Contents
25 sections- 01Opening, with the Mayor Pro Tem absentN
- 02“This patient showed up at the firehouse two days later”S
- 03A senior fair and a car-free happy hourX
- 04Mayoral announcements, and an art show award
- 05$15,000, and the only grant in two countiesS
- 06“Was that review sufficient?”SX
- 07“I was not notified during that phase”SS
- 08Sue Duncan
- 09The neighbor, who wants the crosswalkSX
- 10“We really need a place for the seniors”SX
- 11An artist from BarranquillaN
- 12The consent calendar
- 13Where does BART's jurisdiction end?S
- 14What Del Norte is actually buildingS
- 15“Sometimes there's buried pipes that were abandoned”SSX
- 16United Against HateX
- 17Title 24, and how building codes get made
- 18Six years without local amendmentsSSN
- 19WUI: a new standalone partS
- 20“What does it mean to introduce the ordinance?”X
- 21“So we're gonna have to wait 6 years”SS
- 22A typo, and a point-of-sale ideaS
- 23The highest-scoring transit project in the countySX
- 24“I had my interview with a service delivery study”SX
- 25Belva Davis
01 Opening, with the Mayor Pro Tem absent captions 1–10
0:00:05The October 7, 2025 regular City Council meeting is called to order at 6.02 p.m. Will the City Clerk please call the roll? Mayor Weisinger? Present. Mayor Pro Tem Kinto is absent. Councilmember Katsanis? Here. Councilmember Mochiyama? Here. Councilmember Saltzman? Here. We have a quorum.
0:00:24Thank you. The first item on the agenda is consideration under AB 24449. City Clerk, do we have any requests? We do not, Mayor. All right. Please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance or a moment of silence.
0:00:36I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.
0:00:41and to the republic for which it stands.
0:00:43One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
0:00:51The next item on the agenda is teleconference and public comment instructions from our City Clerk. Thank you, Mayor. This hybrid meeting provides an option to participate in person or via Zoom with closed captions available.
0:01:03Meetings of the City Council are subject to the Brown Act and are held for the purpose of conducting city business. The Brown Act also ensures the public's right to be heard, and while City Council is not able to respond to your comments directly, your comments will be heard prior to Council taking action.
0:01:17For members of the public who wish to provide oral testimony, the Mayor will announce the time for public comments on each applicable item. Public comments will be taken in person, and a request to speak can be submitted to the City Clerk by completing a speaker card.
0:01:31The Council's adopted Rules of Order and Procedure specify that public speakers address the City Council in an orderly and respectful manner.
0:01:38Proceed their comments with their name and city of residence, and be respectful of time limits. Thank you, Mayor. That concludes my instructions. All right, the next item on the agenda is Council Staff Communications. City Manager, do we have any staff communications? I do. I believe the Fire Chief would like to make a, staff announcement.
The meeting was called to order at 6:02 p.m. with Mayor Pro Tem Quinto absent — four members present.
No requests under AB 2449, and the Clerk read the standing teleconference and public comment instructions, including that speakers should give name and city of residence.
02 “This patient showed up at the firehouse two days later” captions 11–19
0:02:02Thank you very much. I'm Eric Saylors, I'm your Fire Chief. Announcement, we had an extraordinary save that is very rare in the world of the fire service, but our crew at Station 55 responded to a 44-year-old male at home in cardiac arrest. They initiated quality CPR. Quality CPR is something that
0:02:20It's very hard to do, but they did a, they did it effective enough to keep the person alive. They defibrillated them twice with their new EKG monitors.
0:02:29They got the heartbeat back, they got respirations back, and they transported that patient to the hospital. The probability of surviving an event like that across the nation is less than 9%.
0:02:40If you are very good at your job, sometimes you get a Mac.
0:02:43And this patient showed up at the firehouse two days later with his spouse.
0:02:48to thank the crews, and he was what is considered a CPC Level 1 save, that is cerebral perfusion category, a Level 1 that is the greatest level you can have when you survive CPR. He has minimal deficits and is alive today to spend the rest of his life
0:03:07With his family, and the actions of the crew were extraordinary.
0:03:11I know they do a fantastic job every day, they don't always get rewarded for it, but a save like that needs to be announced in public. Thank you for your support.
0:03:21Thank you so much, Chief Sailors. Oh, I'm sorry, City Manager, this is your report. Go ahead. It's the sun and my eyes. Just wanted to send along my thanks as well to our extraordinary crew. Thank you so much.
Fire Chief Eric Saylors opened staff communications with what he called “an extraordinary save that is very rare in the world of the fire service”: the crew at Station 55 responded to a 44-year-old man in cardiac arrest at home.
A crew had performed resuscitation successfully enough “to keep the person alive.” They defibrillated him twice with their new EKG monitors. “They got the heartbeat back, they got respirations back, and they transported that patient to the” hospital. Nationally, he said, the probability of surviving such an event is less than 9%.
“If you are very good at your job, sometimes you get a” result. “And this patient showed up at the firehouse two days later with his spouse” to thank the crews.
The clinical term: a CPC Level 1 save — cerebral performance category — meaning the patient survived neurologically intact, and was there “with his family.”
His reason for raising it: “I know they do a fantastic job every day, they don't always get rewarded for it, but a save like that needs to be announced in public.”
03 A senior fair and a car-free happy hour captions 20–26
0:03:40That… oh, I'm telling you, it's the sun in my eyes, I'm… I'm…
0:03:44Thank you so much, Madam Senior Manager. Any other announcements from the Council?
0:03:49Yes, Councilmember? Thank you, Mayor. I just want to point out that on October 24th, the Senior Resource Fair will be happening from 10 to 1 at the Community Center, and…
0:04:01I know you want to talk about that.
0:04:03No, I was gonna… Oh, okay. Okay. Any other announcements? Yes, Councilmember Sauce?
0:04:10There's an East Bay event that's coming to El Cerrito for the first time. It's called Car Free Happy Hour, but they welcome anybody who wants to help. It'd be easier to get around without a car. You don't actually have to be car-free to come, and it's going to be at Los Moles on October 15th.
0:04:27at 5.30 p.m, so if you're interested in helping making our streets safer for everyone, it's a great, fun place to come. Hope to see you there.
The Mayor briefly lost her place — “it's the sun in my eyes” — before moving to Council announcements.
A councilmember announced the Senior Resource Fair on October 24, from 10 to 1 at the Community Center.
Saltzman announced an East Bay event coming to El Cerrito for the first time: “Car Free Happy” Hour, at Los Moles on October 15 at 5:30 p.m. — “You don't actually have to be car-free to come.” Her pitch: “if you're interested in helping make our streets safer for everyone, it's a great” opportunity.
04 Mayoral announcements, and an art show award captions 27–33
0:04:36Thank you so much. And for mayoral announcements, on October 6th, I issued a mayoral proclamation in recognition of the impact of Alzheimer's and proclaiming October 18th as Walk to End Alzheimer's Day in El Cerrito. On October 7th, I signed a letter of support for a grant application by World One Radio to help fund enhancements to the World One July 4th celebration, which we all love very much.
0:05:00I do also want to acknowledge that last week I was able to join St. Peter's CME as they welcomed their new pastor. We've had the same pastor for several years now, so we've welcomed a new pastor all the way from Tupelo, Mississippi. The first thing that happened to her when she got here two days later, there was an earthquake.
0:05:17So that was quite a welcome to California. Also on this past Saturday, I was able to join Pete's in El Cerrito as they reopened after their big… after their big remodel. This was also celebrating their 20th year here in El Cerrito, so we are so excited. Thank you so much, Pete, for always being a long-standing partner here in El Cerrito.
0:05:38And on Friday the 3rd, I got to present the Mayor's Award at the art show, the El Cerrito Art Show, the 48th annual El Cerrito Art Show at the Community Center. I don't remember the name of the artist, but I can tell you that they won because their portrait was a glass portrait of Janet Abelson.
0:05:54And they had a lot of great… a lot of great art, but I said, if we're going to issue a mayoral award, it has to be the one… oh, Sylvia Morey! Sylvia Morey! Thank… thank you, Councilmember. I said, if it's gonna be a mayor's award, it has to be of Janet Abelson, so thank you, Sylvia, for that award-winning, presentation.
0:06:11Next on the agenda is oral communications from the public. Now is the time for members of the public who wish to provide public comments regarding matters not on the agenda, consent items, and presentation items. Requests to speak can be submitted to the City Clerk by completing a speaker card. Public comments will be taken in person only.
0:06:31Please remember to identify yourself and your city of residence at the beginning of your comments. City Clerk, please proceed. Thank you, Mayor. We have 5 requests to speak on this item.
Wysinger reported a mayoral proclamation on October 6 recognizing the impact of Alzheimer's and naming October 18 Walk to End Alzheimer's Day, and a letter on October 7 supporting a World One Radio grant application for the July 4th celebration. She had joined St. Peter's CME as they welcomed a new pastor from Tupelo, Mississippi, who arrived two days before an earthquake — “quite a welcome to California.” On Saturday she joined Pete's as it reopened after a remodel, in its 20th year in El Cerrito.
And on Friday the 3rd she presented the Mayor's Award at the 48th annual El Cerrito Art Show. It went to Sylvia Morey's glass portrait of former Mayor Janet Abelson: “if it's gonna be a mayor's award, it has to be of Janet Abelson.”
05 $15,000, and the only grant in two counties captions 34–51
0:06:41sorry, 6 requests to speak. Our first speaker is Gary Prost, followed by Michael McDougal.
0:06:49If it's on the consent calendar, this is also the time for consent calendar comment.
0:07:01Mayor Weisinger, City Council. I'm Gary Post, resident of El Cerrito, and with the El Cerrito Fire Safe Council.
0:07:09I sent you a… communication earlier today, but I did want to announce this in public.
0:07:16El Cerrito Fire Safe Council is pleased to announce
0:07:20It has been awarded a grant from the California Fire Foundation, Funded by PG&E,
0:07:27To clear vegetation along evacuation routes.
0:07:30on Rifle Range, VISTA, and Club View drives. These are all one-way in, one-way-out streets.
0:07:37This was a statewide program.
0:07:41It was $15,000, which is the maximum amount that was granted.
0:07:47And we're the only ones in all of Contra Costa County and Alameda County to get one of these grants.
0:07:56We also are pleased to announce the recent award of a Measure X grant. In this case, it's not money, but it's a 12-man crew to clear a 200-foot shaded fire break
0:08:07From the property lines at the…
0:08:10part of, Hillside Natural Area.
0:08:13Between Madeira School and Potrero.
0:08:18Special thanks should be directed to Chief Beckman and County Supervisor Joya for their support in getting those grants.
0:08:27We recognize it's a small baby step.
0:08:31But it is a step forward. Thank you.
Six requests to speak. The Clerk noted this was also the time for consent calendar comment.
Gary Prost, of the El Cerrito Fire Safe Council, had sent a written communication that day but wanted the announcement made publicly.
The Fire Safe Council had been awarded a grant from the California Fire Foundation, funded by PG&E, to clear vegetation along evacuation routes on Rifle Range, Vista and Club View drives.
Why those three: “these are all one-way in, one-way-out streets.”
The scale and the significance: $15,000, “which is the maximum amount that was granted” — and, in a statewide program, “we're the only ones in all of Contra Costa County and Alameda County to get one of these grants”.
He also reported a Measure X grant — “in this case, it's not money” but a 12-person crew to clear a 200-foot shaded fire break from the property lines in part of the Hillside Natural Area between Madera School and Potrero.
Thanks went to Fire Marshal Chase Beckman and County Supervisor Gioia.
His own assessment was modest: “we recognize it's a small baby step. But it is a step forward.”
06 “Was that review sufficient?” captions 52–68
0:08:34Congratulations. Our next speaker is Michael McDougal, followed by Nathan Tinclair.
0:08:40Hello, Mayor, Council Members. I'm here, as usual, to talk about anything that involves money, and you have Item 7G on the consent calendar, which is a renewal of
0:08:50the Giardelli contract, the people who are overseeing the Del Norte thing. I'm going to recommend that you approve this, but I also think that you might want to pull it off the consent calendar to talk about it briefly.
0:09:01I wanted to talk about, like, three aspects of this. One, why I think it's reasonable and you should approve it.
0:09:07some questions or concerns that you might have, that you might want to talk about, and I'd also… how it might relate to the service delivery study that we've paid for. So let me get to those three things quickly, because I've got 2 minutes, 40 seconds left.
0:09:21So the fiscal context, like, we are… this project ran, like, 8 or 9 months over because of undergrounding stuff.
0:09:28or a $1.6 million contract that's running 8 months over for what used to be a shorter project, like, 25% over is not crazy. Like, that makes sense fiscally. And it's in Measure A funds, so, like, that makes sense too. So, we should approve it.
0:09:44But this was caused by what are, what's, you know, in the letter, they talk about unforeseen underground conditions and aging utilities, and this is one of the things that I thought you might want to pull up as a question or a concern. The 2023 contract with Girardelli included,
0:10:00if I, like, I think it was $98K, $98,000 worth of pre-construction planning work, and a quarter to a third of that was for a constructability review.
0:10:12And that… my understanding is that review is supposed to identify exactly the kind of problems that are currently leading for us to be over budget. So…
0:10:21Now…
0:10:23that's one of the things that I think you should perhaps ask, like, city staff to look at and see, was that
0:10:28you know, was that review sufficient?
0:10:32And also, when this project finally comes in, it might make sense to ask staff to do, like, a short memo about, like, what went wrong, what can we do better in the future. We have a lot of capital projects that I think we really want to do, and making sure that we have, sort of good planning capacity to do those is super important.
0:10:49And then, finally, I wanted to bring this to the service delivery study. Like, we have a pretty small team.
0:10:54to do, the kind of multi-million dollar capital projects that we're doing that, you know, that go to federal grants and Caltrans and other things. And so, one thing that you might want to ask as we pay $125, I think it's $120,000, to find out how we deliver service is if we are appropriately staffed
0:11:12for the kind of projects that we want to do as a city, that I want us to do as a city. So, just wanted to encourage you to keep that in mind as we look about how we deliver services from the city. So, again, thank you very much. I recommend that you do approve this, and thanks for your time.
Michael McDougall came to speak on a consent item — “as usual, to talk about anything that involves money” — specifically the Ghirardelli contract overseeing the Del Norte project. He recommended approval and raised three aspects.
The fiscal context. The project “ran 8 or 9 months over because of underground” conditions — “a $1.6 million contract that's running 8 months over for what used to be a shorter project” — “like, 25% over is not crazy,” and paid from Measure A funds.
The question he wanted asked. The city had paid, by his reading, “$98,000 worth of pre-construction planning work,” a quarter to a third of it for a constructability review — and “my understanding is that review is supposed to identify exactly the kind of problems” that arose.
So: “was that review sufficient?” He suggested the Council ask staff to look at it, and — when the project finally closes — “ask staff to do, like, a short” retrospective.
The systemic point. He tied it to the service delivery study, costing about $120,000, and whether the city is appropriately staffed: the city is “pretty small” to be delivering “the kind of multi-million dollar capital projects that we're doing.” His concern was capacity “for the kind of projects that we want to do as a city, that I want us to do as a city.”
07 “I was not notified during that phase” captions 69–83
0:11:30Our next speaker is Nathan Tinclair, followed by Sue Duncan.
0:11:37Good evening, Mayor and Councilmembers. I'm Nathan Tinclair. I live at the intersection of Tuller and Barrett Avenues in El Cerrito. I'm here this evening to raise some comments and concerns regarding the 2025 street surface sealing project that recently began construction in my neighborhood.
0:11:53About a week and a half ago, I was surprised to discover that a significant amount of new striping was painted outside of mine and my immediate neighbors' homes. I reached out to the city contact for the project, and learned that the project will be placing a series of plastic delineators cutting off mine and my neighbor's curb access to Barrett.
0:12:13I'm very concerned that using delineators to remove all curb access in front of my home will force trash trucks, delivery trucks, mail trucks, or anyone trying to pull over in this location to double park in traffic on Barrett, creating a highly unsafe condition that does not exist currently.
0:12:31I also learned that the curb is going to be painted red for a significant distance to the south of my home, because this area was deemed an unmarked crosswalk.
0:12:40There is quite clearly no crosswalk in this location. It is a very unsafe place to cross the street.
0:12:47I urge the city, please, if we are going to consider this area as a crosswalk across Barrett, let's actually build, sign, and stripe a crosswalk here.
0:12:57That would address the real safety issue where I live, which is the total lack of stop signs and crosswalks across Barrett. It's an extremely dangerous street for myself and my two young children to cross.
0:13:09I would welcome the installation of some real pedestrian infrastructure to cross Barrett, but I understand that that is not part of this project.
0:13:16I would have loved to provide these comments at a community meeting or some other outreach opportunity while the designs were still being developed.
0:13:24But I was not notified during that phase, and I'm not aware of any such opportunity being given.
0:13:29So tonight, please, I urge the City, add whatever striping is necessary.
0:13:35But please do not install physical barriers at Tuller and Barrett, creating a more inaccessible and unsafe situation in front of my home.
0:13:43And please, if we are going to consider this location a crosswalk, actually build a crosswalk across Barrett and make the streets safer for myself, my kids, and my neighbors. If that is not possible, please preserve our parking and curb access in this location. Thank you.
0:14:00And city staff is going to definitely reach out to you. Thank you so much for that. Yes, and we have his contact information, Mayor. Our next speaker is Sue Duncan, followed by Chris Hernandez.
Nathan Tinclair, who lives at the intersection of Tulare and Barrett, described discovering a street change outside his home from the 2025 street surface sealing project.
“About a week and a half ago, I was surprised to discover that a significant amount of new striping” had appeared.
His concerns were specific. Removing all curb access with delineators, he said, would “force trash trucks, delivery trucks, mail trucks, or anyone trying to pull over in this location to double park in traffic on Barrett.” And “the curb is going to be painted red for a significant distance” south of his property.
The part that puzzled him most: “there is quite clearly no crosswalk in this location. It is a very unsafe place to cross the street”.
His ask: “if we are going to consider this area as a crosswalk across Barrett, let's” actually build one. What would address “the real safety issue where I live” is “the total lack of stop signs and crosswalks across Barrett,” dangerous for him and his two young children — and he would “welcome the installation of some real pedestrian infrastructure to cross Barrett.”
Then the process complaint: “I would have loved to provide these comments at a community meeting or some other outreach opportunity”. “But I was not notified during that phase, and I'm not aware of any such opportunity being given.”
His closing request: add whatever striping is necessary, but “do not install physical barriers at Tulare and Barrett.”
The Mayor undertook that city staff would reach out to him.
08 Sue Duncan captions 84–86
0:14:16Good evening, Mayor, City Council. I'm Sue Duncan, a resident of El Cerrito and president of the El Cerrito Fire Safe Council. I want to thank our three board members, Gary Prost, Jim Dolganis, and Kay Starkweather, for working so hard on applying for the grant.
0:14:31And for their continued work to have the work done. I also want to thank Chief Beckman for his support and help with the grant, and also with the successful Measure X application for the work that was just recently done in H&A. Thank you.
0:14:48Our next speaker is Chris Hernandez, followed by Delphina Leydig.
Sue Duncan, president of the El Cerrito Fire Safe Council, thanked those involved “for their continued work to have the work done,” and thanked Chief Beckman for his support.
09 The neighbor, who wants the crosswalk captions 87–98
0:14:54Hi, Councilmembers. I'm… I'm… what he said.
0:14:59I'm the next-door neighbor that has the, the… I guess, crosswalk.
0:15:06Right? That isn't there. I raised… I've been there since 2008. I've raised, 4 children. There's a bus stop directly across the street. I invite you guys to drive up the street, take a look at it. There's never been an accident on that corner since I've been there. We have to cross the street to go to the bus.
0:15:23Right? And a lot of people do cross the street right there. There should be a crosswalk there. Ponsette Park is right there. Kids walk there. These delineators and putting
0:15:33putting Red Stripe in front of my house where I can't park? That doesn't help my property value, but the safety really is the concern. A crosswalk and delineator.
0:15:44to,
0:15:45Nathan's point, I don't believe, is the right call. I do appreciate everything that… I do love riding into El Cerrito, and how beautiful it is, and all the work that's been done, and I do…
0:15:57appreciate the proactive approach. I just don't know that this is the best solution, and… and I know we didn't hear anything about it. We're late to the table, so again.
0:16:11I'm just coming mea culpa, as far as that goes, and going, take a peek at it. Take a peek at it. I think a crosswalk is necessary there, but…
0:16:20But it's very intrusive. I live in a residential community, not a highway with delineators and cones in front of my home.
0:16:30Right? So, I ask you just… just drive by, take a peek, think about it.
0:16:35Thanks.
Chris Hernandez followed and opened with “I'm what he said” — then made a different argument.
He is “the next-door neighbor that has the… I guess, crosswalk. Right? That isn't there.” He has lived there since 2008 and raised four children. There is a bus stop directly across the street, and “There's never been an accident on that corner since I've been there.”
His observation from the house: “a lot of people do cross the street right there. There should be a crosswalk there.” Poinsettia Park is nearby, and kids walk there.
His objection was to the remedy chosen instead: “putting red stripe in front of my house where I can't park? That doesn't help my property value, but the safety really is the concern.”
He was careful not to reject the goal — “I do appreciate everything… I do love riding”, and he does “appreciate the proactive approach. I just don't know that this is the best solution” — adding that “we didn't hear anything about it. We're late to the table.”
And the character of the objection: “it's very intrusive. I live in a residential community, not a highway with delineators.”
His ask was simply to look: “just drive by, take a peek, think about it.”
10 “We really need a place for the seniors” captions 99–115
0:16:37Our final speaker at this time is Delphina Leyedig.
0:16:56If you could speak in… try and speak into the microphone, yeah.
0:17:00Bueno.
0:17:02He is going to be my translator.
0:17:06I have a heavy accent, because my first language is Spanish. My wife feels very strongly about a senior center that we enjoyed up until a few years ago.
0:17:16So if she wanted to say something, I will translate. Yes, yes, okay. We enjoy the use… the senior center that was taken by the schools.
0:17:29We have been living in El Cerrito more than 40 years.
0:17:33here.
0:17:35Hemos vivido mas de 4 anos en el serito, y nuestros hijos fueron al escuela a toda las escuelas al redor.
0:17:43Yeah, we've lived here actually not… not quite 40 years. Almost so. Our… our two children both graduated from El Cerrita High and went out and are very successful. Actually, our son came back and is living in El Cerrita also, but that's…
0:17:59irrelevant. We're more interested in Senior Center. Go ahead and… es me su hiero.
0:18:11hablar a sobreles el Senior Center. They recommended us coming here.
0:18:18Si, porque… Oo el… Elle…
0:18:26la exudicion de arte del AC,
0:18:29ACC? The El Cerrito Art Association art exhibit that was last weekend. Yes.
0:18:37No te que habian muchisimos. Persona de… De mayore that.
0:18:44He was amazed there were so many senior citizens there. So…
The final speaker needed help at the microphone. Delphina Leydig spoke in Spanish, with her husband translating — “he is going to be my translator… I have a heavy accent, because my first language is Spanish.”
They had used a senior center “up until a few years ago” — “the senior center that was taken by the schools” — and are long residents: “we have been living in El Cerrito more than 40 years” — corrected on translation to “not quite 40 years. Almost so.” Both their children graduated from local schools.
What had brought them was the El Cerrito Art Association exhibit the previous weekend. He was “amazed there were so many senior citizens there.”
And her point, translated: “we really need a place for the seniors to get” together — “es una necesidad… un centro comunitario para los adultos.”
Someone at the exhibit had recommended they come and say so to the Council.
11 An artist from Barranquilla captions 116–124
0:18:50Creo que es una necesidad realmente generos centro comunitario para los adultos.
0:18:57So she would like to say, put in her opinion that we really need a place for the seniors to get together and have activities. Este exhibicion fue muy exitosa, y realmente…
0:19:13Like, muy, muchisema gente, vino?
0:19:19A visitar esta exhibicion de art, y me sorendio grandemente, y me sorendio queu viescent tantos abuelos.
0:19:29Delphina graduated from the Fine Arts School in Barranquilla, Colombia, and has been very active in the arts.
0:19:40things herself, and this is the second year that she's participated with this art exhibit. She's very happy.
0:19:48gotten into some activity in El Cerrito with art. Yeah.
0:19:52Anything else you want to say? No. Okay. Rejected us, yes. Thank you, Felicity. Thank you, Mayor. That concludes our request to speak.
0:20:01All right, thank you so much for everyone that came and spoke before us today. The next item on the agenda is adoption of the consent calendar, which includes the following items. Committee on Aging Appointment.
The exchange continued, and the translation filled in who was speaking.
Delphina graduated from the Fine Arts School in Barranquilla, Colombia, and has been active in art since. She makes work herself, and this was “the second year that she's participated with this art exhibit.” She has “gotten into some activity in El Cerrito with art.”
Her observation about the exhibit was the basis of the request: “muchisima gente” came, and she was struck by how many of them were older adults.
12 The consent calendar captions 125–131
0:20:14Economic Development Committee Appointment, Filipino American History Month Proclamation, National Arts and Humanities Month Proclamation, United Hate Week Proclamation.
0:20:26Memorandum of Understanding with BART Police Department outlining policing responsibilities for the El Cerrito Plaza BART station TOD project, and the amendment to the Consulting Services Agreement with Ghirardelli
0:20:40Associates for El Cerrito del Norte Transit Oriented Development Complete Streets Project, City Project Number C4014, Federal Project Number CMLF… I'm sorry, 5239029. That was a mouthful. Would anyone like to pull or have questions on any items?
0:20:58Yes, Councilmember Otiama. Thank you, Mayor. I have questions on 7F and 7G.
0:21:05Okay.
0:21:06Anyone else?
0:21:08All right, let's go ahead with your questions, Councilmember.
The consent calendar included Committee on Aging and Economic Development Committee appointments, proclamations for Filipino American History Month, National Arts and Humanities Month and United Against Hate Week, a Memorandum of Understanding with BART Police outlining policing responsibilities for the El Cerrito Plaza BART station TOD project, and the amendment to the consulting services agreement with Ghirardelli Associates for the El Cerrito del Norte TOD Complete Streets Project.
Motoyama flagged questions on 7F and 7G without pulling them.
13 Where does BART's jurisdiction end? captions 132–145
0:21:11On 7F, in the MOU, this is regarding, the…
0:21:17agreement between BART Police and El Cerrito. There's a term on view, and I just want to make sure that if you can confirm, that means that
0:21:28there's not gonna be, like, you're not gonna be walking by and getting mugged while the BART police look at you because you're not on the BART.
0:21:35property. Well, let's hope not. Okay. Good evening, Council. I'm Paul Keith, your Chief of Police.
0:21:42Now what, this agreement does is it basically
0:21:45sets in writing our current practices involving policing around our transit stations. So, as it is right now, if a BART police officer were to see a robbery in the area adjacent to a BART station, they'd already be expected to try to stop the robbery, to assist the victim, and to call for aid from the El Credito Police Department, and vice versa for one of our… when one of our police officers on views a crime that's happening in a
0:22:10transit station.
0:22:11So this, this agreement is basically just sitting down and writing what we already do all over town with both agencies, and, fine-tuning it for the plaza area, because there is a big transit-oriented development change coming. Okay, and so the minute it goes…
0:22:28It starts construction, then it becomes El Cerrito.
0:22:31Correct? Yes. Okay.
0:22:34Great, and
0:22:36This is a question for City Manager. I know that there was… I just want to make sure there's a reference to 139 parking spaces and 145 parking spaces. We will make sure that that's correct in the final agreement. And the correct amount is 145, yes. That is what I was told. Okay.
0:22:53Yes, 145. And then, on 7G, I would…
0:23:02Like to get an update on what is happening.
On 7F, the BART Police MOU, Motoyama wanted to be sure about the boundary — that “you're not gonna be walking by and getting mugged while the BART police look at you because you're not on the BART” property.
Chief Paul Keith: “let's hope not.”
His substantive answer: the agreement “basically sets in writing our current practices involving policing around our transit stations.” A BART officer seeing a robbery next to a station would already be expected to intervene and call El Cerrito police, and vice versa. It is “just sitting down and writing what we already do,” fine-tuned for the Plaza area “because there is a big transit-oriented development change coming.”
Motoyama tested the edge case around the TOD construction site: “it starts construction, then it becomes El Cerrito. Correct?” Yes.
She also asked the City Manager about references to both 139 and 145 parking spaces; the correct figure is 145, to be fixed in the final agreement.
14 What Del Norte is actually building captions 146–165
0:23:07with the Complete Streets work, because there's so much stuff happening, and it's been a long time, so it'd be good to… to hear about, you know, how far along we are, and I know that the staff report said completion in December, but if you can speak about that, and…
0:23:24since it came up, I'm sure there's a reason why
0:23:27You know, even though we had a pre-con and constructability review, that sometimes these things don't get picked up, and maybe you can talk about those things as well.
0:23:37Yeah, I'll start with the update and then answer the question, if that's okay. Good evening, Mayor, Councilmembers, Yvette Ortiz, I'm the City's Public Works Director.
0:23:45and city engineer. Just maybe for the elders in the public that are not familiar with the project, although they've seen the construction, I'm sure, the… it's the Del Norte Complete Streets project, and we're, improving access and safety for our modes of travel in that area.
0:24:03And we're adding new protected, crosswalks, bikeways, bus boarding islands, making circulation improvements so, drivers can more directly access the BART station on eastbound cutting, and that means we're removing the… we've removed the double left turns, and so,
0:24:22In the end, it's really to make that area, greener. We're adding,
0:24:27landscaping and other streetscape elements. The project has been underway since the spring of 2024,
0:24:34And, we've made some… achieved some significant milestones in the last couple months. We finished all the underground work, which
0:24:43I know this thing, the public just sees a bunch of debris and, delays, but it's significant, and this is where the underground work is, where we face a lot of unforeseen conditions.
0:24:56And, and included, like, we had to install new storm drain connections, irrigation lines, electrical conduit, traffic signal foundations that go as deep as 9 feet. And so, all those things, you find obstructions, you find… you have to conform to existing conditions beyond what you initially anticipated.
0:25:15So that just leads to… Additional engineering, and increased cost, and definitely, longer, time…
0:25:23timeline. I would say that… so, it's an exciting time in the project, where all the underground work is done, and now you're starting to see these surface improvements. And so, we're moving on to, like, the landscaping work, so that's been underway for the last few weeks.
0:25:40So, they're amending the soil, finishing the final touches on the irrigation, improvements.
0:25:47And,
0:25:49And in the last week and this week, we're doing the sealing of the pavement. In the city portion of San Pablo Avenue, East Shore and Hill, we did the slurry seal, which is more substantial surface treatment.
0:26:00And then on the San Pablo Avenue portion of San Pablo Avenue, we did a temporary seal, because they're coming and doing the permanent repaving next year.
0:26:10And so…
0:26:11soon after… so you'll see… start seeing planting of the street trees and other plants in the next couple weeks, as well as the traffic striping. So you'll start seeing the permanent yellow and white lines that clearly guide, all modes of travel through that area. And then we're working closely with Caltrans to retime the traffic signals.
0:26:32Because right now, it's still the old timing with the double left turn lanes, so we have to retime the signals to optimize them for their new lane configuration. So, working really closely with Caltrans on that, so that once the project improvements are completed, there'll be smoother traffic flow through the area.
On 7G, Motoyama asked for a general update “because there's so much stuff happening, and it's been a long time” — and why problems arose “even though we had a pre-con and constructability review.”
Public Works Director and City Engineer Yvette Ortiz began with what the project is, “maybe for the elders in the public that are not familiar” with it: new protected crosswalks, bikeways, bus boarding islands, circulation improvements that remove the double left turns, and landscaping and streetscape elements to make the area “greener.”
Underway since spring 2024, with significant recent milestones. All underground work is finished — which she acknowledged the public experiences differently: “the public just sees a bunch of debris and delays, but it's significant.” It included new storm drain connections, irrigation lines, electrical conduit and traffic signal foundations as deep as 9 feet.
Current state: soil being amended, irrigation finished, and pavement sealing under way — permanently on the city portion, and a temporary seal on the San Pablo Avenue portion, because Caltrans will repave separately.
Street trees and planting would follow within weeks.
15 “Sometimes there's buried pipes that were abandoned” captions 166–183
0:26:50And the project team is working really hard to complete the project in December. One of the critical path items is the delivery of the traffic signal poles, which are the
0:27:01They're large traffic signal poles, and they're manufactured out of state, they need to be inspected by Caltrans, so we're awaiting confirmation of those poles, and
0:27:11We anticipate them by the end of this month, and so that's in November is when the traffic signal poles, you'll see those large poles getting delivered and installed. And we'll have a few days of night work, because we get to switch the signals from the old to the new.
0:27:27And so, yes, there'll be night work, and we will notify the residents, and it'll just be, like, a handful of days, and we'll work to minimize the noise. Sorry, Mayor. But definitely, it's just a few days, and hopefully it'll be over soon.
0:27:44And then,
0:27:46I think, yeah, so we're all… we definitely appreciate the public's patience and understanding. We are really trying to deliver safety and access improvements for pedestrians, bicyclists, and transit riders.
0:27:59And, yeah, Ghared Deli is our construction management, firm. They do the daily, inspections and oversight of the field work. They're doing all the documentation for the project, I've been working really,
0:28:16closely with the design team and the contractor to adapt to these, unknown conditions. And so,
0:28:24Yeah, they… they did the constructability review, and as… when they do a constructability review, they're looking at the plans, right? And so they're looking at the plans, and that they're thorough, and so some of these underground conditions just, you know.
0:28:40weren't known.
0:28:42So, when you say underground conditions, what do you mean?
0:28:46Well, there's… sometimes there's buried pipes that were abandoned and weren't, properly documented in an as-built plan or a record plan, they just were not documented that they existed or what they are.
0:29:00And, we found some storm grain, so that's an example of a buried-up pipe that was abandoned that we're not sure… we had to go kind of through that effort of figuring out what it is. And then, we also found some storm grain, pipes that were just in bad shape.
0:29:19And we, hadn't anticipated, doing, repair of that pipe, and so we had to repair that pipe.
0:29:26We found some other conditions on, just matching existing, infrastructure on the BART right-of-way, for example. So, there's a little bit of everything, definitely lessons learned that we're applying to future projects.
0:29:42Okay, thank you.
0:29:44Thank you.
0:29:46All right, and yes, Public Works Director, every time I come out of my house, say, who did this? We did it. Yes. Get anywhere. Almost over. Thank you. Thank you. All right, so, do I have a motion to approve the consent calendar?
Ortiz described the critical path. The remaining constraint is hardware: large traffic signal poles, manufactured out of state, requiring Caltrans inspection. Expected by the end of the month, installed in November, with night work and resident notification — “just a handful of days.” The signals would then need retiming, since “right now, it's still the old timing with the double left turn lanes.” The team was aiming to finish in December.
Then she answered the cost question. Ghirardelli is the construction management firm doing daily inspections and working with the design team and contractor “to adapt to these unknown conditions.”
On the constructability review: they did perform one, and “when they do a constructability review, they're looking at the plans” — which cannot show what is not recorded.
Asked what “underground conditions” means: “sometimes there’s buried pipes that were abandoned and weren’t properly documented” in an as-built or record plan. The team found an abandoned storm drain pipe it had to identify, storm drain pipes “that were just in bad shape” and needed unanticipated repair, and other conditions matching existing infrastructure on the BART right-of-way — “definitely lessons learned that we're applying to future projects.”
Wysinger's aside: “every time I come out of my house, [I] say, who did this?”
The consent calendar passed, moved by Motoyama and seconded by Saltzman, with the Mayor Pro Tem absent.
16 United Against Hate captions 184–195
0:30:01I'll move. Second. All right, so moved, Council… by Councilmember Motuyama, seconded by Councilmember Salzman. All in favor, please say aye.
0:30:09Aye. Any opposed? Aye.
0:30:11Any abstentions? So the consent calendar does pass. And just noting with Councilman… Mayor Pro Tem… Mayor Pro Tem, so absent. Yes, I'm sorry, thank you so much, Madam City Clerk. And now, we are going to do a photo in front of the dais for United Against Hate Week, correct?
0:30:30Yes, ma'am, thank you. So, just to let everyone know, we do have the proclamation here.
0:30:35in regards to United Against Hay, but we are going to do our yearly photo.
0:30:43But we can stand up here.
0:30:45I gave them plans already, but they have them up there with me.
0:30:50Yeah, I have the proclamation and the… Castle. That's V.
0:30:55postings.
0:30:58Do you send her to this, or is it all matter?
0:31:10Alright, thank you.
0:31:17All right, so the next item on the agenda is public hearings. There's one public hearing, which is the WAVE First Reading and Introducing Ordinance Amending.
The consent calendar passed, “noting” the Mayor Pro Tem absent.
The Council then presented the proclamation for United Against Hate Week and paused for the annual photograph — “we do have the proclamation here… but we are going to do our yearly photo.”
17 Title 24, and how building codes get made captions 196–212
0:31:27Oh, I'm not in the mic, okay. I'm sorry, everyone. The one day that I speak quietly. The next item on the agenda is public hearings.
0:31:35The one public hearing is to waive first reading and introduce an ordinance amending the municipal Code to adopt by reference the 2025 California Building Standard Code with local amendments and adoption of resolution-making findings in support of local amendments. May we please have the staff report?
0:31:55Good evening, Mayor, City Council members. My name is Cindy Lucas, I am the interim
0:32:02Interim Assistant Building Official here at the City of El Cerrito.
0:32:07Thank you. I have Stephen Lau, who is the interim building official on Zoom, I believe.
0:32:13I have also brought with me Melanie Mintz, who's the Community Development Director. We have Tom Peters from the Fire Department, and also Chase Beckman, Fire Marshal.
0:32:24So, I'm here tonight to talk to you about the 2025 California Building and Fire Code adoption.
0:32:31And just to give you a little bit of background,
0:32:36We have the triennial update of the California Building Standards Code, or Title 24 of the California Code of Regulations. The Building Standard Code sets rules for buildings, building construction, energy conservation.
0:32:53fire safety and accessibility in, California buildings.
0:32:57So, Title 24 is divided into multiple parts. Local jurisdictions adopt Parts 1 through 12.
0:33:05This includes building, plumbing, mechanical, electrical, and others. And of special note, we have part 9, which is the fire code, and Part 7, which is the Wild Land Urban Interface, which is new to the 2025
0:33:23codes. And I'll speak a little bit more about that in a few slides.
0:33:28So, how codes are developed. The California Ability Codes are based on the national and international model codes.
0:33:35They are updated every 3 years, and some reasons why they are updated every 3 years is to reflect new state laws and legislature, and also to stay on top of advances in building, building science and technology, just to name a few.
0:33:53The code development is facilitated by the State Building Standards Commission, or CBSC.
0:33:59And the update process includes many public hearings that involve estate agencies, professional organizations, local fire and building officials, and the general public.
Interim Assistant Building Official Cindy Lucas presented the ordinance adopting the 2025 California Building and Fire Code, joined by interim Building Official Stephen Lau on Zoom, Community Development Director Melanie Mintz, Tom Peters of the Fire Department and Fire Marshal Chase Beckman.
The framework: the triennial update of the California Building Standards Code — Title 24 — governs structural, fire safety and accessibility requirements. Local jurisdictions adopt Parts 1 through 12, including building, plumbing, mechanical, electrical and others.
How codes are made: based on national and international model codes, updated every three years partly to reflect new state law. The process is facilitated by the California Building Standards Commission and includes many public hearings involving state agencies and professional organizations.
And the baseline: state building code compliance is mandatory.
18 Six years without local amendments captions 213–232
0:34:14So, the implementation of the codes. State building code compliance is mandatory.
0:34:20And traditionally, and I say traditionally because the next slide will be talking a little bit about, what happened at the state level, but traditionally, cities and counties
0:34:29may amend the state codes via local ordinance, which is also known as the municipal code.
0:34:37These amendments must be more restrictive.
0:34:40And,
0:34:43These amendments do need to be approved at the state level when the cities make these, and we also have REACH codes, which is energy-focused, and that would need to go through a different process with the Energy Commission. But these amendments,
0:35:02Are related to technical requirements, and they have to be based in, 3… categories.
0:35:10One or more. Geological, topographical, or climatic.
0:35:17So, new this year, we have AB130. On June 30th, 2025, the state passed AB130 as part of the budget package.
0:35:28And AB130 puts a 6-year moratorium on making amendments to, local amendments to the residential units. This does not affect commercial.
0:35:40There are… there are a few exceptions to this. One exception is that… is if the amendments were in effect, before September 30th, 2025.
0:35:51So this does give us the ability to, re-adopt all of our previous amendments, so we won't lose anything that we had going from previous years.
0:36:05And just to kind of help clarify about amendments.
0:36:09So Title 16 is in the City of El Cerrito Municipal Code, and it's building and construction. And, I just gave an example. It has to do with work exempt from a permit, and so basically what I was trying to show here was
0:36:26how it's stated in the state building code, and then what the amendment was made by the City of El Cerrito, so…
0:36:35In the building code, it states retaining walls that are not over 4 feet in height, measured from the bottom of the footing to the top of the wall, unless supporting
0:36:45a surcharge or impounding Class 1, 2, or 3 liquids. And then I believe this happened back in 2013 or so, and it was amended
0:36:55To say, retaining walls which do not retain more than 30 inches of earth when the earth retained is level, and when there is no surcharge load, and retaining walls which do not retain more than 2 feet of earth when earth retained is sloping not greater than
0:37:11two horizontal, one vertical, and there's no surcharge load. And I know that got a little bit complicated, but the idea behind that is that we made a more restrictive amendment, and it was based in actually all three of these categories, geological, topographical, and climatic.
0:37:30And…
Lucas then explained what cities may normally do, and what has changed.
Traditionally — and she flagged the word — local jurisdictions “may amend the state codes via local ordinance.” Three constraints: the amendments must be more restrictive; they must be approved at the state level; and they must be justified by findings in one or more of three categories: geological, topographical, or climatic. REACH codes, which are energy-focused, go through a separate process with the Energy Commission.
Then the change. On June 30, 2025, the state passed AB 130 as part of the budget package. It imposes a six-year moratorium on local amendments to residential building codes; commercial is not affected.
There are exceptions — and one matters tonight: amendments in effect before September 30, 2025 may be carried forward. “This does give us the ability to re-adopt all of our previous amendments, so we won't lose” anything.
She illustrated where the city's amendments live — Title 16 of the municipal code, building and construction — with a worked example on retaining walls. The state code exempts walls not over 4 feet in height unless supporting a surcharge or impounding hazardous liquids; El Cerrito's amendment, made around 2013, tightens this to walls “which do not retain more than 30 inches of earth,” with slope and surcharge conditions. She acknowledged: “I know that got a little bit complicated”.
The retaining wall example shows what local amendments actually do: El Cerrito requires permits for much shorter retaining walls than the state, an amendment “based in actually all three of these categories, geological, topographical, and climatic.” It is a small, unglamorous illustration of why the amendment power exists.
19 WUI: a new standalone part captions 233–247
0:37:33So, as I spoke of earlier, we have the new Wildland Urban Interface. This is a new standalone part to the code, and…
0:37:44The intent was to consolidate, clarify, and strengthen the set of codes that deal with the wildfire risks in areas where wild land meets human structures.
0:37:57So we call it the Wild Land Urban Interface, or the WUI, and we like to say WUI, it's easier, and it's more fun to say.
0:38:05So…
0:38:09The… the… this new part, utilizes or is based and intended to address the escalating risks of wildfires throughout the state.
0:38:19While increasing resilience of structures.
0:38:22It does… it takes different parts from the building code and kind of puts it all together, like Chapter 7A, and Chapter 49 of the fire code.
0:38:32Adoption of Part 7 is a result of a multi-year collaboration between the State Fire Marshal, the International Code Council, and the California
0:38:42building officials.
0:38:44So, many codes are not new in this, but the intention was to make it easier for code officials to ensure new structures are more resilient.
0:38:55So, tonight, the purpose of the City Council's action today is to hold a public hearing to introduce the ordinance that repeals the previously adopted Title 24 and adopts by reference the 2025 edition of the California Code of Regulations, or Title 24, with local amendments.
0:39:15If City Council takes action to introduce the ordinance today, staff will bring the ordinance to Council for adoption October 21st.
0:39:242025, next meeting.
0:39:26The 2025 Code of Regulations, Title 24, along with local amendments, once adopted, will become effective in January 1st, 2026.
0:39:39And that is my presentation. Thank you for…
Lucas introduced a new standalone part covering the Wildland Urban Interface — “we call it the WUI, and we like to say WUI, it's easier.”
Its intent: “to consolidate, clarify, and strengthen the set of codes that deal with the wildfire” risk — addressing escalating wildfire risk while increasing resilience of structures.
Mechanically it takes provisions scattered across the building code and brings them together in one place. Adoption of Part 7 resulted from “a multi-year collaboration between the State Fire Marshal” and building officials.
Her framing of the value: “many codes are not new in this, but the intention was to make it easier for code officials to” apply them.
The action requested: hold a public hearing and introduce the ordinance, returning for adoption at the next meeting on October 21, with the code and local amendments effective January 1, 2026.
20 “What does it mean to introduce the ordinance?” captions 248–262
0:39:42your attention, and we can take questions. Any questions from the Council?
0:39:49That's a procedural question. What does it mean to introduce the ordinance? Is it simply presenting it here now?
0:39:57I believe so, yeah. The standard process, legal process for adopting an ordinance is that it's introduced
0:40:04at a meeting of the City Council, and then not… not less than 5 days later, brought back before the City Council for adoption. So it's always a two-part process.
0:40:15And this particular process even requires us to do two public hearings instead of doing the second
0:40:22portion on consent that it normally is, so you'll be hearing from Cindy again at our next meeting. So, just to add to what the City Clerk said, this is just, the way that state law decided to phrase the process is that it uses the term introduce, and so we all just follow that
0:40:40But the basic process for ordinance adoption is that it has to be considered at… norm… unless it's… unless there's an exception, it has to be considered by the council twice. State law refers to those as readings. Used to be the case that… that, they actually… ordinances actually had to be read.
0:40:58Now it allows for waiving reading, and, but it still refers to it being introduced at one meeting and adopted at a second meeting. And then the intent is to allow time for the community to
0:41:10Chime in, ask questions. Exactly.
0:41:13All right. Councilmember Motayama? Thank you, Mayor. Could you give us some more additional examples of our local ordinances that will be amending the… the code? And also, can you clarify.
0:41:28There is no, moratorium on the…
0:41:32advancement of the building code, just the amendments. Just the amendments, right, yeah.
0:41:38Thank you.
0:41:39Although, if I could just clarify, I just noticed that our slide says the moratorium is just on local amendments, but it's actually on state amendments, too. I think AB130 also applied to the state, and I think the idea was
0:41:51Cost of construction, residential updates, just kind of slowing that down for a moment. But,
A councilmember asked a procedural question: “what does it mean to introduce the ordinance? Is it simply presenting” it?
The City Clerk walked it through, and the City Attorney added to it. The standard legal process is that an ordinance is introduced at one meeting, then “not less than 5 days later, brought back” for adoption.
And a wrinkle specific to this item: “this particular process even requires us to do two public hearings instead of doing the second” reading on consent as it normally would be — “so you'll be hearing from Cindy again at our next meeting”.
Motoyama then asked for more examples of local amendments, and asked staff to confirm that “there is no moratorium on the advancement of the building code, just the amendments.” Staff agreed.
Staff then corrected the slide: “the moratorium is just on local amendments, but it’s actually on state amendments, too,” adding “I think the idea was” cost of construction.
21 “So we're gonna have to wait 6 years” captions 263–278
0:41:57In that case, I'm sure there's a lot of learning from, like, the… the fires in…
0:42:04you know, Eaton Fire, and, you know.
0:42:07So we're gonna have to wait 6 years for the… whatever we learn from that to be implemented.
0:42:14AB130 does have some exceptions, and both… I don't know if Chase or Tom or Eric want to speak to that, and how the fire officials are working with this state on incorporating those lessons, but it does have some exceptions for emergency standards.
0:42:31Sometimes home hardening, so I do think there were some exceptions carved out in working with the fire officials and building officials.
0:42:43We're just having a little sidebar conversation. I mean, I think the thing is that if there are,
0:42:49My, you know, secondhand information is that if there are changes to the state codes that are perceived to be helpful to address fire risk, that the legislature would be… would intend to amend 130 in the future to make those possible. That's in addition to the list of about a half dozen exceptions that exist to allow for…
0:43:13do allow for local amendments, including, for example, one of the ones that some cities are relying on during the cycle is local amendments to advance general plan requirements. So, to the extent that a
0:43:28fire-prone community has adopted general plan policies that would require local amendments to the code. To achieve consistency with the general plan, those would be all within one of the exceptions.
0:43:43I don't have anything else to add, unless you want to ask me anything specifically.
0:43:48So… Eric Saylor's your fire chief.
0:43:53So,
0:43:55what the city attorney said is accurate. There's a lot of pressure to be able to update these in the future. If we do have some solid lessons that come out of the Eaton Fire and the Palisades fire.
0:44:05But a lot of those are turning into, you know, some basic things you can do for your home for home hardening and vegetation management that don't necessarily change the way your home is coded when it's structured. So it is a lot about
0:44:18what is around the home, and how susceptible it is to getting emperors inside the home, up inside the eaves, and around the decks, and into the, into your screens. And we have a lot of ability locally to still control that without having to update the building code.
0:44:34Thank you. You're welcome.
Motoyama drew an implication: “I'm sure there's a lot of learning from the fires in… Eaton Fire.”
“So we're gonna have to wait 6 years for whatever we learn from that to be implemented?”
Staff said AB 130 does have exceptions and invited the fire officials to respond. The City Attorney’s secondhand understanding: the legislature “would intend to amend 130 in the future” for helpful fire-related state code changes, in addition to “about a half dozen exceptions” that allow local amendments — including one route “that some cities are relying on”: general plan policies that would require local amendments.
Fire Chief Saylors confirmed it: “there's a lot of pressure to be able to update these” if solid lessons come out of the Eaton and Palisades fires. But much of the learning, he said, is “turning into some basic things you can do for your home for home” hardening — concerning “what is around the home, and how susceptible it is to getting embers inside the home,” together with vegetation management — and “we have a lot of ability locally to still control that without having to update the building code.”
22 A typo, and a point-of-sale idea captions 279–293
0:44:36Any other questions? I'd just like to note that there's a typo on Section 5704.2.
0:44:441.13.2.31, which I had mentioned to staff, and so if whatever we pass, or Should be including that correction.
0:44:54And I don't believe that needs to be in the action taken, but we will make sure that that correction is made for the final adoption on the 21st.
0:45:02All right. The public hearing is now open. Now is the time for members of the public who wish to provide public comments regarding this item. Requested speak can be submitted to the City Clerk by completing a speaker card. Public comments will be taken in person only. Please remember to identify yourself and your City of Residence at the beginning of your comments. City Clerk, please proceed.
0:45:22Thank you, Mayor. We do not have any requests to speak on this item. All right, are there any final comments from the Council?
0:45:28Mayor, if you could please close the public hearing first. Oh! Oh, yes. The public hearing is now closed.
0:45:36Comments from the Council. We need to… sorry, you need to have a motion to close the public… I'll move to close the public comments.
0:45:44Okay, so there's been a motion to close the public hearing by Councilmember Motayama, and a second by Councilmember Cassanis. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? The public hearing is now closed. Comments from Councilmember Motayama? Thank you. I had asked, City Manager about
0:46:01This is something that I heard at the East Bay Wildfire Coalition of Governments meeting about, how the county requires automatic shutoff for gas,
0:46:13at point of sale, and I understand that that is not
0:46:18would not constitute an amendment here, but it's something that we could possibly talk about in some other form. Correct, and actually, I've talked about that with the Community Development Director and with the Fire Chief, that that could be something we explore as a specific point of sale.
0:46:31Or add to… as you know, we already recently just passed an ordinance regarding, you know, the home hardening and the… and all of that, so that is…
0:46:40Not conflicting with the building code. Okay, thank you.
0:46:45All right, do I have a motion to adopt a resolution and introduce the proposed ordinance?
0:46:50I'll move. Second. So moved by Multiyama, seconded by Councilmember Salzman. All in favor, please say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Any abstentions? So, the item does pass. Thank you all for participating tonight.
A councilmember noted a typo in a code section reference already flagged to staff, asking that the correction be carried into whatever was passed. Staff said it did not need to be in the motion but would be fixed for final adoption on the 21st.
The public hearing was opened; no requests to speak. The Mayor had to be reminded to close it before comments, and then that a motion was required to do so; Motoyama moved and Ktsanes seconded.
Motoyama then raised something from the East Bay Wildfire Coalition of Governments: the county requires “automatic shutoff for gas” “at point of sale,” which she understood “would not constitute an amendment here”; the City Manager said it could be explored “as a specific point of sale” or added to the recently passed home hardening ordinance, “not conflicting with the building code.”
The ordinance was introduced, moved by Motoyama and seconded by Saltzman.
23 The highest-scoring transit project in the county captions 294–310
0:47:04We have no policy matters, so next to City Council Local and Regional Liaison Assignments, does any Councilmember have any reports today?
0:47:14Councilmember Salzman.
0:47:16I attended the… actually chaired the WCAC meeting, last month, because the
0:47:23chair was out of town, and one of the important things that came out of that meeting is, well, the county's doing a lot of transportation planning, and one of the parts moving forward is the integrated transit plan, and they did the initial review of the projects that were put forward around the county.
0:47:41And the one that scored highest of all Transit projects in the county.
0:47:45is the San Pablo Avenue bus lanes in El Cerrito and Richmond, compared to every other transit project. So that's really exciting, as the county at some point will be going forward with a funding measure that we… our projects are ranking so high. So I thought folks would want to know that. And on that same day, right after that, I went to the memorial for AC Transit Director Chris Peoples. A lot of us from WCTAC and from West
0:48:10County, went there, it was a…
0:48:12really nice event. I've known Chris for almost 20 years, and still I learn so much about other parts of his non-transit life, so it was nice to celebrate him with his family and friends and many leaders in our community.
0:48:29And then on, this past Friday evening, I went to the El Cerrito, art show reception, which was really fantastic, a lot of
0:48:41really incredible art, and so many people there, and I… that… that mosaic of Janet was just fabulous. I don't know if it was for sale if anybody bought it, but if not, maybe we should try to get it in City Hall, because it was pretty incredible.
0:48:55And that is it.
0:48:57Thank you, Meth. Councilmember Motayama? On…
0:49:02September 18th, I attended the ABAG Executive Board and Finance Committee, where we discussed the strategic planning moving forward with the BAFA program.
0:49:11On September the 21st, I attended the Citizens for East Shore Parks 40th anniversary, event honoring Nancy Skinner, and, Point Mulate.
0:49:24On September 24th, I attended the East Bay Wildfire Coalition of Governments and, learned about some new things, like the ordinance that the county is doing for the gas, automatic gas shutoffs. And then on
0:49:39October 1st, I had my interview with a service delivery study, so it's really great that that is underway, and hopefully we'll get some really good results from that.
0:49:50Thank you, Councilmember Cassanis. Okay, thank you.
Saltzman had chaired the WCCTAC meeting the previous month in the chair's absence, and reported the result that came out of it.
In the initial review of projects for the county's integrated transit plan, the highest-scoring transit project in the county was the San Pablo Avenue bus lanes in El Cerrito and Richmond.
She also attended the memorial for AC Transit Director Chris Peoples — “I've known Chris for almost 20 years, and still I learn so much” — and the El Cerrito Art Show reception, which had “really incredible art, and so many people there.” The mosaic of Janet she called “just fabulous,” suggesting the city try to get it for City Hall.
24 “I had my interview with a service delivery study” captions 311–328
0:49:53I also attended the El Cerrito Art Show, and
0:49:57I don't want to sort of steal his thunder, but I have a little bit of an announcement. The artist who did the Mosaic of Janet would like to donate it to the city. And I've spoken… she relayed that to Buddy, and then Buddy relayed it to me, and I told Buddy maybe we would talk about that in two weeks, but since it's been brought up now.
0:50:12Maybe we can come back to it in two weeks, but it's been donated.
0:50:16And, also did not attend the Urban Forest meeting this month, I missed that one, but attended the Design Review Board.
0:50:22Earlier in the month.
0:50:24Today, I went to St. John's. They have senior programming on Tuesday, and I had lunch with them and talked to people there.
0:50:31Yesterday, I went to Christ Lutheran and did the same thing. They had a discussion about the library, and I was not a presenter, but just a listener, and joined them for lunch.
0:50:40Sorry, and can I add one thing I forgot that I actually need to report, is that I attended the League of California Cities Division meeting, on September 25th.
0:50:51Alright. I have, I lost… lost my chain of thought.
0:50:57If it comes back, I'll come back. Okay.
0:50:59All right, well, I only have two things to report on. I also attended on… I'm sorry, September 25th, the East Bay Division Meeting, where we elected new division officers, and also highly praised our own Mayor Pro Tem Quinta, who is going to be elevated to President of the League of California Cities on this weekend.
0:51:19Also on the… on October the 2nd, I attended the Contra Costa Mayor's Conference, where we received a presentation from our clerk recorder, Kristen Connolly, about the upcoming special election in November, and also the climate adaptation plan for the county regarding shorelines, which, of course, El Cerrito is not a shoreline, but it was great to hear what their plan is for all of our shoreline cities.
0:51:43And did you remember, Councilmember? I did, yeah. Okay, go ahead. So, I've had… I've had several meetings over the last month or two regarding
0:51:52Alright.
0:51:53various entities' contracts with waste management, and the group that I'm part of is called Recycle More.
0:51:58The only report I have is that we're inching towards a new agreement in rate increases, and hopefully that will be settled soon. We have a new executive director that he's taking… he's taking the lead on the negotiations, and they…
0:52:11They're difficult, but they are moving forward.
0:52:14Alright, thank you so much.
Motoyama reported the ABAG Executive Board and Finance Committee on September 18, the Citizens for East Shore Parks 40th anniversary on September 21, honoring Nancy Skinner and Point Molate, and the East Bay Wildfire Coalition of Governments on September 24.
And, on October 1: “I had my interview with a service delivery study, so it's really great that that is” under way.
Ktsanes reported attending the Art Show, and had an announcement he did not want to spoil: the artist of the mosaic of Janet wished to donate it to the city — “maybe we can come back to it in two weeks.”
He also described two days of senior programming: “today, I went to St. John's. They have senior programming on Tuesday, and I had lunch with them”; and “yesterday, I went to Christ Lutheran and did the same thing. They had a discussion about the library”.
Wysinger reported the League's East Bay Division meeting on September 25, which elected officers and praised Mayor Pro Tem Quinto, about to become President of the League of California Cities, and the Contra Costa Mayors' Conference on October 2. Ktsanes reported from RecycleMore: the group was “inching toward a new agreement in rate increases” — negotiations “difficult, but they are moving forward.”
The RecycleMore negotiation reported here as “inching toward a new agreement” concludes on 2 December 2025: a rate of $195.82 per ton to Republic Services for all three waste streams, and residential garbage rates up 10.6% to 11.6% effective January 1.
25 Belva Davis captions 329–339
0:52:17And with that, tonight we adjourn this meeting in memory of Belva Davis, a trailblazing journalist, media, and pioneer, and proud former resident of El Cerrito. Belva Davis made history as the first Black woman television reporter on the West Coast, breaking barriers in newsrooms and on screens that had too long excluded voices like hers.
0:52:36Over a career that spanned more than four decades, she covered some of the most defining moments in American history, from the free speech movement to the rise of the Black Panther Party, from political conventions to the everyday lives of Bay Area residents whose stories she told with empathy, rigor, and integrity.
0:52:53Her work as an anchor and reporter at stations included KPIX,
0:52:57KQED and KRON set the standard for excellence in journalism, but beyond her professional achievements, Belva Davis was a mentor, advocate, and community builder, committed to opening doors for future generations of journalists, especially women of color and people of color.
0:53:14Here in El Cerrito, we remember Belva not only for her national prominence, but for her local presence and deep civic spirit. She and her husband, photojournalist Bill Moore, were active and engaged members of this community, embodying the values of curiosity, fairness, and service that define the best of public life.
0:53:32Her legacy continues to inspire us to tell the truth, lift up unheard voices, and serve our communities with courage and grace. And I know Councilmember Motayama wanted to also honor, Beva Davis.
0:53:44Yes, so thank you. I won't add too much. I just want to point out that we do have a
0:53:50a marker for Belva Davis in our community, which is one of the utility boxes. It's at the corner of Fairmont and Colusa, which shows little pictures of prominent Elsa Eaton. So.
0:54:03When you walk by that, I hope you'll take a look, and now you'll know what Belva Davis did for El Cerrito and the whole Bay Area. I'll add one thing, Mayor, like, you and I, she was born in Louisiana.
0:54:14All right. Well, with that being said, the time is now 6.56, and we are adjourned. The next regularly scheduled City Council meeting is Tuesday, October 21st, 2025, at 6 p.m. Everyone have a great evening, and if you're going to Cal Cities, be safe.
0:54:31I think that's only it.
The meeting adjourned in memory of Belva Davis, “a trailblazing journalist,” and the first Black woman television reporter on the West Coast.
The Mayor's tribute covered a career spanning more than four decades, in which she “covered some of the most defining moments” of the era, from the free speech movement to the rise of the Black Panther Party. Her work as anchor and reporter at KPIX, KQED and KRON “set the standard for excellence in journalism.”
And the local claim: “here in El Cerrito, we remember Belva not only for her national prominence, but for her local presence” — she and her husband, photojournalist Bill Moore, were active members of the community.
“Her legacy continues to inspire us to tell the truth, lift up unheard voices, and serve our community”.
Motoyama added that the city has a marker for Belva Davis — one of the utility boxes, at the corner of Fairmont and Colusa. “When you walk by that, I hope you'll take a look, and now you'll know what Belva Davis did for El” Cerrito.
The meeting adjourned at 6:56 p.m.