CCMIN07162019 - Laserfiche WebLink

In response to Councilmember Brown's inquiry, Niccolo De Luca, Senior Director of Northern California, Townsend Public Affairs, advised that they recommend "Oppose unless amended" as it allows the City to outline some of the changes it is requesting. He also advised that another tactic is also "Support if amended" which gives the City a voice in the conversation. In response to Councilmember Brown's inquiry, Ms. Hopkins advised that AB 1350 (Cooley) is a two-year bill and the Legislative Subcommittee did recommend a support position. This was due to Livermore Amador Valley Transit Authority (LAVTA) taking a support position. She also noted the bill would create a grant program that would provide free transit passes for residents under the age of 25 through a new or existing pass program. She advised the funding is coming from the Greenhouse Reduction Fund which is stemming from the California Cap and Trade Program. In response to Councilmember Brown's inquiry, Ms. Hopkins advised that SB 152 (Beall) is an Active Transportation Program which seeks to increase other modes of transportation such as biking and walking. She also advised the bill changes the existing allocation and a lump sum amount to the City. Mr. De Luca advised there are certain deadlines with a two-year bill which simply puts the bill on hold until January. This allows TPA to work with other agencies to mitigate any roadblocks in the process. In response to Councilmember Brown's inquiry, Mr. Beaudin advised that only one Accessory Dwelling Unit (ADU) can be authorized on a resident's property. In response to Councilmember Testa's inquiry, Mr. Beaudin advised that SB 13 (Wieckowski) would prohibit placing any impact fees on ADUs less than 750 square feet and capping the fees on ADUs that are larger. Councilmember Testa expressed concern that Pleasanton's positions are not being recognized in Sacramento. Mr. De Luca advised that State legislation works very quickly and that most cities need to submit their position at least a week in advance to be listed in the analysis of the bill. He also noted that just because a city is not listed, does not mean the committee does not know the City's position. Additionally, he reported they share letters with the Speaker and Speaker Pro Tem's offices to ensure the City's position on a bill is known. He also knows that TPA prefers face-to-face conversations. Councilmember Testa encouraged TPA to submit the position letters in a timely fashion so Pleasanton can be represented in the bill packet. In response to Councilmember Testa's inquiry, Mr. De Luca commended the Tri-Valley Cities for working as a coalition and said its way to being in a position to respond quickly to the fast-moving pace of running a bill. Mayor Thorne stated he has experience with writing bills through his work with the League of California Cities and it takes a tremendous amount of effort and funding to get something on the ballot. Councilmember Testa agrees it is a Herculean effort to get bills on the ballot. Ms. Hopkins provided information regarding 2019 Non-Housing Legislation. In response to Councilmember Testa's inquiry, she provided additional information on SB 332 which is a two- year bill regarding Wastewater Treatment. City staff recommends that the City Council oppose the bill due to the challenge's compliance would create. Ms. Hopkins reported that City staff recommends the City Council amend positions on AB 1483 (Grayson) and SB 330 (Skinner) from a position of "Oppose unless amended" to "Oppose" and amend the position on AB 723 (Wicks) from "Oppose unless amended" to no position, "Support" for SB 5 (Beall) and "Watch" for SB 592 (Weiner). Additionally, City staff recommends establishing the City's position on additional housing and non-housing bills as presented in Tables 2 and 3 of the agenda report. City Council Minutes Page 5 of 7 July 16, 2019