The Emeryville City Council convened on Tuesday, June 16 for its bi-weekly meeting. The evening’s proceedings were highlighted by the reappointment of two Planning Commissioners, two cultural proclamations honoring Juneteenth and Haitian Flag Day, and a tense discussion regarding transparency and equity in the city’s advisory committee appointment process.

Vice Mayor Matthew Solomon presided over the meeting with Mayor Sukhdeep Kaur absent.

SPECIAL MEETING: Planning Commissioner Appointments [01:45]

During a special meeting held before the regular session, the council conducted interviews for two expiring Planning Commission seats. The makeup and technical skill of the Planning Commission will be of greater importance than ever this year, as they will be entrusted with ensuring compliance of the Sutter Health project with the city’s general plan. Four applicants vied for the two seats, including incumbents Zoe Chafe and Sam Gould, as well as Calvin Dillahunty and Felicia Agrelius. Dillahunty is a former council candidate and current Commission on Aging member, while Agrelius previously sat on the Marin County Board of Education.

Chafe was the only applicant present at the meeting, with the others relying on their written applications. She highlighted her professional background in public health and climate policy, alongside her experience serving two prior terms. Chafe also emphasized the importance of the general plan as an “umbrella” guiding Emeryville’s vision and praised the city’s work on its housing element. Following the discussion, the council voted to reappoint Chafe and Gould to the commission. “They both show a deep familiarity with the city’s planning documents and from what I’ve seen they recognize the need to balance development with the city needs,” noted Councilmember Mourra. Mourra introduced the motion to appoint them to another term, which was seconded by Councilmember Welch. The motion passed 3-0, with Councilmember Priforce recusing himself due to a personal conflict and Mayor Kaur absent.

SPECIAL ORDERS OF THE DAY: Juneteenth and Haitian Flag Day Proclamations [11:52]

The regular meeting commenced with two culturally significant proclamations. Councilmember Welch read a resolution recognizing June 19, 2026, as Juneteenth Freedom Day, honoring the historic end of slavery in the United States and celebrating the rich heritage of Black and African American people. Monet McCants accepted the proclamation on behalf of her mother Mika McCants and the Bay Area Black Fashion Expo, inviting the community to their upcoming Juneteenth event at Bay Street.

Subsequently, Councilmember Priforce presented a proclamation designating May 18, 2026, as Haitian Flag Day. The resolution honored Haiti as the world’s first independent Black republic, and public speaker Maéva Renaud thanked the council for standing in solidarity with the Haitian diaspora. Priforce has previously expressed pride in being ‘the first Haitian-American elected to public office in California.’

CONSENT CALENDAR: Advisory Committee Appointments and Transparency Debate [31:41]

While the council approved the bulk of the consent calendar, Councilmember Mourra previously made a motion during the approval of the final agenda to pull Item 9.5, which involved appointing members to various advisory committees, so it could be treated as a standalone action item. When the item came up, Mourra asked for clarification regarding the business representative designation of applicant Sam Feldman, noting that applicant David Critzberg had withdrawn his application. City Clerk Lorraine Leong confirmed that Feldman had indeed applied specifically as a business representative.

Following public comment from newly appointed Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee member Heather Ruto, Councilmember Priforce went on a nearly 15-minute critique of the subcommittee appointment process. Priforce argued that holding screening meetings in a private, garden-level conference room at 3:00 p.m. on a Wednesday without live video feeds or Zoom access effectively excluded working-class residents and shift workers. He noted that neighboring cities like Piedmont and Hercules live-stream their advisory board interviews or post recordings to YouTube. He highlighted the case of applicant Brian Lee, an Asian American BMR housing resident who applied for a matching seat on the housing committee but was passed over with no public record or deliberation to show why. Priforce argued that the process felt designed to filter against outsiders and keep people like himself from getting a foothold in local politics.

Other council members strongly defended the process. Councilmember Mourra noted that the subcommittees had met in open public meetings over the previous few weeks, featuring packed rooms, hard deliberations, and full minutes and audio recordings posted to the city website. Councilmember Welch echoed these sentiments, adding that the full council retains the right to pull items and substitute applicants during the general meeting. She acknowledged that while afternoon scheduling is a complex challenge for full-time working council members and residents alike, applicants are always invited to submit letters to be read into the record. During the subsequent discussion, it was clarified that under the city’s new rules conforming to SB 707—passed 4-0 at the prior June 2nd meeting—only the City Council and Planning Commission meetings are broadcast via video, as those are the only public rooms with full video conferencing capabilities. Priforce, who was not in attendance for that June 2nd vote, reiterated that the lack of public livestreaming and interactivity remained his primary objection.

During a late public comment on the item, newly appointed Budget Advisory Committee member Erica Vazquez shared her perspective, noting that she had to take vacation time from her job with the City of Oakland to attend the 3:00 p.m. interview. While she supported the criticism regarding the inconvenience of the afternoon timing and felt there was room for improvement, she emphasized that she felt very welcomed by staff and council members once inside the room. Ultimately, the council voted 4-0 to approve the recommended advisory committee appointments, including Sam Feldman.

PUBLIC HEARING: Rivian Noise Ordinance Waiver [1:01:36]

The council briefly reviewed a resolution to grant electric vehicle maker Rivian a three-day waiver from the city’s noise ordinance to allow evening work between June 22 and June 24. The work involves mural preparation work at 1483 67th & Shellmound.

With staff recommending that the presentation be waived and no members of the public offering comments, the council quickly approved the waiver in a unanimous vote.

Future Agenda Item Requests [1:04:08]

Closing out the meeting, Councilmember Priforce requested a future agenda item to consider broadcasting additional committee meetings—including the Budget Advisory and Public Safety bodies—and their appointment interviews, noting that he did not consider the technical barriers to be prohibitive. Vice Mayor Solomon referred Priforce to coordinate directly with staff to hash out those technical constraints before bringing the item back to the full council for formal consideration.

Vice Mayor Solomon then requested and received council support for a letter backing Assemblymember Mia Bonta’s proposed state bill, which would mandate a developer-funded environmental impact report for a controversial coal terminal in West Oakland that would send daily freight trains through Emeryville.

The Agenda and packet for this meeting can be downloaded at Emeryville.org.