Valentine’s Day Meeting
We’ve had a lot of work to do tonight, and I’m pleased we accomplished so much.
We received feedback about the mayor’s decision to move public comments to the end of the meeting. There was a motion to change the agenda, moving the comments to the beginning. Mayor Stix explained that there were dozens of people waiting to speak about our proposed Greenhouse Gas Reduction codes and rent stabilization from last week - they never had the opportunity to discuss those items at the January 24 meeting because things took a turn.
(You can watch it here: https://ojai.granicus.com/player/clip/978?view_id=1&redirect=true&h=b7a39c17a32884a03028738040bd9776 )
We began arguing the motion, and I was clear that the fair thing to do was to allow the people who had waited almost 4 hours to speak at the last meeting to have the opportunity to speak first.
It turns out, this logic was correct. Many people came back again to speak about those topics.
I advocate for democracy, and hearing from the people of our community is a way to enforce democracy. I’m glad we have the opportunity for many voices to be heard in so many ways here in our town.
We have a lot to accomplish in these meetings, and ultimately, as Randy Haney said in one of our campaign forums, “this is a business meeting.” Public comments are very helpful in the decision-making process. I’m thankful to all who stayed until the end. (11:30!) Thanks, too, to those who joined through Zoom.
What do you think? Do public comments work best at the start? In the middle, or at the end?
One thing I liked about tonight’s meeting is that we accomplished a lot. Here’s the rundown:
Thanks to Michelle Ellison, Serena Ellison, and Michelle Piniero (pictured here) for speaking about our Reach codes!
Greenhouse Gas Emissions Reduction.
We voted to adopt clean Reach codes, which relate to the electrification of our city.
These codes will only apply to new construction — not to remodels of residential or commercial properties.
We kept an infeasibility clause.
We discussed possible exemptions - commercial kitchens, generators, and pools. In the end, we decided to adopt the codes clean - without the exemptions.
Council Member Rule made the point that there would be hardships at first.
In the past few weeks, I’ve debated whether or not to have an exemption for commercial kitchens or pools and spas. I have spoken with restaurant owners and others in our community to hear their perspectives.
My conversations with members of our climate committee, other experts in climate research, and representatives at Edison, my concerns were assuaged. There are tangible solutions. (Check out these resources… and these resources… and these resources.) You can also borrow an induction stovetop from the library to test it out!!
Rent Stabilization.
We discussed the option of adopting a rent stabilization ordinance that would cap the rate of rent increases and protect tenants.
We asked for more information, and Council Member Rule specifically asked for information about unintended consequences, like any potential hardships for individual owners of properties that would result in them selling their properties to corporations.
We advised staff to draw up an initial ordinance that we could then either approve or revise.
We spoke of a need to have a housing committee and take a systemic approach to the problem of housing equity in our community. We want to protect our renters and those with the most need.
We also agreed to hold a council workshop with Jim Selman to outline priorities and build more trust. Council Member Francina shared that she would like him to watch the previous council meeting recordings to understand what we’re facing. Mayor Stix agreed. Council Member Rule asked to meet with him one-on-one before we commit to a date. So, we’re moving forward.
Transparency remains a theme. So does the question of whether there were ethical breaches. I’ll be posting more of my thoughts on those matters at another time.