01 Desk Item
110 E. Main Street Los Gatos, CA 95030 ● (408) 354-6832
www.losgatosca.gov
TOWN OF LOS GATOS
COUNCIL AGENDA REPORT
MEETING DATE: 01/26/2021 ITEM NO: 1 DESK ITEM
DATE: January 26, 2021
TO: Mayor and Town Council
FROM: Laurel Prevetti, Town Manager
SUBJECT: Approve the Following Strategic Priorities Actions:
A. Affirm the Town Goals of Community Character, Good Governance, Fiscal
Stability, Civic Enrichment, Public Safety, and Quality Public Infrastructure
B. Affirm and/or Refine Ongoing Strategic Priorities for 2021-2023
C. For any new Strategic Priority, identify an existing Priority that should be
removed or de-emphasized; and
D. Identify Ordinance Priorities
Remarks:
Attachment 8 contains public comment received between 11:01 a.m. January 22, 2021 and
11:00 a.m. January 26, 2021.
In response to an inquiry from a Council Member, staff is providing the following update on the
Town’s wildfire plan. On December 1, 2020, the Town Council accepted the Ad Hoc Wildfire
Committee Report with its many action items and directed staff to return in one year with an
action item progress update. To date, the Council has not taken action on specific items in the
Report; however, it should be noted that previously authorized wildfire mitigation continues in
Town. These include the 11-mile Wildland Urban Interface (WUI) roadway vegetation
management project, Town Open Space ecological assessment and fuel reduction project, and
funding for rehabilitation of portions of Shannon Road.
Another Council Member inquired about the staff work involved with new Committees when
the participants volunteer to “do the work.” All Town Committees, including short term Ad Hoc
Committees, require staff time to ensure that the meetings of the Committee satisfy State laws
and Town Policies by providing administrative support; evaluate the work of the Committee for
consistency with Town Codes, policies, Budget, and/or other documents; provide overall
management oversight; and perform other duties as needed.
In addition, the following item was previously requested to be included in the Strategic
Priorities discussion, and staff wanted to remind the Council of the request:
• Prepare Consulting Arborist Report Guidelines.
PAGE 2 OF 2 SUBJECT: Approve Strategic Priorities Actions DATE: January 26, 2021 Attachments Previously Received with the Staff Report:
1. 2020-2022 Strategic Priorities
2. Work Plans
3. Draft 2021-2023 Strategic Priorities
4. Community Survey Results
5. CIP Matrix
6. Council Member Hudes’ Suggestions
7. Ordinance List
Attachments Received with this Desk Item:
8. Public Comment received between 11:01 a.m. January 22, 2021 and 11:00 a.m. January 26,
2021.
From:Rob Stump
To:Arn Andrews
Subject:Desk Item for Strategic Priorities meeting
Date:Tuesday, January 26, 2021 10:03:37 AM
Attachments:Ad Hoc Wildfire Committee Recommendations 210112.pdf
Arn,
Please include the attached document as a Desk Item for this evening's Strategic Priorities meeting.
Let me know if you have any questions.
Thank you,
Rob Stump
ATTACHMENT 8
Los Gatos Ad Hoc Wildfire Committee Report Briefing
January 12, 2021
Five Key Areas and 2021 Implementation Recommendations
1. Five Key Areas with recommended action items and designated priorities:
Priority 1 – within 2 years; or Priority 2 – within 3-5 years.
a. Emergency Communication
b. Emergency Evacuation
c. Roadside Fuel Reduction
d. Open Space and Residential Land Management
e. Emergency Partnerships
2. 2021 Implementation
a. Wildland Fire Specialist: Fund/hire a Wildland Fire Specialist whose full-
time job is to focus on Wildfire Preparation and Prevention for our
community.
b. Emergency Communication: serious consideration should be given to the
installation of a siren warning system across the Los Gatos hillside.
c. Emergency Evacuation: assess and address evacuation feeder routes
leading out of the very high fire hazard severity zone.
d. Roadside Fuel Reduction: develop a plan, including funding to ensure that
31 miles of LG public roadways in the VHFHSZ are maintained every 6 years.
e. Emergency Partnerships: exert our leadership and energy to spur action
and/or joint action with communities that are contiguous to LG beginning
with Monte Sereno and Saratoga.
From: Amy Nishide
Sent: Monday, January 25, 2021 11:01 PM
To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: for 1-26-21 town council meeting
(Proposal and some demographic data of towns with equity committees attached below.)
Council members and support staff, thank you for your efforts over the past 6-8 months to help make
Los Gatos a more inclusive community. I am here to propose that the Los Gatos town council approve a
proposal to form a new Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.
I think that the National events of the past year, beginning with the murders of George Floyd, Ahmaud
Arbery, Breonna Taylor, and many others, to the insurrection at the U.S. Capital and the rise of white
supremacists, to the incidents here in Los Gatos like the alleged Anti-Asian slurs and physical attack on a
young man, and the threatening letter delivered to 3 businesses that overtly support Black Lives,
demand action on our part. It’s imperative that Los Gatos continues its efforts towards improving our
community and protecting the human rights and dignity of all persons.
I propose that we formalize our commitment and make it official by forming a town council advisory
committee, or task force, dedicated towards this mission. By doing so, we’d bring the mission to the
forefront and truly prioritize it. The Diversity, Equity and Inclusion committee would be made up of a
group of diverse citizens and dedicated topromoting an atmosphere welcoming of diversity, equity, and
inclusion in Los Gatos such that all residents and visitors feel welcomed and safe. Secondly the
committee would promote Equity on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender orientation, marital
status,, sexual orientation, or economic status. The precise wording of the mission statement and goals
would be architected by the committee.
The commission would be responsible for creating, tracking, and monitoring a database cataloging
discrimination or hate incidents. This would provide us with a measureable metric with which to track
our progress. It would make recommendations to the town council for programs to promote Diversity,
Equity, and Inclusion in all aspects of town government, including but not limited to, housing,
affordability, commerce, transportation, safety, and policing. The committee would review existing
town policy with a racial justice lens, and sponsor and host events to bring people together while
celebrating diversity, .
Many nearby cities or towns already have such committees, including but not limited to, Palo Alto,
Mountain View, South San Francisco, Lafayette, Livermore, and even tiny Piedmont. If they can do it so
can we.
I urge you to formally approve the formation of such a committee, and provide it with the necessary
resources.
Thank you for your time.
Proposal for
Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee (Commission/Task Force) Mission To promote an atmosphere welcoming of diversity, equity, and inclusion in Los Gatos such that all residents and visitors feel welcomed and safe. To promote Equity on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, gender orientation, marital status,, sexual orientation, and economic status. Comprised of: Voting members: Town council member: 1 Citizens 6-7, that represent the racial/religious/sexual orientation/age diversity (E.g a youth member 16-23 years) of Los Gatos. , Non voting participants: town manager, town attorney, LGMS Police Department representative, LGUSD representative, LGSUHSD representative Goal: To ensure Los Gatos is a town that actively improves upon and addresses concerns about racial equity and inclusivity.
Responsibilities
Make recommendations to the town council for programs to promote Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion in all aspects of town government, including but not limited to, housing, affordability, commerce, transportation, safety, and policing.
Set up and monitor a mechanism for people to report incidents of discrimination, hate speech, etc. based on a person’s identity, including race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation/gender identity, and socio-economic class. All credible reports will be accepted and when a crime may have been committed, it will be turned over to Los Gatos-Monte Sereno Police Department with complainants’ permission. Provide access to relevant Police department data (e.g. arrest rates, citations, etc.). Track data and use them as a way to measure improvement in Equity and Inclusion goals.
Review all town codes with an Equity lens and make recommendations for change as needed.
Work with the Chamber of Commerce to reach out to BIPOC-owned businesses and promote Los Gatos. Find and propose ways to support working class residents and employees in Los Gatos to improve the community’s racial, ethnic, and socioeconomic diversity.
Sponsor community events and programs that bring the community together and foster inclusion and equity, and embrace the diversity of the greater community.
Small U.S. towns that have a Diversity Commission
https://datausa.io All data for 2018
Los Gatos, CAClayton, MO
Charlottesvill
e, VA Lynnwood, WABristol County, RI
Population 30,922 16,448 47,042 37,671 48,900
Median
Income 140,395 $97,145 $58,933 59,416 $75,578
Poverty rate 4.49%7.20%24.60%14%7.60%
Median
property value $1,590,000 $630,400 283,800 360,300 $345,200
median age 45.9 $31 31.3 40 44.2
% white 71.7 74.9 65.7 53 92.3
Asian 14.3 12.6 7.13 18 2.04
Black 1.49 6.92 18.6 7 1.27
Hispanic 8.37 2.93 5.38 15 2.91
Other 4.14 2.65 3.19 1.49
Selected Bay area cities that have Equity Commissions or Task Forces
Mountain
View, Ca Palo Alto Lafeyette, Ca Livermore, Ca
Year started 2020 2007 2020?2020?
Population 80,933 67,019 26,060 89,027
Median
Income 128,252 157,120 157,453 116,942
Poverty rate 7.01 5.09 4.06 4.59
Median
property value 1,210,000 2,000,000 1,300,000 692,000
median age 35 42 45 40
% white 44.6 55.2 75 62.6
Asian 31.3 32.5 12 10.9
Black 1.8 1.54 0.85 1.7
Hispanic 17.8 5.72 7.81 20.2
Other 6.37 5.04 4.34 6.3
From: Lee Fagot
Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2021 10:41 AM
To: Laurel Prevetti <LPrevetti@losgatosca.gov>; Arn Andrews <aandrews@losgatosca.gov>; Marico
Sayoc <MSayoc@losgatosca.gov>; Rob Rennie <RRennie@losgatosca.gov>; Mary Badame
<MBadame@losgatosca.gov>; Matthew Hudes <MHudes@losgatosca.gov>; Maria Ristow
<MRistow@losgatosca.gov>
Cc: Robert Schultz <RSchultz@losgatosca.gov>
Subject: Jan 26 Council meeting, Item 7. Commercial Cannabis Operations and Facilities Ordinance
Dear Council and Town Staff:
Regarding Item 7 as submitted by Town Attorney, as shown on Page 64 of the agenda -
If we are proposing to ignore Federal Laws in order to gain possible new tax revenue, with allowing sale
of Cannabis in LG, why stop there?
Should we also pursue other new revenue for the Town by amending other laws/codes or just stop
enforcement?
Such as:
Allow Vaping products sales, especially to minors
Reduce age for purchasing alcohol to 18, or even 16 in Town
Allow sale of flavored tobacco and vaping products, also to 16 year olds
Prostitution, male and female
Also, the Town could repurpose much of the Town owned property to become such retail outlets to
support these new revenue sources in Town.
Remember, this document on the agenda tonight states - "The analysis and review of these issues is
consistent with council priority of Prudent Financial Management.” So, good financial management is
the priority driver in such decision making!!!
Seriously, though you may hear arguments for cannabis sales, such as how selling cannabis has not
increased crime in other certain communities, consider that those very remote towns may not be
communities surrounded by urbanization like LG, and with our teen population of about 5,000 +, or so,
think of the message you are telling our citizens, and youth in particular - that we are only abiding by the
laws we like, not all of the laws. A major challenge in our local Schools is their battle trying to stop kids
from vaping, on and off campus, yet you are considering to allow cannabis sales in Town in breach of
federal law. With all the turmoil today, be part of the solution, not an exhibitor of the problem. Provide
a rational and consistent message of good governance - follow the law. Vote NO on this proposal.
Please take responsible actions, follow Federal Law and do not allow cannabis sales in our
Town. Protect our youth and their families, and your family as well.
Vote NO on Item 7, as shown on page 64 of tonight’s Agenda.
Respectfully,
Lee Fagot