City Council Meeting: October 25, 2021

now left um we apologize colleagues and members of the public we had a finance committee that ran over time will start with a clean welcome to the OCTOBER 25th, 2021 meeting of the past and the city council and we'll start with a calling of the rule. thank you, mayor. COUNCILMAN Hampton, blessed to be here and happy to see the white house. Robert kennedy here. COUNCILMAN Madison, your COUNCILMAN Massouda here as a member of riva's here council member williams is absent. She might be trying to come over to the meeting. Vice mayor wilson here, mayor gordon here there's a quorum of the council present. Great. And MR. Massouda, will you lead us in the pledge of allegiance you final to please stand. Thank you. Your right hand over your heart ready begin. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america and to the republic for which it stands one nation under GOD indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Thank you and we do have a ceremonial matter but before that I'm going to turn to MR. Madison for a request to adjourn in memory of a couple of presidents and MR. Wilson as well. First MR. Madison. Thank you, mayor. Yes, pasadena lost the two real pillars of the community joan alouette and mike cornwall in recent weeks and I'd like to ask my colleagues respectfully to adjourn in their memory, their honor. John carlo was a longtime resident of pasadena, was very involved in numerous local causes including planned parenthood, the huntington gardens and library, the pasadena garden club just a very active participant in community affairs. She's preceded in death by her husband, a sixty three year jim kallio that many of us knew as well leaves behind an outstanding family in the generations below. And then mike cornwell, I know many of you will remember my friend and constituent mike cornwell who lived much of his adult life in los but then relocated to pasadena about twenty years ago and has always had an active sense of civic engagement and plunged into city affairs. We would regularly see mike at community meetings and even in the council chamber addressing various topics he was described by many as a character and I think he took some pride in that. He was also a veteran, a colonel in the army reserve who would sometimes playfully answer his phone as the colonel and again mike was also preceded sadly in death by his late wife diane cornwell. So to real salt of the earth members of our community and I appreciate it very much, mayor. Thank you. Thank you, MR. Madsen. And I'd like to join in your request. You know both are significant tribute to our city and we regret both of their losses and certainly our city should honor them with adjournment in their memory and to vice mayor wilson also has a request that he'd like to make. I'm going to join him also in that request. but go ahead, MR. Wilson. Thank you, mayor. We're going to add to the loss of two residents that steve just mentioned. I would like to add the unfortunate loss of peggy york. As I MAY know, district seven resident margaret peggie york passed away sunday, OCTOBER 17th at the age of 80. Peggy had an outstanding career with the los angeles police department where she served as a supervisor lieutenant captain commander the first woman to become deputy chief. York was initially appointed to the lapd in nineteen sixty five my birth year as a radio telephone operator before she became a policewoman on in nineteen sixty eight at a time when women were only allowed to work in certain assignments I'd point out that in MARCH the lapd announced their academy a class this year with 50 percent women. So a real changemaker I think with peggy's work after retiring from her groundbreaking career at the lapd, peggy was appointed the chief of police for the los angeles county police department and continue to do consulting work for the international association of police chiefs of police. Peggy was also served on the advisory board of the salvation army and regularly supported the american cancer society. Peggy ran for city council in district seven in two thousand nine and she made it to the runoff before losing to former mayor terry to begin with her husband of 40 years, judge lance ito lived in madison heights actually just around the corner for me was active in the neighborhood together they were indeed a dynamic duo. She'll be greatly missed by all of us. Our condolences and prayers go out to lance and all of his family. I'd like to request we also join today's meeting in honor peggy york, thank you. First mayor wilson, I see MR. Massood has got his hand up. I'll turn to MR. Massouda before making comments. MR. Thank you, mayor and thank you council member wilson for remembering peggy york. She was a dear friend. I got to meet her when I was a neighborhood representative years ago and she was very supportive of so many things that we did. I appreciated her friendship, her leadership. She was just a wonderful person . She was a great volunteer for so many different issues and and organizations. I enjoyed speaking to her and when I asked her for some advice she was always there for some wonderful advice. So mayor, I want to join council member wilson and the rest of the council to remember peggy are again to join in her name as well. Thank you, MR. Mayor. I would just like again weigh in. You know, peggy york and judge ito are to great contributors to our city, both friends of mine. And I know that friends to many of us around the dias and pigou york was a trailblazer not just in pasadena but in the area of policing at one of the largest departments in the country. And you know, we are all sad to see peggy go and I will again reduce the council's thoughts and comments related to all three of our the residents that we've lost in our one tonight and make a call to judge ito as well on behalf of the city council and invite all of you to do the same. Thank you. Next we'll move on to oh yes next we'll move on to a special presentation involving a long time business in pasadena, one that we all know well if we can bring on my work very work is this MR. Fetty, welcome and we're proud to honor you as one of the legacy business businesses in the city of pasadena and colleagues and members of the public today. We're pleased to recognize fetti furniture founded in 1930 seven by arnold and ellen fetti on the same block where it currently stands today. They started this home furnishing business during difficult economic times and with the simple goal of offering competitive prices on the quality products that would provide comfort and satisfaction to each customer. In 1962 re don petit took over as PRESIDENT And today the third generation mark and melinda fetti kini continue the family tradition over the years three furniture expanded their showroom and grew to two locations in addition to their home furnishing business, the fetti family has also been very active in our community and supports organizations including ability first mark one move a child high capacity heritage and the passing of community foundation, the navy league and the navy league passing the league. In addition, don said he's gone that he served as PRESIDENT Of the past tournament of roses in 1990 while mark that he served over twenty five years as a member of the tournament being a third generation business with long time roots and passing is something to celebrate. Congratulations to three furniture on eighty four years of business and service to the community. Thank you to thirty first year for your active civic engagement and your contributions to the passing community. Best of luck in the future marc to you and your family and congratulations on so many successes and so many contributions is over so many decades that you want to see if I MAY but let's give MR. Freddie an opportunity MR. And I'll turn back to you if that's ok. I would like to say a few words about MR. Freddie. Sure. Let me let me give MR. Freddie an opportunity to to say hello and then I'll turn to you MR. Kelly. Marc, thank you very much for or recognize what our family has tried for 84 years and serving the pasadena community and as I as I look at the screen here and see many of our wonderful customers who quite frankly that's why that's why we're here is because of how fortunate we've been to be able to go ahead and have the support of not only this community but obviously many customers throughout the pasadena area. We we've seen a lot of changes in pasadena for many years and it's quite interesting to see the direction now they continue to grow and value what's happening in the community. I was always raised by my father to understand their partnerships for everything and what that means to our business and to our excellent staff, long term staff and the partnership with the city of pasadena has meant a great deal for us. So thank you very much. Thank you, MR. Fetty. Thank you, mark. And next I'll turn to members of the council starting with MR. Kennedy. Thank you, mayor. I just like to say to ma and to don in the fetty family just an extraordinary contribution that you've made to pasadena. I know that sitting on that corner colorado that you've served everyone who has come in your door with kindness and respect and that's important in pasadena particularly 80 plus years of service when came to don and asked him to support african-american the tournament, he stepped up quickly and that was something I'll never forget his willingness to just step up and be counted certainly by possibly many others who have historic home. We MAY have several pieces that we purchased from fetich furniture and have been totally satisfied with those purchases there the story of a young man who came from mexico who worked for betty furniture essentially all of his life and he would tell me the kindness of the fetti family to him it was also a great love and he passed and done in the whole betty organization acknowledged that relationship by chance. Mark, if you're still on the line, do you recall the gentleman's name? Yes. You're talking about restaurant tanne. My grandfather hired him and he was part of our company. He was part of our family. He was he was our family for fifty five years and what a true gentleman he meant the world to us as family first and that what he did to this community, st. Andrew's church and such. So thank you for saying that very much but thank you mark fellow project and thank you don for just being outstanding and outstanding. Thank you mayor for the opportunity. Thank you and let the record reflect that MISS Gutierrez and I just looked at each other and smiled because we treasure that is someone that we know well and his wife actually was very close to my family a member of the media family and would pick me up from elementary school and drive me home. She was the only person at willard when I was in first grade who spoke spanish and she worked in that office I mayor wilson mark I have to hold my computer up because if you don't look at all these furniture in my home office all twelve pieces are from your shop. So I feel like I'm in the destroying the furniture location because of a distinctly michigan furniture my home office. So congratulations. Thank you very, very much MR. Massouda. We're going to get a few of your furniture. Thank you, mayor. And my congratulations. I do have a house full of your furniture. Thank you so much. I really appreciate that. The one thing I want you to know that when it was mentioned about on your corner there, especially during the rose parade in 2013, both my son's grandmothers saw him walk the as an eagle scout the the rose parade. So I wanted you to know that I don't think I ever told you that before. I don't talk a lot about that. But I really appreciate your business and what you do and and work you what the work that you continue to do as a volunteer. Thank you so much. Thank you. I think that completes again congratulations mark to you and your family for all the contributions to our pets of the community to another very much for years and we'll see you when you turn 100. We'll know it because MR. Wilson will return 100. Ok, thank you. Next we'll move on to public comment for matters not on the agenda. Public comment will be limited to a total of twenty minutes at the beginning of the meeting and will continue at the conclusion of the meeting if necessary. Common comments are limited to three minutes each. The council will not discuss or take action on issues not on the meeting agenda except that members of the city council or staff MAY briefly respond to statements made or questions posed by persons exercising public testimony, writes a member of the public shall only address the body from the members of the public shall direct comments to the body as a whole and not to staff individual members of the body or the public. No person shall be permitted to interrupt members of the body staff presentations or members of the public who are at the microphone during a meeting. Any person making personal, impertinent or slanderous remarks about members of the body staff or the public or who shall become boisterous or threatening or personally abusive of the body staff or members of the public shall be asked by the mayor to cease and desist. Such activity MAY be requested or required to leave the meeting in the event the behavior continues to disrupt the meeting proceedings with that statement sam bills has a card in but is not present in the meeting. So we will turn to jane ward followed by kat ross followed by vanessa khail. Hello city COUNCILWOMAN Chief perez has stated that witnesses told pasadena pd investigators that anthony mclean had a gun. But new information released today on pasadena black pages reveals that one of the two witnesses on the scene, the witness closest to the incident said anthony mclean did not have a gun. The police also took a statement from someone who was not at the scene but who they met to get information on another case and who told them that he had heard through the grapevine that anthony mcclain had a gun. This person later withdrew their statement and said it was inaccurate. But the police continue to represent us as a legitimate witness testimony. This is witness manipulation and corruption. It is time to fire chief perez for his role in protecting the officers who murdered anthony maclane and steve wormald for his failure to ensure that the pasadena police department is free of this kind of corruption. I also want to say that as a white person I am humbly grateful to the black leaders who have helped me to see the deep rootedness of anti blackness in the way that american cities and neighborhoods have been and still are policed including and especially in pasadena. So speaking as one white person to some other steve madison and andy wilson, the white members the colleagues of yours who have been most vocal and engaged in addressing police accountability are two black men and I'm wondering why you are leaving this injustice to them to address. I think we know why but doesn't need to be that way. If you'll direct your comments to the body and it would really work well if you didn't also make race based comments towards members of the council what we're talking about a race based issue here but that yes. So I want to extend a personal invitation to the leaders of our diverse community who themselves are not targeted by racist policing. So I'm using a euphemism there. I think we know what I'm saying to break the silence about anti black police violence and step up and do the right thing. You can join us in demanding one minute firing officers involved in the murder of anthony mclain because anthony mclain's life mattered and he was shot in the back while running away and you could also join us at a showing up for racial justice meeting because that's where we get together to mobilize white people to end their support for white supremacy and we would really love to see steve bateson and andy wilson with us. Thank you. Thank you know next speaker kat ross followed by vanessa kale followed by allen shay ross. go ahead. I'm calling in to ask the city council to agenda's officer involved shooting policies for the entire council. I believe there are enough votes for the city council to instruct a city manager to create a policy requiring that the administrative review of an officer must conclude within nine months of the incident. This would change the current practice of waiting sometimes years for other agencies to finish their proceeding before officers are held to account in pasadena. The policy should require administrative reviewers to conduct their own thorough investigation, including interviewing witnesses, taking depositions, sworn officers statements, reviewing video and audio evidence so they can be confident in their findings. The review of policy in a public safety committee made it clear that the city council can act and can act as soon as its agenda waiting longer than nine months to investigate is a bad practice for the good officers who want to work in a just and equitable system for the community to have any trust in our city or its police or the family to heal. Can you imagine having to see the person who killed your son walking on your street? Do this for pasadena. Pasadena needs the city council to stand up for the health and safety of its community for us to feel safe. We need to know that officers who beat or kill our neighbors are held accountable for their actions. Complete the administrative review of the officers anthony mclain's case and hold officer doomer glenden accountable for killing anthony. Thank you MISS Ross. Vanessa cahall by alan shay followed by brian brannagh, the national council members of the council members fellow council members. My name is vanessa cayle. I live in altadena. I consider pasadena particularly north pasadena to be part of my community. Robinson park hosted central altadena little league last spring when our own park could not open for the season. I am saddened that a fellow citizen anthony mcclain was unnecessarily killed in a traffic stop. I am disappointed that the city has not fired police officers or implemented a program of mandatory discipline for police misconduct. Please agenda the anthony mclean shooting and please make office or involved shooting investigations fully transparent. Thank you. Will bring in alan shay, alen stajcic to unmuted mr shaw go ahead. Hello honorable victor gordo and city council members as you know I try and check in every monday and remind this panel here that you are the governance of this city and you certainly set the standards as you well aware, I have called out the corruption and that has taken place with the anthony maclaine's murder. I've also indicated that anthony has not did not have a gun. It was planted by pasadena city police on the east side of the street. The video shows it I brought it to your attention. These kind of discussions are not going to go away unless you act properly. Are you going to do is allow it to continue to fester and get longer and get more irate with people calling. We can utilize our energies in a much better way if people step up to the plate. So all this kind of dodging the responsibility is absurd. There should be no reason we have posted the voice of the community for four hundred twenty eight days doesn't go to facebook and look for yourself . That's not going to stop until some firing take place. You need to fire john perez. You need to fire the officers or the officers that was associated with the corruption . The trust in the community is not going to come back into those things are done. I have committed to eleven years of being a commissioner for the northwest community just to make sure that they have their due respect and look what happened even with all the cameras that that are provided, there's still ways that the police department and the city council manipulates the accountability. That's absurd. Everybody on that council should be embarrassed one minute and really should be because this is something that should have been done immediately based on the on the videos that john paria set. The video speaks for itself. That's all you have to do is hold him responsible. That video speaks for itself and quit going around with with all these excuses. That's absurd. It's making the city look bad. Thank you. Thank you, brian brannagh followed by michael williams followed by hiram cormier JR. Good evening council members. First I would like to express my thanks for this opportunity to address you and live in the san gabriel valley and it's speaking you tonight to you tonight in a personal capacity. My family and I attend one of the churches in the city of pasadena which currently provides affordable housing units on the property. I wanted to express my support tonight for the church rezoning initiative. I have two elementary aged children and over the past few years I have noticed many of my children's classmates have been forced to choose between leaving the san gabriel valley and moving east or if they want to maintain friendships and routes they have built locally continuing to rent and forgoing the opportunity to build wealth associated with homeownership. I love pasadena and I do not want pasadena near the san gabriel valley to turn into another west side with families forced out. I particularly want to encourage the council members to seek this approval as I write rather than discretionary. I believe as council members you are aware of the immensity of the affordable housing problem. It will take many different initiatives to counter the economic forces accelerating housing prices beyond the wage growth. Some of the solutions will be increasing the supply and type of development. Some will rest in policy and regulation. Some will need to be actions by individuals and coming up with the incentives to do so, what appeals to me about the church rezoning in particular is that it builds from the local community itself and there are churches throughout pasadena leave us saying we as a community can make a difference. We at pasadena churches need to make this a movement, not a one time project. It is a couple of projects but it's discretionary. It will be a nice thing that these couple of churches did that there will be clear friction in the path of other churches wanting to follow suit I believe and we see churches standing up and making commitments like this. They will inspire more local pasadena churches to do so as well and if it by right there will be a clear path to do so. Thank you council members for your time and consideration of this. Thank you. We'll bring in michael williams followed by hiram cormier JR. We have cards submitted for when wendy and jason are but they are not checked in so we probably move over to heavenly hues. MR. Williams, go ahead. Can anybody hear me? Yes, we can go ahead. Of course I'm calling for asking for the firing of the officers that were involved in atomically murder and as you all know, the your information about the case and there's more to this story than that we realize and what the community had been saying about what the police did that night is being proven true. There's now new information that academic wayne murder was attempted to be covered up to officer were potentially going to get away with murder because of falsified witness statements and ignored witness statements that the police provided. This should be a firable offense. There should be an immediate investigation into the police department because of internally and externally those officers whose names are listed on the document that you all have received should be fired immediately. An officer marooning and doumitt mcglennon should be fired immediately along with the other officers toronto. They all should be fired immediately today. Also stephen should be resign immediately not waiting until DECEMBER immediately resign because under his watch and others michele bachmann is what this was filed in a public arena where witnesses, names and information were published to the whole community one minute putting their lives in danger, putting their lives at risk. This is a shamble this is something that the city council should immediately do something about not two weeks from now, not after an investigation immediately immediately fire fire and ask for the resignation of steve merrymount immediately ask for the resignation of don perez, immediately ask for the resignation of michelle bagneris and immediately terminate every single officer that had any involvement with the case regarding anthony mcclellan this pwn corruption and cover collusion and I don't think this is the last of the information that we're going to receive about this case. Do it now. Thank you. Next, hiram cormier junior followed by wendy is not available still and jason is not available so we'll go to heavenly hues after hyrum squirmy you can hear me? Yes we can't go ahead. I support every single word that the previous speakers said as well as the cause for other previous speakers for the officers to be fired for justice be brought in the name of anthony mcclain I also support again the immediate resignation or firing of her male chief of police perez and the city attorney really all the council members who hesitate to bring justice to this case. The information that came out in that article and in that document as previous speakers say proves everything that we already know that this whole thing is a cover up. The whole thing is farce and everything they tried to do with a lie. This city is so deceitful especially to black people you do not treat fair in any capacity at all, especially when it comes putting bullets in our backs and kneeling on them and watching to bleed to death. That shouldn't happen to anybody and the fact that it happened y'all keep dragging it out and that's not people's graves is crazy. It reminds me like you know when I was 13 and trayvon martin was killed and the verdict came in not guilty and I remember how I felt that night and how many people all around this world around this country felt about this helpless, hurt they suspect is so confused. That's how I feel this whole process watching this AUGUST 15th of twenty twenty last year all the way till now in the same way I feel now I don't know why you're certain, MR. Wilson. I mean it's crazy. It's crazy. There is no where is your heart for real where is your compassion makes me sick. It really does. You know, again, those cops need to be gone. They really do. You know, in the public safety committee meeting a few weeks ago you talked about one minute because poubelle because the police officer bill of rights which is we know who wrote that cop sympathizer obviously. But regardless, where's the bill of rights for black line? Where's the bill of rights for black people if we have the protection do maybe just it wouldn't happen if you don't have the crime that you're supposed to have, maybe some would have been done already. You would stop having a call in every week to hear about this stop make it happen or should I say start make it I don't know. We all get the point but we're the ones who go through were the ones who had to feel the bullies were the ones that would be denied housing health care, our human rights, our humanity. What does it mean for me? What does might mean to me when all I do is done? What does that mean to me? It don't mean to me. Your time as a sir. Thank you MR. Next heavenly use followed by victor hudson and those will be the last there's about four minutes left a four and a half minutes up they'll be the last in the twenty minute initial public comment mitsuse mitsuse go ahead and unmuted. Hello my name is stephanie you co-founder of my tribe brize. I want my whole three minute mark. You do not have to interrupt me. i will end at the three minute part. So MISS Ordell the murder of empting the plane is race based the the beating of chris and sold forth and so on as you have heard on and on again about the safety of black people in pasadena. So it is race based. I will say those on the road dawn on the road. Have you watched it? I've asked before dawn on a road meaning corruption, collusion cover up abuse, police tampering of evidence politics is big money schemes and lack of public safety. Like I said before, several of you all are shucking and jiving and lying, cheating and intentionally deceiving the community to benefit your own agendas and your own financial link or a common corruption and abuse and murder starting with the murder of reginald thomas to the violent beating ballou the murder of antietam was playing in the big money collusions at the rose bowl. The invitation for more corruption with the proposal of ordinance requesting no limit campaign funds while y'all are well your pockets are getting fat. People are homeless in a street and police are killing black men and not being held accountable for murders. We have read the articles today released by the pasadena black black pages five more male and female epic fail. We demand you resign in closed session tonight. You have neglected the welfare of the community and the witnesses in the anthony case you have jeopardized their safety. You expose the information about the witnesses and did not ensure their safety for that reason resides at night with the man you see steve moore mail to resign now or tonight in the midnight hours like you have to have done before a then dies agenda by the officer and by all officer involved shooting policy agenda. The answer the mcclain murder agenda is the review of the past a city charter we the man you mayor victor bordo to keep your word and call me back to discuss how the community is can be a part of the steps needed to select a new city manager and intends to pass the energy say his name anthony mcclaine say his name and the place we demand justice for anthony mcclain your time has expired. Victor hudson is mr hudson. Go ahead and commute. You can start adjusting mr hudson, could you start? Yes. Can you hear me? Yeah I can go ahead. Ok, I believe that it is time for our community to address race police at the door floyd would killed by the police in minnesota antima was killed by the police right here in pasadena just like the video of george floyds killing the video of apne maclaine's killing souls and officer who didn't de-escalate and was under no immediate threat but who choose to take another black man's life after mcclain was running away from officer edward do mcguinty, he was not advancing on or struggling with an officer. He was not pointing a weapon. He was running away. This means it was not necessary for officer edwin to maguid to use deadly force to save his own life or protect the community. But like so many officers before him he saw a black man run and his first instinct was to shoot. This cannot be our past zeena defines public safety and I hope you know that it's new information that have been found that housing the police have been tampering with the words of of the community, the witnesses. So there will be more stuff that you will be seen as being a city council. You have to do better this time we're going into thirteen fourteen months I said just before you panic you cannot keep pressing the people before they right before they uprise and that's just going to be more drama in the street. You guys have the power to change what are we waiting for. The time is now do something we're asking we call in every week how much more are we going to have? How much more are we going to plead in pay that do something ,do something. We need to see action the officers involved with human trafficking maclay all need to be fired in. Some of you guys can't resign fast enough. Maria city manager forty five seconds edwin doomer glenden needs to be fired immediately. You got to be that after this you need to sit down and have a round table and start taking action. You can't keep the people in nothing's going to happen only thing is going to get worse. You guys got the power to make things better, bring peace. I digress. Thank you. That completes public comment on the initial twenty minutes the following public comments speakers will be called at the end of the meeting sarah brewer boehland bert newton, george sanders, jasmyn richards gabdulla and adrian battista. Those cards will be called at the end of the meeting after all the other businesses concluded. Thank you. Next we'll move on to the yes if you don't mind just 30 seconds. I have not seen the files that have been reported on investigative black pages or or that that the conversation live has access to. But I have requested multiple times which we now know according to the past things like pages based on information that was I want to say mishandle which was yes that is the word for mishandled by the attorney firm when submitting the documents to the past in the courthouse or the los angeles superior court that was obtained by conversation live james james ah that he actually has access. Yes, he has this document he is not sharing this document with me nor do I know he issued a document with any of my colleagues on the city council. But I did ask and request that the radio chatter be released with the tapes. My the response was we're going to look into that well well based on the information that MR. Forrest requested in a public records of course that that information is out there and and we do know that we do have it. So I would like for that information to be released as well as the officers that were involved in locating the gun that that was found that night on raymond avenue. So I would like that information. I think that that information is key for transparency and that should be posted also I think the law firm that was involved in sending out this information finial personalism including social security numbers of witnesses there should be accountable the here as well I made that law firms should not be working on this anymore or I don't know exactly what plan of action is for that but that is a it is it is ridiculous that people information were put out like that. MR. Hampton's in it and I mean these are professionals once again these are professionals will have an opportunity. It doesn't it doesn't matter does it not matter that these people's information were put out extremely publicly including their social security numbers? MR. Hampton will have the opportunity will have the opportunity to have that discussion likely in closed session. Thank you. Next consent calendar one of the ok, I'm sorry MR. Kennedy, did you be brief repeatedly about staff to tell all of the audio visual evidence that's been released to the public and I have been told that it have by the city manager in others and if that's not the case, I think it's appropriate that staff would speak up based upon my request and based upon council member hammarsten comments tonight and tell the council and the community if in fact all of the information we have related to audio visual of the incident and actual incident and subsequent to the incident has been released in the public domain. That's what staff has told us and that needs to take place. Secondly, as the council member district one council member hampton where this matter took place, officer involved shooting I think it's only right to agenda and address questions that he has a raise. They are legitimate questions. They deserve an answer and good government in our fiduciary responsibility require that we answer them for the public, for the family, anthony mclean and for all of the police officers that work for the police department. So however that's done, it needs to be done posthaste. Council member hampton has been consistent in his calls for transparency. Thank you, MR. Kennedy. Now we'll get to the consent calendar and is there a motion on the consent calendar? We do have one speaker card for item one mayor if I MAY on the consent calendar. MR. Kennedy, I'd like to make a motion on the local body of the consent unless there is council member who would like to pull something. But I would like to make a quick formal about agenda item for ok, so you want to hold so why don't you go there's a public there's a motion and a second on the entirety of the consent calendar there's a card on item one. Why don't we hear that public comment and then we'll hear MR. Kennedy's comment on item four allison henry is henry go ahead allison. Thank you. Good evening. And I particularly thank you, MR. Tomsky. Good evening, mayor and council . My name is allison henry. I'm a resident of district three and co-founder of the san gabriel valley tenants alliance. Many of you know me. Good evening. Recently my organization did a community event in villa park regarding covid protections for tenants. Know your rights and housing is key application support with our local organization in pasadena collective of the roses at L.A. Youth alliance we did two evenings in villa park with the community and as a result or not as a result but just doing that event, one of the things that was asked of community members is what's your greatest concern? And I will tell you that security was in fact flagged as a major concern by everyone who came through our little workshop. So if we had security cameras, which is what this agenda item is, if we had agenda, if excuse me had security cameras in the park to address security, I'm sure that would be welcomed. But I would ask you to think a little bit more broadly about security, particularly in in relation to the public comment. But if you had security cameras in the park that security camera would have captured residents applying for rental and utility relief on laptops and phones provided by volunteers. We helped process between 15 and 20 applications on the night of nine thirty. Those cameras would have also captured how at 950 P.M. We had to wind down help because the lights allowed at 10:00 the cameras would have caught the lack of a city or park wide internet service that could help folks literally access the internet. Your cameras would have captured the community that gathered around your laptop phone and your screen streaming a meeting on police oversight and community oversight board. Your camera could probably zoom in on the phone that was used at the hotspot. I don't submit this comment to shame the city but rather to provide a fuller picture of additional security support and infrastructure that would be helpful at villa park and the city council mayor and housing department the community organizations second line thank you for the tenants alliance but also others are pushing out housing is key info. We know that housing is a crisis but when I think about villa park and security cameras or other things that we could use like internet lights on after 10:00 and even folks to support application processes like the ones that our organizations did with volunteers and when we think about security also maybe it goes beyond cameras in the park again I would ask you all to deeply consider the comments submitted by my fellow residents and local neighbors during public comment. Thank you for your consideration. Thank you, alison. Thank you for a complete public comment on media items. MR. Hampton, let's turn to MR. Kennedy's comments. You are specifically item one. It was specifically ok, go ahead in the middle. I want to come of the questions that were brought up. I know that we talked about security in our parks as a whole and I want to know where when that conversation will be coming back to the city council to discuss. I have also requested that potentially we use, you know, neighbors or volunteer services or hire a security company that would help that us unarmed that would help navigate some of our parks as it relates to security . so I know that you mentioned that that would be coming to us as a discussion item around our parks. I just wanted one to play that again. Yeah, that matter has been referred to public safety, MR. Hampton and all right, we'll come to public safety, ok? And then to MR. Henry's concerned about the internet. I know that recently there were upgrades to the internet at the at villa park in towns there MAY be some deadzone there at the park. So at least I thought there are upgrades to the internet at miller park at the same time the upgrades made it lapenta rasca but maybe the city manager can answer that question. Council member hampton I have leclaire, our I.T. Director here with me and I'll ask him to touch upon the wi fi out it fell apart to clear certainly just answer your question council member there is wi-fi service in the park and the exterior areas as well as in the buildings. There could be some dead zones. We will take feedback about that and we will do our best to try to increase its coverage and capacity. If you if you or any of your constituents know of any particular areas we can look into, I'm sorry MR. Lukla, I maybe we can feel a little closer to the mike because you keep on breaking in and out at least for me I don't know. That's just me. Hi. Sorry about that. i was saying that there is wi-fi service in the park on exterior areas as well as throughout the building at the center. But we we do take feedback if there are some dead zones we can make some modifications. We will we just need the feedback from the public. So if you have anyone that you know of, you have them refer to us or we'll do our best to to increase coverage and and improve those dead homes that MAY be reported. Thank you. It sounds like we just had a public committer that you MAY want to reach out to them. We will try and address missiles and. Thank you MR. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for the update. And if there are like a blackout areas within the park, it's great that your team is going to be working most. Thank you. Thank you, MR. MR. Kennedy. Item for an important before I get the item for mayor, I just simply like to say thank you, mayor, for your role as chair of public safety that we will discuss a series of safety protocols, panoply of items that we can do to make our park safer and more user friendly for our community. I think that's critically important and I want to thank MR. Henry for her input, her comment and her leadership related to that area that she just spoke about item for we would quickly normally jump up through this matter in a perfunctory way. But I think must call out bill wong and his team the leadership and jim wong related to this extraordinary tool that's taking place to keep particularly my interest the category of some of the lowest ,greatest need of housing in that category into perpetuity by virtue of the action that's going to be taken under agenda item number four with the california state community development authority I think this is extraordinary. It's I think it's working and the more that bill wong, director of housing in bill jim wong as the senior product project manager manager bring these items to us the better our community will be in terms of affordable housing and work for housing particularly but not exclusively because under workforce that is extremely low, very low in low income housing and it seemingly touching at least two of the primary lower categories housing that I believe is critically missing and as some call it the missing middle. But there is also a level beyond or below the missing middle that needs to be taken a look at by the housing tax or its mayor and the appropriate committees that you have impaneled and the body of our subcommittee of the council with that again I would move all items on. Thank you MR. Kennedy and ask and you shall receive they're now present the chambers but I'll turn to MR. Madison first whose district this is in and then we can ask for a report on this. This is an important matter and it winds up an important process and provides affordable MR. Madison really. So are we pulling no for mayor ? Is that what's happening? I don't think so. I think MR. Kennedy was just making comments that you want to make comments or second I think I'll say emergency. I can have it ok, if that's a sweet pardon, I think it is a sweet moshing. It is a sweet emotion. We have emotion that has been moved and seconded to approve all the consent items. Then the comment I would add MR. Kennedy is he comes from kennedy is absolutely right. This is a great job by our staff. The this is the third building in the west gate complex. It's actually west gate one. We had already done two and three and I'm very proud of staff's work in it as well. And MR. Kennedy is correct that we're preserving not only the missing middle pieces which will convert over time to moderate income so-called workforce housing but there are I believe 96 units of low income and very low income if I recall in in the building as well and those will be preserved. So it's a great outcome. Thank you, mayor. Thank you, MR. Madison and the city clerk before we take a vote does have some correspondence to report out. Thank you, mayor. Three letters we received expressing support for the installation of security cameras for item number one in villa park with one of the letter stating that the cameras will be a pair it will be a second pair of eyes when police response is not possible. One letter was received expressing concerns and providing common suggestions for additional security support and infrastructure that would be helpful at villa park all those letters were distributed to the council posted online and are part of the record for item number one. Thank you and thank you to to bill and jim for great work on item four. Ok, we have a motion and a second on the consent calendar roll call cast member hampton on the approval of the consent calendar. Yes, housemen kennedy. Yes. Casamayor madison yes. Kaspersen massouda yes. Cast member riva's yes. Cast member williams yes. Vice mayor wilson get a record of yes. The consent calendar was approved without opposition and again thank you to everyone in adds this council member madison points out at morehouse and MR. Kennedy adds more affordable housing, more affordable housing stock in a very creative way unimportance next we'll move on to public safety committee and we'll start with reckonable. I'm sorry I'm so scared. Yeah. Item seven is old business predevelopment plan review of a new one hundred and twelve units senior affordable housing project at two eighty ramona street and two seventy nine holly street. MR. A's, welcome. Thank you mayor and city council. This is a ppr which is pretty long plan review first step in moving towards entitlements for this project which is designed to be by right. There's a presentation at senior planner MR. Andre sahakian will be giving this evening and then we're available as is the applicant team for any questions that the council MAY have. And while we're waiting for MR. Sahakian to be brought into the meeting, the city clerk's office received six letters expressing gratitude and support for the proposed affordable housing project in the civic center. Those letters are posted online, distributed by the city council and made part of the record for this purpose before we begin, mayor, could we get a reminder from the city attorney and what we're allowed to say and not to to on papers? Thanks. Yes. With respect to pass to ensure that the due process rights of all impacted are adequately protected, it's important that the council when listening not respond with comments that suggest that you have made up your mind or that suggest that you support or oppose a project because it could come before you in the future and that would potentially interfere with the ability to ensure that they are getting an open mind when the project is considered it is ok to ask questions for clarification and get a better understanding of what is being proposed. Recognize that this is an early stage and it's quite possible that a project will be revised before its final. Thank you MR. Invite MR. Sahakian I really please. Thank you mayor. Thank you. Members of the city council my name is andre sahakian and I'll be presenting this for you this evening. Next slide please. But just to give a quick summary of the pr process, the purpose of this is to achieve better projects through early consultation between city staff and project applicants certain projects that are considered to be of communitywide significance that go through the pr process also come before the city council for this type of review and this includes projects greater than 50000 square feet with at least one discretionary action project with 50 or more housing units for projects determined by the planning director to be of major importance to the city. And so this since this project includes a eighty three thousand fifty square feet of affordable housing with one hundred and twelve units therefore qualifies as a project of community wide significance. And as we discussed this is informational only for tonight and no action is required by the city council. So just a brief summary of the project itself. The site is located at 280 romona street or also 279 east holli's street. It's located here in the civic center historic district rightly adjacent to the historic ymca building. It's located in the central district specific plan c d two which is a civic center zoning district. That zoning district allows up to eighty seven dwellings per acre under today's code the site itself is just a hair under an acre at point ninety nine acres and is currently vacant with one small storage container located on the site. Here's a vicinity map of the project shown in the red line with a quarter mile walkability radius shown in yellow the sites located in the heart of the civic center as we mentioned and within a quarter mile of the memorial park metro station memorial park itself and the pasadena senior center explain. Here's a closer view of the project site and its vicinity. It's immediately adjacent to the historic ymca building which is just to the left also known as centennial place and that building is currently 144 unit permanent supportive housing S.R.O. Project. These next few slides just show the existing condition from the street view. This would be the south elevation of the site. This next one would be the southeast corner from holly and garfield and the next one would be a view of the north side from romona street where you can see the ymca building to the right when the project was initially submitted for ppr it included a lot line adjustment which would have required a kind of personal map as well as potentially one or more concession subject to an affordable housing concession permit. However, since that was submitted the applicant has been working with the staff and in response to comments through the pr process the need for this entitlements is likely to go away as the project is being refined and being brought into compliance to reduce or eliminate the need for concessions as well as a light line adjustment. And so as proposed, the project includes one and twelve units consisting of studio and one bedroom units as well as one manda's unit which would be two bedrooms. The unit count is also subject to change as the project is refined. However, the project also includes property management, resident support services and other on site amenities for residents that would be located on the ground floor. The project includes two courtyards including one that would be semi open. The public includes one partially subterranean parking structure with 44 parking spaces and as I mentioned before it has a total of eighty three thousand fifty square feet. This next slide shows a site plan of the proposed project also showing the ground floor configuration. As I mentioned the details of the floor plan in the site plan have undergone some refinement since this was submitted and the project has being revised to be brought into compliance with development standards. However, as shown the ground floor would consist of residential units along romona and garfield corner entrance to the semipublic courtyard on the ground floor and amenities and resident services offices along the holly street frontage and a driveway to the subterranean parking is located at the northwest corner along ramona submitted. The project is consistent with the fair height and density subject to a 30 percent density bonus which is allowed because the project is 100 percent affordable as originally submitted, the project did not comply with all the required set backs including along romona street holly and a portion of the site adjacent to the ymca building. However, as refinements have been made it's expected that the project will be in compliance with the set back requirements potentially with the use of one on menu concession for a setback. Finally, although no parking is required based on state law for 100 affordable projects, the project does include forty four parking spaces. As noted before this diagram just gives you some context for the proposed project and the existing buildings in the vicinity in terms of height at approximately 60 feet in height the project would be consistent with the zoning standards and would also be compatible with the existing heights of existing buildings throughout the civic center which range from 30 to 60 feet with a couple of notable exceptions that are taller such as the county courthouse and the hand-in-hand building. As mentioned earlier, the original project proposal land adjustment that would have required a tentative partial map and potentially an affordable housing concession permit both of which would require review and approval by the hearing officer. However, as the applicant has worked with staff in response to comments, the refinements are being made to reduce or eliminate the need for these entitlements, particularly the line adjustment. Besides those, the project would be subject to design review and it has been recently submitted for a preliminary consultation and I would further be subject to concept and final design review prior to approval. The next steps would be for the applicant to formally submit for any necessary entitlements at which point secret review process would begin and if necessary a notice public hearing before the hearing officer absent any entitlements the project would be studied under secure as part of the design review process followed by a notice public hearing before the design commission and that concludes the presentation and we're available to answer any questions. Thank you. Questions or comments from members of the council we could bring the presentation down so we can see everyone MR. Kennedy first in the queue. Thank you, mayor. I'd like to applaud the national poor all of the folks who are part of this effort to build one hundred and twelve affordable units housing in our civic center that kind of my view said something about this city council in preceding the city council commitment to such. Thank you very much, andre sahakian for your presentation and your leadership in helping the applicant pull together a project that would meet with the kind of support necessary to hopefully receive the kind of support from the whole city council unanimously. One one of the things I'd like to bring to the applicant attention is the applicant in their own yes, we have the applicant team standing by available to answer questions. If you could ask any one applicant a member of the applicant team to come to the podium at appreciate it or be shown on the screen so I can talk directly to them or we have four members of the applicant team standing by to join the meeting fill I wait we're going to bring them in one again, make sure first name is sean. Is that right, andre? No, I will just bring them. are you the names for just a moment call john. Yeah we'll bring them all and just go ahead and bring them all in and we had mike lane kevin chen, dale brown and gabby pardinas who's the primary person for those there are a lot of mean it depends kevin chen would be the kevin the representative from national core kevin chen hello kevin tai chi I want to just applaud you and the other three members of your team that he brought to share the information with the city council. You MAY know of a gentleman by the name of thurgood marshall. He was the first african-american appointed to the supreme court by PRESIDENT Lyndon baines johnson. But prior to the appointment he was a U.S. District court judge and the solicitor general of the united states. But in his role as a judge he sought to address some of the issues that you in your role are doing. So in terms of meeting housing and where there was housing discrimination, he was the one on behalf of the in a city legal defense fund which he represented naacp national association for the advancement colored people. So rather than delve down details, it strikes me as a wonderful possible irony that on one side of the street where it's going to be located meaning the development in the rear I think that would be considered to rear would be ramona and the other side it's called thurgood marshall and i never fully understood why a previous council bifurcated and use ramona with kennedy's. Is there a question for MR. Chin or that's a question probably for someone else. So I'm asking for their representative. They make their own decision on who mayor? The question is given that the role that thurgood marshall played in housing right all across the united states as a supreme court justice solicitor general and head of the naacp legal defense fund, my you consider expanding the naming convention that you've already announced for this particular development that that is my question there. Thank you for helping me bring that to a close. Thank you, MR. PRESIDENT. I understand that you're asking about the name of the project itself. What we intend to call it once it is built. Yes, I think I saw that it was romona something that is a placeholder that is definitely a placeholder we typically do not the name until we can input both primarily from the city and the folks who care most about the project. So definitely we have not committed to a name and I think that's definitely a consideration. We will keep that in mind and we will share that possibility with other folks including yourself, the council member for the area I just wanted to share that in a public way that that MAY be a wonderful name given what he did for public housing in public housing advocacy has in his various professional roles in america. Thank you, robert, for the opportunity to address that small issue. Any other questions for MR. Chen? I see MR. Dennis has joined us as well. MR. Brown, bill brown otherwise we'll thank you for your efforts and congratulate you on moving forward. We do have one public comment, ok? And oh, I'm sorry MISS Williams has a question for staff on do you have a question before they leave before MR. Chen leaves from the event that well, it's actually a question for staff. Ok, so I think that go ahead and will go to. So so what is the max monheit of the proposed building and then the height with averaging the maximum height as per is fifty nine feet and nine inches and that they project is not proposing to use height averaging. Ok and what's the maximum allowed height in city is fifty nine right higher portions of city hall are are taller but the allowed height for this site under existing zoning is sixty feet so the proposed height is within that. Ok and then in the in the presentation you mentioned the entitlements that they had been considering but what what do we know wh