Eager to get people more engaged in city priorities and to learn more about residents' top concerns, the Palo Alto City Council is preparing to launch a series of Town Hall meetings in neighborhoods.
The program, which the council approved Monday night, aims to advance the council's ambitious work plan, which centers on four priorities: economic recovery and transition; climate change protection and adaptation; housing for social and economic balance; and community health and safety. It also seeks to give residents a new forum for engaging city leaders on concerns relating to their particular neighborhoods.
While the details of the Town Hall program — including the dates of each meeting and the specific neighborhoods that they would target — remain to be hashed out, the council unanimously endorsed the concept on Monday as part of its approval of staff's proposed work plan for the rest of the year.
The town hall program is expected to consist of about four monthly meetings, with the first likely taking place in May. The format will be informal, with council members and neighborhood leaders making brief presentations followed by questions from the audience. According to a memo from City Manager Ed Shikada, the meeting will be held at "city-owned, school district-owned, or community partner (i.e. Elks Lodge/churches) locations."
On Monday, the town hall proposal received a mixed reaction from neighborhood leaders, who lauded the goals of the program but questioned some of the details. The umbrella group Palo Alto Neighborhoods (PAN), which includes representatives from various neighborhood groups, issued a memo that recommended numerous modifications, including later start times to accommodate working residents; neighborhood groupings based on common issues rather than the number of households; and a "hybrid" format that allows some residents to participate remotely.
Sheri Furman and Becky Sanders, co-chairs of PAN, also suggested in a letter that city leaders work with neighborhood leaders to facilitate the meetings to avoid "the appearance of the city controlling the agenda."
Annette Glanckopf Ashton, a Midtown neighborhood leader, also suggested that each town hall be co-sponsored by the city and neighborhood leaders and not focused solely on the council's preferred issues. She concurred with PAN leaders about deferring to neighborhood groups in determining how the town hall meetings would be spread out.
"There is a concern that the neighborhoods that you have selected are real estate selections and are not the real neighborhoods that the neighborhoods themselves believe in," she said.
Council members generally concurred with the PAN suggestions. Council member Greer Stone said he agreed with staff's intent in launching the town hall program but suggested that the meetings should be structured in a way to facilitate "meaningful engagement" with residents rather than merely advance city goals.
"The expectation from council as well as the community is that this needs to be true community engagement and not simply just checking a box off," Stone said. "It seems to me that many in the community and many of our neighborhood leaders are feeling that way."
Mayor Pat Burt recalled a similar town hall program that the city had launched in 2015, which focused on neighborhood issues rather than city initiatives. The new program should have a similar focus, he said. He also advocated for proactively reaching out to residents in multifamily developments, who have traditionally been underrepresented.
"This is a good opportunity for many of these neighborhood groups to look at multifamily dwellings and really neighborhoods that are adjacent to what they think of as essentially single-family neighborhoods," Burt said.
Council member Tom DuBois also urged the city not to schedule meetings in September and October, which he said is too close to the election.
"We should avoid having this become political forums," DuBois said. "It would be very tempting and impossible to avoid."
In voting to approve the town hall initiative, the council also approved staff's ambitious work plan, which consists of 42 separate projects in the four priority areas.
In the economic realm, these include coming up with improved designs for portions of California Avenue and Ramona Street that were closed to cars during the pandemic; expanding the city's fiber utility; and pursuing a citywide economic development study.
On housing, the city's projects include expanding the relocation assistance program for local renters; passing a citywide "safe parking" program for residents who live in vehicles at church lots; completing the new Housing Element; and creating a master plan for building housing downtown.
The community health and safety priority includes a wide range of programs, including hiring more police officers, updating the city's tree ordinance and planning for redevelopment of the city-owned portion of Cubberley Community Center.
On climate change, city staff plan to focus much of their energy on electrification: the conversion of local homes and businesses away from gas appliances and toward electric ones. Other projects that fall into this category include planning for a purified-water facility in partnership with Valley Water, installing smart meters and upgrading the city's electric grid to support the electrification effort, a critical component of Palo Alto's plan to reduce its greenhouse-gas emissions by 80% by 2030.
Comments
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Apr 6, 2022 at 10:57 am
Registered user
on Apr 6, 2022 at 10:57 am
Having been to several of these community outreach meetings in the past, I have left with the feeling that it was a waste of time being there.
They spend 75% of the meeting explaining their agenda, introducing City staff and thanking them for their hard work, for telling us they are pleased to see us and then explaining what they are going to do. We are left at the end with a 10 minute Q & A time and possibly 2 questions get asked and we are reminded of what was said in the presentation without any questions being answered. They thank us for coming, ask us for email addresses for an interest sheet and then go away patting themselves on the back that they have reached out to community.
I don't hold out hope for anything better.
Registered user
Crescent Park
on Apr 6, 2022 at 12:52 pm
Registered user
on Apr 6, 2022 at 12:52 pm
I agree wholeheartedly with Bystander. The prior town hall meetings I attended were 90% listening to officials explaining how they were doing a good job and all the obstacles they were facing. There was no meaningful engagement with residents and the sessions were essentially a waste of time. If you really want resident engagement then you need to reverse how the time is spent to 90% residents talking and 10% official responding and asking further questions. You need to find a way to make this a dialogue so officials can understand more than a 3 minutes soundbite from residents when struggle to explain their views on complex issues in the constrained time.
Registered user
College Terrace
on Apr 6, 2022 at 2:12 pm
Registered user
on Apr 6, 2022 at 2:12 pm
What does social and economic balance in housing mean?
Means those of us who live here currently aren't presenting the right social and/or economic balance?
Propaganda. That's what these meetings will be about.
Registered user
Adobe-Meadow
on Apr 6, 2022 at 2:38 pm
Registered user
on Apr 6, 2022 at 2:38 pm
I'm sorry to say that I never attended any of those previous 'Town Hall' meetings, (bad on me) but for now I'll go with the posters' comments who did attend them and who have responded so far. I can visualize how that could have happened and the feelings they could have gotten from that experience...but I'm putting my faith in the new council. They might be fooling me, but I could remind a couple of them how much I contributed to their campaigns in the past. I honestly believe CC will take the posters' comments seriously and we'll see some of their suggestions adopted for the new round of 'Town Hall' meetings. The groups shouldn't be based on where the wealthiest and most successful/influential people live, or where us common folk live in other parts of town. If you want to delve into diverse neighborhoods, ask me, not Mark Zuckerberg. Let's mix it up a bit. I live in a neighborhood of families from (I'm guessing), a combination of eight different nationalities, races, cultures/ethnicities, and religions. I'd like to meet him, in person, representing his side of town, and me, just a simple unknown old guy, living alone, in SPA, not to be confused with EPA. He wouldn't have to spend hours to prepare. Anyone who has been called to answer questions before a US Senate committee could swat me away like an aggravating fly in the room.
Registered user
Another Palo Alto neighborhood
on Apr 6, 2022 at 3:16 pm
Registered user
on Apr 6, 2022 at 3:16 pm
This would be better timed after the election. It would seem less political. The campaign season should give incumbents some sense of where the wind is blowing on issues anyway.
City Council --Who is in and who is out?
Term ends in 12/2022:
CM Alison Cormack (can run)
CM Tom DuBois (termed out)
CM Eric Filseth (termed out)
The following Council Members' terms end in 2024:
Mayor Pat Burt
Vice Mayor Lydia Kou
CM Greer Stone
CM Greg Tanaka
Registered user
Duveneck/St. Francis
on Apr 6, 2022 at 5:03 pm
Registered user
on Apr 6, 2022 at 5:03 pm
Bystander,
It is all about the city not the residents. They don't care what we want or think.
Registered user
Midtown
on Apr 7, 2022 at 5:37 am
Registered user
on Apr 7, 2022 at 5:37 am
cdd.stanford.edu Center for Deliberative Democracy is experimenting with better ways to get community involvement. Their approach appears to have advantages.
Registered user
University South
on Apr 7, 2022 at 4:24 pm
Registered user
on Apr 7, 2022 at 4:24 pm
Bystander got it right. That was my experience too.
The current leaders want to show how neighborhood-friendly
they are then (he) can go back to supporting developers.
Registered user
College Terrace
on Apr 7, 2022 at 8:18 pm
Registered user
on Apr 7, 2022 at 8:18 pm
I attended a couple of the meetings about grade separation/rail and the experience matched what Bystander wrote. On the other hand, Pat Burt came to the College Terrace Resident's Association (CTRA) meeting and that was better. He did most of the talking during the portion of the meeting set aside for him, but he also took questions and I left thinking the meeting was mutually beneficial.
My take on what CC hopes to achieve here is more like the CTRA meeting than past large scale meetings. At least CC recognizes that dialogue is necessary. As for eliminating the political, that can be achieved by excluding Cormack from being the CC rep/speaker at any of the meetings. Palo Altans will have plenty of time to hear from her on the campaign trail. And, as I recall from the CC discussion about this, she had some conflicts time-wise, anyway. There - two problems solved!
Registered user
Embarcadero Oaks/Leland
on Apr 7, 2022 at 9:04 pm
Registered user
on Apr 7, 2022 at 9:04 pm
The meetings should also include ample time for free public comment on THEIR priorities since many of ours weren't included due to continuing problems with the surveys. Where;s anything about the Business Tax, City Transparency and Accountability, Restoration of Resident Service, ...?
Instead we'll get the usual "We're listening" charade before they go back to supporting developers, hiring consultants to tell us what we want and why we love to be taxed instead of businesses via continued utility overcharges so they can hire more consultants... And how about those unfunded pension liabilities!
Registered user
Midtown
on Apr 7, 2022 at 11:04 pm
Registered user
on Apr 7, 2022 at 11:04 pm
Deliberative Democracy advertises better representation, less polarization, better agenda setting, less manipulation, better implementation of recommendations, etc. Does a good job addressing problems like Palo Alto community involvement. cdd.stanford.edu
Registered user
Adobe-Meadow
on Apr 10, 2022 at 2:03 pm
Registered user
on Apr 10, 2022 at 2:03 pm
We are talking neighborhoods here where each neighborhood is undergoing massive change. In South PA older homes are being torn down and replaced with two story homes, or totally brought up to date to current specs for sale. When these events happen the tax base of the homes rise to current market value. One could say that the southern section of the city is doing it's part in keeping the tax base continually being refurbished. It is unclear what the turn over rate is in North PA - suspect that many are rented out so the tax base does not increase to market value. Recognition of turn over affects the budget process as to where you put resources.
WE can use a police site in South PA - possibly on Fabien so that the southern end is anchored with police support and fire support. Possibly an urgent care facility since it is next to a major freeway interchange. There will be new housing and construction just south of San Antonio so could be shared with Mt. View. Suspect that the companies on Fabien and the school would appreciate the support instead of hanging on the edge of the city. A police substation would acknowledge the growth in that section of the city.
Registered user
another community
on Apr 10, 2022 at 4:17 pm
Registered user
on Apr 10, 2022 at 4:17 pm
I think I'll go and try to bring up the topic of secrecy in the Police department and their refusal to let us scan them to know what they're up to.