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Pleasanton city staff is set to present an overview of the 2022 state legislative session, which include key housing-related bills recently signed into law, to the City Council at Tuesday’s scheduled meeting.
According to the city staff report, the City Council Legislative Subcommittee, which reviews and discusses state and federal legislation to determine policy positions for the council, did just that on April 21.
It reviewed a list of bills and provided recommendations on positions which were brought forward and adopted by the council on May 6.
That’s also when the council adopted the 2022 Pleasanton legislative framework, which guides the city’s response to pending state and federal legislation and particularly focuses on housing-related bills.
Staff then partnered with Tri-Valley cities, the League of California Cities and advocacy firm Townsend Public Affairs (TPA) to engage with local state representatives and bill authors and offer amendments to several bills.
“In total, the city sent 67 advocacy letters during the 2022 legislative session and monitored a total of 76 bills that were focused on a range of topics including housing, fiscal sustainability, infrastructure, public safety and sustainable development among others,” according to the staff report.
According to the report, a number of the suggested amendments proposed by the city have been incorporated into the bills and in cases where bills were adopted that the city opposed, “the city’s comments have nonetheless helped to mitigate or improve those bills’ outcomes for Pleasanton.”
Staff will be summarizing these bills and the disposition or outcome of each bill and while the report states that there won’t be a detailed analysis of the implications of all the bills, they will be providing information on some of the key housing-related bills signed into law.
“The City has purposely taken a collaborative approach in addressing bills of concern in an effort to lead change and proactively influence legislative outcomes,” according to the report. “This requires acknowledging the important issues that the bills raise, engaging in thoughtful and constructive dialogue, and supporting continued communication even if there is no alignment of views.”
The City Council meeting is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday (Nov. 1). The full agenda can be accessed here.
In other business
* Staff will be looking for council authorization to move forward with a professional services agreement in the amount of $224,500 to help facilitate a diversity, equity, and inclusion study.
The study will go toward developing a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) Strategic Plan, which was one of the 2019-20 City Council Work Plan priorities.
“With a focus on racial equity, the DEI Strategic Plan would identify, analyze and address equity gaps in the services we provide and establish appropriate benchmarks, programs, policies, implementation strategies and systems to lift up all populations in our community,” the report states.
According to the staff report, the priority was temporarily delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, which impacted both organizational resources and the local economy.
City staff chose MGT of America Consulting, LLC as the firm that will work with the city to facilitate the study that will be customized to the specific needs, culture and goals of Pleasanton.
According to the report, their team is experienced with diversity, equity, and inclusion work and organizational improvement, both throughout California and nationally.
“Staff diversity and creating a genuine culture of equity and inclusion is a key City Council priority,” the city staff report states. “The resulting DEI Strategic Plan must be effective, meaningful, practical, and sustainable for years to come.”
* The council will be set to approve Pleasanton’s five-year permanent local housing allocation plan and authorize city staff to submit an application to the Department of Housing and Community Development for Permanent Local Housing Allocation Program funds.
Senate Bill 2 created the Permanent Local Housing Allocation (PLHA) program, which provides grants to municipalities based on a formula allocation prescribed under federal regulations.
The main goal of the program is to create a permanent source of funding to local governments for housing-related projects and programs to address unmet housing needs in those communities.
“The PLHA program has been accruing funds since 2019; Pleasanton’s allocation for 2019, 2020 and 2021 totals $644,361, and estimated funding for 2022 and 2023 totals an additional $262,173, although actual amounts will vary based on the revenue realized by the State,” the city report states.
That means the city could receive a total of $906,534 over a five-year period if you consider those future year allocations.
According to the report, these new grant funds would serve as a new source of funds that can support homeless-related programs and services.
Some of the resources the city would put these funds toward include rapid rehousing, rental assistance and supportive case management services that allow people to obtain and retain housing.
“The City continues to make efforts to address homelessness in the community,” the report states. “Since 2017 the city has experienced a 300 percent increase in homeless persons from 18 unsheltered individuals in 2017 to 72 unsheltered individuals in 2022.”
* At the last council meeting, Vice Mayor Valerie Arkin motioned for staff to continue an adjustment to City Council members’ salaries to Tuesday’s meeting.
Council members will be reviewing and possibly approving a first reading of an ordinance that would increase their own salaries by as much as 10%.
The proposed salaries change would result in an increase of $120.17 per month for each elected official resulting in a new salary of $1,321.92 for council members and $1,421.92 for the mayor.
According to the staff report, the city’s municipal code concerning council member salaries allows the council to update the salary every calendar year per state law. The last increase was in 2019, which took effect after the start of the next council term in December 2020.
If approved, the salary increase would go into effect for the upcoming council starting in December.
