CCMIN 11022021 - Laserfiche WebLink

Mary Reding spoke regarding the proposed mixed-use development downtown. She advised the State has taken away the power of the City's elected leaders to make decisions that will continue to make Pleasanton a City of Planned Progress. She recently learned the City will now be affected by a proposed mixed-use development downtown at the end of Old Bernal Avenue and Harrison Street for a 48,000 square foot, five-story building consisting of 37 affordable housing units and 3000 square feet of retail space. She further explained according to SB 35, the City Council will have no voice in any planning decisions regarding this project. She noted this area is filled with apartments, condos, and single-family homes, that all add to the character of downtown. She reported a coalition of elected officials and neighborhood leaders have launched a campaign to qualify for a statewide vote in November 2022 to take back the City's voice in planning decisions such as this one and noted she plans to volunteer with this group. She expressed concern that this build will have a negative impact not only on Harrison Street but in the surrounding downtown. She encouraged the City Council to let the community know what it can do to stop this development in its current form. Marsha McInnis reported she is the founder of the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) Tri-Valley and advised they work as volunteers and peers to family members who are trying to help their loved ones in a mental health crisis. She believes having a mental health response program will save lives. She offered NAMIs support to the City whenever it is needed and noted NAMI works in Livermore, Dublin, and Pleasanton. She hopes that when PPD responds to a call of this nature they will also bring in a clinician to provide a medical assessment. She thanked the City and the City Council for bringing this item to the agenda. Holly Fletcher reported she is a Senior at Amador Valley High School and is the Vice-President of the local chapter of the Grassroots Law Project. She believes there are still changes that must be made in the MOU for the School Resource Officers (SRO) and appreciates it has been posted to November 16th for further discussion. She explained their chief concern is the SRO program continued for two decades without any accountability or evaluation. She advised the Grassroots Law Project became involved in this issue because it wanted the investments of the school board and the City to reflect their values especially since it most impacts the students of PUSD the most. Their first request is that parental notification occurs before interrogation. There is a concern that interrogation of minors could occur without parental notification and may be a violation of due process. She also noted Item 13 states that notification to parents or caregivers will be done when it is safe to do so. She inquired who makes this determination and request the context of"safe to do so" be clarified. Maodan Tohouri reported she is with the Grassroots Law Project and expressed appreciation that the SRO program discussion has been moved to the next City Council meeting. She expressed concern regarding the lack of language around parental notification before criminal interrogation. She believes there is a lack of clear measures for evaluation and no clear goals or measurements and requested they be clarified. She noted it is important to have an MOU that is clear and accountable to the community. Vaneesha Dave reported she is the President of the Grassroots Law Project, a senior at Amador Valley High School, and a member of the Student Interaction Council. She requested there be a consistent complaint policy and evaluation process between the SROs, the PUSD administration staff, students, and parents. She advised there are no dates or guidelines for the evaluation and inquired what criteria will be used to evaluate the lasting effectiveness of the MOU. She also advised there is an objective in the report to reduce the number of 5150s and 5585s and inquired what number of measurements PUSD is aiming for. She proposed a concrete number or percentage reduction be stated for clarity. Additionally, she would like to know if PPD intends to resurrect the diversion program. John Bauer advised a crisis response program is a step in the right direction but is only the first step. He explained private industry uses key performance indicators (KPIs) as a measure of success. He advised as part of the proposed program, success is measured specifically by the decrease in PPD contact with those in crisis and a reduction of 5150s. He believes there should be additional KPIs considered in the pilot program. He suggested the next two years be transparent and input from all stakeholders should be publically reviewed at City Council meetings during the pilot program to ensure City Council Minutes Page 5 of 19 November 2,2021