PC 052610 - Laserfiche WebLink

Commissioner Blank disclosed that he knows Mr. Morrison socially but they have not discussed this matter. Mr. Morrison read the following prepared letter "I urge the Planning Commission, following tonight's presentations, to schedule an additional meeting for public comment on the Supplement to the Stoneridge Drive Specific Plan Amendment/Staples Ranch Environmental Impact Report. The Final SEIR and staff report total 372 pages, longer than the 344-page Draft EIR. Pleasanton citizens are at a disadvantage to thoroughly review these documents and prepare sufficient comment in less than two weeks. Please provide residents and other members of the public more time to review these documents. "I also want to thank Ralph Kanz of Alameda Creek Alliance for reviewing and preparing comments on the biological sections of the EIR in the face of ongoing personal attacks from the mayor. As I note in my comments for the Draft EIR, in th a December 9, 2009 email that included distribution to City Staff, Mayor Hosterman called Mr. Kanz a "disgrace to the environmental movement" and "one of those hackers…." "Yesterday, on May 25, 2009, Mayor Hosterman sent another email (attached) derogatory of Mr. Kanz and his comments. Mayor Hosterman copied her opinion to the Pleasanton City Council, in an apparent violation of the Brown Act. An important Brown Act interpretation is the inseparability of deliberation from the decision-making process: "Deliberation and action are dual components of the collective decision- making process and the meeting concept cannot be split off and confined to one component. The term 'meeting' extends to informal sessions or conferences of members of legislative bodies designed for discussion of public business." (Sacramento Newspaper Guild v. Sacramento County Bd. of Suprs. (1968) 263 Cal.App.2d.41)" And "The public has a right to notice of and attendance at such meetings irrespective of whether individual members of the council intend or do not intend to take "action" at such gatherings." (Ops.Cal.Atty.Gen. 61 1963) "Conference calls and, presumably, email that involve a majority of council members are prohibited. Even the fact that no action is taken as a direct result of these communications does not relieve them of the requirement that they be public and properly noticed. The informal fact-finding and discussion phases of developing a 'collective concurrent' must be subject to public scrutiny and public input to the same degree as is the vote-taking at a scheduled meeting. PLANNING COMMISSION MINUTES, May 26, 2010 Page 13 of 27