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2026-07-14 - City Council (regular)

Summary

Built from the official approved minutes (approved on the Consent Calendar at the July 28, 2026 meeting). No video or transcript is posted, so there is no timing.

  • Roll call 6:11 p.m.; all nine members present. Adjourned 11:15 p.m. after rules were suspended and the meeting extended to that time (Kesarwani/Humbert, all ayes).
  • Public comment: 9 speakers on non-agenda matters at the start, 21 on the consent and information items, 20 on non-agenda matters at the end.
  • Consent Calendar adopted all ayes (Kesarwani/Humbert), after Council accepted supplemental material from Tregub on item 20 (Tregub/Humbert, all ayes).
  • The big item: 58 speakers on the police canine and helicopter mutual aid resolution. Adopted as Resolution No. 72,399-N.S. with severed votes of 7-1-1 on helicopters and 5-4 on canines.
  • Tear gas and pepper spray items 24a and 24b were postponed to September 15, 2026 by a 5-4 vote after a reconsideration.
  • Three citizen initiatives (arts parcel tax, public bank parcel tax, sugar beverage special tax) were placed on the November 3, 2026 ballot.
  • Fiscal Year 2027 appropriations ordinance adopted on second reading: $922,346,116 gross, $796,579,332 net.
  • James (Jamie) Parks confirmed as Director of Public Works, $270,000 a year, effective August 17, 2026.
  • Council voted to oppose ACA 22 (two-thirds vote for local special taxes).
  • Ceremonial: Disability Pride Month, 50th anniversary of BORP, a Longfellow student competing in the National Braille Challenge, and adjournment in memory of Vanessa Lynn Sanchez, a victim of gender-based violence. City Manager comments: none. The City Auditor flagged the Public Bank initiative's effect on the Auditor Department's workload.

Police Canine Deployment Policy

  • Item 23a, Kesarwani: rescind Resolution No. 51,408-N.S. and allow mutual aid deployment of helicopters and canines. Motion (Humbert/Kesarwani) to adopt Resolution No. 72,399-N.S. as amended by Ishii and Blackaby, with canine deployment limited to violent felony suspects, deadly weapon cases, residential burglary in progress and certain warrants, and banned for infractions, most misdemeanors, encampment abatements and crowd control.
  • Helicopter portion: Ayes - Kesarwani, Taplin, Bartlett, O'Keefe, Blackaby, Humbert, Ishii; Noes - Lunaparra; Abstain - Tregub.
  • Canine portion: Ayes - Kesarwani, Taplin, O'Keefe, Blackaby, Humbert; Noes - Bartlett, Tregub, Lunaparra, Ishii.
  • Item 23b (Peace and Justice Commission policy on controlled weapons): no action (Kesarwani/Humbert, all ayes).

Tear Gas Use Policy

  • Item 24a (tear gas for critical life-threatening incidents only; lift the moratorium on smoke and OC spray) and 24b (Peace and Justice Commission item): scheduled for September 15, 2026, with supplemental material from Blackaby and the Police Accountability Board.
  • First vote 7-2 (Noes: Tregub, Ishii). Reconsideration (Lunaparra/Ishii) passed 6-3. Same motion then carried 5-4: Ayes - Kesarwani, Taplin, O'Keefe, Blackaby, Humbert; Noes - Bartlett, Tregub, Lunaparra, Ishii.

November 2026 Ballot Initiative Measures

  • Consent items 2 to 4: Resolutions No. 72,379, 72,380 and 72,381-N.S. submit the arts parcel tax, public bank parcel tax and the sugar sweetened beverage special tax (1 cent to 2 cents per ounce) to voters without alteration.

Annual Appropriations Ordinance Adoption

  • Continued item A: second reading of the FY 2027 Annual Appropriations Ordinance at $922,346,116 gross and $796,579,332 net; first reading had passed all ayes.

Public Works Director Appointment

  • Consent item 7, Resolution No. 72,384-N.S. (verbal salary disclosure made beforehand).

ACA 22 Opposition Position

  • Council item 19 by Tregub approved: letters of opposition to the Governor, Senator Arreguin, Assemblymember Wicks and committees.

Council Discretionary Fund Grants

  • Item 18 (Bertha Brown memorial gathering, $1,000 from Bartlett plus member contributions, Resolution No. 72,395-N.S.) and item 20 (RISE program, up to $250 each, Resolution No. 72,396-N.S.) adopted as amended.

Police Accountability Director Hiring

  • Consent items 5 and 6: Resolutions No. 72,382 and 72,383-N.S. appointed an alternate commissioner and a new member (nominated by Ishii) to the Police Accountability Board. Appointees are not named in the minutes.

Public hearings

  • Item 21: first reading of Ordinance No. 8,031-N.S., a five-year lease (September 1, 2026 to August 31, 2031) of second-floor space at 125-127 University Avenue to the International Child Resource Institute. 0 speakers; hearing closed and ordinance adopted, both Humbert/Blackaby, all ayes. Second reading set for July 28, 2026.
  • Item 22: Fiscal Year 2027 street lighting assessments. 2 speakers; hearing closed (Tregub/Humbert), then Resolutions No. 72,397-N.S. (District 1982-1) and 72,398-N.S. (District 2018) adopted (Blackaby/Humbert), all ayes.
  • 1: second reading of Ordinance No. 8,030-N.S. setting the 2027 transportation network company user tax at 65.1005 cents per non-pooled trip and 31.7889 per pooled trip, effective January 1, 2027.
  • 8: Bay Area Community Land Trust capacity building contract, $200,000 a year for fiscal years 2027 and 2028 (No. 72,385).
  • 9: State Future of Public Health funds, $912,213 a year for three years, not to exceed $2,736,639 (No. 72,386).
  • 10 and 11: Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency contracts: representative payee services up to $400,000 through June 30, 2027 (No. 72,387); public facilities improvements raised by $54,480 to no more than $249,480 (No. 72,388).
  • 12: 2018 Clean Stormwater Fee levy for FY 2027 (No. 72,389).
  • 13: Belfor USA Group on-call emergency restoration raised by $400,000 to $550,000, through March 11, 2028 (No. 72,390).
  • 14: Metro Elevator raised by $300,000 to no more than $650,000 (No. 72,391).
  • 15: Daupler, Inc. after-hours answering, up to $375,000 for three years (No. 72,392).
  • 16 and 17: ten electric Chevrolet Silverado trucks from National Auto Fleet Group up to $790,000 (No. 72,393); nine GO-4 parking enforcement vehicles from Turf Star up to $550,000 (No. 72,394).
  • Information reports received and filed: grant applications to the Alameda County Transportation Commission and MTC One Bay Area Grant Cycle 4 (25), and the Zero Waste Commission FY 2026-27 work plan (26).

Sources