areas of the city We'd also another thing that's mentioned in that chapter 7a is the vegetation management plan The vegetation management plan will be complied with as required by the code During the hearing I I think I'm kind of going to be repetitive about a couple things that have already been mentioned So I'll run through these fast the assistant fire marshal that was at the hearing He indicated also that the building will meet and exceed all all building standards for the project The fire flow Exceeds what's required by code The access road meets code requirements Also the aerial access code requirement that's put in place by the code in the city Says it has the aerial apparatus has to have access to one side This project will allow access to two sides of the building That large parking area that accommodates whatever x number of cars was mentioned Also could serve as a fuel break for any vegetation fires As he also mentioned and has been mentioned it's close to the freeway The street orientation is pretty straightforward He was not aware of any concerns about evacuations from any unusual or confusing situations As far as the evacuation concerns go The project will comply with the california fire code We will be developing an emergency preparedness plan as the fire marshal mentioned It will be reviewed and approved by the fire department We will voluntarily include some specific evacuation components as an appendix to that plan That will include that hotel staff will monitor the available emergency notification tools That are out there for everybody to use eas soco alert and nixle We will have a list of those notification tools made available to all hotel guests The hotel will have available for guests and staff a list of typical public radio stations that will broadcast emergency information As it's as it's put out The hotel will establish a shelter in place procedure for all hotel staff and guests The hotel will make maps available for hotel staff and guests showing the primary road networks available to evacuate from the site The hotel will also develop a ride share option for visitors For transportation for the ones that don't have the actual cars parked out there in the parking lot in the event of emergency The hotel will work with transportation service providers such as santa rosa city bus sonoma county transit Private providers like maybe airport express and others on evacuation plans from this project The hotel will establish relationships with other marriott properties in the case of an evacuation Out of the immediate area to shelter the hotel guests so we won't impact the city and their shelters And certainly we're open to discuss anything that would be imprudent by the santa rosa fire department There's been a lot of discussion about the new normal That we have in cali particularly in california with wildfires It's certainly everybody's hope that we never see Another fire like we saw in sonoma county in october 17 or the multiple fires that we saw including the tubs fire Whatever disaster that we face in the future. I am confident As a former active first responder that we will be better prepared and equipped than we ever have been Because of the result of the new technology that we're going to see from this fire It is a new normal with several new changes besides just our climate The communication tools that are out there are growing every day There's there's more notification tools now than we've ever seen and there's more to follow That are several cameras being installed. I believe the number is 40 cameras up in the wildland interface areas around sonoma county that will be able to Detect the wildland fires They they're connected to computers and they can model immediately the fire behavior and make predictions about spread This will give us the early warning that maybe we didn't have in many cases in 2017 the city Was I understood in the city was just awarded a FEMA grant For a cwpp or a community wildfire protection plan So that ties in directly to what was discussed earlier today And I think they're going through that process now to to award that that grant There is currently a community wide community wildfire protection plan That's already been adopted by the board of supervisors for the entire county of sonoma, which included some A specific appendix for santa rosa. So that is available online at the fire safe sonoma website That's already been adopted. I think it was about a year and a half ago and in closing there's a letter that We have that will be presented for the record that captures all these comments And i'm certainly available if you have any questions And is that the end of the applicant presentation, are there any other speakers Seeing none bring back to council do you have questions for either of the speakers miss wallis or mr. Losch? No I have not opened the public comment yet thomas. This is still for the city council That's why I explained all the different steps. We'll get to you councilmember phleming Yes, mr. Walsh. I have a number of questions for you. Thank you for your time Appreciate you coming out here and waiting so long and again to you and your applicant I really do hope that we can get some Shovels in the ground and some buildings built and some hotel rooms developed So this is not an anti-development set of questions. I am very nearly lost my home. I live very close to the proposed development site and On a windy night in october and november I leave and I get out and I go stay on the plane with my mom because I'm terrified And I don't know that people coming here can That that it's a really a great idea for us to be building on on this site And that I say in spite of the fact that I really do want us to have more hotel rooms I want us to have the development opportunity, but hopefully you can help me through this process Um, I hate to do this, but I think the public deserves to know if you're being compensated for your opinions I am a consultant. Yes. Okay. Can you tell us the public how much you're being compensated? No I see so You're unwilling or you're unable I think that's a private matter between me and the my employer. Okay, but this is Opinion that you're entering into the public record. So the public deserves to know That you are being compensated for your opinions. Yes. Okay. Thank you very much I can I add something certainly Um While I'm being compensated my opinions are my own I want to make that very clear I I I stand by my record of almost 45 years in the fire and emergency services When I came up with these opinions, they are my own opinions Well, I'm grateful for your service and I do appreciate it So going on You mentioned that there was a plan to shelter in place. Um, what type of emergency event were you imagining sheltering in place? It could be a wildland fire could be hazardous materials incident could be a mudslide Could be any any disasters that are listed in your uh, your local hazard mitigation plan Mm-hmm And I'm going to ask you the same question. I asked the fire marshal Do you have a personal or professional opinion if you would like to shelter in place on a windy november night? Where there was a wildfire like what we saw before If it was me personally, I would gather as much facts as I could to make that decision of whether or not I would shelter in place Mm-hmm Okay Going on You mentioned that you're hopeful that we wouldn't have an event like we had in 17 But we had an event like that in 64 and climate change is here and we are living it And so I don't think that we can reasonably expect that we won't have another event like this in my lifetime Again, I expect to lose my home. I have gotten insurance to cover that event And I urge anybody who lives in the wildland urban interface to do the same Um The other part is uh We saw unfortunately during the tubs fire An incident where people were stranded at a facility in that area And staff abandoned the site. I'm wondering if the plan that you have includes one in which staff would be Asked to remain and assist in the evacuation Well, certainly it would but I want to stress that This new normal that I'm speaking of or this this new way of looking at things will include an entire package Of early warning early notification As much as possible and tracking the fires where they're at You know having data and intel on what's going on with those fires long before We get to the point of where we were in the tubs fire of october 17. So it's an entire package It's not just this one hotel and just these guests that we're going to be concerned with We're going to be concerned with the entire county of sonoma with all of that new data and information And communication tools and the cope groups that are forming and the residents getting active with protecting their properties and Looking out for the regulations regarding ember cas and all those things. It's an entire package It's not just I appreciate that but the question was would the staff be asked to stay on the property? Okay, thank you. Well, I don't know if they're going to be asked to stay on the property They're going to work with the employees or excuse me the residents to get them out of there Then once the residents are out of there the guests then they'll evacuate. So that would be part of the package Yes, would be um having a staff that is trained and compensated and asked to remain on the premises until Everyone's safely evacuated. Yes. Okay, um and then The the last uh question that I have or the last comment that I have for you is this Um, I appreciate your opinions and I I respect what you're saying I'm wondering if you were here during the tubs fire Yes, okay The speed of that fire moved Makes me concerned that much Warning system is going to do much good for people who are not familiar with the area and I'm going to leave it at that Any other questions for the Ms. Combs I have some additional questions But I'm wondering if we can ask folks to come back for questions after we've had the public comments Well, if you have a question now, I prefer that you ask it now But if additional ones rise and they want to wait I'd be more than happy to I just need to hold up the public comment folks much longer But if you insist, I will if you're ready to ask your questions, please Okay, he insists um And I think this may be more for our fire marshal Than for this gentleman Thank you to speak the previous speaker suggested that We either had a cwpp a community wildlife wildland protection Or that we had received funding for it I am aware of asking For a copy of the rfp And what i'm reading is the development of a wildfire annexation to annex to existing local hazard mitigation plan Which is not the same as a cwpp Do we also have a cwpp in addition to this document? The way that application was written Is it came under a fema 404 grant which could be An application in regard to the local hazard mitigation plan And we presented an addendum to the wildfire section that would allow us the ability to write a community wildfire protection plan For the city of san aroza as was mentioned by the applicants consultant They have currently A section within the county's community wildfire protection plan That over kind of cast over the city of san aroza We have not had one within the city of san aroza specifically So in december of 2017 I worked with members of the water department to put this application together Submit it to fema We were successfully awarded that grant and we are currently in the process of selecting a consultant to assist us In the drafting of the city of san aroza's own community wildfire protection plan This document doesn't have in it the elements of a community wildfire protection plan So that's a conversation. We may have it another time But we certainly don't have it in place How long do you think it will take to go through the process? For getting a plan in place We anticipate Most likely a year to have that occur We have a number of stakeholders that we need to engage and based on the severity of the incident we encountered We believe that the most comprehensive approach to developing this type of plan Will provide us with the framework for moving forward and having a very sound plan for our community I believe that we all want a sound plan for the community What what i'm reading here leads me to have some questions, but I can take those offline Um, the previous speaker also mentioned the cope program We have had in the past a fairly good cope program But I can recall asking at the budget times about the cope program and basically being told that we didn't have The the monetary resources to hire the people necessary for a cope program That's the citizens organized to prepare for emergencies So while our the previous spokesman referenced a cope program Are we planning on My understanding was the fire department was about to cut several positions or at least not fill several positions Are you plant? Is there a plan in place that I haven't heard about since the last budget conversation for us to implement a More active cope program now Not at this time. Thank you Um If we I appreciate that there is a lot of interest in not letting it get as bad as it got last time the fires And that if we can stop the fires short of getting that bad, that's a good thing So i'm very excited about that prospect and I agree that the cameras and there are a number of steps We could take in order to maybe stop fires before they get as bad But if we had fires comparable to last time Do we have the capacity within our city to fight such a fire to save property? Can we can we the way we're configured now can we save public can we save? Property i'm not asking about people. I'm asking about property at this point I will allow the fire chief to address this operational question It seemed to me that we're not in a position to save property if the fire were as bad as it was Last october. I don't know of any department that's That can save property under those conditions. We can make uh, we make targeted selections We did have a building where we had 120 people in it. We parked three fire engines and a chief They sheltered in place during that fire and were very successful But no department has the resources to deal with the fire on the back end What we need to do is stop them earlier and if we can't stop them We need to know early as we can so we can do evacuations. Okay, so from my point of view And and first let me thank you. I know that that was An amazing sort of last stand at a facility where it was going to be very hard to evacuate The individuals I believe it was a senior center and so the That's if we're going to make that kind of a Last stand hold out shelter in place. That's where I want it to happen I would not want it to be diverted necessarily to multiple other sites where people are I think that was where it was obviously essential That means we have to be able to rely on the evacuation planning at other locations And I thank you Mr. Isomir Thank you, mr. Mayor I'm sure I'm going to have a thousand questions for the the applicant I'm finding it a little bit challenging In this setting not being able to see the height changes yet Not being able to see the new shared parking area or to be able to review the evacuation plan And so I'm Going to listen to the public hear your concerns, but I think most of my questions. I'm not going to be able to actually ask intelligently until I get a chance to see those plans Absolutely, I would agree mr. Alvarez any questions Okay, uh with that. Thank you very much. Um, I am now going to open the public hearing Mayor schwedholm Mayor schwed up the applicant up here We did uh, mr. Losch did have a request to clarify one point That was raised if it's possible to do that It probably may help with the public with any comments. I may like to make with us Just just a vernalosch again, uh, just one quick comment. I I'm through the through the mayor, um The councilmember coombs when I was speaking of cope. I was speaking of it globally I don't know the specifics about cope within the city limits of santa rosa. So I didn't mean to Cast that question their way. I was looking at it globally Thank you for that clarification Okay, we have quite a few cards here, uh, you don't have to fill out a card But I am going to go through the folks that have already filled out a card But at the end if anyone has not completed one, we'll still be welcoming your comments So you'll have three minutes to comment First speaker is dwayne dwitt followed by john meslin Is dwayne here? Does not look like it. John followed by terry shore Good evening council members My name is john my slon and i'm the director with the cpa firm persinian brinker who happens to be adjacent to the resident end project With a view from our third floor of the property I would like to point out a few reasons why we're emphatically approving this project When the city lost the hilton and the fountain grove in after the fires the number of overnight rooms available greatly decreased The rooms are necessary for our clients and our vendors to work near our proximity And having those rooms available to the fountain grove area are very important to us secondly We feel the project is important to the vitality of santa rosa And the hub of tourist activity to our area The more bodies we can have stay here will only promote the wineries and restaurants in the city I was out of town last weekend meeting with a friend that used to live in sonoma county and he asked me Why isn't santa rosa the hub of activity in the county? Why doesn't it get the draw that heelsburg and roner park does and I feel this project has some merit to that I'm baffled by the arguments of possible future fire dangers that might occur in this area My home also was within the a mile of the fire destruction area and that october 9th evening was probably the scariest night of our life But I feel confident the county and our city officials have this developed contingency plans to get us exited and Prevent future fires from doing what they did You could also say that the rogers fault line runs right through the center of santa rosa And we should curtail all construction within that area But we don't we prepare ourselves for the likelihood of any incident The tubs fire also robbed us of numerous restaurants in the fountain grove area And if we can get this project built I can see more eating establishments Arriving in the area and catering to the local clientele Thank you for your time and I urge you to make the right decision to approve this project Thank you john terry shore followed by shirley ward Good evening, mayor schwell schwed hell city council members Staff and members of the public My name is terry shore. I am the regional director for the north bay for greenbelt alliance And I also am a member of the alliance for Adjust recovery and there are quite a few members of our coalition here this evening still I Provided some pretty detailed comments to all the council members and staff that I've hoped you've had an opportunity to review So I will hit the high points of those comments As we know a new marriott residence in was turned down by the planning commission on a 3-3 vote Due to fire risk and it is being appealed to the city council tonight The marriott residence in on round barn circle is the first new development in the burn zone That has been denied due to concerns about fire safety We urge the city council to either deny the appeal as proposed or the require the hotel to do more for fire safety environment and workers We urge the city council to require the hotel to use next generation fire safe practices including construction Design defensible space fire breaks and evacuation plans beyond minimum fire code to prevent loss of life such as new standards coming in for um amber protection And for sprinklers on the roofs for example We urge the city to require the motel of the hotel to help fund A community wildfire protection plan for the city or specifically for the round barn area There are a number of new development projects in this area that are going through the process And we need to have an assessment of what it will mean to have hundreds of new people in this area Not just at the end, but the luxury resort on the other side of the ugb buzzard's gulch and also there's several residential communities that are planning to be built The hotel should be required to meet 2020 state requirements for all electric net zero energy construction To contract for evergreen electricity with Sonoma clean power To conduct a complete environmental review the sequel exemption does not apply here Which i've explained in my comments Pay a $15 minimum wage to all workers contribute to affordable housing Address all concerns of the cancer Center and most of all the highest risk factor Among all risk factors for law loss of life and home to a wildfire is the placement of the home In the wildland urban interface so that is a land use policy issue That we haven't grappled with and we need to grapple with thank you very much. Thank you, terry Shirley ward followed by todd songless Oh, there you go My name is surely ward I'm on the board of santa rosa memorial hospital and i'm here tonight representing my fellow board member sharon right Well, unfortunately, it's quite ill and could not be here and she asked me to read her statement that she wrote earlier today to you My name is sharon right and i'm here tonight as immediate past chair of memorial hospital board of trustees and a concerned citizen We have a large group here this evening, but to be respectful of everyone's time We have organized ourselves to have only 11 speakers representing us in our various perspectives Let me start by saying we are not opposed to a new hotel We recognize the importance of economic development Especially new hotels in our city Our opposition is based on the impact the project will have on our cancer patients We have reached out to the project team multiple times in hopes of finding a compromise Unfortunately, the project team and the renderings. They have provided confirmed that the project would not only completely obstruct the views of our cancer and infusion therapy patients developer also stated Their unwillingness or inability to amend the project in any way In short, no mitigations were offered and no rationale was provided We had hoped an alternative would at least be considered Our general plan addresses the importance of a livable community A high quality of life for all residents and superior natural beauty When I was on the city council back in the mid 90s people were fearful We were growing too fast and were at risk of becoming another san jose In response, we passed the santa rosa urban boundary With the commitment that all new development must be high quality and of high design that will improve the visual quality of our city On a personal note I spent many hours at the cancer center with my late husband as he was receiving his infusions There was something surreal about being there and knowing that the medicine that was being pumped into his veins Might or might not make him well We would sit there quietly holding hands looking out on the magnificent horizon and talk about our memories of the past and our hopes for the future It was a true gift In closing we encourage you to either deny The appeal or require the marriott to go back to the drawing board and find a workable alternative that will protect the views For our patients and our caregivers At every meeting at st. Joseph's we start with a reflection I would like to end my comments today with one that struck me as appropriate by tony blair There is no endeavor more noble than the attempt to achieve a collective dream When a city accepts as a mandate its quality of life When it respects the environments when it prepares for future generations The people share the responsibility for that mandate This shared Cause is the only way to achieve that collective dream Thank you very much. Thank you. Shirley. Todd solinas followed by tyler headin Hi, my name is Todd solinas. I'm the president for st. Joseph health sonoma county and I'd like to thank the city council I know you have a lot on your plate. It's really late tonight. So thank you for hearing multiple views on this project St. Joseph health is very supportive of projects that expand our hotel capacity We use and you could probably fill up this hotel project alone Just with the amount of caregivers that come into the community to help take care of our patients But we do not support the current configuration of this particular marriott project And we also I you know, I've got to know in a jade over the time I really appreciate, you know, all of his efforts to really improve our community too as a developer And that that work needs to happen in our community I wanted to let you know our cancer center part of st. Joseph health is adjacent to the marriott project This cancer center for some of you may not know is the largest infusion center between portland and san francisco We see over 900 new patients every year. That's new patients And if you look up the statistics about one in three People get cancer out there. So over the lifetime of this project We're going to be serving almost the equivalent of a third of the city here We see all patients regardless of their ability to pay We have clinical trials that are at a university level where we have people traveling from as far as europe to get these treatments And it is really an icon in the community And the way the healthcare is going on these days and the reimbursements It's not very likely that we could duplicate a center like this in today's dollars in today's market Like we've built here, which is a great asset for this community So with that, um, I just wanted to recognize kind of the the little known icon Level that this this this location has and part of it is is having this healing environment You know, we believe as part of our mission We're serving people and helping them heal Body mind and spirit and that's a very sincere commitment that we make and part of that environment that we have Is this view in the peaceful setting that we have that that surely just spoke about with share with Sharon's late husband And so part of that is to our interest started really preserve that view And so what we'd like to do is get support from the council To to have to work with the developer to find a model that preserves The view and still allows them to accomplish their business objectives and something that we'd really appreciate the support of To try to make this go efficiently. We only have seven or eight speakers So I appreciate mayor working with us on on making that go efficiently We did do a petition that has about 200 signatures on it. We handed it to the staff already And and I just like to ask because it's really late night. I appreciate everyone supporting this project Um on on our our behalf to help preserve the view for our cancer patients in the community I'd like to ask everyone who who stayed really late tonight to please stand or raise their hand or both If they support saint Joseph health's position, please in the chamber Thank you. Thank you. Todd Tyler he hadn't followed by jared holmes Good evening. Good evening. I'm tyler head and chief operating officer of saint Joseph health sonoma county I'm speaking really on behalf of Jeff colon who is our vice chair of the santa rosa memorial Board of directors, and so I'm reading his statement. So before I begin my formal comments I wanted to share my appreciation with you for the work you are doing in this tremendously challenging time for our community The city responded heroically to an unprecedented disaster And is steadily moving forward with recovery efforts in the community. So thank you Tonight i'm here in opposition to the current design and configuration of a proposed marriott residents in on round barred circle in santa rosa The general plan is one of the guiding documents for the development in santa rosa The vision created in the general plan for 2035 is that santa rosa is a vibrant community Featuring a diverse range of housing and employment opportunities infill development is designed to maintain the local quality of life through compatibility with adjacent land uses My concern is that the marriott residents and negatively impacts the visual quality of a facility that treats nearly 900 new patients As todd said every year and over its lifespan Nearly a third of our residents So both the design review board and the planning commission voiced concerns With the design and massing of the project and suggested lowering the height of the structure and breaking up the massing We agree with these recommendations And feel that the project would not be compatible with the existing and future land uses in the vicinity And would negatively impact the quality of life for patients undergoing cancer treatments Unless it was redesigned to concentrate the structure on the north end of the lot with reduced visual impacts to adjacent buildings Approval of the project as currently proposed would be detrimental to the public interest health safety convenience and welfare of the thousands of patients that come to the province st. Joseph cancer treatment center and infusion therapy center across the street from the proposed marriott residents in two of the six required findings for the conditional use Permits cannot be made for this project The design location size location rather size and operating characteristics Of the proposed activity would be compatible with the existing and future land uses into the city. That's number one number two Granting the permit would not cons would not constitute a nuisance or be injurious or detrimental to the public interest health safety convenience or welfare of materials Or materially injurious to persons property or improvements in the vicinity and zoning district in which the property is located Please send the project back for revisions or withhold approval. Thank you very much. Thank you. Taylor Jared Holmes followed by michelle heron Hi, my name is dr. Jared Holmes. I'm a medical oncologist here in santa rosa I'm also a fire survivor and i'm rebuilding my home. So i'm certainly dedicated to the rebuilding of santa rosa here to oppose the proposal for the residents in We treat as you've already heard thousands of patients every year in our clinic We're the largest cancer center between portland and san francisco I had the opportunity to meet a new patient yesterday who's transferring care from another health care system here She shared with me the Last summer her partner was diagnosed with cancer And then they had to spend Thousands of dollars in over two months in sacramento because the other health care system doesn't offer treatments here that She was astonished to find out. She could have had right around the corner in our center We are the only center between Portland and san francisco where patients can be treated for leukemia in the hospital We have over 50 clinical trials We are an asset to the community After the fires, we had calls from dozens of patients and Dozens of people who drove to the center to make sure that we were still Standing When they saw the kmart the hilton the equus burned down on television. They were all concerned for for us I want to share one story of a patient of mine named annie who i met Sick well i'll call annie I met about six years ago and i walked in the room and introduced myself before she let me sit down. She said I'm never going to do chemotherapy if that's a problem with you. Don't bother sitting down. Just turn around and go back out that door and We came to an agreement that we could have a relationship and over the next four years as her cancer recurred Multiple times the surgeons removed her tumor. It became evident that she would eventually need treatment or die we sat down one day and Had a very honest conversation and I said you've been coming here for four years and there's 50 or 60 people in this building that you interact with when you come in And none of them are here to hurt you. She said she didn't want poison. She didn't want chemotherapy I said we're not here to poison. You were here to heal you. This is a place of healing. This is a place of hope and love And after we had our conversation she went home and she called me back a few hours later and she's like I'll do it. I'm gonna I want the love room. That's what she calls our infusion center the love room I saw her today and I told her ears might burn sometime tonight though. I told her to expect it around six o'clock So maybe she's asleep She's now a A grandmother for the first time about to be a grandmother the second time because of what we've given her and many other patients Thank you for your attention. Thank you Michelle Herron followed by Eugene Berman Good evening Thank you for allowing me to speak i'm michelle herron. I'm the director of operations for the round barn cancer center I'd like you to tell you a little bit more about our center The provident saint joseph health promise to patients is to know me Care for me ease my way We work to fulfill this promise in many ways For those of you who have been to the center you might understand that the center was built in the 1990s Was elevated and situated in its current site So that the patients their families and caregivers could have a panoramic view while receiving infusions From the furnishings and the color palette in our waiting room To the murals on the walls in the infusion room To the view out of the infusion room The facility was designed to have an optimal healing environment so that the patients could experience more peaceful and calming setting The cancer center as you've heard is the largest such hostility of its kind between san francisco and portland oregon It is the largest facility in the region And has been designed to provide state-of-the-art care that includes medical oncology Hematology radiation oncology and research We have about 950 new patients per year and we serve approximately 67 patients per day in our infusion room This results in our infusion room serving approximately 840 patients a year With almost 5 000 total treatments that amounts to a lot of time patients spend in this room As someone who works in the cancer center on a daily basis The potential impact of having the view blocked out of the infusion room is very concerning to everyone Please help us keep our promise to our patients Of know me care for me ease my way by appealing this project in its current design Thank you for your time and attention Thank you Eugene burman followed by Kent Wood Might be a word in between there I'm over here My name is gene burman. I'm a real estate broker And I have a full appreciation of the commercial interests and rights of fee simple ownership of real property But i'm here tonight to speak you to you as a 12-year cancer survivor So i'm one of the few patients. I guess that is speaking tonight For these 12 years, I've received regular infusion treatments at st. Joseph's Or about as you've already heard Nearly a thousand patients receive over 5 000 infusion treatments each year Presumably these patients including myself Are part of the public as defined in your sequa document I'm not an owner. I have no interest as an owner Or or a private person pertaining to st. joseph's Not one of these people including myself Would choose to visit st. joseph's Uh given the choice But speaking from personal interest and experience Battling cancer is a state of mind driven enterprise When st. joseph moved their infusion clinic from sodiumi to fountain grove My first thought was concerned for the change From that which was familiar to me Yet i'm walking into the fountain grove facility for the first time With with this incredible Window lines from its west-facing views The experience was uplifting For sure i'm not going to stand before you to say that my survival to date has been a result Of those views or those window lines But if one buys into the belief that state of mind is adjunctive therapy To cancer therapy It seems that the marriott might consider their commercial interests In this light and try to figure out a way to accomplish those interests With a lower profile accommodation On their site Thank you for your time Thank you, jenny for sharing your story can't followed by Can't followed by laura vogel gissong Hello, my name is kent wood and i am here as a patient representative um I have been scrutinized by doctors Intensely since the time i was in my 20s, which unfortunately was not yesterday About Six a little over six years ago I was diagnosed with the condition that required infusions. It's a lifetime commitment I only say this not to make it all about me, but to say i've seen my share of doctors Doctors offices infusion rooms And i know a incredible thing when i walk into This infusion center up here at fountain grove When i first entered Six years ago. I was in a pretty bad state of mind not sure if i would live and I Walk in in the sunlight was just pouring in and the views were incredible And i i felt comforted very comforted by all that I have it easy even though i have to be there for the rest of my life to stay on the right side of the grass as they say I have it easy compared to so many people that sit there Hours on end days on end. This is the most emotional one of the most emotional difficult times of their lives To think that Aesthetics because it's not just a pretty view because we all love pretty views But aesthetics the warp the the other day before i knew any of this was going to happen I was looking out watching the storms coming the clouds. It was alive. It was invigorating And uh, I was so thankful for that after all the other i mean i've always had wonderful care no matter where But i've seen a lot of other like i said infusion rooms and this place is very special And this kind of the visuals are right in there with our senses the sense of cooking music The things that bring us life and stimulate our mind and our soul And it would be just that it really almost an ethical Ethically wrong to sit there and put on over 90 000 square foot building If it can be tweaked we don't want to get rid of you know We do need rooms in santa rosa. I don't know anything about the fire safety or anything like that I'm not opposed to the hotel Per se but If there's any way there's any wiggle room that we can move it off to the side or reconfigure the design So that we're not just sitting there looking at this huge building also quickly Uh between vista family health that is sits right behind will be reopening Post the fire Damage sits right behind and is accessed on round barn circle Uh Traffic is a disaster. I've been there all the time for years. So that needs to really be looked at too. Great. Thank you kent Laura followed by trisa lund Thank you. I'm laura vogelsang And you almost got it right almost but that's that's that's good I am here on behalf of the cancer center as a cancer patient who is being treated there I made my living i'm going to say something very quickly at the at the beginning I made my living as a lawyer in colorado and the first thing I thought was The question about views Does it matter whether or not it's a private view or a public View and you've heard about how very many people are treated My husband and most people have someone who come with them To support them during the time of infusion. So we've got not just patients But we've got a lot of other people in that room in addition to the staff who are doing everything that they can do to support us I keep reading that sequel. There's an exemption from sequel for private but for Private views and that's not what I have read as as a lawyer not as a california lawyer But as a lawyer. So I throw that out at the beginning Otherwise everyone else is much more eloquent than I am about this and it's Difficult for any of us. I think to talk about this because it is a very difficult time of Our lives when we're dealing with this I can say that I have been in other infusion rooms with family members And it makes an enormous difference to have the light And the support that come from having the light come into the room It's not something that I think A person who isn't faced with this can necessarily know I know that some of you Or at least I've heard that some of you took the time to go to see What the facility is like and I have to thank you for that because you've got other things to do And I know that that's not an easy place To go and as someone said no one goes here if they don't have to go there. So I really I really do appreciate that You've seen what the vision and you've heard what the vision is of the of the physicians who came up with this concept And it is real and it does make an enormous difference The idea of being supported throughout this process By all of the people who see exactly what is needed not just the physical If somebody wants to call it love juice, that's okay. That's not what I call it And you don't want to hear what I call it. No, it's not true But it's it's we all make our way as we can being able to Know that someone has cared enough To have this vision And to come up with a plan and be committed and passionate about it Dr. Holmes and everyone else that you've heard Is enormous. So we hope that you will be able to support that. Thank you Thank you lord And you were very eloquent Teresa followed by mara ventura Good evening Thank you for the opportunity to speak before you. My name is Teresa lund and i'm a clinical trial coordinator at st joseph center Immediately across from the proposed mara hotel I've been working with oncology clinical trials for the last six years of my 14 years in research I work directly with the patients their oncologists nurses medical and administrative assistants to match the patients To clinical trials using highly advanced scientific medications with the hopes of one day curing cancer No other work i've done in my life has been more important or more valuable to me than the work I do now As you know, our facility has the exclusive privilege of being located at a vista point like no other in sanarosa And that's why we're here. We need our view Let me explain why When we've been to the dentist to treat a cavity or a root canal What are our options for distraction for that hour? Do we look at the room decor the smells? We count the holes on the or the stains on the ceiling tiles Do you look at the pimples or the flaws on your dentist's face or the hygienist? My usual escape is to usually close my eyes and wait until the torture is over and I can leave But there's we know there's an ending to that hour Now you imagine coming to the infusion center for treatment that can last up to eight hours Not knowing if you this will just make you vomit lose your hair Deplete you of energy or do nothing to improve your situation It is very unsettling and unfortunately it's not a one-time experience Most patients come from multiple infusions On the same week or month And no one knows how a patient or how the cancer will respond to the treatments, but we know one thing Our patients don't reach for the chairs. There are closest to the nurses or to the snacks Nope, they want to sit on the chairs that are by the window So they can see the fog lift in the morning and the hot air balloons coming up from Windsor They want to catch the red tail hawks hovering and hunting for little creatures across the street when the sun is up And feel the sun's warmth at the end of the day as the sun starts to go down This view gives our patients distraction comfort and hope during the most vulnerable times of their lives Our clinic was designed to offer this relaxing and healing view for a reason So we feel that a building that's four stories High sitting across from our infusion room will deprive our patients of this additional healing tool So I've provided you with some pictures that were printed on paper as well as email to you So please look at those And I wanted to leave you with the personal perk. That's one of my favorite things at work It's at the end of a long day when it's dark outside and I'm walking to the car And I can see everybody's still working in the infusion room There's this showstopper sunset out there That makes it all worthwhile And we know that tomorrow we'll be there again to comfort our patients relieve pain and hopefully cure cancer Thank you for your consideration. Thank you Mara followed by martin alexander Hi council, uh, my name is mara ventura. I'm the executive director of north bay jobs with justice We're a local community face student and labor coalition in the north bay comprised of 20, uh, a little actually over 20 organizations We're also members of the alliance for just recovery I just want to echo what uh, terry shore from green belt alliance already said so i don't want to uh repeat too much of that but Do just want to emphasize that we don't think new developments, especially ones of this size and nature should be Constructed with uh, especially around tourism if it isn't thinking about environmental standards and labor standards Um furthermore, we've heard this council repeatedly say that it wants to prioritize development for housing And we think that should be the priority of this council and we support that and we want to continue to work with you Uh on what can be done around housing Uh, we're asking that you vote no to overriding what our planning commission has already vetted and voted on tonight Uh, we just support and echo all of the concerns tonight around health care around environmental standards around labor standards And around wildfire safety We don't think that there's enough reason to go back on the decision that our trusted planning commissioners have already made and we asked that you Support that decision and vote no We don't think that all of the legitimate concerns that are being brought up tonight Are going to change and to ask all of these folks Especially a lot of the health care workers that worked a full shift since seven in the morning To ask everyone to come out again because the marriott wants more time We just we don't see these concerns changing. And so we ask that you end this tonight. Thank you. Thank you Martin followed by harry richardson Is martin alexander here? He's one of our patients. So he wasn't feeling well and had to unfortunately leave Okay, thank you Harry richardson followed by effron carillo Good evening I'm harry richardson. I've noticed this evening that three minutes down there seems longer than three minutes up here So i'm the old guy. I'm here to provide a little bit of history About how the cancer center got there. I was i'm a retired cancer chemotherapist also And in the early nineties we had patients running all over the place in san aroza Trying to get their radiation therapy their chemotherapy Their laboratory work and we decided to find a place outside of town that had a great view adequate parking and Was quiet So we chose the top of this hill in fountain grove. We were the first ones to build there There was another project proposed by bill enterprises in the late nineties that we protested against at the planning commission and the planning commission turned it down because it did block the view So i'm talking tonight. I could talk to you about fires and parking I could talk about putting really big buildings onto probably the worst building lot in that area But I really want to talk about the view that is irreplaceable. You cannot Put this back once you've taken it away I also want to talk a little bit about what I think is a flawed system and the way the city handles these projects As I said, we had opposed a similar project 19 years ago And somehow that opposition got lost in history because there were You know reviews with the developer went to the planning department Eventually went to design review on two occasions None of the neighbors meaning us really knew that this was going on It was only when we read the notice in the newspaper last summer That this was going to go to the planning commission that we had a chance to give our own input Into what this was going to do to the views at the cancer center So I just like to leave you with this one thought you just heard that one out of three of us in the room Will probably be sitting in a similar chair sometime in the future And just to ask you if you'd rather look at the horizon at the sky Or a big building that has a sign that says residence in by marriott. Thank you Thank you, erin effron followed by peter rumble F You left Peter rumble followed by dave ransom I should have given myself more time effron's coming Um, sorry So peter rumble from the center of the metro chamber. I wanted to start by Just conveying my absolute awe respect admiration for People who have Had to unfortunately go through treatment And for those people who are here and who are not here who cared for them And speaking on behalf of the chamber With st. Joseph as a member. I've come to know Staff there. I've come to know Todd and st. Joseph is an incredible resource for this community I thank them for everything that they do I will also convey sentiment from another member key site technologies who Sent a letter this morning. I hope I got it to you on time. They asked me to convey Their sentiments as well and they're seeing a definite impact negative impact on their business As well as other large businesses similar to their size in that they have had to Cancel down size move events business as well as shift resources from Their facility here to other places and that has a very and by resources. I mean human capital people And that has a very real impact on their bottom line and on our overall community well-being So I wanted to convey those Those thoughts from key site. I also wanted to convey a couple thoughts As the chamber itself now And wanting to caution very strongly A consideration of Changing standards or going out of Existing policy For one particular project it opens up the door For uncertainty for future development not necessarily on this site, but setting a precedent for other sites It also opens up a kind of a slippery slope for existing sites and uses so for requiring something above and beyond For one project, but not applying those standards to others From a chamber perspective. That's that's particularly concerning. So I know that this is a very difficult Topic of balancing competing priorities But please don't forget about those I also want to just from a personal note Say that I served with chief wash In the face of emergency Responding to care for our population and I will vouch For whatever good my name and word is for his commitment and integrity. He is not Selling himself out He has complete integrity and I just got a text saying effrin echoes my sentiments. So thank you. Thank you Peter Dave ransom followed by michelle caned Well, these are uncertain times And they do require a new approach And I think we should use our Laws and ordinances in every way possible to Create that new report approach I'm Dave ransom. I represent the snowmobile housing group on The alliance for adjust recovery, but I live here in santa rosa and was woken by my lodger at 2 30 in the morning To go out on the street. Look how look at the red Uh Cloud coming our way So I I'm very serious about Not putting people in harm's way Marriott doesn't make enough money that it can't not build a hotel in a fire zone Obscuring the the vision of cancer patients I've worked in hotels and I tell you you know if you're working a minimum wage job and you're part of your job Is to uh watch the fire come down the hill and try and get the people out You're going to run down to the highway and get out of there So uh, what what what can go wrong will go wrong and we've seen that It's it's it's it's strange Strangely ironic that this is being built on red barn circle. Yes. I remember the red barn We've had fires in that place for uh in not only at last year, but um Uh, you know in 1964 and I believe twice Before in in the last century. So we will ex we expect to have more fires and The idea that they're going to create some kind of situation where the fire isn't going to impact those people is very strange um if If this was a toxic waste site, we wouldn't have a question In fact, it's a toxic fire site and we do have to question it Are they going to put a warning label on the On the desk when you come in this point this area is is uh, um subject to horrendous fires Please take that into account when you go to bed tonight That that seems unlikely. Um I wonder given this situation if the city wouldn't be complicit If those folks go up in flames Certainly morally Complicit if we allow this to go on Legally complicit as well This has happened before there's no reason it won't happen again I do hope that you will uh turn down the appeal. Thank you very much Thank you Dave. Michelle kane followed by jill good giddie My name is michelle kane and i've been a nurse in this community for over 30 years working with oncology patients So it is very near and dear to me personally But the whole reason that we all work at the cancer center is for our patients And I appreciate all of those that spoke tonight And um endure the long evening and thank you for staying and listening to us too Everything has been said already tonight. My only thought to convey is for you to envision being a patient At the cancer center And so the first time you go in you're very nervous just like me speaking now You're very frightened because this is all new to you. You've received so much information that you cannot even take it all in It's so overwhelming to hear about all the drugs you're going to receive The care that you're going to receive the medicines that we have to call in for you to take at home Oh and here let me show you this environment. So we bring them back and show them the infusion center Because we're very proud of it And because of that serene environment that we try to put our patients in That's what you need to envision because we want to create a positive environment for them so that they can receive the treatment As a whole person with all the compassion we can give them And so yes patients were there for up to eight hours a day receiving treatment sitting in a chair the whole time And luckily they do have caregivers that come in and sit with them But the other thing that they enjoy and the ones that are there for eight hours They're picking those front chairs where they can see that view Because that can take them away from having that treatment at the moment and being in a nice Nice environment for them to take it all in So I only ask as many of you have is that we Don't Pose the building but to take away that view for patients You really have to put yourself in that environment and see what it does Thank you. Thank you Jill followed by tom pondland Hi, thank you for having us here My name is Jill gidge re I've been an oncology nurse. This is my 39th year I've been physically in the round barn Building for 20 years and we've been part of st. Joe's at providence st. Joe's For about five years. I can totally attest to what dr. Richardson says about the 1999 I think Assault on us that they wanted to build a building there on office building so This hasn't gone away and and we would like it too because it's it's a tough thing to haul through for 20 years now But I would also like to say that And kim and the research people can probably concur is that We do we do a lot of research at our building as well And one of the things that just about all research trials Have a part in or they they have a part in this is quality of life And this is what our patients are seeking is some kind of You were mentioning a new normal after the fire. They had they have to get a new normal Once they've been told they had cancer So, you know quality of life is just such an enormous issue for these patients And to take that away. I know a view doesn't sound like a lot But as you've heard tonight the view is everything to some of these people As uh to recent mention we see lots of wildlife out there. We see As my co-worker Amanda would say in her british accent we see hawks, which I call a hawk We see hawks and we see deer and we see, you know, just all of them in their natural habitat, which is wonderful Or as best it can be in their natural habitat But um, it's just a beautiful thing and as michelle, I'll echo what a lot of people said we don't necessarily pose the The hotel we know we need hotel rooms. We lost most we lost the hilton. We lost the fountain grove in Maybe you could consider putting it somewhere else I don't think those two places are rebuilding. Maybe you could rebuild on that property That's just my thought but Just to to know that These patients are being cared for and the way they are and to have that view Just means the world to them and to us as well as caregivers. I mean I think everybody mentioned too the beautiful sunsets. We were able to see You know, we're not going to be able to see that if you put that building in front of us So, um, please consider Denying this application but also to Maybe they can come back with A better setup or a better plan um, I don't really want them in front of us at all but That's just my opinion and uh, because you can still see the Would see the rooftop probably so um, please do this for those that Are going through this terrible time in their lives And help them. Thank you. Thank you. Tom conlon followed by tom amato Hi there, I'm tom conlon with cr club sonoma group and a supporter of the alliance for adjust recovery We oppose granting this conditional use permit for the reasons already given by your planning commission We would hope you would uphold that deliberative decision making We haven't prepared any formal comments. So the comments to follow are my own personal comments and i'm not being compensated Uh, hopefully you'll make your decision tonight In out of respect for all the people who have taken the time to come out tonight I believe the applicant did have plenty of time to prepare Uh, the new matters that they brought just before you today The city's been aware of the risks of building in the fire zone for a very long time Since I was a toddler and i'm not feeling That's spry anymore Quite recently city reiterated its knowledge of the fire risk when you updated your local hazard mitigation plan But plans don't aren't aren't enough knowledge alone Doesn't do what we need to do. We need to actually act on that knowledge If you allow this appeal tonight and grant this conditional use permit Then I would take this as a sign that you have forgotten the horror of the firestorm We've all suffered Less than a year and a half ago That you are in denial of that fact That climate change presents an existential threat To our business's usual development process In denial of our need to adapt to this new abnormal If you can't help yourselves tonight and you insist on letting this applicant build a large new hotel for transient occupants Unfamiliar with how to escape this building during an emergency I respectfully request That you add three conditions to the permit Number one I would ask that you require the applicant to name the hotel the tubs fire memorial hotel In honor of the 44 people who died in that tragic event Two that you require precautionary operational shutdown During any forecasted low humidity high wind events PG&E is having to deal with this new reality Others who build in the fire zone should should be prepared to evacuate in advance And lastly, I would ask that you require the applicant to ensure that guests watch at the time of check-in A brief video i'm thinking about five minutes ought to do it To teach them the risks that this That their check-in is about to subject them to and To inform them of the proper evacuation procedures So that they can be safe. Thank you for your consideration my comments. Thank you tom tomomoto followed by chris thompson I'm tomomoto, and i'm the chairperson of the oakmont democratic club Um in oakmont we've been having conversations around three things since the fire One is how expensive housing is for many of the folks here in this county and city Also concerned about the environment after the fire and with ongoing climate change and global warming Where we're headed with that and third whether corporations international corporations matter more than people This concerns us in three areas first Not all tour while tourism is good. Not all tourism is good So one question is when you're creating more hotels where you're paying minimum wage Maybe even $15 an hour. Where are people going to live? It seems like this Exacerbates are already bad housing crisis If they're going to build this shouldn't they make some commitments to housing for the people that are going to work there um, secondly Living close to anadel park and Listening to the various fire fighters here who really thought you know did some noble work I'm not completely sure that planners always plan ahead For the extent of a disaster that climate change can can bring about And it's nice to hear there's a plan for the future that's going to make us all safe from fires But maybe the hotel should wait till after that plan to actually implement it Not while it's still in the planning stages because plans can go bad Oakmont's a good example when they built oakmont they built two exits for 5 000 people Somebody wasn't thinking ahead when they did that right as far as fires because that wasn't even in their imagination when they built oakmont Fountain Grove They knew there was a history of fires there and now you're going to build a dense property there The third thing is uh, I was a little taken back that, um The marriott corporation basically asked for continuum tonight. Um Partly because obviously they had dialogues on with staff and gotten staff kind of on their their their side um But it seemed like Sometimes corporations will Have paid lawyers paid consultants and they're happy to stall The people I notice are the people who here are cancer survivors residents other community folks They're the folks that are taking their evening and their whole day off to be here Do their voice matter more than some corporation that isn't even located actually in santa rosa So I would recommend to the council that they either Uphold the planning commission's recommendation Or if you're not going to do that at least mandate that marriott dialogue with the cancer facility Dialogue with the green belt alliance and dialogue with the alliance for a just recovery to come up with with As a statement that the people matter more in this case than a corporation that's not from santa rosa. Thank you Thank you, tom Chris thompson followed by george uberty Um Yeah, is this on hello. Yes Yeah, good evening, or is it good morning city council. We've been here a long time now Um, my name is chris thompson and I live out at oakmont. I'm a member of the oakmont progressives And probably you all know that oakmont is a retirement community of about 5 000 people That's located about 10 minutes east of santa rosa right off of highway 12 It will forever be seared in my brain the experience of evacuating october 9 2017 5 000 people It is my strong belief that putting a 114 room hotel in a burn zone Of a fire wildfire area is irresponsible And inappropriate The planning commission has already voted no The city council should reject this appeal. Thank you Thank you chris george uberty followed by tim shram So I heard hotel And uh, and I thought Shelter I thought temporary shelter For people with money Right, I think I'd like to call back to some of my earlier comments When I was talking about are these homeless people? Right or are these disabled people right people who can't take care of themselves You know, they're going to be homeless if you don't take care of them There are responsibility and we're neglecting the fact that we have a factual obligation to them right now When we talk about this hotel all of the sudden it's not a shelter anymore Right depending on how we think about it, right? We're we're sitting here and we're behaving as if we're artificially bound By things that are outside of ourselves Right when in fact, it's it's a matter of how we choose to think about it, right? That's what a democracy is we designate what something is We classify how we think about things. Is this a homeless person, right? Is this a disabled person? Is this a shelter? Is it a hotel? Okay? These are not things that are decided by factors that are outside of us Right. These are these are factors that are decided by us personally Okay, so behaving as if you know, we our hands are tied. No, they are not our hands are not tied Right, we choose what we want to do Okay, and and this constant abdication of responsibility to factors that are outside of ourselves this this perpetual Oh, it's it's it's reminds me of the phrase. I was just following orders. Oh, we could no we need to locate our own responsibility Okay, and it's right here in this room All right, so you can stall Right and you can play these games and you can pretend all right, but you have got to stop pretending sometime All right, that time is right now Okay, we cannot just keep postponing these things until they explode in our face. It's not the adult thing to do All right And I I I just I don't know what it's going to take to get that through to you Okay, but but this is if there's one thing I represent It's that we're not going to pretend until later and then it actually it just snaps shut on us. No stop pretending right now All right, and accept your responsibilities All right, this is ridiculous being adult. Thank you very much Tim shram followed by joe deetson Good evening mayor vice mayor and council members. My name is tim shram I'm a licensed civil engineer in the state of california and principal with adobe associates here locally We're the civil engineers and surveyors for the project over the past three years We've worked with the city staff and the design review board matter of fact We actually went to four meetings with the design review board And to fine-tune the development that you see before you today There was a lot of work that was put into this design I'd like to speak to the grading and point out how the project enhances the natural site features The building is located in the least slope portion of the site and oriented parallel to contour And the foundation was designed to step with the contour of the property development falls within the footprint of the development That was anticipated for this site when the subdivision was created in the early 90s And is disturbing a similar footprint area The project respects the natural features of the site and visually blends with the adjacent properties The project minimizes alteration of topography and drainage patterns Disturbance to the site is limited to the footprint Building sidewalks parking and utilities leaving a large portion of the site Undisturbed and naturally vegetated That's all I have for you tonight. Thank you very much for your consideration. Thank you Joe Dietzen followed by Darlene Whitlock Good evening mayor and city council As a resident of santa rosa, I wanted to say that I support the hotel. I think that it provides A benefit to the city and the community The hotel will provide needed tot tax to the city especially at this times of Of some financial strain to the city I think it provides between 20 and 30 Jobs to the people who will be working the hotel It's under local ownership It also provides overnight accommodations to Businesses who Who are operate who are up on the in the fountain grove area when they have a need for conventions And conferences and they need hotel rooms. So right now with the especially after the loss of the 400 rooms after the fire It's a It's going to take a while for those hotel rooms to be rebuilt. So I think the 114 rooms at the marriott would be a A very good addition to the city. Thank you. Thank you I'm sorry. Is it Darlene followed by june? Good evening. Thank you mayor spend help on members of the city council. My name is Darlene Whitlock I'm a principal of W trans which are transportation Engineering firm here in san aroza. We prepared the traffic impact study for this. I am also a licensed Civil engineer as well as a professional traffic engineer and a professional traffic operations engineer if you want all of that I just wanted to address a couple of comments that came up about the project We are on the applicant have been working for the applicant One of the comments had to do with there being cumulative traffic impacts Which we just wanted to note that there is a future scenario in the traffic impact study that addresses long-range traffic operation And the project does not have any significant traffic impacts Either in the short term or in the longer term There are also some comments about the 30 foot width of the road being inadequate to provide Two-way traffic as well as parking on one side In fact 28 feet is wide enough for two-way traffic and parking on one side So 30 feet is is actually more than adequate for for that particular configuration The fact that it's a public private street versus a public street is not really relevant I'd be willing to I didn't know it was a private street to be honest So it's not something that's readily apparent to the public just by driving on it And then finally the last issue that we wanted to address from the traffic study perspective was the parking We actually did some parking. We've done parking occupancy counts here in san aroza and the parking demand At peak occupancy was less than one space per room. That includes all the guests all the event attendees Uh anybody who's working One of the things about a park about a hotel and its parking demand Is that it varies over the course of the day the bulk of the employees are there during the day when when you have the all the Housekeepers and and groundskeepers and anybody else on site at night when the guests tend to be there You have just a couple of night staff. So there's very limited Parking demand later at night. Um, we also find that in general people When traveling that there doesn't necessarily have to be one one vehicle per room a lot of times you'll have multiple Rooms occupied by people in one car So with that if there are questions, I'd be happy to answer them, but that's all I had for you Thank you tom sells Thank you. This is a difficult decision here for you this evening sorry My name is tom sells and i'm a civil engineer civil and environmental and I would put a big e on that for environmental and I have designed many Hotel sites. I'm not being compensated Oh, I mentioned that We'd say looking at the site Most times when you look at a hotel site or any site as far as development and in regard to fire is that Fire climbs the hill And in this case, we don't see that we had we had a I mean that would be the usual Circumstance, and we had something very unusual And the fire came down the hill and it's a it's an environmental Pressure differential that caused that a huge one And it's very unique and and but it creates a really terrible fire situation It's going to be pretty tricky to get people up and out either way on those on those exits whether they're the one to the east or the other one up above and and to the west or northwest north and then west um And what my experience is that you would see a Road on the on the side that's opposite of where the fire would be coming from So in the case normally you would have something Coming up the hill and you would want to be able to escape up the hill Or in this case with fire coming down the hill you would want to be able to escape down the hill And there happens to be a road at fountain grove in that comes around And and you I would recommend that you Ask them to make a gravel access road. They have to pay for it, but it's it's not very much It's only going to be used in case of emergency Um And in the event that they and and one thing about Environmental impact of the of the traffic is that the that's going to be measured by vehicle miles traveled It's not going to be measured by how many cars are there right at any one time It's the overall vehicle miles traveled at this point And I did a hotel designed for chris hemeter at monarch beach and he's one of the largest hotel developers And they had to sell the property because it was fixed the development was fixed between the golf course Which was existing and the and the roadway above and it didn't match the design The fixed design that they had that they wanted to put on the site And when he sold it he made more money on that Sale than he made in all the hotels that he ever made before all the ones in hawaii and everything And he was able to retire so in a way It was a good thing that he sold it and we weren't able to actually accommodate that design for him But he sold it in the case. I hope they can't accommodate it, but maybe they have to do some things. Thank you Thank you, mr. Ells Would there is there anyone else in the chamber would like to Comment make comments to the council. Please state your name and go ahead. Thank you. My name is jerry burnhout Uh, i'm an environmental attorney. I represent california river watch I was the lead counsel in the sequa case that overturned The sonoma county climate action plan The primary grounds for overturning The county's climate action plan Was its failure to account For thousands of tons of greenhouse gas emissions generated by global tourism And wine distribution So to me it's just a total travesty To listen to you people Ringing your hands over fire safety contemplating approving a project that's just going to exacerbate climate change and Make the conditions worse that is that are generating all these extreme climate events According to the international panel for climate change every round trip flight From california to new york Generates two to three tons of greenhouse gas emissions per person That's about 10 percent Of the average yearly per capita emissions The simple reality is that this This economy we have here Based on global travel and wine distribution is a disaster for climate change And the fact that you people seem to be Haven't even mentioned that Tells me that you are oblivious To the realities of climate change I would encourage you first of all to certainly reject this project And to read the decision by superior court judge nancy schaefer Rejecting the county's climate action plan And get some understanding of the realities of what we're dealing with Thank you Thank you Would anyone else like to make go ahead and and see at least speaking for concerned citizens for santa rosa I have to I think we should all acknowledge the benefit of the public process when addressing this issue The amazing reality of people staying up this late because they care I think you council mayor and council have been given a gift in that there is one variable that you have In your hands that is the solution redesign of the project re Replacement in on the lot or changing the the uh The height and and the Confirmation of the building That's something you can do Or you can require So I I hope that you'll take that choice. Thank you. Thank you. Is there anyone else who would like to address the council See no one else As I mentioned at the start of this hearing I am not going to close the hearing Let me first tell you the decision I'm going to be making and then I'll open up for other comments. I am we are going to continue this hearing and as I said in the very beginning There was a request from the appellant to continue this And the reason I thought it was important when all you folks stayed here as long as we have It's important for you to hear it and I wanted the appellant to hear what everyone had to say here on all sides of it And so I'm hoping and I heard enough comments coming from representatives of st. Joseph's And when I took a tour of the cancer center, it was like we're not opposed to this project just not blocking the view So i'm hoping the appellant is hearing and heard everything that council heard because we're not I know I certainly i'm not going to forget the comments that we heard tonight But if the project could be moved further north on the property is 4.6 acres Figure it out because again, it's a very difficult position to put a council in because they're compelling arguments on both sides And it's difficult and I want to give another opportunity for both the appellant and st. Joseph's come out to a solution that makes it a win-win for this community That's what I am really certainly looking for so with the Authority of the mayor of the presiding officer of this hearing I am going to continue this to a data uncertain and we will repost it So there will not be any surprises, but we will repost it and for those of you that made comments It's in the record and again for at least the five of us here We are not going to be forgetting those comments and prior to moving on to the next time I do want to open up to council if there's any other direction you would like to give to either Either side of these cases or to staff in these further deliberations before we continue this public hearing I'm seeing nodding heads councilmember combs. Would you like to start? Thank you, and thank you. I understand we will be continuing and I do want to thank the public for Um much of your very moving testimony and I I appreciate your Concerns about proper care and treatment and I want you to know that that As my colleague has said and as I suspect we will all say we have heard that I understand that essential element to treatment Um, I have some additional questions that I hope staff will bring back From the applicant which I heard from some other Folks commenting not related to the cancer center And that was whether or not we had union or minimum wage or Living wage Agreement with the marriott $15 or more or what? I know that I have in the past specifically asked other hotels If they had implemented a policy of emergency alert for staff who worked alone in the rooms We have had instances of of women who were working alone in rooms having Assaults And having an automatic alert system for them Is a safety precaution that some cities have mandated We have not had the conversation about mandating that But I have started asking that at each hotel hoping that we can solve this voluntarily instead of by Mandating it I would like to express to some of the speakers that I take The predictability of construction processes very seriously I think we should have very predictable processes Um, I think that predictability extends to the people who are doing the building as well as to our residents and to Tourists who are visiting us um I have a considerable concern about New projects in fount grove until we have in place As a council the appropriate cwpp cope Uh and other uh safety Issues that we've had the chance to have the conversation and resolve them So I would Would certainly want to at least have the applicant Make some agreements with regard to The safety of the project With what are likely cw pp will be in the future I will comment that I regularly hear the Well, we have earthquakes to comment Um, and I'm going to address it this time. Sometimes I let it get to me and sometimes I don't Um buildings are typically built for 60 to 100 year life cycle We have our earthquakes on 100 year or more cycle for major disasters And if you build your property, right The property adjacent to you generally doesn't cause you to be destroyed in an earthquake But in a wildfire setting, that's not the case an adjacent property that is not taken care of the wildfire Circumstances properly can cause you to burn down because they've fueled the fire And we're looking at fires every 30 years or less So I view these as very different disasters and agree that we need disaster planning and I'm looking forward to the cope and the cwpp coming forward In the future, I hope that the applicant will work with our fire department on predicting What we need to have in order for me to approve Uh a project in advance of our full conversation at the council. Thank you Yes, let me Thank you mayor schwedhelm I want to thank the representatives of the marriott and as the representatives of st joseph's and the patients and the public for staying as late as you all have tonight This project is in my jurisdiction and is something that i'm very concerned about and there's really no great options And um, you know in mayor schwedhelm's wisdom, we don't have to decide tonight But I would like to share with you some of my thoughts before We go home. Um, hopefully we get to go home soon Um, I hope so At any rate, um, there there are as you're well aware competing is interest My heart goes out to the the cancer center and the patients and the wonderful work that you do And i'm very grateful that you opened yourselves up to to so many members Of you know our community and beyond I'm also aware that we have great economic need for these hotel rooms to be built And so I appreciate the interest of the marriott in trying to get this done And I don't mean to impugn the uh the integrity of mr. Walsh I want to let you know that I just believe that the public has a right to know But that i'm certain that you act with integrity And mr. Rumble's word means a lot to me That having been said, um, you know This is going to be a tough act for balancing the wellness for survivors tourism and the economy and What mr. Rumble said really meant something to me that we should allow for predictability in economic decisions And both of your arguments frankly hinge on exceptions to The codes one would be an exception to you know fire safety or having a plan built before This is my opinion. You can shake your head if you like. However It's terrifying to me to add fuel to a fire quite literally and It is not a private view. I mean it is not a public view. It's a private institution That chooses to open itself up to the public So that having been said When you come back The decision for me Living in your neighborhood is going to be based on safety I'm going to need to believe that it's safe and that it complies With whatever codes we have in place at the time and that it's going to need to be Not just economically and environmentally Acceptable but hopefully we'll exceed that I'd like to see an electric I don't think you need to plum for gas I think you can do an all electric build or at least be electric ready I'd like to see you go above and beyond because your building will burn down Any comments vice mayor rogers mr. Alvarez Nothing too specific Mayor I just do want to again. Thank everybody who who spoke today, but again for me It's you know, we have very specific land use policies And I think that is important and again going back to what peter rumble. I think others had said it too I think predictability and what we're going to do is very important for all of us to get things done But saying that I think there's also always room for compromise where we can get it But I think that there are some potential new information that we can Gather between now the next time that will be helpful for us So I look forward to getting that information and reconvening to make some decisions Great. Thank you. And I also want to extend My gratitude for the folks that stuck around here As our community is still recovering from the fires, you know, when I was at the Cancer center I could almost see my house from there. I live in the coffee park area And so it's very real. It's very personal And I what my intent is my hope is is that both st. Joseph's and The appellant can come up with a resolution that works for everyone because really I think that's what this community needs Working together to come to some successful resolution So I also wanted to just go back to what one of our speakers can the cancer survivors said I'm looking for like what he was asking for any way any wiggle room. Let's find it and let's get this to everyone's joint satisfaction So that it will continue item 16 from this agenda to a future date and it will be reposted the notice So thank you for your attendance I'm continuing that right. Is there any other direction you need for me on that? I am. Nope. That's all. Thank you Is there any written communication? No written communications. Yep Do we have any additional speaker cards? If we could So for you those that are still I do want to adjourn the meeting and unfortunately If folks could keep quiet, please Like to adjourn the meeting in the memory of someone who recently passed this weekend If you could please step outside if you're going to talk I'd like to adjourn the meeting in memory of someone who passed this weekend Please out of respect if you could either stay and be quiet or leave the chamber Some of you may have read in the paper Retired senator was a police officer. Gary Kinzer passed this last Sunday And I know Gary had a big impact on my life as a police officer He was hired in 1974 by Sal Rosano And sal had taken over the police department from dutch floor and it was a huge transition To professionalize the agency that it's known for today that started with sal Rosano and gary kinser was one of those first officers that started That transition in the paper It said he was a cops cop and although I had a lot of respect for him because the guy had an uncanny ability Of doing the right thing and finding people if you were wanted for something gary would find you But I really think he was a people's cop because he was one of the most kindest human beings And he said that guy's the biggest stead we are on the force you'd look at gary and you'd go that guy He's just quality and I know councilmember oliver has probably had some similar thoughts so Also in 1985 he was the california state police officer of the year and it was just It was an honor I'm very proud to serve with gary and do you have any comments you'd like to make before I adjourn this meeting with gary There are a lot of great memories and stories of gary kinser I think a very humble man and a very ethical man who Loved his job and loved his community and you're right. It was not so much a cops cop He was a people's cop because he was for the community. So thank you for doing this, mayor So I'm going to adjourn this meeting in memory of gary kinser