HomeMy WebLinkAbout01-20-2022 City Council Special MeetingSaratoga City Council Minutes ~ January 20, 2022 ~ Page 1 of 4
MINUTES
THURSDAY, JANUARY 20, 2022
SARATOGA CITY COUNCIL
SPECIAL MEETING
At 7:00 p.m., the City Council held a Special Meeting via teleconferencing through Zoom.
Mayor Walia called the meeting to order at 7:00 p.m. via teleconferencing through Zoom.
Prior to Roll Call, the City Clerk explained the City Council meeting was conducted pursuant to
State law as recently amended by Assembly Bill 361, which allows the meeting to be conducted
entirely by teleconference. The City Council has met all the applicable notice requirements and
the public is welcome to participate. All Council Members, staff, and meeting attendees
participated by Zoom. Information on how the public can observe the meeting and provide public
comment was provided.
ROLL CALL
PRESENT: Mayor Tina Walia, Vice Mayor Kookie Fitzsimmons, Council
Members Mary-Lynne Bernald, Rishi Kumar, Yan Zhao
(All Council Members appearing via teleconference)
ABSENT: None
ALSO PRESENT:
James Lindsay, City Manager
Richard Taylor, City Attorney
Crystal Bothelio, Assistant City Manager
Britt Avrit, City Clerk
Debbie Pedro, Community Development Director
Lauren Pettipiece, Public Information Officer
Nicole Johnson, Senior Planner
(All staff members appearing via teleconference)
REPORT ON POSTING OF THE AGENDA
The City Clerk reported the agenda for this meeting was properly posted on January 19, 2022.
Mayor Walia discussed the amount of public comment received at each of the Housing Element
public meetings and requested the City Council consider reducing the public speaking time to one
minute and consider if the Council would like to limit the public comment time period at this
meeting.
BERNALD/KUMAR MOVED TO CHANGE THE PUBLIC COMMENT SPEAKING TIME
TO ONE MINUTE PER PERSON. MOTION PASSED BY VERBAL ROLL CALL. AYES:
BERNALD, KUMAR, ZHAO, FITZSIMMONS, WALIA: NOES: NONE. ABSTAIN: NONE.
ABSENT: NONE.
Saratoga City Council Minutes ~ January 20, 2022 ~ Page 2 of 4
AGENDA ITEM
1. EIR Project Description for Housing Element and General Plan Update including Housing
Opportunity Sites Selection, Policies, and Programs
Recommended Action:
Provide direction on the Housing Opportunity Sites, distribution of units, and policies and
programs to include in the project description for the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for
the General Plan and Housing Element Update.
Debbie Pedro, Community Development Director, provided answers to questions received
during public comment on January 19, 2022.
Mayor Walia invited public comment on the item.
The following individuals spoke on this item: Dhans, Brenda, Kate Shen, Siva M, James Foley,
Lisa Newman, Jill Hunter, Glenda Aune, Anne Johnson, Elango, Hao Ge, Frank Schneider,
Anoop Kumar, Jose Nunez, Lochan Narvekar, Doug Robertson, Hadi Ghafouri, Ashok
Madanahalli, Ryan, Vish, Savitha, Athena Carter, Sundar, Curt Blanchi, Joy Ciffone, Nancy
Lietzke, Scott Connelly, Priya Panchatcharam, Joanne, Bashyam Anant, Concerned Citizen,
Timothy McNally, Ken, Ying Shan, Rashmi Shrivastava, Steve Diamond, Debbie, Adya,
Priya, Vivian, Kavita, Joe, Erin, Xiaofeng Wu, Terry Cabrinha, Leon Zhang, Denise Xu,
Andrey Tovchigrechko, Terry Ward, Resident Input, Sam, Zoom User, Brian & Cynthia, Scott
Adams, Arthur Lee, Cristina, Renee Paquier, Bill Cooper, Maria, M, Karen, Steve, Divya,
Sanjeev, Doug Boling.
Mayor Walia requested a recess and reconvened the meeting at 9:21 p.m.
BERNALD/FITZSIMMONS MOVED TO CONTINUE THE HOUSING ELEMENT
ITEM TO JANUARY 28, 2022 IN PLACE OF THE CITY COUNCIL RETREAT,
REQUESTED STAFF INCLUDE INFORMATION ON THE PROSPECT CENTER,
THE COUNTRY CLUB, MONTALVO, QUITO/POLLARD PROPERTY, AND
REQUESTED THE CITY COUNCIL PROVIDE ADDITIONAL SITES FOR
CONSIDERATION TO STAFF BY 8:00 AM MONDAY, JANUARY 24, 2022 MOTION
PASSED BY VERBAL ROLL CALL. AYES: BERNALD, ZHAO, FITZSIMMONS,
WALIA: NOES: KUMAR. ABSTAIN: NONE. ABSENT: NONE.
COUNCIL ASSIGNMENTS
Council Member Mary-Lynne Bernald
Nothing to report.
Vice Mayor Kookie Fitzsimmons
Hakone Foundation Board – stated admission and gift shop sales are up
Saratoga City Council Minutes ~ January 20, 2022 ~ Page 3 of 4
Council Member Rishi Kumar
Nothing to report.
Council Member Yan Zhao
Valley Transportation Authority (VTA) Policy Advisory Committee - elected Council Member
Moore from the City of Cupertino as Chair and Council Member Lopez from the City of Campbell
Vice Chair, adopted FY 2021-2022 budget, received a Measure B update, approved Transportation
Development Act funding for design of a multi-use pedestrian and bicycle trail.
West Valley Sanitation District – stated she has been selected as the Chair and Vice Mayor Ristow
from the Town of Los Gatos was selected as Vice Chair.
Mayor Tina Walia
Hakone Foundation Board & Executive Committee - stated the Committee approved a minor
bylaw change to streamline processes related to terms of Trustees, received a Treasurer’s Report
presentation, discussed the Finance Committee recommendations, and discussed the increase in
attendance.
Silicon Valley Clean Energy Authority Board of Directors - stated the Board elected City of
Campbell Council Member Gibbons as the Chair and the City of Los Altos Hills, Mayor Tyson
as Vice Chair, selected the five members of the Executive Committee and established an Ad-Hoc
committee to address legislative and regulatory responses.
Cities Association of Santa Clara County-Legislative Action Committee - discussed the 2022 goals.
Cities Association of Santa Clara County-City Selection Committee – stated the Committee elected
Morgan Hill City Council Member Yvonne Martinez Beltran as the ABAG Executive Board
Alternate, elected Sunnyvale City Council Member Glenn Hendricks to the Measure A Oversight
Committee, appointed Sunnyvale City Council Member Russ Melton to the Silicon Valley
Regional Interoperability Authority Board of Directors and the Town of Los Gatos Council
Member Matthew Hudes as the alternate.
Cities Association of Santa Clara County – stated the Board discussed goal setting and received
the Planning Collaborative Update.
Council Finance Committee - stated the Committee received a report regarding the Annual
Comprehensive Financial Report and an audit report.
CITY COUNCIL ITEMS
None
COUNCIL COMMUNICATIONS
Council Member Kumar invited the public “submit your request to go through the RHNA number
audit.”
CITY MANAGER'S REPORT
None
Saratoga City Council Minutes ~ January 20, 2022 ~ Page 4 of 4
ADJOURNMENT
FITZSIMMONS/BERNALD MOVED TO ADJOURN THE MEETING AT 12:02 A.M.
MOTION PASSED BY VERBAL ROLL CALL. AYES: BERNALD, KUMAR, ZHAO,
FITZSIMMONS, WALIA: NOES: NONE. ABSTAIN: NONE. ABSENT: NONE.
Minutes respectfully submitted:
Britt Avrit, MMC, City Clerk
City of Saratoga