The Emeryville City Council spent much of its May 5 meeting navigating the implications of sweeping new state open meeting laws, while also debating legislative priorities, approving a renewed animal control agreement, and shifting public comment to better accommodate the public.
- Amendments to Brown Act
- Special Orders of the Day
- Public Comment
- Animal Control Agreement Renewal with The City of Berkeley
- City’s legislative advocacy platform
- Department Head Reports
- Future Agenda Items
STUDY SESSION: SB 707 Brown Act Changes Dominate Study Session [5:57]
The evening opened with an extensive study session on SB 707, a major update to California’s Brown Act that will significantly alter how public agencies conduct meetings beginning later this year. City Clerk April Foran walked councilmembers through the legislation, which expands remote participation requirements, adds new accessibility standards, and imposes additional procedural obligations on local governments.
A central question was whether Emeryville should allow its advisory bodies — such as commissions and committees — to conduct fully remote meetings under provisions created by the new law. Staff recommended against opting in, citing staffing burdens, technology limitations, security concerns, and additional legal requirements tied to remote participation. Staff also noted that few Alameda County jurisdictions appeared interested in implementing the option.
Councilmembers weighed the potential downsides against concerns about accessibility and volunteer recruitment. Some acknowledged that remote participation could help attract residents who may struggle to attend meetings in person or working residents with limited schedules particularly older adults for The Commission on Aging. Others worried about the cost and logistics of moderating virtual meetings and preventing disruptions.
Ultimately, the Council unanimously backed staff’s recommendation not to authorize remote-only meetings for subsidiary bodies at this time. The Council also supported consolidating official public agenda posting locations at the Civic Center.
Additional stipulations of the which that meetings be translated was not applicable to Emeryville.
The discussion also sparked a broader conversation about public accessibility at council meetings themselves. Mayor Kaur suggested revisiting the city’s meeting structure to move general public comment earlier in the evening so residents would not have to wait through lengthy agendas before speaking. City Attorney John Kennedy advised that any broader procedural changes should return in the future as a separate Rules of Procedure discussion.
These amended rules will go into effect on July 7.
SPECIAL ORDER: Council Recognizes NOBLE Anniversary and Public Service Initiatives [38:14]
The regular meeting featured several proclamations, including recognition of the 50th anniversary of the National Organization of Black Law Enforcement Executives (NOBLE). Councilmember Kalimah Priforce praised Emeryville Police Chief Jennings during the presentation, describing him as an important leader and role model within the community.
Additional proclamations recognized Water Safety Month, Bike to Wherever Day, and Public Service Recognition Week. Staff also promoted an upcoming water safety event at the Emeryville Center of Community Life pool.
PUBLIC COMMENT: AC Transit Rep. Warns of Impending Budget Crisis [51:38]
During public comment, AC Transit External Affairs Representative Ryan Lau warned of mounting fiscal challenges facing the transit agency, including a projected $200 million deficit over four years. Without new funding, the agency said it could face major service cuts, workforce reductions, and route eliminations beginning in 2027.
CONSENT CALENDAR: Council Approves Renewed Berkeley Animal Control Agreement with Berkeley [54:40]
Citing financial due diligence and his own unfamiliarity with the animal control needs of the city, councilmember Mourra requested to pull the item 9.4 from the consent calendar for discussion.
The resolution would allocate roughly $170,000 annually to the City of Berkeley’s Animal Control department for services in Emeryville. Emeryville had previously contracted with the City of Piedmont Animal control until 2023 when it ceased staffing dedicated officers and terminated its contract with the city. After inquiring with other other cities, they entered into an agreement with Berkeley who were among the only nearby cities open to new contracts.
Emeryville Police Chief Jeff Jennings took the dais to explain that Emeryville handles approximately 115 animal-related incidents annually with the most recent tallies consisting of 55 dogs and 37 cats as well as the occasional turkey, seal or even a whale. The services also handle the removal of animals animals struck by vehicles.
Jennings underscored the liability and complexity involved in animal control work that is mandated for all municipalities.
The staff report notes that escalating costs that were previously budgeted for only $92K were being driven by veterinary and shelter costs, as well as longer shelter stays for animals.
The Council ultimately approved the agreement unanimously.
ACTION ITEM: Legislative Platform Debate Reveals Council Divides [1:04:26]
Lobbyist Niccolo De Luca from Townsend Public Affairs presented Emeryville’s first round of recommended 2026 state legislative positions, highlighting 18 bills focused on housing, public safety, immigration, homelessness, economic development, and the arts.
De Luca said the recommendations were based on the city’s adopted legislative platform and past advocacy priorities. Housing proposals included support for competing $10 billion statewide housing bond measures, affordable housing financing bills, and legislation intended to ease RHNA compliance timelines for cities. De Luca also previewed future discussions around condominium defect reform legislation aimed at encouraging more ownership housing construction.
Public safety recommendations included bills targeting illegal dumping, abandoned RV cleanup funding, firearm tracing transparency, and e-bike regulations. De Luca noted that illegal dumping had become an increasing concern statewide, particularly in lower-income communities.
The most substantial debate centered on AB 2346, Assemblymember Lori Wilson’s proposed e-bike safety legislation. Townsend initially recommended support for the bill, with De Luca describing it as the Legislature’s leading effort to address growing safety concerns surrounding high-speed e-bikes and electric motorcycles operating on bike paths and sidewalks.
Vice Mayor Solomon and Councilmember Mourra questioned whether the bill would actually solve the underlying problem. Both raised concerns about inconsistent local enforcement rules and whether the legislation properly distinguished between standard e-bikes and more powerful electric motorcycles. Mourra also questioned whether cities may already have authority to regulate speeds on bike paths without additional state legislation.
Councilmember Priforce agreed with those concerns but framed the issue through an economic lens, arguing stricter regulations could disproportionately affect working-class residents using e-bikes for transportation or gig-economy jobs such as food delivery services.
Priforce then broadened the discussion, arguing Emeryville’s legislative agenda had not focused enough on working-class and very low-income residents. He called for greater emphasis on workforce development, apprenticeship programs, vocational education, contractor pay protections, and small-business participation initiatives. He also advocated for legislation supporting microenterprise home kitchens as a way to help immigrant families, home cooks, and working-class residents generate income from home-based businesses.
The discussion escalated into a tense exchange between councilmembers Priforce and Welch after Priforce suggested the city’s legislative priorities had historically reflected a narrower political perspective that did not sufficiently center low-income residents and working families.
“If you’re going to make an attack on what the Council hasn’t done, you have the opportunity, you said you’ve been here for four years.”
Councilmember Welch
Welch pushed back strongly, defending both the council and city staff against suggestions they were disconnected from working residents. She argued Emeryville has long prioritized working-class issues and noted that councilmembers and staff themselves are working people balancing outside jobs, caregiving responsibilities, and varied economic backgrounds. Welch also rejected Priforce’s characterization of elected officials as part of an out-of-touch “political class.”
Priforce responded that he was specifically referring to residents surviving on very low incomes and argued the city should more intentionally prioritize economic survival and workforce opportunities in its legislative advocacy.
“I find that very interesting from one of my colleagues that loves to insult people on their social media and come from that sort of black elitist position.”
Councilmember Priforce
Despite the disagreement, the Council ultimately reached consensus on modifying its position on AB 2346. Rather than formally supporting the e-bike bill, the Council voted to shift Emeryville’s position to “watch with comment letter,” allowing the city to continue monitoring the legislation while raising concerns about enforcement and equity impacts. The broader legislative package was then approved unanimously.
DEPT. HEAD REPORTS: [1:44:21]
In departmental updates, City Clerk April Foran announced a strong response to the city’s annual advisory body recruitment effort, with more than 50 applications submitted for commissions and committees. Officials described the applicant pool as unusually robust.
Community Development Director Chad Smalley reported that the Planning Commission had advanced Housing Element implementation work related to “Program LL” zoning amendments, which are expected to return to the Council later this month.
FUTURE AGENDA ITEM REQUESTS [1:46:49]
The meeting closed with a future agenda requests by Mayor Kaur to consider restructuring public comment periods in future meetings so residents could speak earlier in the evening. Her proposal would move Public Comment before the Special Orders of the day and another meeting protocols which can frequently push public comment past 8 p.m. Kaur cited other boards and commissions she’s served on as an example.
The proposal prompted immediate procedural concerns and pushback from City Attorney John Kennedy, who cautioned that restructuring public comment could create logistical complications with the placement of the consent calendar.
City Clerk April Foran stepped in to recommend that the item be discussed at the May 19 meeting alongside the broader SB 707 procedural updates so staff would not need to revise the rules multiple times.
The Agenda and packet for this meeting can be downloaded at Emeryville.org.
