m20210629.pdf1 June 29, 2021
CITY OF SANTA MONICA
CITY COUNCIL MINUTES
JUNE 29, 2021
A special meeting of the Santa Monica City Council was called to order by Mayor Himmelrich at 6:12 p.m.,
on Tuesday, June 29, 2021, at City Council Chambers, 1685 Main Street.
Roll Call: Present: Mayor Sue Himmelrich
Mayor Pro Tem Kristin McCowan
Councilmember Phil Brock
Councilmember Gleam Davis
Councilmember Oscar de la Torre
Councilmember Christine Parra
Also Present: Interim City Manager John Jalili
Interim City Attorney George Cardona
City Clerk Denise Anderson-Warren
CONVENE/PLEDGE
AGENDA
MANAGEMENT
AGENDA
MANAGEMENT
Motion by Mayor Himmelrich, seconded by Councilmember Davis, to
undue the previous Agenda Management and hear 1.A. before 2.A. The
motion was approved by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Parra, Davis, Brock, de la Torre,
Mayor Pro Tem McCowan, Mayor Himmelrich
NOES: None
On order of the Mayor, the City Council convened at 6:12 p.m., with all
members present. Interim City Manager John Jalili led the assemblage in
the Pledge of Allegiance.
Motion by Mayor Pro Tem McCowan, seconded by Mayor Himmelrich, to
hear Item 2.A before Item 1.A. The motion was approved by the following
vote:
AYES: Councilmembers de la Torre, Brock, Davis, Parra,
Mayor Pro Tem McCowan, Mayor Himmelrich
NOES: None
ABSENT: None
Due to technical issues with receiving phone calls for public comment,
the Mayor recommended canceling the Agenda management and go
ahead with hearing the Closed Session item before the Council
appointment.
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ABSENT: None
CLOSED SESSIONS There was no public comment on closed sessions.
On order of the Mayor, the City Council recessed at 6:23 p.m., to consider
closed sessions and returned at 7:01 p.m., with all members present, to
report the following:
1.A. Conference with Legal Counsel – Anticipated Litigation –
Anticipate significant exposure to litigation pursuant to Government
Code Section 54956.9(d)(2): Threat of litigation related to selection of
shared mobility providers to participate in the Second Shared Mobility
Pilot Program established by SMMC Chapter 3.22
The Interim City Attorney advised this matter was heard with no reportable
action taken.
SPECIAL AGENDA
ITEMS:
UNSCHEDULED CITY
COUNCIL VACANCY
2.A. Filling of an Unscheduled Vacancy on the City Council, was
presented.
Recommended Action
Staff recommends that Council either:
1.Consider the applicants that have declared their interest in being
appointed to the unscheduled vacancy on the City Council and make
an appointment to fill the City Council vacancy and serve until the
next General Municipal Election in November 2022; or
2.If the appointment cannot be made, adopt resolutions adding the
partial-term seat to requested services and consolidation with the
County's November 2, 2021 election.
Members of the public Denise Barton, Nicole Phillis, Jerry Rubin, Maribel
Martinez, John Katz, Donna Richardson, Olga Zurawska, Houman
Hemmati, Ann Thanawalla, Jonathan Foster, David Whatley, and Kelvin
Driscoll spoke on the recommended action
On order of the Mayor, the floor was opened for nominations.
Councilmember Brock nominated Mario Fonda-Bonardi
Mayor Himmelrich nominated Caroline Torosis
Councilmember Parra nominated Lana Negrete
There being no other nominations, no one was appointed by the following
vote:
Fonda-Bonardi: Councilmembers Brock, de la Torre
Torosis: Councilmember Davis, Mayor Pro Tem McCowan,
Mayor Himmelrich
Negrete: Councilmember Parra
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On order of the Mayor, the floor was opened for nominations.
Mayor Himmelrich nominated Caroline Torosis
Councilmember Parra nominated Lana Negrete
Councilmember de la Torre nominated Mario Fonda-Bonardi
There being no other nominations, no one was appointed by the following
vote:
Torosis: Councilmember Davis, Mayor Pro Tem McCowan,
Mayor Himmelrich
Negrete: Councilmember Parra
Fonda-Bonardi: Councilmembers Brock, de la Torre
On order of the Mayor, the floor was opened for nominations.
Mayor Himmelrich nominated Caroline Torosis
Councilmember Parra nominated Lana Negrete
There being no other nominations, no one was appointed by the following
vote:
Torosis: Councilmember Davis, Mayor Pro Tem McCowan,
Mayor Himmelrich
Negrete: Councilmembers de la Torre, Brock, Parra
On order of the Mayor, the floor was opened for nominations.
Mayor Himmelrich nominated Caroline Torosis
Councilmember Parra nominated Lana Negrete
Lana Negrete was appointed to fill the partial-term Council seat until
November 2022 by the following vote:
Torosis: Mayor Pro Tem McCowan, Mayor Himmelrich
Negrete: Councilmembers Parra, Davis, Brock, de la Torre
After the vote, Mayor Pro Tem McCowan changed her vote to Negrete.
On order of the Mayor, the City Clerk gave the Oath of Office and swore in
Lana Negrete to serve as a City Councilmember for a partial-term, ending
November 2022.
COUNCILMEMBER
DISCUSSION ITEMS:
13.A. Request of Councilmembers De La Torre and Davis that, in
order to provide a more inclusive shared mobility pilot and to promote
a more socially just economic recovery that includes bringing more
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Mayor Himmelrich excused
revenue to the City, the Council direct staff to return with an
amendment to the Second Shared Mobility Pilot Program ordinance to
add a 5th shared mobility operator into the Program. In order to
ensure continuity of service with minimal disruption as well as the
optimum availability of two-wheeled e-scooters throughout the City,
and to promote continued innovation and improvement of micro-
mobility devices, staff is directed to add the next highest scored two-
wheeled e-scooter operator under the Chief Mobility Officer Selection
Memo to the Second Shared Mobility Program. The additional
operator should be allowed to operate up to 500 e-scooters in Santa
Monica (which still is under the maximum capacity in the City as
defined by staff), was presented.
Questions asked and answered of staff included: what did the scoring
criteria entail for the other vendors; was the scoring done by staff only, and
who were the selection committee; can you provide more information about
the appeal; is Bird headquartered in the city; if nothing happens tonight, are
two of the awarded companies not located in the city; from the first pilot, is
it true that no one got an increase in fees; to address the inequity, how does
the distribution of scooters happen over the period of the day and time; is it
true that the companies offer discounts to low income residents, and does
Bird also offer those; is there a way for other companies to pick up the
same discounts that are offered by Bird; how many 2-wheeled scooters can
safely operate in the city; what is the breakdown of devices in the city; how
many does Bird operate in the city that will be going away; is their a
complaint ratio from the beginning of the pilot and how did Bird score; do
we know the per capita ratio for accidents; how did Bird rate in safety,
corralling devices, etc.; does it make it easier to separate pedestrians and e-
scooters in new programs due to newer technologies; how has the response
from Bird been to deal with riders with bad behavior; is there only one
company that has the new sidewalk technology; what impact will the loss
of Bird have on city revenues; the more operators added, will that cause
more administrative staff oversight and time; the new operators selected in
the new pilot program, do they offer hourly employment or is it all
independent contractors; does Bird have the opportunity to return to Santa
Monica; and, once the contract programs are determined, will that make it
more difficult to add an additional company.
Members of the public Elizabeth May, Carlos Vega, Kate Jerimiah, , Juan
Ramirez, Allen Ross, Tim Harder, Matt Stauffer, Neil Gitnick, Phuong Bui,
and Colin Hughes, Casey MacLean, Alessandra Vinori, David Fairbank,
Alex Quoyeser, Morgan Roth, Jonathan Adler, Edward Castillo, Will
Habib, Cyril Groshan, John Harber, Paul Vizcaino, Dakota Clark, and
Brian Owens spoke on the recommended action.
Mayor Himmelrich recused herself from this item to avoid a potential
conflict of interest because her husband’s law firm represents Lift.
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at 8:17 p.m.
Motion by Councilmember Davis, seconded by Councilmember de la
Torre, to approve the recommendation.
Interim City Attorney Cardona suggested a minor amendment to permit
staff to return, if directed, with either an amendment to the ordinance or a
resolution as staff best determines appropriate. The amendment was
considered friendly by the maker and seconder.
The motion failed by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers Davis, de la Torre,
Mayor Pro Tem McCowan
NOES: Councilmembers Brock, Parra
ABSTAIN: Councilmember Negrete
ABSENT: Mayor Himmelrich
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Himmelrich returned
at 9:10 p.m.
On order of the Mayor, the City Council meeting adjourned at 9:11 p.m.
ATTEST: APPROVED:
Denise Anderson-Warren Sue Himmelrich
City Clerk Mayor
APPROVED:
Kristin McCowan
Mayor Pro Tem
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