League News

Lisa McLain League News, Mountain View City Council, Observer Reports

Mountain View City Council Meeting April 2017

Council Goal Setting – Phase 2

Previously, the City Council set four major thematic goals for the coming two-year cycle. On April 18th, the Council ranked from among dozens of possible projects to fulfill those goals. City staff will further evaluate the feasibility and cost of the priority goals and return to Council for final approval before the budget is adopted in June. Here are some of the highly ranked projects organized by goal:

1. Protect Vulnerable Populations and Preserve Socioeconomic and Cultural Diversity

    • Study of registry, Sanctuary City, and Freedom City policies
    • Age-Friendly City initiatives (World Health Organization designation)
    • Homelessness and mental health services
    • Additional access to information and resources for immigrants
    • Initiatives for workers (local hire, wage theft)

2. Improve the Quantity, Diversity, and Affordability of Housing

    • Short-term residential rental regulations (Airbnb)
    • Request for proposals for development of downtown parking lot 12
    • Terra Bella area Visioning and Development Principles
    • Below Market Rate Ordinance update – Condo Mapping
    • Exploration of strategies to increase ownership

3. Strategies to Achieve Mobility, Connectivity, and Safety for People of All Ages

    • Comprehensive modal plan involving regional transit agencies and stakeholders.
    • An automated guideway connecting downtown to North Bayshore.
    • Exploration of a tax on employers to fund transportation improvements
    • Transit Center Master Plan
    • Bicycle corridor on Evelyn

4. Promote Environmental Sustainability with Measurable Outcomes

    • Reform the Environmental Sustainability Task Force
    • Explore new strategies for acquiring park land
    • Participate in South Bay Salt Ponds project with CA State Coastal Commission
    • North Bayshore Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Measures & Performance Measurements

Appointment of Rental Housing Committee Members

Also on April 18th, after a lengthy and contentious interview process lasting several months, the Council formally appointed the five members and one alternate to the new Rental Housing Committee, established by the Community Stabilization and Fair Rent Act (adopted as Measure V in November 2016). The Committee is charged with developing the regulatory framework for the rent stabilization program, appointing hearing officers, and adjudicating petitions by tenants and landlords.

In a surprise change, the Council decided by a 4-3 vote to appoint Human Relations Commissioner Evan Ortiz to the Committee instead of designating him as the alternate. Attorney Julian Pardo de Zela was instead appointed as the alternate. The remaining members of the Committee are former Mayor Tom Means, landlord Matthew Grunewald, property manager Vanessa Honey, and mechanical engineer Emily Ramos. Of the members, only Ortiz and Ramos are renters.

City Budget and Five-Year Capital Improvement Program

Council continues to craft the budget for the next fiscal year. In a special study session on Thursday, April 27th, City staff reported an estimated $18.9 million operating balance for Fiscal Year 2016-17, prior to $4 million contributions to City employee retirement and post-employment health benefits and $2.5 million to reserves. The remaining $12.4 million is recommended to fund limited-period expenditures, supplement reserves, and make additional contributions towards the City’s unfunded employee benefit liabilities. The Council largely approved the staff recommendations, the most significant of which is to allocate a one-time $10 million contribution to pay down the unfunded liabilities and use revenue generated from the Google Amphitheatre parking agreement to pay down an additional $10 million. The first public hearing of the budget is scheduled for June 13, and final adoption is scheduled for June 20.

On the same evening, the Council reviewed the Five-Year Capital Improvement Program. Again, the Council largely accepted the staff recommendations. Significant projects include the Rengstorff Aquatics Center design and construction, All-Inclusive Playground, Shoreline Boulevard Interim Bus Lane (a reversible bus-only/transit lane down the median of Shoreline Blvd), Shoreline Blvd at Highway 101 Pedestrian/Bicycle Overcrossing Construction, El Monte Corridor Study (for bicycle/pedestrian safety), and Mountain View Center for the Performing Arts Second Stage Addition (to allow concurrent use of the Main Stage and Second Stage). “Community Benefits” funding, a new source of money from development that precedes precise plans or receives exceptions to development standards, was also discussed by Council. Four projects received priority for Community Benefits funding: Rengstorff Grade Separation Environmental Clearance, Mayfield Tunnel (extending the San Antonio Caltrain Station tunnel across Central Expressway), Library Remodel, and Transit Center Master Plan Next Steps.

—Lucas Ramirez, Julie Lovins, Observers

Tricia Jordan League News

Bay Area Monitor: The Art of Supporting Open Space

Mt. Tamalpais from above Green Gulch” mutli-block woodcut print by Tom Killion, 2002.

 

Launched in 1975, the Bay Area Monitor is published six times a year by the League of Women Voters of the Bay Area Education Fund, and covers topics of regional interest such as transportation, air quality, water, open space, and land use issues in the nine-county San Francisco Bay Area.

The lead article in the current issue describes how land protection organizations work with artists to raise money to protect and strengthen our bond with the land.  The featured artist, Tom Killion, has donated his work to countless campaigns to protect our land, and is just one professional artist among many in the Bay Area who support land conservation in this way.

Thuy Thi Nguyen, Foothill College President (provided by Foothill College)
Max Beckman-Harned League News

Join us in Celebrating Another Successful Year!

Thuy Thi Nguyen, Foothill College President

This year’s League of Women Voters of the Los Altos-Mountain View Area Annual Meeting will be on Saturday, June 10th, 10am-1:30pm at Michaels on Shoreline.  Members will have the opportunity to vote for the next year’s officers and board members, discuss and approve the budget, policy priorities and bylaws changes and make recommendations to the new officers and board.

At our Annual Meeting you will be able to meet and hear remarks from Thuy Nguyen, President of Foothill College. Thuy Nguyen will address the role community colleges play in helping to strengthen our local economy and community.

Click here to download the 2017 Annual Meeting Kit.

Lisa McLain League News

Celebrating Women’s Month with Anna Eshoo

Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, California Congressional District 18, opened the afternoon conference on March 18, 2017, organized by three local women’s organizations, to address what Silicon Valley women can do to promote the positions we share for government action.

Ms. Eshoo began by observing that trusted organizations across the country have come together because they are patriots and wish to overcome the backward steps being taken in Washington, D.C. Right now in Congress there is one female representative to every three male representatives resulting in legislative action that often favors men and disadvantages women. Ms. Eshoo reaffirmed the need for persistent tenacity, regardless of the vote outcomes on legislation in Congress.

Ms. Eshoo asked participants to focus on three actions. Make your voice heard – rally, march, phone, and email. Focus on a mission and follow through by advocacy and by getting yourself or helping another woman get elected. Be a community leader – informed, respectful, listening, relentless.

Finally, Ms. Eshoo reminded us that there is a list of cuts in funding and regulations being made by the current administration “longer than El Camino Real”. It is up to us to find out the facts, take a position, and support it.

The participants divided into groups to develop one action on each of five topics. Jack Hamilton, a partner in Learn2Resolve, led the group on Unconscious Bias, affecting one’s ability to come to a resolution. Marcia Bianco, PhD, led the Gender Discrimination group. Beth Edmonds, Ambassador of Hope, led a group on Human Trafficking. Ruth Patrick, Director of WomenSV, led the talk about Domestic Violence found in high and low-income communities. Holly Pederson, PhD, hosted a discussion on Bullying.

The coordinators of the conference will compile the information and identify the one action for each topic as an outcome for the conference.

The meeting was organized by the Los Altos Women’s Caucus and co-sponsored by Los Altos-Mountain View American Association of University Women and Los Altos-Mountain View League of Women Voters.

—Claire Noonan

Los Altos-Mountain View American Association of University Women

Los Altos-Mountain-View League of Women Voters

Lisa McLain League News, Los Altos City Council, Observer Reports

Los Altos City Council March 2017

Los Altos City Council-March 2017

March 14, 2017

The City Council approved the draft implementation schedule for the 2017 Strategic Priorities as requested at the February 28, 2017 council meeting. The schedule includes the staff’s list of objectives and tasks with dates for implementing, and dates for stated objectives for each of the seven priorities. Also included are the financial and human resources required for implementation and completion. Staff has been divided into teams to deliver on each priority with quarterly updates and notification of changes that come up. Note that Hillview Civic Center is scheduled to break ground for the new project in December 2018 and be completed in December 2020. In addition, staff have scheduled the $2.5 million for improvement of safe school routes in Los Altos by 2018/19.

City Council concurred with the Community Engagement Plan (Priority 7) aligned with the Downtown Vision Process (Priority 1). The council heard from RRM Design Croup, represented by Debbie Rudd, and Land Econ Group, represented by Bill Lee. The presentation analyzed the strengths, challenges, constraints and offered policy recommendations. First, the consultant, Debbie Rudd, recommended ten ways to engage the community, including using an available commercial space as a “Step In” for city staff to get input, and sponsoring a “kick-off” event in March (if possible) to start the process.

Consultant Bill Lee presented four future scenarios for the downtown area, especially recommending the downtown as ideal for a pedestrian district. Scenario 1 describes small tweaks to downtown as it now stands. The next 3 describe plans with different levels of building height limits and amount of parking space per 1000 square feet. Of interest is Scenario 3 which accounts for public use like a theater and parking structures. After viewing the possible scenarios, seven recommendations from types of services to historic importance of structures were outlined. The final recommendation is to institute a review, using the community engagement strategies outlined to city council members.

March 28, 2017

Every two years the council is required by state law to reconsider speed limits in the city. Currently, Los Altos residents are troubled by the traffic on residential streets. City Council did not adopt Resolution #2017-12 that would have approved an engineering and traffic survey for raising the speed limit by 5 mph on Cuesta between Springer and San Antonio Road, one of many identified street segments of concern in Los Altos. Fourteen speakers who live on or near Cuesta said “no”, and, instead, asked for traffic calming measures, such as blinking lights at cross walks, speed bumps, raised curbs, mobile speed trailers, and increased visible speed limit signs.

Related to traffic concerns, the City Council by vote of 3/1 directed council members Jeannie Bruins and Lynette Lee Eng to act as liaisons with staff to coordinate changes for and to reconsider the responsibilities of the Planning and Transportation Commission and the Bicycle and Pedestrian Advisory Commission. Three speakers addressed the city’s problems with transportation commissions, suggesting a complete street commission and looking at resolutions by Fremont in the East Bay. Council member Jan Pepper requested a schedule and date when the group would come back with a result and/or options. Bruins suggested a month from now, April 2017.

—Claire Noonan, Observer

Lisa McLain League News, Mountain View City Council, Observer Reports

Mountain View City Council March 2017

Mountain View Transit Center Master Plan

To improve capacity, safety, bicycle/pedestrian connections, and integration with Downtown, a dramatic redesign of the Transit Center is underway. In the first phase of the planning process, the Council directed city staff to study closing Castro Street to vehicular traffic, creating a bicycle/pedestrian undercrossing to connect Castro with Moffett Boulevard, realigning Evelyn Avenue across Castro, and constructing a ramp connecting Evelyn to Shoreline Boulevard.

The second phase includes a comprehensive evaluation of many other elements of the Transit Center, including parking needs, land use, joint development, Centennial Plaza design, and shuttle pickup and drop-off facilities. On March 21st, the Council directed staff to explore a concept that includes underground parking, maximum joint development opportunities fully integrated in the Transit Center, bus and shuttle loading facilities along Central Expressway, a significantly expanded multi-level plaza area, and a ramp connecting Central Expressway to the underground parking garage. Much work remains to be done in this planning process, and there will be many opportunities for public input.

Regulation of On-Demand Mobile Fueling

In the same meeting, the Council considered regulations for a nascent industry: on-demand mobile fueling. This service allows individuals to submit a request for a gasoline fill-up through a mobile application, and the providers transport the fuel directly to the customer’s vehicle at any site. Although company representatives and satisfied customers both attested to the safety precautions taken by the fuel providers, the Council supported the recommendation of city staff and adopted a resolution enacting strong regulations of the industry based on the International Fire Code. The regulations include a site permitting process, which requires a permit for every address at which mobile fueling is provided, and effective prohibition of service in residential areas.

Strategies to Assist the Homeless

On March 7th, the Council approved a number of expenditures for programs and staffing increases to assist homeless members of our community. These include funding for an Outreach Worker and a Case Worker, exploration of a pilot RV waste disposal program, funding for Permanent Supportive Housing assistance and Rapid Rehousing for unstably housed residents, and funding for a Porta-Potti at Rengstorff Park to serve residents living in vehicles on Crisanto Avenue. The Council also supported strategies to encourage the development of interim and permanent supportive housing, including consideration of modifications of the Industrial to Residential Conversion Policy to make housing for the homeless easier to develop in areas currently zoned for industrial uses.

Gatekeeper Process & Long-Range Planning

Gatekeepers are development proposals that must go through a preliminary approval process because a discretionary action by the Council, like a General Plan or Precise Plan Amendment, is required. The Council must first authorize the use of staff resources for such a proposal before it can proceed to the entitlements process. Given an unprecedented number of gatekeeper proposals over the past few years, the Council directed staff to modify and standardize the process, which has been largely ad hoc. The Council supported requiring public noticing of gatekeeper applications (previously, only noticing in the Council agenda was required), adopting a rating system to evaluate applications, enforcing a time-limit for applications, and requiring applicants to resubmit a proposal if there is a transfer of ownership.

—Lucas Ramirez, Julie Lovins, Observers

Lisa McLain Foothill-De Anza Community College District, League News, Observer Reports

Foothill-De Anza Community College District March 2017

Foothill-De Anza Trustees

March 6, 2017:  An additional $1.3 million was appropriated for the renovation of the flint center parking structure.  New Tenure Recipients were approved and recognized for both colleges, five at Foothill and 9 at De Anza.

  A Report on the Foothill College Sunnyvale Center at the former Onizuka Air Force Station was read.  Total construction cost was $30.8 million.  It’s on 9.15 acres at Hwys 101 and 237, served by light rail and next to 4.6 acres reserved for homeless housing, which it might later expand into.  Its campus forms an equilateral triangle with the campuses of Foothill in LAH and De Anza in Cupertino.  It replaced the Middlefield Center in Palo Alto, starting last Sept. 26, 2016.  Demand for evening classes often overflows its parking, but it’s on light rail.  Estimated enrollment for 3 quarters of credit courses adds up to 6,483 students or 1211 FTES.      

February 6, 2017:  Vice Chancellor Kevin McElroy said that at De Anza L-7 renovation and campus wide electronic locks are nearing completion.  At Foothill building the new district offices began January 23, 2017 and should be completed by April, 2018.

   Executive Director Jory Hadsell discussed the On Line Education Initiative (OEI).  He said that 103 of the 113 California Community Colleges intend to migrate to Canvas course management system selected by OEI.  Vice Chancellor Joe Moreau said California saved 45% in negotiating an online plagiarism detection program.

January 9, 2017:  The trustees approved new certificates:  (1) at Foothill, instructional design & technology, and emergency medical technician  (2) at De Anza, programming in Python, quality control technician, women’s studies, and a new associate degree for transfer in anthropology.

   The Board approved a fee-based summer enrichment program for 2017 at three Cupertino district schools, involving 1st through 10th grades.

—Terry Terman, Observer

Lisa McLain League News, Mountain View Los Altos High School District, Observer Reports

Mountain View – Los Altos High School District (MVLA) March 2017

The College and Career Guidance Center Coordinators gave a presentation describing improvements made this year in response to visiting various high schools in the region.  Counselors at MVHS and LAHS each created a College Counseling Handbook for Juniors, paid for by the MVLA Foundation.  Board members requested that the two departments work together to combine their handbooks for next year.  Both departments increased advising for seniors and presentations for juniors.

Mike Mathiesen, Associate Superintendent, presented the Second Interim Budget report, which was approved.  The district is in a very good financial situation and will be able to meet its financial obligations for the 2016-17 fiscal year and two subsequent years while maintaining the minimum state mandated 3% reserve.  Additional donations of $160,000 (including $100,000 from the Tides Foundation) increased revenues compared with the First Interim Budget Report.  Lower medical premiums account for reduced expenditures of $821,000.  New board policy calls for a reserve of
the state-required 3% plus 17% (2 months expenses), which would be a total of $16.3 million.  The current budget has a reserve of $13.2 million due to insufficient revenues to meet the target reserve.  Budgets in future years will move towards a full 20% reserve.

The board passed a resolution in support of undocumented students and their families; endorsed Measure B, the Mountain View Whisman School District parcel tax which will be on the May 2 mail-in ballot; and voted for the incumbents in the California School Board Association (CSBA) Delegate Assembly Election.

— Sally Ahnger, Observer

 

Tricia Jordan League News

Justice for All

Keynote by Congresswoman Anna Eshoo, CA 18th Congressional District

In recognition of Women’s History Month, this forum will provide opportunities to hear about the current state of affairs both nationally and locally and to brainstorm ways we can promote local action in our communities on issues like sexism, bullying, unconscious bias, human trafficking and domestic violence.

Co-Sponsored by the American Association of University Women, Los Altos-Mountain View branch, and Los Altos-Mountain View Area League of Women Voters.

Max Beckman-Harned League News

After the Women’s March

On March 4, League members and friends met to discuss ways that the League can work to improve the tenor of conversation among people of different views and ways to inspire more voters to exercise their right to vote. Work groups emerging from the meeting were a Civil Discourse Team, a Voter Rights Team and an Action Alert Team. These teams will be meeting in the next couple of months to plan their activities. The discussions revealed that we have many resources available to us from Leagues across the country. To get involved, contact us.