CITY COUNCIL

AGENDAMONDAY, MARCH 1, 2021

VIRTUAL WORKSHOP MEETING – 9:00 AM

TELECONFERENCE:

MEETING PARTICIPATION INFORMATION CAN BE FOUND AT THE END OF THEAGENDA

CITY OF LIVERMORE YOUTUBE CHANNEL:https://www.youtube.com/c/CityofLivermoreCalifornia

ZOOM WEBINAR: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83523432335

Zoom dial in phone number: 1 669 900 6833

Meeting ID: 835 2343 2335

NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that the City Council of the City of Livermore will convene a CityCouncil workshop on March 1, 2021 beginning at 9:00 am, held virtually using Zoom.

This workshop is being called by Mayor Bob Woerner. /s/ Bob Woerner

CITY COUNCIL

Bob Woerner, MayorTrish Munro, Vice Mayor

Robert W. Carling, Council MemberRegina Bonanno, Council Member

Brittni Kiick, Council Member

Livermore City Council Agenda March 1, 2021

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Regular City Council meetings are broadcast live on Channel 29 and videotaped for localtelevision and for replay. For a schedule of City Council meeting replay airtimes or to accessvideos of previous meetings, log onto www.tri-valleytv.org. City Council meetings are alsostreamed live on the web at www.tri-valleytv.org/live-tv29.html.

Livermore City Council Agenda March 1, 2021

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1. CALL TO ORDER

2. ROLL CALL Council Member Regina BonannoCouncil Member Robert W. CarlingCouncil Member Brittni KiickVice Mayor Trish MunroMayor Bob Woerner

3. SPECIAL MEETING WORKSHOP ITEM

AN OPPORTUNITY FOR THE PUBLIC TO ADDRESS THE CITY COUNCIL REGARDINGTHE SPECIAL MEETING ITEM WILL BE PROVIDED BY THE MAYOR.

3.1 Discussion and direction regarding the City Council goals and priorities for Fiscal Years 2021-2023.

Recommendation:

Staff recommends the City Council consider the attached white papers as part of its goals andpriorities discussion, in preparation for the Fiscal Years 2021-2023 Budget. Staff alsorecommends the City Council identify its priority goals and provide direction regardingresource allocation.

Staff Report Attachments: 1. Asset Management and Stormwater White Paper 2. Climate Change White Paper 3. Communications White Paper 4. Downtown White Paper 5. Economic Recovery and Resiliency White Paper 6. Equity and Inclusion White Paper 7. General Plan Update White Paper 8. Homelessness and Affordable Housing White Paper 9. Modernization Training and Workplace Enhancements White Paper 10. NCS Memo

4. ADJOURNMENT To a regular City Council meeting on March 8, 2021 at 7:00 pm, held virtually using Zoom.

5. SUPPLEMENTAL MATERIALS

5.1 Supplemental Materials received prior to the meeting and after the meeting. Staff Report Attachments: 1. Supplemental Materials

Livermore City Council Agenda March 1, 2021

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1. Supplemental Materials Post Meeting HOW TO PARTICIPATE IN YOUR CITY COUNCIL MEETING You can participate in the meeting in a number of ways: Citizens Forum is an opportunity for the public to speak regarding items not listed on theagenda. Speakers are limited to a maximum of 3 minutes per person. To submit a commentusing Zoom, you may use the 'raise hand' feature. You should be aware that the City Councilis prohibited by State law from taking action on any items that are not listed on the agenda.However, if your item requires action, the City Council may place it on a future agenda ordirect staff to work with you and/or report to the City Council on the issue. Public Hearings - The topic of the hearing is typically summarized by staff, followed byquestions from the City Council and a presentation by the applicant. The Mayor will then openthe hearing to the public and offer an opportunity for public comments. You may use the 'raisehand' feature in Zoom and take 3 minutes to make your comments. Other Agenda Items are also open for public input including Consent Calendar or Matters forConsideration items. These comments are also subject to the 3 minute limit. Special Meetings, Workshops - The public will have the opportunity to address the CityCouncil regarding the item that is the subject of the special meeting or workshop. Publiccomments are limited to a maximum of 3 minutes per person. Platforms to Participate in Virtual Meetings: Submission of Comments Prior to the Meeting: Email Comments may be submitted by the public to the City Clerk’s Office(cityclerk@cityoflivermore.net). Items received no later than 12:00 pm the day before themeeting will be provided to the City Council and available on the City website prior to themeeting. These items will NOT be read into the record. eComments may be submitted by the public using the eComment link here. Comments maybe up to 1000 characters in length and will be accepted up until 4PM the day before themeeting. These items will NOT be read into the record and are viewable by the the CityCouncil and the public upon submittal. Submission of Comments During the Meeting: Speakers are limited to a maximum of 3 minutes per person. To submit a comment usingZoom, you may use the 'raise hand' feature. You should be aware that the City Council isprohibited by State law from taking action on any items that are not listed on the agenda.However, if your item requires action, the City Council may place it on a future agenda orLivermore City Council Agenda March 1, 2021

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direct staff to work with you and/or report to the City Council on the issue. Zoom Webinar: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/83523432335

Zoom dial in phone number:1 669 900 6833Meeting ID: 835 2343 2335 If you would like to deliver written materials to the City Council as part of their electroniccomments during a meeting, the speaker must identify that intent in his or her commentsubmitted and immediately email the materials to the City Clerk atcityclerk@cityoflivermore.net. The City Council Agenda and Agenda Reports are prepared by City staff and are availablefor public review on Tuesday evening, six days prior to the City Council meeting in the CivicCenter Library, 1188 South Livermore Avenue, Livermore, and at the City Clerk’s Office, 1052South Livermore Avenue, Livermore. The Agenda is also available on the City’s website,http://cityoflivermore.net/agenda. Under Government Code §54957.5, any supplemental material distributed to the members ofthe City Council after the posting of this agenda will be available for public review in the CityClerk’s Office, 1052 South Livermore Avenue, Livermore, and included in the agenda packetavailable on the City’s web site at http://cityoflivermore.net/agenda. PURSUANT TO TITLE II OF THE AMERICANS WITH DISABILITIES ACT (CODIFIED AT 42UNITED STATES CODE SECTION 12101 AND 28 CODE OF FEDERAL REGULATIONSPART 35), AND SECTION 504 OF THE REHABILITATION ACT OF 1973, THE CITY OFLIVERMORE DOES NOT DISCRIMINATE ON THE BASIS OF RACE, COLOR, RELIGION,NATIONAL ORIGIN, ANCESTRY, SEX, DISABILITY, AGE OR SEXUAL ORIENTATION INTHE PROVISION OF ANY SERVICES, PROGRAMS, OR ACTIVITIES. TO ARRANGE ANACCOMMODATION IN ORDER TO PARTICIPATE IN THIS PUBLIC MEETING, PLEASECONTACT THE ADA COORDINATOR AT ADACOORDINATOR@CITYOFLIVERMORE.NETOR CALL (925) 960-4170 (VOICE) OR (925) 960-4104 (TDD) AT LEAST THREE (3)BUSINESS DAYS IN ADVANCE OF THE MEETING.

Livermore City Council Agenda March 1, 2021

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CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT ITEM NO. 3.1

DATE: March 1, 2021

TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council

FROM: Marc Roberts, City Manager

SUBJECT: Discussion and direction regarding the City Council goals and priorities for Fiscal Years2021-2023.

RECOMMENDED ACTION

Staff recommends the City Council consider the attached white papers as part of its goals and prioritiesdiscussion, in preparation for the Fiscal Years 2021-2023 Budget. Staff also recommends the CityCouncil identify its priority goals and provide direction regarding resource allocation.

SUMMARY

In preparation for the Council Goals and Priorities Workshop, the leadership team (consisting of upper-level managers throughout the organization) identified several potential strategic issues relevant to Cityoperations over the next two years. For Council consideration, staff developed these issue areas intonine white papers. The nine white papers are a combination of existing and new priority areas. Eachwhite paper includes a description of the issue and identifies potential policy implications. To helpdescribe the level of resources necessary to advance each issue, rough staffing and funding estimatesare included in each paper. Council may also identify issues not covered by a white paper.

DISCUSSION

Every two years, the City Council holds a Goals and Priorities setting workshop to identify, discuss, andprioritize key work programs that will be addressed over the coming two-year period.

The issues and challenges identified in the white papers are not intended to be the only goals for Councilconsideration. They are meant to serve as a starting point for discussion, and represent a compilation ofissues after thoughtful consideration among the leadership team and department managers. The Council

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has, in the past, and could as part of this goal setting process, discuss and identify goals not outlined inthe white papers.

Current goals:

Asset Management- Establish a comprehensive Asset Management Program, ensuring thecommunity continues to receive vital services through a sustainable infrastructure strategy.Downtown- Enhance the City’s vibrancy by completing critical projects downtown, ensuring theright balance of local amenities to support quality of life.Emergency Management and Public Safety- Establish a comprehensive emergency managementprogram ensuring staff and community readiness, and expand the use of technology enhancingpublic safety.Encourage and Innovation Driven Economy- Encourage an innovation-driven economy, supportingrevenue-generating businesses, high-quality jobs, entrepreneurs, and unique experiences forresidents and visitors.Homelessness and Affordable Housing- Establish a homelessness strategy, engaging localpartners to develop a coordinated response, and expand diversity of affordable housingopportunities.

White Paper Purpose:

For over twenty years, the Council has participated in a goal setting process prior to development of thetwo-year budget. The goal setting process has yielded the following benefits:

A better understanding by citizens and staff of the City Council’s plans for the future of the City,More priority projects have been completed successfully,Staff is more focused, effective, and accountable in addressing City Council priorities,City Council and staff are less inclined to be side-tracked by less important activities or projects;andFormally adopted City Council goals provide staff official direction to plan and organize resourcesto ensure their completion.

Having clear Council goals and priorities communicates to the public and staff the areas in which theCouncil wishes to devote attention and resources, explore or change policy, make progress, and/orreach community consensus.

National Citizen Survey

Since 2004, information from the National Citizen Survey has been integrated into the goal settingprocess. Results of the satisfaction survey help provide the context for identifying goals for the upcomingfiscal years. Preliminary results from the 2020 survey are attached. The full survey results will beprovided at a Council meeting this spring.

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Baseline Operations:

Council goals and priorities have always been in addition to existing City operations. Regardless of thegoals for each two-year budget cycle, all of the important day-to-day work to accomplish the City’smission is performed. For example, the largest expenditure of discretionary funds for the City iscommitted to public safety. Roughly half of the General Fund is committed to police and fire departmentactivities. In addition to public safety, the City provides a wide variety of critical services every day; thelibrary provides books and reference materials to residents, the public works department provides waterand sewer service and maintains City assets, and the community development department providesproject design and environmental review, permits and inspections to name a few.

In addition, prior Council goals that have been accomplished or operationalized are also a part of existingCity operations. For example, emergency management was a goal for two budget cycles (2017-2021) asthe Council wished to focus attention and resources development of a comprehensive emergencymanagement program and on construction of the new Emergency Operations Center. Emergencymanagement has become a normal part of everyday City operations.

Collectively, the existing operations can be considered Baseline Operations.

Budget:

Although the totality of the fiscal impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic are not yet known, it is clear that“lost” revenue will be significant and material. Increased operating and capital costs will most likely besubstantially offset by federal emergency aid, but Livermore is anticipating reductions in a number ofrevenue sources (sales tax, hotel tax and others) amounting to forgone revenue of approximately $15million. The operational impact of such a large revenue loss is mitigated by reserves the City washolding in anticipation of the Downtown Project. As a result, the organization has not had to institutereductions in service levels, or make significant operational adjustments such as lay-offs, hiring freezesor canceling projects.

The financial strength of the organization does have its limits, and unless operational adjustments aremade or capital investment plans change, it is unlikely that there is much capacity for new initiativeswhich require significant financial and/or staff resources. Staff expects the economy to begin to recoverduring the upcoming two year budget period, however, only time will reveal how strongly and quickly theeconomy returns. In the event that things unfold in a positive manner, we want to be poised to takeadvantage by developing a roadmap of where to focus additional resources as they become available.

Downtown:

It is worth noting, that should the Council select the Downtown as a continued goal significant resourceswould be allocated during the next two-year period to develop parking within the Downtown. This would

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leave very limited resources for the remainder of the goals.

White Papers:

For FY 2021-2023, staff identified nine topics for Council consideration, discussion, and prioritization.Four of the nine are existing goals, and five are new. White papers on existing goals outline associatedwork programs and identify what work is left to be done. The white papers also identify options for areasto focus staff resources moving forward, should any of these goals be continued in the next two-yearbudget year cycle. All white papers provide background information on the issue, policy considerations,and options for work programs. Based on direction received at the workshop, staff develops a workprogram implementing Council goals and priorities for Council consideration and adoption later thisspring.

The resource information estimated within all nine of the goals is provided not to give definitive staffing ordollar numbers, but to offer a sense of scale. The resources information is intended to guide Council inits decision making, providing information to inform prioritization. Based upon available resources, staffwill develop a draft budget and Council will then allocate resources during the budget process, later thisspring.

Due to the uncertainty of the speed of the economic recovery, staff is not recommending addingpositions at this time. Resource estimates in the white papers that include additional staffing shouldgenerally be thought of as a roadmap for future additions if the economy recovers relatively quickly fromthe current recession. If the economy recovers during this next year, staff would bring addition staffingrequests forward during the mid-cycle budget review, based on the adopted goals. If the economy doesnot recover, staff would not recommend adding positions and progress in some of the selected areaswould be much slower, as modest resources are reallocated to make progress on those goal areas.

FISCAL AND ADMINISTRATIVE IMPACTS

Other than staff time, there are no fiscal or administrative impacts associated with the Council Goals andPriorities Workshop and consideration of the white papers.

ATTACHMENTS 1. Asset Management and Stormwater White Paper2. Climate Change White Paper3. Communications White Paper4. Downtown White Paper5. Economic Recovery and Resiliency White Paper

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6. Equity and Inclusion White Paper7. General Plan Update White Paper8. Homelessness and Affordable Housing White Paper9. Modernization Training and Workplace Enhancements White Paper10. NCS Memo Prepared by: Christine Martin Deputy City Manager

Approved by:

____________________________________Marc RobertsCity Manager

Fiscal Review by:

____________________________________Douglas AlessioAdministrative Services Director

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CITY COUNCIL GOALS & PRIORITIES WORKSHOP WHITE PAPER

DATE: March 1, 2021

TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council

SUBJECT: Asset Management and Stormwater

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

City Council originally adopted Asset Management as a goal in 2015. Over the past six years Council and staff have gained a better understanding of the long-term financial and operational needs of the City’s infrastructure. Data collection, program development and public outreach have identified critical gaps and needs in asset maintenance and replacement funding. As a part of Asset Management, Stormwater Management has been identified as a critical program requiring a more focused effort. In addition to a focus on funding long term maintenance and replacement, the focus on Storm Water must also include reducing pollution that enters waterways from stormwater, environmental mitigation, complying with complex environmental regulations, and engaging the community around flood protection and watershed stewardship.

The City of Livermore owns over $3 billion in assets including roads, bridges, water delivery and collection systems, stormwater facilities, buildings, street and traffic lights, among others. Maintaining these assets has typically been based on available general fund dollars with priorities determined by immediate needs rather than proactive actions. Due to limited funding, some maintenance tasks and replacement activities have been deferred, increasing the possibility of preventable infrastructure failure that can ultimately be more costly and disruptive to the public.

Staff recommends Asset Management continue to remain a priority for City Council with an increased emphasis on Stormwater Management. Much progress has been achieved, though additional work is critical to maintain and improve community character, ensure public safety, and encourage economic vitality.

BACKGROUND

The City of Livermore owns a large quantity and wide variety of public infrastructure, all

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of which plays a pivotal role in delivering services to the community. Infrastructure funded by the General Fund is valued at over $2.5 billion and includes asset classes such as streets, bridges, sidewalks, streetlights, traffic signals, parks and plazas, landscaped areas, civic buildings, trails, storm drains, waterways, and walls/fences. To repair and replace all these assets on an ongoing basis, the General Fund would need to provide over $40 million per year, four times the amount typically allocated annually. This spending level is projected to result in a backlog of $600 million in deferred repair or replacement projects over the next thirty years. The goal of the Asset Management Program (AMP) is to balance asset repair and replacement needs with the City’s limited budgetary resources.

To help address this issue, Council prioritized the AMP as a citywide goal in 2015, developing a risk-based methodology to analyze asset needs. The AMP harnesses this methodology by creating efficient and cost-effective maintenance and replacement strategies and evaluating data such as installation year, condition, material type, cost, and risk factors. Many of these assets are expected to have long lifespans (ranging from 20-100 years) so the AMP emphasizes long-term financial planning to identify properly timed repair and rehabilitation, rather than waiting for preventable infrastructure failure which is more costly and disruptive to the public.

Our AMP has identified Stormwater Management to be the largest single class of underfunded public infrastructure assets and an area that will require special focus as we address our overall AMP priorities. Severe flooding after storms in the Winter (Jan-Feb) of 2017 highlighted the specific risks of deferred stormwater maintenance to the City. During this event, 10 community members were rescued from cars and the total damage is estimated at $20 million, including $11 million to City-owned property such as roads and public trails. These impacts made it clear that deferred maintenance can significantly impact the City’s long-term fiscal health due to potential liability for flood events and the ongoing resources required to repair the ensuing damage. Routine flooding in Livermore from smaller rain events makes clear the need for additional resources related to stormwater management.

In addition, the City’s stormwater management responsibilities extend beyond the repair and replacement of stormwater assets. This includes reducing the amount of pollution that enters waterways from its stormwater drainage, implementing an environmental mitigation program, complying with complex environmental regulations due to several protected species in Livermore’s waterways, and engaging the community around flood protection and watershed stewardship.

Over the past two years, Council and staff have implemented many important actions advancing the AMP, including:

• Asset Data – Staff collected and analyzed data across many asset classes andprovided risk-based project proposals to Council, including funding requests toconstruct, repair, or replace access ramps, pavement, signals, and others.

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• Community Asset Management Program (CAMP) Committee – Recognizingthe importance of public input to advance the AMP, Council approvedtransitioning the 2016 CAMP Committee from detailed data analysis tocommunity engagement. In 2020 Council selected nine members to serve on thenew CAMP Committee. This committee is actively providing input on thedevelopment and deployment of asset management outreach messages andmaterials. Members also serve as ambassadors, helping extend the reach andeffectiveness of the campaign.

• Public Outreach – Staff have worked with the CAMP Committee andconsultants to develop an intensive asset management public outreachcampaign. The campaign provides education about the variety, quantity,condition, and maintenance costs of community-owned infrastructure. Thiseducation, combined with community input, will provide feedback to craft newpolicies, prioritize rehabilitation projects, create pilot projects for specific assetclasses, and develop updated practices related to asset management.

To date, staff has developed a Communications and Outreach Strategy, brandidentity, digital newsletter, online quiz, program website, community surveywhich received over 1,100 responses, all-ages asset geocache, and an animatededucational video.

Additionally, the City has partnered with Zone 7 Water Agency, LARPD and Tri-Valley cities to implement the Living Arroyos Program and Adopt a Creek SpotProgram which engages 1,500 volunteers annually in creek clean-up andrestoration projects. Monthly social media posts inform the public about floodrisks, stormwater and creek natural and beneficial functions and invitecommunity engagement.

• Technology and Staffing - Staff worked to streamline asset data processing,increase internal efficiency, and implement effective maintenancerecommendations for near- and long-term asset management.

o Asset Management Software - Staff executed an agreement and aremigrating asset data to NEXGEN which will serve as the City’s Enterpriseasset management and materials management software. NEXGENsoftware allows real-time data collection and analysis to help with assetlifecycle planning, risk analysis, and capital project prioritization.

o Mobile Devices – Funding was approved to provide field staff with smartmobile devices which will prove critical for efficiency, real-time datacollection, and remote project analysis. Using these devices, staff will beable to continuously update condition assessments which will systematizeasset life cycle planning, risk analysis, and capital project prioritization.

o Staffing – In May 2020, the City hired an Asset Management Specialist.

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As the technician behind the AMP, this staff member is assimilating existing asset data into the City’s software systems, identifying and prioritizing data gaps, developing workflow and business practices, and producing the necessary tools to enable informed decision-making regarding the upkeep and replacement of community-owned assets.

• Stormwater Management Evaluation – In the aftermath of the 2017 storms, theCity began efforts to identify specific needs in this program area. Key shortfallsidentified include underfunded routine maintenance; oversight spread acrossseveral departments and outsourced to consultants; lack of dedicated City staffwith the appropriate expertise; increased regulatory and environmentalcompliance requirements; and the need to adapt the City’s stormwaterconveyance system to climate change. Through this effort, staff have quantifiedspecific resources necessary to carry out stormwater management activities in aproactive, environmentally beneficial, and cost-effective manner.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

While the AMP has made progress over the last two years, there is still much work to be done. Fiscal Year 2021-2023 work program will continue the work identified above with an extra focus on solidifying the form and structure of the AMP. The end goal is to create a sustainable AMP that is integrated in all City activities. Action items include the following:

• Public Outreach – Staff and the CAMP Outreach Committee will expand onthe newly established public outreach campaign. The goal is to emphasize theimportance of the City’s deteriorating infrastructure, the lack of enoughmaintenance funding and build consensus for difficult decisions before there iscritical failure. Efforts will include building on existing momentum, adding creativeand engaging digital and in-person tools to create foundational awareness, andgather feedback about community priorities. Additionally, the campaign willcreate a series of visual tools, such as an infrastructure dashboard, to assistCouncil and community members with the AMP process. Other activities includea cyclical infrastructure scorecard, a spotlight on infrastructure campaign, andasset management plan updates.

• Asset Data – Staff throughout the organization will continue to advance thecollection of asset data across all infrastructure classes. Staff will continue toutilize Council’s approved risk-based criteria to prioritize infrastructure repair andreplacement and refine management strategy options. This work will helpdetermine if shifting liability, adjusting maintenance responsibilities, reducingmaintenance levels of service, divesting, changing development standards, orother options could minimize or limit future financial obligations.

• Stormwater Management – Stormwater facilities are the City’s largest assetclass when considering the quantity of assets and the required investmentneeded for maintenance, repairs, and replacement. The allocation of dedicated

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resources would enable staff to define what level of service the City could achieve with different levels of funding including staffing, infrastructure repair and replacement, and capital improvement projects. Additional considerations include growing requirements for permit compliance, species protection, climate adaption, and green infrastructure.

• Program Development – Asset Management is a complex issue which requiresthe right tools, participation by all levels of staff, collaboration between variousdisciplines, multifaceted decision-making, and community support. Staff willdevelop the form and structure to braid these disparate pieces together with anend-goal to create a fully functioning and sustainable Asset ManagementProgram.

o Technology and Data - Staff will complete the migration of asset data intoNEXGEN. Staff will also implement a comprehensive training program forstaff, consultants, and developers to learn how to input new, updateexisting, and analyze the data. With staff proficient in NEXGEN andregularly updating data, the City will be able to more efficiently maintaininfrastructure, identify and recalibrate original assessments that may nolonger be accurate, perform gap analyses, and identify future data needs.

o Interdisciplinary Coordination - Staff will coordinate across disciplines andintegrate asset management considerations into various projects,programs, and policies. Additionally, the AMP will evolve based onfeedback from other disciplines. For example, the City’s infrastructure isdesigned based on past climate data. The AMP will integrate findings fromthe City’s Climate Action efforts to better predict future infrastructureneeds and vice versa. Similarly, the AMP will coordinate with the City’supcoming General Plan Update to ensure infrastructure repair andreplacement is interwoven into future project and policy decisions.

o Stormwater Program Development – Consolidating StormwaterManagement oversight has been identified as a necessary first steptowards improving the City’s ability to manage stormwater in an efficient,proactive manner. Building an integrated Stormwater ManagementProgram within the Public Works Department, including comprehensiveoversight over stormwater-related assets, City-owned creeks and floodcontrol channels, regulatory compliance, watershed stewardship, andmitigation sites, would require a dedicated position in Public Works. Theprogram would be structured to promote public safety, environmentalresponsibility, and regional coordination through an integrated watershedapproach.

• Fiscal Sustainability – Staff will develop an Asset Management Funding Policyto meet the program’s financial needs for future asset rehabilitation, replacement,and/or divestment. This policy will expand Council’s existing direction to set-aside$2 million per budget cycle for infrastructure. The policy will provide additionalspecificity for how the funds should be saved and metrics and parameters for

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when and how it can be spent. Additionally, the Council will need to consider how to use debt in the replacement of long-term assets and seek to develop additional new funding sources to preserve current levels of service. Options include tax measures, bonds, or public/private partnerships such as “Adopt” programs (highway or creek clean-up, etc.).

The Stormwater Enterprise Fund generates approximately $1.2 million, which is not enough revenue to cover current stormwater spending. Staff estimates that a full level of stormwater asset maintenance would require an additional $11 million in annual spending.

• Advocacy – The City will continue to advocate for grants and programs to catchup on the backlog of asset maintenance, repair, and replacement. Additionally,staff will identify and advocate against unfunded infrastructure mandates thatincrease the City’s financial obligations.

COST

Continuation of the AMP goal will require the current staffing commitment of approximately 2.5 full time equivalents (FTE), including two FTE dedicated to the AMP and .5 FTE comprised of various City staff providing technical support and direction. The AMP will need approximately $300,000 in consultant services to assist with public outreach, data collection, and integration. Additional asset management technology will require a commitment in the range of approximately $30,000-$40,000.

The prioritization of Stormwater Management will ideally include dedicating a staff position to focus exclusively on stormwater related matters. This position would provide comprehensive oversight of the City’s stormwater management activities, identify necessary resources, oversee data collection, coordinate with multiple City departments, outside local, state and federal agencies, and identify long-term staffing and annual contractor budgets. Funding needs over the next two years include the following: $175,000 in consultant services for data collection, asset register and GIS updates; $100,000 in consultant services to perform trash load reduction visual assessment required by the Municipal Regional Stormwater Permit (MRP); $7.5 million to $9 million to design and construct additional trash capture devices to comply with the trash load reduction requirements in the MRP; $300,000 in consultant services to support stream maintenance and the renewal of permits for the Stream Maintenance Program, analyze risk data from the stormwater inundation analysis, and work with regional partners to streamline permitting the stream maintenance work; lastly, $300,000 is required for performing stream maintenance.

To adequately fund City needs, overall spending on Asset Management including Stormwater would need to increase between $10 million (to address high risk annual needs only) and $30 million (to address full maintenance needs), annually. Options to raise additional revenue dedicated to asset management include a parcel related fee, City-wide Community Facilities District, a new property or sales tax, expanded efforts to identify and procure federal and state grants or some combination of these tools. To

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move forward with any of these options, staff would begin a rate analysis to determine what combination of fees and taxes would be appropriate to better fund the program and explore public support for an asset management revenue measure.

CONCLUSION

The functionality and quality of the City’s assets are critical for the City’s economic vitality, allowing the City to continue to attract new and maintain existing businesses as well as sustain a high quality of life for residents. The Asset Management Program will allow the City to continue to provide necessary services to its residents and businesses by effectively managing resources to protect the viability of the City’s various infrastructure systems.

It is important to build on the AMP’s existing momentum to establish a community culture that prioritizes infrastructure maintenance. If Council does not choose this as a goal, there will be fewer opportunities to make a significant impact on the $40 million annual funding needs. Additionally, data collection and analysis will proceed at a slower pace. Together, this slower progress in areas related to outreach, analysis, and funding would lead to a larger unfunded infrastructure liability over time. In addition, without a dedicated focus on Stormwater Management, the City will continue to have limited opportunities to address the City’s stormwater challenges, including liability for flooding, climate adaption, channel divestment, deferred maintenance, and growing requirements for stormwater permit compliance.

This white paper identifies the need for additional staff. As noted in the cover staff report, due to the uncertainty of the speed of the economic recovery, staff is not recommending adding positions at this time. If this goal is selected and the economy recovers during this next year, staff would bring addition staffing requests forward during the mid-cycle budget review. If this goal is selected and the economy does not recover, staff would not recommend adding positions and progress in this area would be much slower, as modest resources are reallocated to make progress on this goal.

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CITY COUNCIL GOALS & PRIORITIES WORKSHOP WHITE PAPER

DATE: March 1, 2021

TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council

SUBJECT: Climate Change and Livermore 2020 Climate Action Plan

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Addressing climate change is vital to protecting the health and safety of Livermore residents and the local economy. Livermore is already experiencing extreme weather patterns associated with climate change, including the winter 2017 flooding and storm damage and the SCU Lightning Complex wildfires in summer 2020. Future climate change impacts are expected to further disrupt many areas of life, exacerbating existing challenges to prosperity posed by aging and deteriorating infrastructure, stressed ecosystems, and economic inequality.

The 2020 Climate Action Plan (2020 CAP) has been underway since January 2020 and is expected to be completed by the end of this year. The 2020 CAP will provide a framework for how the City will both reduce greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change and adapt to the impacts of climate change on the City and its residents.

If the City Council selects climate change as a priority for the upcoming two years, staff will work to initiate a robust climate action program that is integrated into all levels of City operations, leverages local community partnerships, and utilizes funding opportunities available from regional and state agencies.

BACKGROUND

The City Council adopted the Climate Action Plan in November 2012 (2012 CAP), which provides the framework to reduce community greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions consistent with the State’s 2020 reduction efforts and the Livermore General Plan Climate Change Element policies. The 2012 CAP established a GHG emissions reduction goal of 15 percent below 2008 levels by 2020. The 2012 CAP focuses on GHG emissions reduction measures that can be implemented at the local level. Measures include both municipal operations and community actions that address a variety of emission sources including building energy use, transportation, land use, water conveyance, wastewater treatment, solid waste generation, and urban forestry. The

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Climate Change

City’s adherence to and participation in federal, state, and regional measures also contributes to reductions in community GHG emissions. The City achieved the 2020 emissions reduction goal established in the 2012 CAP through a combination of local, regional, and State measures. However, local actions were responsible for the smallest share of emissions reductions.

Staff is working on the 2020 Climate Action Plan, which will establish new reduction targets that are consistent with new State goals. In 2016, the State adopted Senate Bill 32, which establishes new greenhouse gas emissions targets for 2030 (40% below 1990 levels) and 2050 (80% below 1990 levels). In 2018, Governor Jerry Brown signed Executive Order B-55-18, which sets a State goal to achieve carbon neutrality by 2045. In addition to reducing emissions, referred to as climate mitigation, the State passed Senate Bill 379, which requires cities to address climate adaptation and effectively plan for the impacts of climate change. For Livermore, these impacts include wildfires, drought, extreme heat, and flooding.

Staff and consultants have been working on the following major components of the 2020 Climate Action Plan since the City Council authorized the scope and budget on January 13, 2020.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions Inventory

Staff and consultants updated the community greenhouse gas emissions inventory to determine the sources and magnitude of emissions in Livermore. On-road transportation and natural gas use in buildings are the major contributors to emissions in Livermore, accounting for 77% of emissions. Emissions from electricity, off-road transportation, solid waste, water, and wastewater make up the remaining emissions. The 2020 CAP will establish new GHG reduction targets that are consistent with the State goals mentioned above.

Vulnerability Analysis

Staff and consultants prepared a vulnerability analysis, which evaluates the potential impacts of climate change on Livermore’s infrastructure, community assets, private property, and residents. The vulnerability analysis evaluates Livermore’s exposure to changes in temperature, precipitation, and wildfire risk, including air quality. The vulnerability analysis finds that Livermore will experience increased temperatures and associated heat impacts, increased precipitation variability leading to both droughts and severe storm and flooding events, and increased air quality impacts from wildfires. At present, the vulnerability analysis finds that Livermore has a low to medium adaptive capacity to address the projected impacts of climate change.

Measures and Implementation Strategy

The goal of the 2020 CAP is to identify strategies that are evidence-based, ambitious but realistic, and supported by an implementation plan that keeps the City on track to achieve

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its goals. Staff and consultants are developing a list of measures to address GHG emissions, including expanding active transportation infrastructure and electrifying vehicles and buildings. The 2020 CAP will also include adaptation measures and resiliency strategies to strengthen the City’s ability to minimize impacts and reduce exposure to the effects of climate change. The draft measures are currently under review by staff and the Climate Action Plan Advisory Committee (discussed more below).

The implementation strategy for the 2020 CAP will identify actions, responsible parties, and funding and financing mechanisms for each measure. Finally, staff will develop a strategy for tracking and monitoring progress implementing measures. Tracking and monitoring implementation is crucial to assess progress meeting CAP goals and allows the City to adjust the plan as state and regional policies change and technologies advance.

Community and Stakeholder Engagement

On June 8, 2020, City Council appointed 11 Livermore residents to the Climate Action Plan Advisory Committee (CAPAC). The role of the CAPAC is to formulate recommendations for updating plan goals and provide a citizen’s perspective regarding new policies, programs, and projects. The CAPAC received and reviewed a series of background and technical materials important to understanding the City’s current conditions and context for future policy setting. The CAPAC is currently reviewing and refining the list of draft measures to include in the 2020 CAP.

Starting in January 2021, staff will launch additional community engagement efforts including a virtual open house, public workshops, presentations, and focus groups with stakeholders. Communication and outreach with the broader community will both inform CAP strategy development and build momentum towards successful implementation of the CAP goals.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

If the Council selects Climate Change as a priority, the Fiscal Year 2021-2023 work program will include completing the 2020 Climate Action Plan tasks identified above and building off the momentum of plan adoption to begin implementing the policies and programs outlined in the CAP. The CAP policies will be closely tied to the General Plan Update and implemented synergistically with other City plans including the Active Transportation Plan, Asset Management Program, Local Hazard Mitigation Plan, and Green Infrastructure Plan. The end goal is to create a robust climate action program that is integrated in all City activities and establishes Livermore as a leader in climate mitigation and adaptation.

Benefits of Addressing Climate Change

The benefits of acting on climate change reach beyond simply reducing the greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions

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and building resiliency to the impacts of climate change will improve quality of life, public health, and the local economy now and for future generations of Livermore residents. The following is a non-exhaustive list of some of the benefits of addressing climate change.

• Public Health – Climate change can result in health impacts, such as asthma fromwildfire smoke and poor air quality, heat-related illnesses from extreme heat, andcardio-pulmonary diseases. Addressing climate change presents an opportunity toimprove public health and reduce healthcare costs.

• Social Equity – Some communities are better positioned to respond, recover, andadjust as climate impacts occur, while others are more vulnerable and experiencedisproportionate impacts. Climate change has a higher impact on low-income,elderly, children, and people of color. Climate actions, such as increasing activeand public transportation options, expanding public green space across the city,and improving air quality can benefit these frontline communities and increaseequity. The City should implement climate actions with equity in mind so that allcommunity members experience positive benefits of climate action and increasedresilience throughout Livermore.

• Assets and Infrastructure – The City’s risk-based methodology for prioritizinginfrastructure repairs and rehabilitation currently does not consider impacts suchas increased flooding and extreme heat from climate change. Considering climatechange when assessing new infrastructure projects and repairs will help the Citymake better decisions, ultimately saving money and preventing infrastructuredamage and failures.

• Economic Resilience – Addressing climate change will help create a more resilientlocal economy by transitioning to green and innovation jobs, protecting propertyvalues, maximizing taxpayer dollars, saving money for businesses andhouseholds, and maintaining viable and productive vineyards and agriculturallands.

• Municipal Finances – Moody’s Investors Service, which rates the creditworthinessof government bonds, encourages cities to adopt approaches to increaseresilience to reduce the risk and severity of future losses projected to occurbecause of accelerating climate change. Climate change impacts increase costsand risks to cities, threatening their credit rating and their ability to borrow moneyand finance city operations. Moody’s Investors Service warns that climate changewill be a growing negative credit factor for issuers without sufficient adaptationand mitigation strategies.

Climate Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies

Staff and consultants have prepared preliminary mitigation and adaptation measures that are currently under review by the CAPAC. The purpose of the mitigation measures is to

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Climate Change

establish actions, strategies, and programs the City will implement over time to achieve its GHG reduction targets. The adaptation measures will provide a guide to prepare climate adaptation and resilience programs and help alleviate the impacts that the City may experience because of climate change.

Finding solutions that fit Livermore will be key to achieving the CAP goals. Special focus should be given to measures that achieve both mitigation and adaptation, align with other City plans and policies, and provide co-benefits to public health and the economy.

Regular and frequent updates to the CAP will build on the measures in the 2020 CAP, be informed by monitoring and adaptive management and take advantage of new technologies and climate science that will be available in the future. Additionally, to ensure that the City’s mitigation and adaptation processes are effective and sustainable over time, it will be important to regularly evaluate the progress of planned actions and review the outcomes against the objectives that were set out when developing the strategy.

Leveraging Community Partnerships to Build Capacity

Identifying and building relationships with external collaborators will strengthen the ability of the City to address climate change. Capacity building through partnerships with community groups and stakeholders will help the City maximize its limited resources. Local and regional organizations are active and eager to partner with the City to implement measures in the CAP.

COST

Having well-developed and dedicated staff capacity is fundamental to internally advance the City towards achieving mitigation and adaptation goals. If this priority is selected, staff recommends the City consider a half time to full time equivalent staff person responsible for coordinating and implementing climate action programs.

CONCLUSION

Selecting climate change as a priority for the next two years will demonstrate a commitment to the health and wellbeing of Livermore residents and businesses. In addition, this priority would move the City toward a centralized and comprehensive approach to addressing climate change. An integrated strategy for addressing climate change with dedicated staff time will be more efficient and cost-effective by finding synergies, maximizing resources, and taking advantage of the unique opportunities available to make Livermore a leader in climate action.

This white paper identifies the need for additional staff. As noted in the cover staff report, due to the uncertainty of the speed of the economic recovery, staff is not recommending adding positions at this time. If this goal is selected and the economy recovers during this

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Climate Change

next year, staff would bring addition staffing requests forward during the mid-cycle budget review. If this goal is selected and the economy does not recover, staff would not recommend adding positions and progress in this area would be much slower, as modest resources are reallocated to make progress on this goal.

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CITY COUNCIL GOALS & PRIORITIES WORKSHOP WHITE PAPER

DATE: March 1, 2021

TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council

SUBJECT: Communications

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

Effective communication increases transparency in local government and is an important part of building and sustaining public trust. For communication to be successful, it is important for the City to consider how it is communicating and how that communication is perceived by the public. A citywide communications policy, a well planned and executed strategy, and investing in the proper tools for effectively disseminating information and receiving feedback are essential for the City to be a reliable source of information to the public. The City has made communications improvements over the past several years, reaching a wider audience. If communications is selected as a City Council goal, enhancements to current efforts and exploration of new communication tools and best practices will occur.

BACKGROUND

Communications, including internal and external efforts, content, distribution methods, and tools, is an important element of effective governance. The Livermore community relies on the City to provide pertinent, factual, essential information in various forms and for a diverse audience. The City has seen increased community engagement and expanded reach of its messages through digital media year over year. A comparison between 2019 and 2020 demonstrate the City’s Facebook posts consistently reached over twice as many users and the City’s tweet impressions (the number of times a tweet is seen) increased by a factor of six. This is partially due to improved collaboration on messages amongst staff across departments and with outside partner agencies and community service providers. It is important to note that many of the messages from the City during the 2020 calendar year that were widely circulated and reached expanded audiences were centered around the COVID-19 pandemic and nearby wildfires. While the pandemic was a new topic in the City’s messaging, wildfires continue to be a topic of interest to

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the Livermore community as they have become a consistent event experienced locally. Messages about community development projects, Council meetings, and other timely news and events also saw an increase in engagement from the community, but to a lesser extent than those centered around the pandemic and wildfires. City staff currently engage in the following efforts for effectively communicating with the Livermore community:

• Internal communications team meetings – Staff from every department and division are invited to meet monthly to collaborate on messaging, discuss upcoming events and current City issues and initiatives, and share experiences. (Please note: the internal communications team has not met consistently during the COVID-19 pandemic. Rather, staff has collaborated on messages and communications methods on a per-project basis.)

• External communications meetings – Staff from the City’s Public Information team established a monthly meeting with communicators from the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District, Livermore Area Recreation and Park District, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Zone 7 Water Agency, Cal Water, and Las Positas College. The purpose of these meetings is to collaborate on messaging and discuss how each agency may support the others in reaching wider and more diverse audiences.

• Regular monitoring, communication, and/or collaboration with outside community stakeholders from the Livermore Valley Chamber of Commerce, Livermore Downtown Inc., Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association, Innovation Tri-Valley, social service providers, and faith-based organizations.

• Regular monitoring, communication, and collaboration with public information and communications representatives from the cities of Pleasanton and Dublin. Additionally, social media pages and websites for other Bay Area or nearby cities are frequently reviewed for content that may be of relevance for Livermore.

• Regular monitoring, communication, and/or collaboration with staff from Alameda County, including from the office of the District 1 Supervisor, Public Health, and Emergency Services.

City staff currently disseminate information to the Livermore community through online media, print, and television. Prior to the pandemic, the City communicated with the public through in-person events and anticipates re-engaging in this activity when it is safe to do so. Tools used for distributing information include:

• Social media: o 3 Nextdoor accounts that reach more than 36,000 residents o 7 Facebook pages with over 38,000 combined followers o 5 Twitter accounts with over 15,000 combined followers o 5 Instagram accounts with over 13,000 combined followers

• City of Livermore website

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• Press releases • Email • AC Alerts for emergencies • Seasonal and special edition community newsletters mailed to every

Livermore resident and posted to the City website • Posters and flyers displayed in downtown kiosks • Bill messages and inserts • Virtual city council and advisory body meetings (held in-person prior to the

pandemic and anticipated to be offered virtually and in-person when it is safe to do so)

• Tri-Valley Community Television (segments include Mayor’s Report and Slice of Life as well as replays of the Mayor’s State of the City, Council meetings, and other important City events)

• In-person community engagement opportunities such as tabling at the farmers’ market or library, and community workshops and open houses (workshops and open houses are currently held virtually and the City anticipates offering these both in-person and virtually when it is safe to do so)

City staff currently receive resident feedback and input via email received to general city inboxes, phone calls, messages and comments through social media, public comment during council and advisory body meetings, project workshops, and informal and formal surveys.

The City’s current approach to communications is a distributed one and communication methods vary across City departments. While the City Manager’s Office is responsible for posting to the City’s main social media accounts, other departments maintain their own social media presence through departmental accounts. These include police, fire, library, innovation and economic development, public works, solid waste, and airport. It is common across local governments for various departmental accounts to exist. Additionally, departments may choose to utilize email as a regular communication method, issue press releases, or engage a consultant for community outreach. The existence of the internal communications team and camaraderie between City staff across departments have resulted in coordinated, diverse, and informative communication to the public. However, distributed communications can lead to ineffective outcomes if all contributors are not properly trained or knowledgeable of best practices.

To improve communications and continue to earn and maintain the public’s trust, it is imperative to adopt a citywide communications policy, employ an organized communications strategy for crafting messages, creating fresh content, and distributing information, and offer a city website with up-to-date information in a user-friendly format.

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POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

Each aspect of the goal: adopt a citywide communications policy, employ a communications strategy, and offer a user-friendly city website, could be addressed as listed below.

Communications Policy This aspect of the goal would include hiring a consultant to help staff craft a City Communications Policy. A policy would help the City avoid potential legal issues, ensure coordinated and consistent messaging across all departments, and provide City staff with a framework for producing City communications. The Communications Policy would include the following five sub-policies:

1. Web Use Policy – consultant to review and update the City’s existing policy from 2014.

2. Social Media Policy – consultant to review and update the City’s existing policy from 2011. The City’s Social Media Policy would potentially address:

• Social Media Use -- Best Practices • Content guidelines (to be updated frequently) • Instructions for posting to various platforms, image/video

requirements, best practices, etc. • Records retention requirements specific to social media

3. Emergency Alerts & Notifications Policy – consultant to review and potentially update the City’s existing policy that is included within the City’s Emergency Operations Plan.

4. Media Inquiry Policy – this new policy would provide guidance on how City staff, elected officials, and board/commission members should interact with members of the media.

5. Non-English Language Policy – this new policy would provide guidance on how the City determines when communication needs to include non-English languages, as well as how to decide which non-English languages to prioritize.

Communications Strategy – Telling the City’s Story This aspect of the goal would focus on how the City can most effectively tell its story. This would be broken down into crafting content, distribution methods, and tools and resources. Content creation would include enhancements to current efforts, such as:

• Short summaries or FAQs on key projects. • Posts or videos highlighting each City department/division allowing the public

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to “peek behind the curtain.” With the objective of allowing members of the public to see themselves as part of local government, driving more citizen involvement, engagement, and understanding.

• Regular translation of messages into Spanish (9.9% of the Livermore population over 5 years old speaks Spanish according to the American Community Survey 5-year estimates for 2019).

Distribution methods would include enhancements to current efforts, such as:

• Social media boosted posts and coordinated communications campaigns using a variety of media (images, videos, graphics, etc.).

• Redesigned City website (see additional information below). • Redesigned and updated community newsletter offered by mail and

electronically. • Increased use of the mass email distribution tool, Constant Contact. • In-person methods: Citizens Police Academy, Key to the City, tabling at

farmers’ markets, library, or other venues.

Tools and resources would include engaging in new tools and increasing use of existing tools and resources, such as:

• Use of social media listening, analyzing, tracking, and web monitoring tools to better understand current trends and topics of concern in the Livermore community.

• Informal surveys through social media and through the City’s existing online account with Polco, an online community engagement tool and the provider of the National Community Survey.

Frequent evaluation would be conducted on the various aspects of the City’s Communications Strategy, such that it remains relevant and reaches the broadest demographic of the community.

Redesigned City Website This aspect of the goal would involve making significant progress on the website redesign, which is a process that has already begun but was halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff from every department has already been identified as content contributors and will participate in training on the new website functionality and processes and protocols for updating website content. The redesigned City website will produce a modern digital experience for users that is custom-built for the Livermore community, with the most-visited pages front and center and with an easy-to-navigate and intuitive design. A coordinated communications campaign will introduce the new website to the public and will highlight the various new aspects and benefits of the site, drive traffic to it,

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and seek feedback to ensure it is designed to meet the needs of the Livermore community. An informal survey would be issued to the public to gauge the success of the newly redesigned website and identify what features are working and what may need to be revisited. COST

If the City Council were to select Communications as a goal, a consultant would be hired to work with staff to complete a Communications Policy and Strategy for the next year. New tools would be employed to monitor social media and the web, and a communications campaign for the new City website would be developed and deployed once the new site is live. This would essentially utilize the equivalent of an existing staff person full time versus the current part-time contribution. Additional staff time would also be required for regular translation of select materials into Spanish and would either be completed by existing City staff or through paid translation services. The cost for this is approximately $100,000. With the recent retirement of the former Library Director/Public Information Officer (PIO), the PIO responsibilities have been added to the existing duties of the Deputy City Manager. If the Council chose this area as a goal, and the Council chose to increase the amount of staff resources dedicated to social media monitoring and community engagement, additional staff resources (approximately a half-time FTE) would be necessary to support the PIO function. CONCLUSION If Communications is not selected as a Council goal, the various staff members in each department who have the part-time responsibility of executing communications for their respective departments would continue with no additional staff resources assigned to this area. Implementation of a City Communications Policy and other modest progress would be made on this goal at a slower pace. This white paper identifies the need for additional staff. As noted in the cover staff report, due to the uncertainty of the speed of the economic recovery, staff is not recommending adding positions at this time. If this goal is selected and the economy recovers during this next year, staff would bring addition staffing requests forward during the mid-cycle budget review. If this goal is selected and the economy does not recover, staff would not recommend adding positions and progress in this area would be much slower, as modest resources are reallocated to make progress on this goal.

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CITY COUNCIL GOALS & PRIORITIES WORKSHOP WHITE PAPER

DATE: March 1, 2021

TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council

SUBJECT: Downtown Implementation

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

On January 29, 2018, at the conclusion of a yearlong public engagement process, the City Council approved the development concept for the Core Downtown Plan (Downtown Plan). Stockmen’s Park and Veterans Way are complete. However, several key projects remain including the I Street and L Street parking structures, the Eden Housing project, Veterans Park, new commercial uses, a science center and black box theater surrounding Stockmen’s Park, and a boutique hotel on the east side of Livermore Avenue.

If Downtown Implementation continues as a City Council goal, staff will continue to prioritize implementation of the Council’s vision for the Downtown Plan. Near term objectives include finalizing approval of and securing financing for the Eden Housing project, completing a revised Development Agreement for the boutique hotel, beginning construction of the I Street parking structure and preparing construction plans for the L Street parking structure. The long-term goal is to complete construction of all identified public and private improvements to further enhance the downtown and meet the needs of the community, within the City’s financial capacity to develop and maintain publicly funded improvements over time.

BACKGROUND

The Downtown Specific Plan, adopted in 2004, has transformed the downtown into a vibrant community and regional destination. Over the last 15 years, clear market-based land use policies, streamlined project review processes, infrastructure improvements along First Street, and downtown parking improvements have led to the creation of an active downtown district.

At the City Council’s Goals and Priorities Workshop in February 2017, the City Council identified the Downtown as a Council Priority. In April 2017, the Council appointed a Downtown Steering Committee made up of community stakeholders to develop a public

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Downtown Implementation

engagement plan to help the City Council determine a final plan for the City-owned downtown catalyst sites.

An extensive engagement effort gathered community feedback on comment cards, workbooks, YourLivermore.org, online engagement tools, and the Priority Ranking Worksheets. The Priority Ranking Worksheets identified parking, community character, and open space as the highest priorities. Based upon the community feedback and Key Learnings adopted by the Downtown Steering Committee, the City Council approved a Downtown Plan in January 2018.

The Council’s approval of the Downtown Plan set the stage for approval of Downtown Specific Plan amendments and development agreements for the housing, commercial, and hotel uses, exclusive negotiating rights agreements for the Science Center and Black Box Theater, and design review approval for the L Street Parking Structure, surface parking improvements, Veterans Way and Stockmen’s Park. In 2019 the Council identified the Downtown as a continuing priority and kept it on their list of Council goals with a focus on implementation of the plan.

During this time, a resident group calling themselves the “Community Group” worked to undo the implementation of the approved Downtown Plan and to replace it with an alternative plan. They gathered signatures for a referendum on the Downtown Specific Plan Amendments, a referendum on the hotel Development Agreement and an initiative re-writing the Downtown Plan to reflect the group’s desires for Downtown. The Council adopted the referendum on the Downtown Specific Plan Amendments. The referendum on the hotel development agreement (Measure P) went to the ballot on March 3, 2020, with 66.3 percent of voters supporting the City’s Development Agreement for a wine country hotel adjacent to the Bankhead Theater. In summer 2020, the initiative was ultimately removed from the ballot at the request of the Community Group.

These Community Group actions in 2019 and 2020 slowed the implementation of the Downtown plan, consumed significant staff resources, and created considerable uncertainty for private investment in the Downtown plan. However, public projects continued to move forward, including demolition of several buildings, public parking improvements, completion of Veterans Way and Stockmen’s Park.

Unfortunately, by March 2020, significant City staff resources were refocused on response to the COVID-19 crisis, including coordination with businesses on an evolving set of County health requirements. Despite the COVID-19 crisis, staff continued work with Livermore Shakespeare’s Associates on a Development Agreement, worked with Eden Housing on plans for their 130-unit affordable housing project, and prepared the I Street garage to go out to bid, with an expected construction start date in spring 2021.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

If Downtown Implementation is selected as a continuing goal by the City Council, staff would prioritize work on the following Downtown Plan projects:

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Downtown Implementation

• Construction of the I Street Parking Structure, which is planned to begin in Marchof 2021 and will take about a year to complete.

• Preparation of construction plans for the L Street Parking Structure, startingconstruction in the summer 2022 and completion fall 2023.

• Complete design of the Eden Housing project with review and approval by thePlanning Commission and City Council by mid-2021. The goal for this project is tostart construction in 2022 and complete construction in 2023.

• Prepare plans for and construct Veterans Park. The City would hire a landscapearchitect, invite public feedback on the design and amenities for the park and thenreturn to Planning Commission and Council for project approval in 2021. The parkwould be constructed concurrently with the Eden Housing project and would beopen and available for public use in 2023.

• Complete Site Plan and Design Review approval for the Madden commercialproject and start construction in 2022. This project has been delayed due toCOVID-19 and economic uncertainty. Revisions to the Development Agreementwill be required to extend the term of the agreement.

• Finalize the Development Agreement for the Black Box Theater. Staff has beenworking with Livermore Shakespeare’s Associates on this agreement and expectsto be able to bring it to Council in the first half of 2021.

• Complete Design Review and Site Plan approval for the Boutique Hotel and revisethe Development Agreement to reflect an extended timeline for this project. Thisproject has been delayed due to economic uncertainty and COVID-19.

• Work with the Black Box Theater and Quest science center on Site Plan andDesign Review approval for the two cultural uses.

• Construct improvements to Livermorium Plaza. This project should beginconstruction in early 2021 with soil remediation and then transition to plazaconstruction and be complete by the end of the year.

• Monitor parking demand throughout downtown and ensure that adequate parkingis available throughout construction of the downtown improvements.

• Continue to engage with property and business owners regarding interest inadding flexible use areas to the backs of businesses on the north side of FirstStreet.

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Downtown Implementation

• Continue assessing existing lighting levels in the Downtown area and phasedimplementation of new lighting standards within and around the outside edges ofthe Downtown Core.

Issue Areas

The following are issue areas associated with implementation of the Downtown goal.

Parking: • Monitor the occupancy of temporary and permanent parking facilities to gauge

demand.• Ensure adequate temporary parking facilities during construction of the Downtown

Plan components.• Design and construct permanent parking facilities to meet the parking demand of

existing and planned uses, including parking structures at L Street and I Street, andother parking improvements.

• Provide and disperse accessible parking spaces throughout the Downtown Planarea and near existing uses along First Street.

• Explore partnerships with ride share companies to create a pilot program todetermine if ride share incentives can cost effectively reduce parking demand atpeak use times.

Circulation: • Continue to evaluate existing and future traffic circulation conditions and

coordinate improvements to promote pedestrian and bicycle connectivity in thedowntown core and efficient movement of vehicular traffic through major streets.

• Construct improvements to the Railroad Avenue parking structure to increase theefficiency of pedestrian circulation.

Public Open Space: • Develop draft plans, conduct public outreach, and finalize design plans for

Veterans park to ensure that community needs are met through new public useareas.

• Carefully consider the design of open space and surrounding uses to ensure openspace areas are used appropriately, are safe during the day and at night, and donot attract unwanted activity.

• When it is safe to resume public gatherings, work with community partners onprogramming to bring events and activities to Stockmen’s Park.

Lighting Improvements: • Continue work on lighting improvements to Second, Third, J, K, McLeod, and other

downtown streets, including the evaluation of both streetlight improvements anddecorative lights.

Financing & Public/Private Partnerships:

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Downtown Implementation

• Identify the combination of public and private resources necessary to construct,operate, and maintain the Downtown Plan.

• Ensure City resources are utilized appropriately and that the construction,operation, and long-term maintenance costs of any public facilities are within theCity’s financial capacity.

Timing: • Develop and maintain a construction phasing schedule in order to inform the

community, provide adequate parking, and ensure fiscal viability.

COSTS

This project requires a variety of staff resources from Administrative Services, City Attorney’s Office, Community Development, Public Works, and others. There are a range of staff members that spend varying portions of their time on this project on a daily and weekly basis. In addition, community engagement activities often require mobilization of significant staff resources. Time spent by regular full-time staff on this project is partially backfilled by contract staff to ensure other daily project demands are met. Total average time spent is between six and eight existing Full Time Equivalents (FTE).

Costs for development of the downtown improvement projects are expected to exceed $50 million, with most of these costs going to public parking improvements. Staff will be working on design efficiencies and evaluating construction and financing timing to reduce costs to the extent feasible and to ensure that each phase of construction is within the City’s financial capacity at that time. Annual operational costs for new public facilities are expected to be in the range of $350,000 to $400,000.

CONCLUSION

The Downtown Specific Plan is a guide to revitalization, and its implementation has achieved remarkable success in returning vibrant activity and community pride to the downtown. To continue revitalization efforts and to further enhance Livermore’s unique character and quality of life the Council may choose the goal of continuing implementation of the Council’s approved Downtown Plan. If Downtown is not picked as a goal, implementation will proceed with fewer staff resources and at a slower rate.

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CITY COUNCIL GOALS & PRIORITIES WORKSHOP WHITE PAPER

DATE: March 1, 2021

TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council

SUBJECT: Economic Recovery and Resiliency

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The COVID-19 pandemic upended the economy and devastated many of the small, independent businesses that make Livermore unique. The events industry, places of assembly, organized recreation, arts organizations, personal services, indoor dining, wine country, and many more have experienced unprecedented loss, and residents have largely been cut off from the experiences that create joy and community.

As we look ahead to 2021 and 2022 and the widespread rollout of vaccines, it is possible to envision a future in which elements of the economy that were lost begin to return. If Livermore is to emerge from the COVID-19 devastation in a strong economic position, planning must begin now with an initial focus on economic recovery to preserve as many businesses as possible and help new ones to form or adapt to new markets. The City must also continue laying the foundation for economic resilience by expanding and diversifying the mix of businesses and jobs available in Livermore. The combination of these two strategies will help stabilize and grow the tax base on which City services depend.

While some of these strategies were identified in the 2020-2025 Economic Development Strategic Plan, the pandemic has necessitated more immediate and specific actions that will help our local economy recover faster and take better advantage of anticipated trends in a post-COVID-19 economic recovery. This includes continued technical and financial assistance to local businesses as they transition to a post-COVID-19 economy, renewed emphasis on the experience economy and tourism, when appropriate, to increase access to customers for local businesses and encouraging the growth of Livermore’s innovation economy and traded sectors that bring an influx of investment and high-quality jobs into the community.

The City must also remain prudent with its own financial planning and ensure that City expenditures remain within forecasted revenues, that we protect and efficiently deliver core City services, that we continue to adhere to financial best practices, and that we monitor and provide transparency to changing revenue resources to make

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timely corrections, as necessary. BACKGROUND

The pandemic has created unprecedented economic challenges for Livermore. Once thriving businesses have seen their ability to generate revenue disappear overnight as the simple act of gathering with others has become a threat to public health. The experience economy and tourism have been particularly hard hit, with mandatory shutdowns forcing some businesses to close permanently and pushing many others to the brink of bankruptcy. As the pandemic continues to imperil Livermore’s business community, the City has taken proactive steps to provide financial, technical, and advocacy assistance to ensure as many local businesses as possible survive. The Citywide Small Business Assistance Grant Program, Alameda County CARES grant program, expedited outdoor dining permits and coordinating with county and state officials are examples of the City’s responses to the crisis. To the extent feasible, these activities will continue until the pandemic and associated economic devastation begins to abate. While helping local businesses simply survive remains a focus, now is also the time to begin planning for a post- COVID-19 economic recovery, and to consider strategies for rebuilding a more resilient economy that can better weather future instability in whatever form it takes. Recovery means helping businesses that survive the pandemic return to profitability and helping new businesses to start and grow. The best way to achieve this is to deliver as many customers into the local market as possible, drawing not only from the Livermore community, but from the Tri-Valley and broader Bay Area. Resiliency means ensuring the mix of businesses in Livermore is diverse and competitive enough to withstand an economic shock in a subset of the overall market, and that the talent, jobs, and entrepreneurial ecosystem in Livermore can adapt to changing conditions.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

Several strategies, detailed below, are available to continue and expand upon the City’s efforts to help the local economy recover and improve its resilience to change. These strategies have been culled from a range of available workplans and are in service of the following goals:

• Help ensure core City service delivery through stabilization and diversification of

the local tax base. • Continue to provide excellent City services through lean service delivery,

effective and efficient operations, fiscal transparency, and good forecasting, even in times of economic distress.

• Invest in skill development, entrepreneurship, and new business creation to create access to high quality jobs across the spectrum of skill and experience.

• Provide enriching and differentiated experiences for residents and visitors that support quality of life, draw new customers, and promote Livermore as the premier location for new talent to locate and businesses to start, thrive, and grow.

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• Strengthen partnerships with other public and private organizations and expand the local customer base by appealing to regional markets.

• Harness the moment to build an economy that is more innovative, resilient, equitable, and sustainable.

New or Expanded Strategies Specific strategies should advance at least one of the above goals and ideally should have multiplier effects that accomplish multiple goals simultaneously or at least make others easier to complete. The most promising strategies to promote economic recovery and resiliency can be organized into three categories:

1. Transition to a post-COVID-19 economy- specific strategies include:

• Business Stabilization – continued financial assistance as needed and in addition to the Citywide Small Business Assistance Grant Program, Alameda County CARES Act, and recently announced additional state and federal small business funding; coalition building and stakeholder empowerment to respond to State, Federal, and regional opportunities; and worker/customer protection measures such as sanitation of shared spaces, contactless payment systems, outdoor space conversion, ventilation upgrades, or other pandemic safety measures.

• Business Renewal – ensuring the City effectively facilitates the permitting, zoning and public approval of adaptations to new markets such as outdoor dining, e-commerce, business incubation, and shared resource models such as food/beverage incubators or arts collectives.

• Public-Private Partnerships – working with the City’s private sector partners to strategically brand and market Livermore as a destination and the formation of public/private working groups to address critical changes to business operations like climate change and infrastructure renewal and replacement.

• Reaffirming the City’s Commitment to Fiscal Resiliency and Financial Best Practices – the City has long practiced fiscal responsibility, good governance, and contingency planning. Anticipated sales tax reductions over the next two years will further underscore this need and force the City to be even more prudent with fewer resources.

• Integrated Municipal Resource Planning – new Enterprise Resource Planning systems that integrate the City’s business processes, allowing for better tracking, forecasting, and planning of municipal resources.

2. Emphasizing the experience economy and tourism-

Invest in the growth of Livermore’s experience economy to increase quality of life for residents and accelerate tourism in preparation for the return of regional travel. Strategies to increase the customer base, stimulate spending in Livermore’s downtown, vineyards, shopping places, and other destinations, and establish Livermore as the premier Tri-Valley city for creative entrepreneurs, artists, and artisans to live and work include:

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• Continuing to develop our hospitality and tourism infrastructure, including:

o Break ground on a new destination hotel. o Attract a new Market Hall or food incubator. o Work with our partners (i.e., Visit Tri-Valley, Livermore Downtown Inc.,

and the Livermore Valley Winegrowers Association) to identify and develop key tourism assets that make Livermore a premier tourism destination.

o Develop and execute a branding strategy with an emphasis on the experience economy.

• Completing the Cultural Arts Vision for the next ten years of arts funding and

programming in Livermore.

• Launching the Livermore Valley Made campaign to help local artists and artisans connect with the public, celebrate Livermore and overcome startup costs by enabling incubator or pop-up storefronts.

3. Encourage an innovation-driven economy to increase economic diversity and resilience- strategies to bring traded sector innovation-based industries like technology, advanced manufacturing, and industrial innovation which brings an influx of wealth and resources into the local economy include:

• Directing land use strategies to create neighborhoods that appeal to a diverse

cross section of workforce, entrepreneurs, and companies. o Complete entitlements for the Isabel Neighborhood Specific Plan. o Create new flexibly zoned Innovation Districts; and, o Create incentives for the creation of small industrial parcels that

have higher revenue and employment characteristics than warehousing or distribution uses.

• Creating workspaces and professional collisions that promote entrepreneurship.

o Move Daybreak Labs to a new light industrial space; and, o Attract private coworking spaces.

COST

This goal would be completed by existing FTE but may require additional resources for consultant support and/or continued financial assistance to local businesses. CONCLUSION

If this goal is not selected, staff may not have the resources to capitalize on emerging trends in how work is done and where people choose to live or utilize all available tools to direct the economy toward recovery, innovation, and resiliency.

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CITY COUNCIL GOALS & PRIORITIES WORKSHOP WHITE PAPER

DATE: March 1, 2021

TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council

SUBJECT: Equity and Inclusion

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In July 2020, the City Council authorized the formation of an ad hoc Equity and Inclusion Subcommittee, including direction for a diverse working group comprised of Livermore community members to provide information to help the Subcommittee refine its scope and to define objectives and measures of success. The Subcommittee’s objective is to foster equity and inclusion in Livermore through diverse community engagement that will result in a welcoming city, exemplified by equity of opportunity and just treatment for all. Since September 2020, the working group and Subcommittee have worked to develop missions, values, and goals. Work continues and the next phase has begun with new applicants and continued work. Looking beyond the sunset of the Subcommittee in June 2021, a natural next step is to evaluate items that allow the City to set an example by exploring and improving areas within the City's control. The Equity and Inclusion working group may be used in its next phase of work to help develop and/or further refine the items explored in this white paper. Equity and Inclusion has been a key focus for many organizations, jurisdictions, and communities for many years. When organizations value these efforts, they are stronger for it. Inclusive work environments improve organizational performance and efficiency, allowing staff to reach their full potential when they feel safe, respected, supported, valued, and free to be who they are. Inclusive work environments attract top talent and have an improved ability to recruit, engage, develop, and retain those employees. To work towards a more equitable and inclusive Livermore community, the city organization can set the example and become a leader enabling meaningful change to occur. Prioritizing equity and inclusion in the city organization will result in a better served Livermore community. An equitable and inclusive city organization will embrace differences and encourage people from different backgrounds, races, genders, and

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sexual orientations to become involved in our government. If this goal is selected, equity and inclusion would be considered in policies, practices, recruitments, projects, programs, budgets, and more to promote health and wellbeing for all Livermore community members. An equity lens would be applied to advisory body recruitments and practices, city-sponsored events and programs, and other activities the City participates in. This can lead to important collaborations and further our progress to a more equitable and inclusive Livermore.

BACKGROUND

The following graphs were prepared using Livermore employee data from January 4, 2021 and Livermore population data from the US Census Bureau’s American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates for 2019 (https://data.census.gov/cedsci/table?g=0400000US06_1600000US0641992&tid=ACSDP5Y2019.DP05). The city data (excluding the Fire Department) demonstrates that overall, the gender and ethnicity of city employees closely matches the population of the citizen base we serve. Variances to the population we serve are more obvious when we breakdown the overall city data and examine each department's specific gender and ethnicity makeup. We see that technical positions such as Accounting/Finance and Engineering are trending low in the Hispanic category. It is not uncommon for technical and hard to fill positions to require targeted, specific recruitment strategies to attract and retain diverse candidates. The local cities of Dublin, Fremont, Hayward, and Union City report similar situations. Each city has at least one diversity gap when comparing the gender and ethnicity of city employees to the citizen base served. The Livermore variance to the population served is the most prominent when we look at the Livermore/Pleasanton Fire Suppression population. This group has a gender split of 97.3% male, to 2.68% female. The national average for female firefighters is approximately 7%. Ideally, our department could be closer to the national average. Additionally, Fire Suppression is trending low in the Hispanic and Asian ethnic groups. Targeted, creative strategies can be deployed to close these gaps. The pool of qualified female firefighters is small nationwide and therefore will require extended efforts to demonstrate Livermore/Pleasanton as an employer of choice to attract qualified candidates and reduce this gender gap.

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Based on current statistics for the city organization, there is room to improve. Efforts are currently underway on the recruiting front. The city has joined a new recruiting source, Careers in Government, which is a robust online career center designed to link applicants with vacant government jobs. This site is distinguished from other sites by its strategic approach to diversity recruiting. Our city employees are community members, and we should seek to mirror the community we serve. Given current city employee demographics it is clear there are steps the City can take to improve the organization. The same applies to the City’s advisory bodies and the various programs and events the city sponsors. These bodies and programs can be evaluated through an equity and inclusion lens, with the goal of improving public participation in government and creating a more equitable and inclusive Livermore community.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS If Equity and Inclusion is selected as a goal by the City Council, staff would take the following actions: • Become a member of GARE, the Government Alliance on Race and Equity,

which is a national network of local governments working to achieve racial justice and advance opportunities for their community members. GARE offers professional development and networking opportunities, helps governments build internal capacity to address racial equity problems, encourages results-based accountability that focuses on moving the needle on racial equity, and provides a forum for local government professionals to share their experiences and support each other’s work. GARE offers a racial equity curriculum that guides local government employees to understand racial equity, identify opportunities in their organizations, and create a results-based action plan. GARE’s network is far-reaching, and local examples of members

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include: Alameda County, and the cities of Hayward, Richmond, Berkeley, and San Jose.

- Livermore employees would participate in a GARE Northern California cohort to build internal capacity for racial equity work. A cohort of up to 20 employees would participate in monthly sessions covering skill building, strategy development, networking, and problem solving. Cohort participants become equipped to implement the GARE training with other city employees.

- A GARE membership includes a Basic Employee Survey, which assesses the skills, knowledge, and experiences of employees related to race and equity.

- Technical assistance will be provided by GARE to ensure responsiveness to local conditions.

- More information about GARE can be found on their website: https://www.racialequityalliance.org/

• Consider additional equity and inclusion surveys and/or consultants to collect data that may not be captured in the GARE Basic Employee Survey. Data will determine where problems lie, help direct resources, track progress, evaluate effectiveness, and drive next steps. Data collected may include race, ethnicity, income, languages spoken, ability, and gender. It may also include employee satisfaction with current programs, policies, and practices. This can be extended to the City’s advisory bodies, boards, and commissions to apply an equity lens to those bodies.

• Consider if any policies or practices need to be adjusted or eliminated based on the data and information collected. This may include:

- Setting specific equity and inclusion goals for the organization as a whole and/or by department.

- Identifying and addressing aspects of the City’s hiring, retention, and promotion practices that may perpetuate inequities.

- Creating internal committees/affinity groups. - Developing a Racial Equity Toolkit (RET). A RET can be a simple set

of questions that allows staff to apply an equity lens to the city’s work. It can guide the development, implementation, and evaluation of policies, programs, projects, and budget issues. GARE’s Racial Equity Tool is a set of questions (https://www.racialequityalliance.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/10/GARE-Racial_Equity_Toolkit.pdf):

1. Proposal: What is the policy, program, practice or budget decision under consideration? What are the desired results and outcomes?

2. Data: What’s the data? What does the data tell us? 3. Community engagement: How have communities been

engaged? Are there opportunities to expand engagement?

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4. Analysis and strategies: Who will benefit from or be burdened by your proposal? What are your strategies for advancing racial equity or mitigating unintended consequences?

5. Implementation: What is your plan for implementation? 6. Accountability and communication: How will you ensure

accountability, communicate, and evaluate results? • Develop a communication plan for the community to enhance awareness of

the City’s equity and inclusion goals. - Establish a Diversity Dashboard on the City website displaying the

demographic composition of city staff in comparison to the Livermore community at-large (similar to the graphs provided with this paper).

• Collaborate with other agencies and organizations serving Livermore such as the Livermore Valley Joint Unified School District, Livermore Area Recreation and Park District, Las Positas College, faith-based organizations, and more to further community-wide equity and inclusion work.

• Schedule initial and ongoing trainings for employees including ongoing internal surveys to continue to track and evaluate progress.

COST

If the City Council were to choose Equity and Inclusion as a goal, the above-mentioned actions would be implemented and additional resources and/or consultant services engaged. Costs for GARE membership and consultant services for development of a communication plan and trainings are estimated at approximately $75,0000. Full implementation would require one additional full time equivalent (FTE). This additional FTE would be responsible for leading City efforts for equity and inclusivity in the Livermore city organization. CONCLUSION If Equity and Inclusion is not selected as a Council goal, work in this area would continue at a slower pace with no additional staff resources. This white paper identifies the need for additional staff. As noted in the cover staff report, due to the uncertainty of the speed of the economic recovery, staff is not recommending adding positions at this time. If this goal is selected and the economy recovers during this next year, staff would bring additional staffing requests forward during the mid-cycle budget review. If this goal is selected and the economy does not recover, staff would not recommend adding positions and progress in this area would be slower, as modest resources are reallocated to make progress on this goal.

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CITY COUNCIL GOALS & PRIORITIES WORKSHOP WHITE PAPER

DATE: March 1, 2021

TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council

SUBJECT: Comprehensive General Plan Update

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The General Plan is the City’s long-range policy document for growth, land use, sustainability and resource and open space conservation. The current planning period for the City’s General Plan is 2003-2025. Adopted in February 2004, the City’s General Plan is 17 years old. The traditional planning period for updating the General Plan is 10-20 years. Due to the age of the document and data that supports it (e.g., traffic and environmental impact studies), the City Council should consider a comprehensive General Plan update.

Since the last comprehensive General Plan update many state and regional policies have changed, which can have an influence on local policy. In addition, the City Council may decide to re-evaluate existing General Plan policies and develop new ones that address shifts in community priorities, and current land use and real estate market trends. A comprehensive General Plan update process offers the community a chance to provide feedback and for the Council to set policy on the future of the City.

A General Plan update would be an approximately two-and-a-half- to three-year process and cost approximately $2,750,000. The update would require significant staff resources and departmental coordination. Further, an update would involve a variety of community engagement events and activities to ensure broad participation and community input.

In early January 2021 staff issued a Request for Qualifications for consultants to assist with the process in anticipation of Council authorization to proceed with the update. The selection of a consultant and development of a scope of work and final budget for the update would be subject to City Council review and approval. Staff anticipates completing the update in the fall 2023.

BACKGROUND

What is the General Plan?

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General Plan Update

A General Plan is a comprehensive planning document that establishes a city’s vision for growth, land use, sustainability, and resource and open space conservation. Required by state law (Government Code § 65300 et seq.), it broadly lays out the future of the city’s development pattern through a series of policy statements and a land use map and is implemented by the City’s adopted Development Code (zoning ordinance) and Specific Plans. Ultimately, a General Plan must be consistent with California Planning and Zoning Law and potential environmental impacts of adopting and implementing the General Plan must be evaluated pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

State law requires a General Plan to include the following elements: • Land Use• Circulation• Housing• Conservation• Open space• Noise• Safety

Cities can combine elements and include any number of optional elements into the General Plan. The current Livermore General Plan includes each required element and four additional elements: infrastructure and public services, economic development and fiscal, community character, and climate change.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

Changes in State law should be incorporated into General Plan updates and both State and regional policies and plans can affect General Plan policy and the financing of local improvements. Further, local demographic shifts, changes in technology, and variations in social, economic and job market trends, can influence public sentiment concerning the vision and direction of the city. Below is a summary of the laws, plans, and policies that have bearing on the Livermore General Plan Update.

State Laws

Transportation Impact Analysis

In 2013, the State adopted Senate Bill (SB) 743, which changes the way transportation impacts are analyzed under CEQA. The law requires the measurement and evaluation of Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) as an alternative to traditional Level of Service (LOS) standards for evaluating transportation impacts. The change is meant to promote the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, the development of multimodal transportation networks, and a diversity of land uses. Use of VMT means auto delay caused by heavy traffic will no longer be considered a significant impact under CEQA. However, LOS standards may be retained in the General Plan as a matter of local policy if reducing traffic delays is a priority for the community. Since the 2003 Livermore General Plan uses

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General Plan Update

an older traffic model and LOS standards, a General Plan update would facilitate the creation and evaluation of new traffic modeling using both LOS and VMT to be consistent with state law, CEQA analysis, and community expectations.

Climate Adaptation and Resilience

Adopted in 2015, SB 379 requires cities and counties to include climate adaptation and resiliency strategies in the safety elements of their general plans. In addition, SB 379 requires general plans include a set of goals, policies, and objectives for their communities based on a vulnerability assessment and a set of feasible implementation measures. Currently, the City is updating the Climate Action Plan which will establish a framework to reduce community greenhouse gas emissions consistent with new state climate mitigation targets and plan for the impacts of climate change, known as climate adaptation. As part of a comprehensive General Plan update, the City would further amend the safety and climate change elements to incorporate greenhouse gas reduction measures and climate adaptation and resiliency strategies applicable to Livermore, including those identified in the 2020 Climate Action Plan. For more on the 2020 Climate Action Plan and Resiliency, please see “2021 Climate Action White Paper.”

Environmental Justice

A General Plan update would explore policies to reduce the health risks in disadvantaged communities associated with environmental factors such as air quality, flooding, fire risk, or other hazards. Disadvantaged communities are low-income areas affected by environmental pollution and other hazards that can lead to negative health effects, exposure, or environmental degradation.

Housing

Between 2017 and 2020, the State adopted a suite of laws that seek to address the current housing crisis by responding to a lack of funding to support low to moderate income families, local and national economic and job market conditions, and challenges to development.

The General Plan update would evaluate current goals, policies, and objectives for consistency with new state housing laws and consider new policies, as appropriate. A prominent example are the new state laws that streamline the approval and reduce the costs of building an Accessory Dwelling Units (ADU), also known as granny flats or in-law units, in residential neighborhoods.

Additionally, recent state legislation modified Housing Element requirements. The Housing Element is one of the State required General Plan Elements; it establishes a policy framework to plan for and provide opportunities for housing development to adequately address the needs of all members of the community. The City adopted its current Housing Element in 2015, which is set to expire at the end of 2022. The City

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General Plan Update

updates its Housing Element every eight years with each new Regional Housing Needs Assessment (RHNA) cycle provided by the regional Council of Governments. Annually, the City provides a progress report to the state Housing and Community Development Department (HCD). Currently, the region is preparing the sixth cycle RHNA for the 2023-2030 planning period and staff would prepare a new Housing Element as part of the General Plan update in compliance with new rules and the upcoming RHNA.

Regional Plans and Policies

Valley Link

Valley Link is a phased rail project proposed by the Tri-Valley-San Joaquin Valley Regional Rail Authority. The purpose of the improvements is to connect Bay Area Rapid Transit (BART) and Altamont Corridor Express (ACE) and to improve commuter service in the Tri-Valley and Central Valley. The proposed improvements include an alignment along the I-580 corridor and stations in Livermore. Therefore, the General Plan update could consider regional transportation infrastructure and transit-oriented land use policies.

Plan Bay Area 2050

Plan Bay Area 2050 is a state-mandated, long-range transportation, land-use, and housing plan that is developed and administered by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) and the Metropolitan Transportation Commission (MTC). Plan Bay Area includes a Sustainable Communities Strategy aimed at reducing per-capita greenhouse gas emissions and provides funding recommendations and criteria for regional transportation projects. On January 13, 2020, the City Council authorized the Priority Designation Areas to support regional housing, transportation, jobs, and conservation goals. On February 20, 2020, the ABAG Executive Board adopted the City’s proposed priority designations and they are included in the Draft Plan Bay Area 2050 document. The General Plan Update would consider these regional policies when planning for development and conservation.

Local Policy and Programs

City Land Use Policies

The General Plan includes policies that directly regulate land including density of residential units (i.e., number of dwelling units per acre) and size of commercial buildings. The General Plan land use map also regulates the locations of uses by identifying the type of land use that is permitted on every parcel in the City whether it is residential, commercial, industrial, office, open space, institutional or educational.

The General Plan includes the North Livermore and South Livermore Urban Growth Boundaries (UGB) that together encompass the entire City. Generally, both UGBs prohibit urban development outside of the boundaries and instead facilitate open space,

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General Plan Update

agriculture, and resource conservation land uses. As part of North Livermore UGB policies, a Transfer of Development Credits program was established to allow higher density, infill development within the City limits to offset the potential dwelling units that could no longer be constructed in North Livermore. The developers of these infill units pay a special fee that is used to help permanently preserve land in North Livermore as open space or agriculture.

Other key land use policies, such as Growth Management, Scenic Corridor, and infill compatibility are summarized in the table beginning on page 5.

Asset Management Program

The City of Livermore owns, operates, and maintains over $3 billion worth of public infrastructure. Since 2015, the City has been developing an Asset Management Program for City assets aimed at fully understanding the long-term impacts and costs associated with this public infrastructure. This program includes an inventory of the City’s assets, estimates of the remaining life and replacement costs, prioritization methods, and other related components. A General Plan update would consider the data gathered as part of this program in terms of growth, and the City’s capacity and ability to provide and fund services in the future. The General Plan update would also provide an opportunity to translate the data into policy. (For more on the Asset Management Program, please see 2021 Asset Management White Paper).

In addition to state laws, regional polices, and local programs that could influence the General Plan, there are a variety of topics the Council could direct staff to study as part of the update process. Table 1 identifies some potential study area examples, which the Council may wish to consider as part of a General Plan update.

Table 1. General Plan Policy Considerations Topic Discussion

Growth Management

• The Housing Implementation Program (HIP) serves as theCity’s growth management tool.

o Provides a method to allocate housing units

o Based on the City's General Plan ResidentialGrowth Management policies

o 450 units per year allocated for 2017-2019

• Based on changes in State law, this program wassuspended until 2025.

• The Council may wish to consider policy changes orrestructuring the policy.

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General Plan Update

Scenic Corridor Policy

• The General Plan sets forth Scenic Corridor policies whichprotect key views of hills from I-580.

• Building heights are limited by subarea, which establish a“view angle” below which buildings must be located.

• Policy also limits ground contour changes.

• The Council may wish to explore methods to simplifycompliance with the policy and to reflect oblique views,which have been studied as part of several recent projects.

East of Greenville Area (Study Area)

• An approximately 1,200-acre area is located east ofGreenville Road, bounded by 580 to the north and theSouth Bay Aqueduct in the east and south.

• This area is currently located in unincorporated AlamedaCounty and is outside the City’s Urban Growth Boundary.

• Some County uses in this area have created anunattractive gateway entry into Livermore.

• Policy considerations include development of appropriategateway uses; ensuring compatibility of the urban/ruralinterface; developing policies and resources to permanentlypreserve areas to the east of the city; and furthersupporting the Livermore Wine Country and relatedagricultural uses through direct development or mitigationrequirements.

• The Council may also wish to consider development suchas a Livermore Valley Open Campus or innovation hub tiedto the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and SandiaNational Laboratories to foster collaborations betweenexperts from within and outside the labs.

Southfront/Vasco Priority Development Area (Study Area)

• This area is tied to a future Valley Link rail stop.

• Policy direction for land use changes and specific plandevelopment could facilitate Valley-Link Regional RailFacilities and a surrounding station area.

Incentivizing Innovation

Explore economic policies and incentives that efficiently and cost-effectively help Livermore:

• adapt to emerging market trends,

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General Plan Update

• attract and retain innovation,

• diversify the local economy; and

• build on the Office of Innovation and EconomicDevelopment strategic plan.

Healthy Communities

• Consider establishment of City-wide Policies to helpachieve health equity, remove barriers, and improve overallcommunity health.

• Includes access and proximity to healthy food, clean airand water, open space, health care facilities, qualityschools, stable housing, good jobs, and safe places to walkand bike.

Refinement of Industrial Land Uses

• Industrial land use designations, primarily on the easternand western sides of the City allow a range of uses such aswarehousing, processing, manufacturing, and research anddevelopment offices.

• Warehouse and distribution and fulfillment center demandhas increased due to the popularity and prominence of on-line retail. Concentration of these uses in our industrialareas has the potential to create traffic impacts and maylimit opportunities for other industrial uses.

• Explore strategic opportunities to incentivize a diverserange of industrial uses from research, tech, and innovationsectors to locate in these areas.

Adaptive Reuse of Underutilized Land

• Explore the reuse of areas such as outdated andunderperforming commercial and industrial areas.

• Incentivize re-investment in underutilized areas byappropriately expanding the range of permitted uses.

Infill Housing Compatibility

• Changes in State law are moving to allow more infilldevelopment in existing neighborhoods.

• Identify where infill development is appropriate and developpolicies to ensure new development fits within existingneighborhood context.

• Consider policies to protect against displacement and otherunintended outcomes of redevelopment.

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General Plan Update

Integrating Transportation Trends

Consider policies to address emerging trends in transportation such as:

• electric vehicles

• ridesharing services (e.g., Uber, Lyft)

• autonomous vehicles

• bicycle and pedestrian connectivity and personal mobility(e-bikes, scooters, etc.)

Infrastructure Policies

• Evaluate capacity and conveyance capabilities to serveexisting and future residents.

• Evaluate the ability of our local infrastructure to adapt toclimate change, resource shortages, natural disasters, andlocal, regional, and statewide emergencies.

• Explore policies to address and ensure funding for long-term maintenance, operations, replacement, andsustainability.

South Livermore Infrastructure Improvements (Study Area)

• Explore providing services including wastewaterconveyance and treatment to protect groundwater andsupport the viability of wine country as envisioned in theCity and County General Plans.

Open Space Protection and Management

• Continue ongoing programs to preserve and maintain openspace for biodiversity, resource protection, and recreation.

• Provide policy framework to address renewable energy andland use compatibility.

• Foster ongoing regional collaboration with AlamedaCounty, resource agencies, open space districts andconservation groups.

East Avenue/South Vasco Road

• Evaluate the existing mix of land uses including: Breweries,wineries, event spaces, other commercial uses(restaurants, food trucks, etc.), in conjunction with lightindustrial and research and development uses.

• Consider developing a Specific Plan, Neighborhood Plan,or other focused planning document.

Community Engagement and Visioning

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General Plan Update

A General Plan update would include a comprehensive and iterative, multi-part community engagement process. Community engagement would span the entire update process, including:

• community visioning that seeks broad public opinions about residents’preferences, concerns, and areas for improvement,

• community input on General Plan Elements and policy direction,• community review of draft General Plan and environmental documents, and• input from a potential City Council appointed General Plan Advisory Committee,

representing various community perspectives to ensure a broad range of opinions.

Multiple channels would be used to ensure the project reaches a broad cross section of the community, with emphasis on traditionally underrepresented members of the community, and provides ample opportunity to participate. These channels could include:

• project website• online tools and surveys (including virtual open houses and workshops, or

discussion sessions with key staff by topic area)• traditional, in-person facilitated workshops (when authorized and allowed by State

and Regional Health Guidelines)• drop-in open house event to provide opportunity for one-on-one conversation

project team, (including virtual open house and discussion session with key staffby topic)

• pop-ups: farmers markets, festivals, business, and neighborhood organizations(when authorized and allowed by State and Regional Health Guidelines)

An extended level and duration of community engagement would ensure a continual feedback loop with the community. A formal community engagement plan would be developed in the first phase of the General Plan update process.

General Plan Update Timeline

The General Plan update would span approximately two-and-a-half to three years with a completion date estimated as the fall of 2023. The Housing Element would be completed separately by end of 2022, consistent with State law. Staff issued a Request for Qualifications in January 2021 to be prepared for the update, in the event the Council chooses to move forward with this goal. If the City Council authorizes a comprehensive General Plan Update, staff will develop a recommended work program, refined schedule, and budget, recommend a consultant team and suggest an advisory committee selection process for review by City Council in early 2021.

COST

Employee Time: A General Plan Update would require significant staff resources across the City organization. Multiple staff members would spend varying portions of their time on this project on a daily and/or weekly basis throughout different stages of the process.

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General Plan Update

In addition, public workshops and other community engagement events require preparation and mobilization of significant staff resources involving multiple full-time employees. This project will require three to four full time employees to be pulled away from regular duties to work on this project and may require backfilling with temporary staff to ensure regular work programs are maintained.

Consultant Cost: In addition to staff resources, a comprehensive General Plan update would require consultant services. Consultants would include those with experience in land use and planning, circulation and traffic, urban design, social equity, healthy communities, economics, and proficiency in community engagement and group facilitation. Additionally, consultants would be required to assist with environmental review analysis and in preparation of associated documents. Below are estimated consultant costs.

• Traffic Modeling and Analysis: $500,000• Public Engagement Consultant Costs: $500,000• Planning Consultant Costs: $1,000,000• Environmental Consultant Costs: $750,000

Total Estimated Consultant Cost: $2,750,000

CONCLUSION

If this goal is not chosen, the existing General Plan document becomes more out of date, and is potentially subject to legal challenge, in addition to delaying the opportunity to address significant opportunities.

This white paper identifies the need for additional staff. As noted in the cover staff report, due to the uncertainty of the speed of the economic recovery, staff is not recommending adding positions at this time. If this goal is selected and the economy recovers during this next year, staff would bring addition staffing requests forward during the mid-cycle budget review. If this goal is selected and the economy does not recover, staff would not recommend adding positions and progress in this area would be much slower, as modest resources are reallocated to make progress on this goal.

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1

CITY COUNCIL GOALS & PRIORITIES WORKSHOP WHITE PAPER

DATE: March 1, 2021

TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council

SUBJECT: Homelessness and Affordable Housing

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

In 2017 the City conducted a survey of unsheltered homeless people in Livermore as part of the Alameda County Point in Time Count. This survey identified 289 unsheltered homeless persons, of which over 80 were children. Recent surveys conducted countywide in 2019 show an increase of almost thirty percent (30%) in the homeless population from 5,629 in 2017 to 8,022 in 2019. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the ensuing economic recession, it is believed that the number of people who are homeless has increased significantly in both the County and the City over the last year. In response to this crisis, the City Council formed Subcommittee on Homelessness, . The Subcommittee has met periodically over the past two years to educate themselves, hold public workshops on homeless issues, hold a workshop on mental health services, make recommendations to the Council on the allocation of funding, and to begin the process of developing, through local partnerships, programs and projects that will reduce the number of unsheltered persons in the community.

In addition to identifying and implementing strategies to reduce homelessness, staff has continued to work with nonprofit housing developers to create affordable rental and ownership housing opportunities for families, seniors, and the disabled. Over the last two years, the City has partnered with residential developers to complete over 300 affordable rental units and 20 affordable ownership units. Staff is currently working on the development of seven other projects that, when completed over the next few years, will create an additional 420 units of affordable housing.

Finally, the City of Livermore also has a robust affordable homeownership program that, since its inception in 2002, has provided down payment assistance and affordable ownership opportunities through its inclusionary housing program to over 330 first-time homebuyers. Approximately one out of every four of these units has been sold to a Livermore schoolteacher. Selection of Homelessness and Affordable Housing as a goal will allow for continued progress in this area over the next two-year cycle.

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BACKGROUND The City of Livermore has a long history of supporting agencies that provide human services and affordable housing for persons in need. This involves staff collaboration with service providers, public agencies, nonprofit housing developers, and regional partners to develop projects and programs to address the needs of the community. In addition, the City has developed strong partnerships with jurisdictions across the Tri-Valley and regional partners, including Alameda County Housing and Community Development Department and Health Care Services Agency, to coordinate efforts around reducing homelessness in Livermore. In 2019, the City Council formed the Subcommittee on Homelessness. For evaluation and response purposes, the Subcommittee divided homeless issues into three primary categories:

1. Services and programs that will provide for the short-term needs of persons who are homeless, such as food security, bathroom facilities, trash removal, safe places to park, and outreach and counseling services.

2. Intermediate-term programs and services that will address transitional needs,

such as temporary housing, mental health services and job training.

3. Long-term solutions, such as the development of permanent housing with wrap-around services.

Over the past two years, the Subcommittee held workshops, provided recommendations to Council, and oversaw the implementation of a range of short-term homeless support programs. The Subcommittee also held a workshop on mental health services and is in the process of working with staff on intermediate programs and services. There continues to be work for the Subcommittee on identifying resources and priorities for both intermediate and long-term solutions. Under the direction of the Subcommittee, the City has allocated the following funds through the Housing and Human Services Grants program, Homeless Emergency Aid Program (HEAP) funding, and its Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) COVID-19 allocation:

• $424,375 to CityServe to provide crisis stabilization services and a COVID-19 emergency assistance program.

• $225,000 to Tri-Valley Haven to provide various social services, housing

programs, and operate two homeless shelters.

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• $189,000 to Abode Services for rental assistance and case management, as well as supportive housing services and outreach services.

• $227,400 to Axis Community Health for free and low-cost medical services. • $219,000 to Open Heart Kitchen for food distribution programs.

In addition to the funding assistance above, Housing and Human Services have been instrumental in the success of the following: Emergency Rental Assistance/Eviction Prevention Program In response to the economic hardship experienced by lower income renters in Livermore and threat of the Federal and State governments ending the eviction moratorium on residential units, the City developed a rental assistance program that targeted lower income households who have been adversely affected by COVID-19 and are under threat of eviction. A $2,500 one-time loan is used to cover expenses such as rent or utilities. Since its inception, 15 households have received loans totaling $37,500. The program concluded in December. Inclusionary Housing Program Under the City’s inclusionary housing program, residential developers are required to sell 15% of their units at a price affordable to households earning up to 120% of the area median income (AMI). Under this program, a family of four earning $104,000 per year can purchase a home in Livermore for $450,000. Inclusionary housing is a key component of the City’s efforts in addressing the full range of affordable housing opportunities on the housing needs continuum. Under the Council-approved Isabel Neighborhood Specific Plan, 25% of the units built (both ownership and rental) will be required to be affordable to lower and moderate-income households. The Specific Plan will offer opportunities for the City to address multiple housing needs, including additional homeless targeted units. When completed, the Specific Plan area will provide over 1,000 units of affordable rental and ownership housing. Affordable Housing Units Under Development A critical part of the Subcommittee’s intermediate and long-term strategy to reduce homelessness is the development of housing for persons who are homeless or at risk of becoming homeless. Staff is currently working on the development of seven new residential projects that, when completed over the next few years, will create an additional 420 units of affordable housing. These include the Avance project, Eden Downtown Apartments, Vineyard 2.0 and Pacific Avenue Senior Housing. All these projects will provide units targeted towards homeless and special needs persons and will include wrap-around services to keep them housed. POLICY CONSIDERATIONS Over the last two years, the number of persons experiencing homelessness has increased. It is expected that, due to the economic recession created by the COVID-19

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pandemic, this number will continue to rise. Added to this increase will be the lifting of the current eviction moratorium and the permanent loss of many service sector jobs. Staff proposes that the City Council continue the ongoing efforts of the Subcommittee to identify strategies that will decrease the number of persons experiencing homelessness in Livermore by focusing on short-term, intermediate, and long-term programs and projects outlined by the Subcommittee. Increased focus on food programs, medical services, and shelters could help in addressing some of the immediate short-term needs of the homeless. Specifically, there could be increased focus on the expansion of shelter space with the Tri Valley Haven, development of a local food pantry with Open Heart Kitchen and Spectrum Food Services, and increasing medical services, including mental health and substance abuse counseling with Axis Health Care and Bay Area Community Health (BACH). Funding for these projects and programs will come from a variety of local, County and State resources that would be identified and secured as part of the overall program development including local housing trust funds, CDBG funds and County Behavioral Healthcare funding. Ensuring overall success will require regional collaboration that will incorporate partnerships with nonprofit service providers, along with the County and Cities of Dublin and Pleasanton, to bring mental health and substance abuse services into the Tri-Valley. A second Subcommittee focus, and goal for the next two years, is the development of intermediate programs that offer transitional opportunities allowing persons to stabilize and be readied for permanent supportive housing opportunities. This could consist of the creation of transitional housing opportunities, including the development of tiny home communities, and the purchase and conversion of an existing hotel. Funds for these programs would come from both local funds and County and State resources. The main long-term strategy to reduce homelessness is the development of permanent affordable housing with wrap-around support services. One of the primary barriers to reducing homelessness is the lack of permanent affordable housing. When coupled with intensive support services, an affordable unit provides the stability needed to end the cycle of homelessness. Affordable units can be provided through either the development of new units or by providing deeply affordable rental subsidies to convert market-rate units into affordable units: City efforts consist of coordinating and financing the development of permanent affordable housing projects with support services for homeless persons through the acquisition and rehabilitation of existing apartment buildings as well as working with nonprofit developers in the construction of new affordable housing projects. Several affordable housing projects currently in the development pipeline would be part of this goal. This includes Vineyard 2.0, a 24-unit supportive housing development for chronically homeless persons, 28 tiny home units at Goodness Village at Crosswinds Church,130 units being developed by Eden Housing at Livermore Village Apartments,

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and 4 accessory dwelling units being developed by REACH. Funding for these projects have come from local housing funds, County Measure A funds and Federal Low-Income Housing Tax Credits. As new projects are proposed for development, staff will seek out sources of funds at the County, State and Federal level and use these funds to leverage City dollars. CONCLUSION Affordable housing and homelessness are a concern for not only Livermore, but also across the State of California and the Country as a whole. The quality of life for all our residents are benefitted by identifying and prioritizing Homelessness and Affordable Housing as a goal of the Council. Choosing this goal will continue to focus community attention on this issue. If the Council continues this as a goal for the next two years, staff will develop a work plan for Council’s consideration to reduce the number of homeless persons in Livermore and increase the level of services and affordable housing opportunities offered to the community with the goal of using non-general fund money (CDBG, HOME, SOE and Housing In-Lieu funds) to cover the cost of these programs. Continued progress can continue to be made utilizing existing budgeted staff positions. The Subcommittee will use these two years for the further development of intermediate and long-term strategies to reduce the number of unsheltered persons, continue the development of affordable housing projects by nonprofit developers, and the expansion of existing homeless services. Work will continue on an overall strategy to increase the level of mental health and substance abuse counseling services by nonprofit providers and on enhancing the services offered by the City’s Homeless Outreach Team. By doing so, we will continue to support the provision of services and facilities to expand housing opportunities and support services to those in need, and to reduce homelessness in Livermore.

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CITY COUNCIL GOALS & PRIORITIES WORKSHOP WHITE PAPER

DATE: March 1, 2021

TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council

SUBJECT: Modernization, Training, and Workplace Enhancements

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

As technologies and methods of conducting business continue to rapidly innovate, recent local and global events have highlighted the need for a focused, systematic approach to modernizing the City’s aging business systems, reviewing processes for alignment with industry best practices, and providing our workforce with the tools and training necessary to effectively deliver services to the community in a constantly evolving work environment.

The City has undertaken several modernization enhancement efforts over the past year which have resulted in improved efficiencies and outcomes. If modernization is selected as a City Council goal, additional modernization projects with the potential to improve citywide operations will be identified and implemented.

BACKGROUND

In response to the Great Recession (2008-2011), the City implemented some severe operational changes while attempting to continue providing high quality service levels to the community within tight budgetary constraints. For the most part, this was achieved through a citywide reduction in staffing of roughly 20%. Since that time, one of the key strategies we continue to employ in an effort to sustain Livermore’s long-term financial health is constraining the growth of our workforce. The City organization runs lean, and the benefits of that sacrifice are apparent as many communities struggle with the economic impact of the pandemic while Livermore continues to be capable of providing high quality services and amenities to the community.

The cyber-attack in late 2019 coupled with the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way we live and work and challenges us to invest in technology and adopt contactless digital alternatives to our in-person processes. The pandemic was a catalyst for change, accelerating the need for the City to adapt stale business processes to more flexible, resilient, technology dependent approaches.

In addition, local governments continue to face adversity from a number of sources, including but not limited to economic conditions, natural disasters, technology, and important policy changes by other levels of government. As such, it is essential the City continue to provide consistent public services despite the volatile economic environment

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while implementing strategies, control mechanisms, efficiencies, budgeting techniques and early warning systems to make sure it can withstand future financial and operational shocks.

The City has historically practiced sound fiscal management as evidenced by several key initiatives that have been undertaken over the past decade. Some of these initiatives took the form of City Council adopted policies such as the General Fund Reserve Policy, Debt Policy, Compensation Policy, Other Post Employment Benefits (Retiree Medical Benefit) Policy, Host Community Impact Fee Policy and the Investment Policy. Other important financial initiatives, such as constrained staffing levels and Asset Management were adopted by Council via the budget process. These initiatives were designed to foster financial resiliency. Financial resiliency is the ability of the City to remain viable, stable and effective in the medium to long term in the face of pressures from growing demand, tightening funding and an increasingly complex and unpredictable financial environment.

Avoiding future costs by spending a little more now is an important concept to explore. Investing intelligently in certain technologies to gain efficiencies and keep business practices modern is important to help keep the City in position to deliver services efficiently and effectively while continuing to constrain staffing. Embracing technology and modern business practices means employees will spend less time on tasks that once required hours to complete while also reducing risks of human error. However, technology alone won’t solve every problem. It’s how employees use the new technology that makes a difference which means maintaining appropriate levels of training (safety and skills) has the potential to reduce future costs significantly.

Some of the benefits of employee development includes: • More complete understanding across all staff levels, position classifications, and

career disciplines of the inter woven nature of service delivery and how every joband work product contribute to providing City-wide services

• Increased customer satisfaction while reducing workloads and refining processes• Increased collaboration between staff which results in higher productivity and

ongoing efficiencies and a better understanding of work units across theorganization

It’s never been more critical to ensure that the City’s workforce possess the skills necessary to ensure minimal disruption to Citywide objectives during times of adversity.

In addition, industry best practices dictate that local governments adopt a statement of organization-wide, strategic goals and strategies that address long-term concerns and issues. In turn, operational performance data should be directly related to the stated goals and objectives of the department or program which in turn must be linked to the strategic goals of the entity. Therefore, it is essential that the Council adopts a goal and priority that focuses on the concept of organizational excellence.

POLICY CONSIDERATIONS

Developing systematic approach to modernizing the City’s aging business systems, reviewing processes for alignment with industry best practices, and providing our workforce with the tools and training necessary to effectively deliver services to the community in a constantly evolving work environment is foundational to good

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government.

Other policy considerations include:

The Post-Pandemic Digital Surge- Frequently referred to as the “new normal” – working remotely on a regular basis with many business practices moving online, including virtual meetings, electronic transactions, and cloud-based technologies making critical information accessible anywhere the internet is available.

Rise in cyber fraud, scam, security breaches- With many more processes relying on technology, bad actors will look to exploit vulnerabilities. Managing this type of business risk will require implementation of robust security measures and along with extensive training to users.

Implementing new technology to improve the City’s overall operational performance must be a strategic decision. The City should perform a needs assessment to identify and prioritize areas for improvement, including the needs of the City’s workforce and external stakeholders to choose the right technology that will meet those needs.

Goals

A. Develop a comprehensive technology strategic plan encompassing wholeorganization in order to set a clear path for the future.

B. Leverage new and emerging technology to provide efficient, effective and secureinformation technology solutions

a. Reduce staff costs and increase staff efficiency by increasing the public’saccess to self-service options,

b. Maximize opportunities to be transparent, effectively inform, andmeaningfully engage the community

c. Transition to a post-COVID-19 operational environment including mobileand remote computing capabilities

d. Implement new budget software to increase transparency and providebetter financial management tools

e. Replace end of life Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) system toenhance operational capabilities and efficiencies.

f. Replace end of life Record Management System (RMS) to ensure integrityof and access to official city records.

C. Continue to provide excellent City services to the community through acommitment to lean service delivery, effective and efficient operations, fiscaltransparency, local government best practices, and employee development,support and retention.

a. Review and update as needed the City’s personnel policies to ensure theyreflect best practices in diversity and inclusion.

b. Establish professional development plans for employees to optimize staffresources, support growth and demonstrate commitment to employees’careers through mentoring programs and cross-training assignments.

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c. Identify mandated/non-mandated functions and changes needed in eachdepartment to ensure proper balance based on available resources andalign services to staff resources

d. Develop institutional knowledge “capture” techniques to documentprocesses and procedures in anticipation of retirements and otherturnover.

e. Establish meaningful ways to recognize outstanding employeeperformance

f. Obtain regular feedback from community members and use theinformation to make improvements.

COST

Although there would be capital investment costs upfront in the form of technology purchases (hardware and software), the potential increase in operational efficiency should result in relatively quick return on investment, effectively mitigating future staffing needs. This goal could be completed within existing staffing resources augmented by consultant support. Significant portions of the costs associated with this goal are unavoidable as two of the City’s critical systems (ERP and RMS) become obsolete, although some financial resources have been accumulated for this purpose already. The cost of developing a Technology Strategic Plan, including necessary staff time could easily cost $250,000. The cost of implementing new ERP and RMS systems, including consultant support could cost as much as $3-$5 million over a five year period. There are many other systems and programs that likely need updating, replacing, or augmenting. As these items are identified and prioritized, accurate cost estimates will be prepared.

CONCLUSION

Establishing a policy goal encouraging investment in technology and employees acknowledges that the need for continued sound fiscal practices is foundational to the City’s ability to maintain service levels and provide operational and financial flexibility to meet future obligations. The City of Livermore recognizes the importance of excellent customer service and is committed to maintaining a high quality of life for those who live and visit the community. If this goal is chosen, a greater focus will be placed on employees’ development and expanding use of technology to improve efficiency within the context of available sustainable resources.

If this goal is not selected, this work would continue at slower pace as staff may not have sufficient resources (time and money) to leverage emerging trends in technology, enhancing its processes, and developing its workforce.

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INTEROFFICE MEMORANDUM

Date: March 1, 2021

To: Mayor Bob Woerner and Members of the City Council

Via: Marc Roberts, City Manager

From: Christine Martin, Deputy City Manager

Subject: 2020 National Community Survey (NCS) Results

Attached are the results of the 2020 National Community Survey™ (NCS), which was conducted by the National Research Center, Inc., in November and December 2020. The NCS captures residents’ opinions considering ten central facets of a community: Economy, Mobility, Community Design, Utilities, Safety, Natural Environment, Parks and Recreation, Health and Wellness, Inclusivity and Engagement, and Education, Arts, and Culture. The City previously administered surveys in 2004, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014, 2016, and 2018. The overall 2020 results are once again positive and reflect the community’s view that Livermore is a great place to live with a high quality of life. This memorandum provides a brief analysis of the results to inform the upcoming goals discussion. A more detailed presentation of the results will occur at a March City Council meeting.

Survey Background

The NCS survey was sent to 6,000 randomly selected Livermore households in November 2020; a total of 991 surveys were completed, providing a response rate of 17%, which is slightly lower than the 23% 2018 response rate. The margin of error for the City of Livermore survey is no greater than + 3% around any given percent reported for the entire sample. As with prior surveys, the survey data has been weighted to ensure the survey sample reflects the demographic profile of the community.

The survey was available in English and Spanish. Additionally, the City posted the 2020 survey to Nextdoor for two and a half weeks in December 2020 to allow any interested resident to respond. An additional 29 residents participated via this “opt-in” route.

Survey Results Overview

The NCS captures residents’ opinions considering ten central facets of a community: Economy, Mobility, Community Design, Utilities, Safety, Natural Environment, Parks and Recreation, Health

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2020 National Citizen Survey (NCS) Memo to Council

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and Wellness, Inclusivity and Engagement, and Education, Arts, and Culture. Highlights from the survey include the following:

Mobility ratings are on the rise. Residents’ reviews of traffic flow and the ease of travel by car, bicycle, and walking were strong, higher than the national benchmarks, and improved from 2018 to 2020. More residents in Livermore reported walking or biking instead of driving compared to residents in other communities nationwide. Survey participants’ ratings for ease of travel by public transportation and ease of public parking increased from 2018 to 2020. Other areas where improved ratings were observed included traffic enforcement, traffic signal timing, street repair, street cleaning, and street lighting.

Residents praise the downtown/commercial area, but affordability continues to be an important area of opportunity. About three-quarters of respondents favorably rated the overall economic health of Livermore, Livermore as a place to work and visit, and the variety of business and service establishments. Residents’ assessments of the vibrancy of the downtown/commercial area and the overall quality of business and service establishments were exceptional, higher than the benchmark, and improved from 2018 to 2020. Additionally, ratings for Livermore as a place to work increased from 2018 to 2020. However, one-quarter of survey participants positively rated the cost of living in Livermore and 2 in 10 gave favorable marks to the availability of affordable quality housing; these ratings were lower than the national benchmarks. Only 1 in 5 believed the economy would have a positive impact on their income in the six months following the survey, while about 1 in 4 believed the economy would have a negative impact, possibly highlighted by the COVID-19 crisis.

Community members prioritize utilities. About 9 in 10 residents felt that the overall quality of the utility infrastructure in Livermore was an important area for the community to focus on in the coming years, while about 7 in 10 respondents gave high marks to the overall quality of the utility infrastructure. About 8 in 10 gave excellent or good ratings to sewer services and storm water management; these ratings improved from 2018 to 2020. Furthermore, since 2018, survey participants’ assessments of drinking water have improved. However, fewer residents positively rated power (electric and/or gas) utility in 2020.

The natural environment is an asset in Livermore and residents believe it is important to address the impacts of climate change in the community. Similar to comparison communities nationwide, about 8 in 10 residents assigned positive reviews to the overall quality of natural environment in Livermore, recycling, and yard waste pick-up. Respondents’ ratings of the preservation of natural areas (open space, farmlands, and greenbelts) and Livermore open space were outstanding and higher than the national averages; furthermore, these ratings improved from 2018 to 2020. About two-thirds of residents indicated it was essential or very important for the City of Livermore to address the impacts of climate change in the community, by implementing changes such as electrifying the City fleet and integrating energy efficiency into building codes.

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2020 National Citizen Survey (NCS) Memo to Council

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Survey Topics

The tables below provide comparison data on the broad topics of community characteristics: Safety, City Services, Governance and Community Engagement, Housing and Economy, and Mobility and Parking.

Again, Livermore residents are very pleased with their quality of life, where they live, and their vibrant downtown.

Community Characteristics Percentage Rating Positively (Excellent/Good) 2014 2016 2018 2020

Overall Quality of Life 92% 93% 88% 88% Place to Live 96% 96% 93% 93% Place to Raise Children 90% 88% 89% 92% Sense of Community 77% 74% 75% 74% Overall Appearance 86% 85% 81% 79% Opportunity to Attend Cultural Activities

77% 73% 80% 69%

Recreational Opportunities 78% 79% 77% 82% Vibrant Downtown Area 87% 84% 77% 83% Shopping Opportunities 75% 69% 72% 70% Place to Visit 83% 79% 78% 79%

Residents continue to feel safe in Livermore, and safety remains a priority for the community.

Safety Percentage Rating Positively (Excellent/Good) 2014 2016 2018 2020

Overall Feeling of Safety 87% 88% 86% 84% Safe in Neighborhood 97% 95% 94% 97% Safe in Downtown 97% 95% 93% 96%

Overall, City services received similar ratings in 2020 as in 2018.

City Services Percentage Rating Positively (Excellent/Good)

2014 2016 2018 2020 Overall Services Provided by Livermore

85% 82% 83% 79%

Police Services 80% 84% 87% 84% Fire Services 93% 94% 96% 94% Street Repair/Maintenance 58% 51% 52% 59% Public Library Services 91% 89% 89% 91% Land Use, Planning and Zoning 64% 50% 53% 51% Code Enforcement 54% 49% 49% 46%

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2020 National Citizen Survey (NCS) Memo to Council

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Customer Service ratings increased from 2018 to 2020. Ratings for City Direction, Confidence in Government, and Acting in the Best Interest of Livermore remain similar to 2018 ratings.

Governance Percentage Rating Positively (Excellent/Good)

2014 2016 2018 2020 Customer Service 78% 79% 79% 86% Overall Direction of Livermore 72% 59% 63% 67% Confidence in City Government 68% 57% 62% 62% Acting in the Best Interest of Livermore

69% 58% 63% 66%

Community Engagement ratings remained relatively stable between 2018 and 2020. Ratings for Watched a Public Meeting increased, and that may be due to the COVID-19 pandemic and online Zoom access to public meetings.

Community Engagement Percentage Rating Positively (Always/Sometimes) 2014 2016 2018 2020

Voted in Elections 84% 89% 92% 91% Watched a Local Public Meeting 21% 21% 22% 31% Attended a Local Public Meeting 16% 19% 17% 18% Volunteered in the Community 39% 39% 37% 34% Contacted an Elected Official 10% 14% 12% 15%

Housing and Economy ratings remain stable from 2018 to 2020.

Housing & Economy Percentage Rating Positively (Excellent/Good)

2014 2016 2018 2020 Housing Options 59% 53% 45% 51% Affordable Quality Housing 34% 24% 19% 22% Cost of Living 37% 27% 21% 25% Economic Development 68% 61% 62% 66% Overall Economic Health 81% 79% 80% 76%

Mobility and Parking saw some of the largest increase in positivity ratings from 2018 to 2020.

Mobility & Parking Percentage Rating Positively (Excellent/Good)

2014 2016 2018 2020 Overall Ease of Travel 82% 72% 76% 61% Paths and Walking Trails 83% 79% 75% 85% Ease of Walking 85% 78% 74% 79% Travel by Bicycle 72% 67% 55% 68% Travel by Public Transportation 43% 42% 35% 41%

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Travel by Car 77% 66% 68% 83% Public Parking 59% 46% 42% 60% Traffic Flow 61% 52% 54% 68%

Local Questions The 2020 NCS Survey also included three custom questions. Percentages in the following tables were rounded and do not include “don’t know” replies; consequently, some sections do not total 100%. The first custom question asked residents to rate how important, if at all, it is for the City of Livermore to address the impacts of climate change in our community, such as electrifying the City fleet and integrating energy efficiency into building codes.

Importance of City Addressing Impacts of Climate Change on Livermore Community Level of Importance Percentage Essential 38% Very Important 26% Somewhat Important 22% Not at all Important 12% Don’t Know 2%

The second custom question asked: “What is your level of preference for using each of the following methods to provide feedback or engage with the City?”

Preferred Feedback or Engagement Methods Method Percentage

Strongly Prefer

Percentage Somewhat Prefer

Percentage Do Not Prefer

Social media (e.g., Facebook, Nextdoor, Twitter, Instagram)

25% 36% 39%

Email 58% 33% 9% Phone Call 13% 25% 61% Community event (e.g., Farmers' Market, National Night Out, Town Halls, etc.)

36% 49% 15%

Public Meeting 21% 51% 28% In Person 16% 46% 38%

The third custom question asked residents: “How much, if at all, have the events that have taken place since March 2020 affected your responses to this survey?”

Events Since March 2020 Affect Survey Responses Level of Affect Percentage Mostly Positively 7% Somewhat Positively 13%

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Mixed Positively and Negatively 41% Somewhat Negatively 6% Mostly Negatively 4% No Affect 29%

Conclusion

Again, the NCS survey results indicate that residents view Livermore as a great place to live, visit, and raise children. Livermore’s vibrant downtown and overall quality of life continue to receive very high ratings. Overall, Livermore’s ratings remained mostly stable between 2018 and 2020. However, several areas saw increases of greater than five percentage points from 2018, which is statistically significant. Those areas are:

• Place to Work• Safe from Property Crime• Safe from Violent Crime• Overall Quality of Business and Service Establishments• Vibrancy of Downtown/Commercial Area• Traffic Flow on Major Streets• Ease of Public Parking• Ease of Travel by Car• Ease of Travel by Public Transportation• Ease of Travel by Bicycle• Variety of Housing Opportunities• Availability of Walking Trails and Paths• Fitness Opportunities• Availability of Quality Affordable Mental Health Care• Traffic Enforcement• Traffic Signal Timing• Street Repair• Street Cleaning• Drinking Water• Sewer Services• Stormwater Management• Crime Prevention• Animal Control• Emergency Preparation• Preservation of Natural Areas• Livermore Open Space• Overall Customer Service by Livermore Employees• Livermore Government Being Honest• Treating all Residents Fairly

In addition, as in past surveys Livermore continues to rank similarly in nearly every category to the national benchmark. Of the approximately 140 items for which comparisons to the national benchmark were available, 125 items were ‘similar’, only three items were ‘lower’

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2020 National Citizen Survey (NCS) Memo to Council

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(Cost of Living, Availability of Affordable Housing, and Residents’ Connection and Engagement with their Community), ten were ‘higher’ (Overall Quality of Business and Service Establishments, Ease of Travel by Car, Ease of Travel by Bicycle, Ease of Travel by Walking, Availability of Walking Trails and Paths, Community Support for the Arts, Voted in Your Most Recent Local Election, Walked or Biked Instead of Driving, Preservation of Natural Areas, and Livermore Open Space), and one was ‘much higher’ (Vibrancy of Downtown) than the national benchmark.

The NCS survey results will be presented in more detail at a future Council meeting. At that point, the 2020 report will be posted to the City’s website and staff will share the positive results with the community through City social media, publications, programs, events, and other opportunities that may arise.

If you have any questions about the draft survey results, please do not hesitate to contact me.

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CITY COUNCIL STAFF REPORT ITEM NO. 5.1

DATE: March 1, 2021

TO: Honorable Mayor and City Council

FROM: Douglas Alessio, Administrative Services Director

SUBJECT: Supplemental Materials received prior to the meeting and after the meeting.

RECOMMENDED ACTION SUMMARY

These materials were posted online and made available to the public at the same time that they weredistributed to the City Council.

3.1Discussion and direction regarding the City Council goals and priorities for Fiscal Years 2021-2023. Material: Public Comment Received

DISCUSSION

ATTACHMENTS 1. Supplemental Materials1. Supplemental Materials Post Meeting Prepared by: Debbie Elam Deputy City Clerk

Approved by:

____________________________________Marc RobertsCity Manager

Fiscal Review by:

____________________________________Douglas AlessioAdministrative Services Director

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From: fziomekTo: Cityclerk - LivermoreSubject: City Council public comment regarding an agenda item for 3/1 meeting: tried e-comment, it didn"t workDate: Sunday, February 28, 2021 1:44:15 PM

Exercise Caution: This message is from outside the City email system. Do not open links or attachments fromuntrusted sources.

Comment supporting the Communications White PaperNeed to audit dates for posting agenda & staff reports for a meeting and deadline date for public written comments regarding agenda items. Example: Planning Commission agenda packets, staff reports, etc. are posted after 3pm on Fri., Feb. 26th on city website, but written comments regarding agenda items must be received by the Planning Division by 5pm on Thurs., Feb. 25th, to be included in the agenda packets. So the public doesn't see the full information before submitting a written comment (by 12pm on day of meeting). Wouldn't it be better for the Commission to receive public comments AFTER the public has access to the full packet of information, PRIOR to the evening of the Commission meeting, so they can analyze & consider them without being rushed? So alter the deadline for public comment submission until AFTER the public has access to the full information? (But perhaps I'm not understanding the sequence of deadlines correctly...) Thank you in advance.

Item 3.1 Public Comment Received

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Additional Material Received

at or after the City Council Meeting March 1, 2021

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1

Financial Update

March 1, 2021

2019-20 Citywide Activityby Fund Type

General Fund42%

Special Revenue Funds10%

Capital Project Funds2%

Debt Service Funds19%

Permanent Fund0%

Enterprise Funds20%

Internal Service Funds7%

1

2

Item 3.1 PowerPoint Presentation

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2

Financial Plan Adopted June 2020General Fund Only

Original FY 2020-21

UpdatedFY 2020-21

Change

Operating Revenue $118,869,463 $110,218,083 ($8,651,380)

Transfers In 3,152,361 2,145,934 (1,006,427)

Total Sources 122,021,824 112,364,017 (9,657,807)

Operating Expenditures 113,296,805 113,414,025 117,220

Transfers Out 5,102,029 4,715,109 (386,920)

CIP 7,135,000 7,520,000 385,000 Total Uses 125,533,834 125,649,134 115,300

Excess/(Shortfall) ($3,512,010) ($13,285,117) ($9,773,107)

Property Taxes$36,954,000 29%

Sales Taxes$30,864,380 24%

Permits and Fees$10,167,849 8%

Other Taxes$15,280,350 12%

Use of Dollars and Other Revenues$11,255,380 9%

Transfers$2,145,934 2% Intergovernmental

$5,696,124 4%

Use of Fund Balance14,592,053.00 12%

General Fund Sources FY 2020-21$126,956,070

3

4

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3

Historical Sales Tax Revenue

$0

$5

$10

$15

$20

$25

$30

$35

$40

Mill

ions

Sales & Use Tax Sales Tax Comp Fund

FY 2014‐15$597 

FY 2015‐16$634 

FY 2016‐17$691 

FY 2017‐18$736 

FY 2018‐19$769 

FY 2019‐20$464 

April‐ June Quarter (in millions)

Taxable Sales (Point of Sales)

5

6

Item 3.1 PowerPoint Presentation

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CoVID-19 Pandemic Impacts

General Fund Revenues

Original Estimates, Updated Estimates and Actuals

FY 2018‐19 Actual 

FY 2019‐20 Original 

FY2019‐20 Updated 

FY  2019‐20 Actual 

FY 2020‐21 Original 

FY 2020‐21 Updated 

2 Year Original vs. Updated 

SALES & USE TAXES 35,556,493  36,924,000  32,834,450 32,869,001  37,662,480  30,864,380  (10,887,650)

BUSINESS LIC TAXES 6,013,252  5,807,100  5,812,000 5,968,119  5,864,750  5,692,250  (167,600)

HOTEL TAXES 3,715,939  3,889,800  2,550,000 2,798,604  4,367,596  2,800,000  (2,907,396)

(13,962,646)

General Fund Reserves

Target ReserveActual

Reserve 2019-20 2019-20

Non-spendable $ 5,712,441 $ 5,627,682

Committed 16,561,703 15.0% 16,561,703 15.0%

Assigned- Economic Uncertainty 14,905,533 13.5% 14,905,533 13.5%

Assigned- Infrastructure Replacement 10,000,000 10,000,000

Unassigned 1,656,170 1.5% 22,903,595 20.7%

$ 48,835,847 $ 69,998,513

Fund Balance Category

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Police40,041,469 32%

Fire23,184,178 18%

Community Development$16,919,593 13%

Administration14,053,524 11%

Public Works9,500,909 7%

Library6,304,650 5%

Economic Development3,409,702 3%

CIP and Transfers12,235,109 9.6%

Reserve Increase$1,306,936 1%

General Fund Uses FY 2020-21$126,956,070

General Fund Baseline Expenditures

Salaries and Wages 40%

Benefits and other Employment Costs 

30%Supplies and Services 

20%

Transfers Out 3%

Discretionary 7%

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Salaries and Wages 40%

Benefits and other 

Employment Costs 30%

Supplies and Services 20%

Transfers Out 3%

CIP 2.5%

L Street Garage 3%

Discretionary 1.5%

General Fund Baseline Expenditures

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2020 COMMUNITY SURVEY RESULTSPresented by 

Christine Martin, Deputy City ManagerMarch 1, 2021

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2018 2020

Quality of Life

88% 88%

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0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2018 2020

Place to Live

93% 93%

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2018 2020

86%84%

Overall Feeling of Safety

3

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3

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2018 2020

79%86%

Customer Service

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

2018 2020

75%

85%

Paths and Walking Trails

5

6

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4

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

2018 2020

55%

68%

Travel by Bicycle

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2018 2020

42%

60%

Public Parking

7

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5

0%

10%

20%

30%

40%

50%

60%

70%

80%

90%

100%

2018 2020

54%

68%

Traffic Flow

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Don't Know Not Important Somewhat Important Very Important or Essential

Importance of Addressing Impacts of Climate Change on Livermore Community

2%12%

22%

64%

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Feedback or Engagement MethodsPreferred Feedback or Engagement Methods

Method Percentage Strongly Prefer

Percentage Somewhat Prefer

Percentage Do Not Prefer

Social media (e.g., Facebook, Nextdoor, Twitter, Instagram)

25% 36% 39%

Email 58% 33% 9%

Phone Call 13% 25% 61%

Community event (e.g., Farmers' Market, National Night Out, Town Halls, etc.)

36% 49% 15%

Public Meeting 21% 51% 28%

In Person 16% 46% 38%

0%

20%

40%

60%

80%

100%

Events Since March 2020 Affect

29%20%

10%

41%

No Affect Negatively Mix Positively

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Comparison to National Benchmark

Vibrancy of Downtown

Overall Quality of Business and Service EstablishmentsEase of Travel by Car

Ease of Travel by BicycleEase of Travel by Walking

Availability of Walking Trails and PathsCommunity Support for the Arts

Voted in Your Most Recent Local ElectionWalked or Biked Instead of DrivingPreservation of Natural Areas

Livermore Open Space

Cost of LivingAvailability of Affordable Housing

Resident’s Connection & Engagement with Community

Ranked Lower

Ranked Higher

Ranked Much Higher

Questions?

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GOALS AND PRIORITIES WORKSHOP

Mayor Woerner VM Munro CM Bonanno CM Carling CM Kiick Economic

Recovery and Resiliency

Economic Recovery and

Resiliency

Homelessness and affordable

housing

Homelessness and affordable

housing

Modernization

General Plan Update

General Plan Update

General Plan Update incl.

Climate Change

Climate Change General Plan Update

Equity and Inclusion

Modernization Asset Management

Equity and Inclusion

Asset Management

ITEM VOTES General Plan Update 4 w/ One vote including Climate Change Asset Management 2 Economic Recovery and Resiliency 2 Equity and Inclusion 2 Homelessness and Affordable Housing 2 Modernization 2 Climate Change 1

87