Happy Friday!

By the end of the day today, the City Council -- moonlighting as the Budget Review Committee -- will have survived its week-long deep dive into the proposed budgets of every City department and connected entities such as the Convention Center Corporation, the Housing Commission, and the City Employees Retirement System.

Having done so, it pivots back to its main gig as the Council. On Monday, May 11, at 6 p.m., the Council will hold a big public hearing on the full draft budget for the fiscal year that begins on July 1. And on Tuesday, May 12, the regular Council will hold a regular meeting to take up regular City business. 

City Council - Monday, May 11

There's just one item on the agenda for the special meeting on Monday night -- an opportunity for the public to comment on the Mayor's proposed fiscal year 2020-21 City budget. This is the last chance to comment on the budget before the May Revise, which is when the Mayor amends his draft budget based on new economic assumptions for the year ahead. After that, the next chance will be May 21, when the Council reconvenes as the Budget Review Committee. The Council will adopt the final budget on June 8.

The public can participate in the May 11 meeting by following call-in instructions laid out by the City Clerk.

City Council - Tuesday, May 12

The agenda for Tuesday's meeting includes 36 consent items (!) that are considered non-controversial and won't be discussed unless they're flagged for discussion by a member of Council or a member of the public. 

The big discussion item will be a request from the Development Services Department for the Council to formally determine that the proposed Bayview Mixed-Use Transit Oriented Development Project is what's known as a transit priority project and therefore exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act.

Bayview, proposed for the southeast corner of Clairemont Drive and Morena Boulevard, includes 156 housing units -- 16 of which would be priced below market rate -- roughly 40,000 square feet of space for commercial uses, a public terrace, and 399 parking spaces.

The project is adjacent to a new Blue Line trolley station, making it a candidate to be a transit priority project under Senate Bill 375, a state law that encourages development that reduces greenhouse gas emissions through proximity to public transit, and benefits from streamlined environmental review in exchange.

The only other matter up for discussion is an increase in development-impact fees that the City has to impose in order to remain in compliance with the TransNet Extention Ordinance. TransNet, a voter-approved sales-tax add-on that funds regional transportation projects, was extended in 2004. As part of that extension, all cities in San Diego County must increase, by 2 percent, fees that developers of residential properties pay. The fee for each apartment unit would rise from $2,360 to $2,408, while the fee for a single-family home would go from $2,950 to $3,009.

For more information on these issues, click the agenda, then click the title of the item and find the staff report over on the right side of the page. Members of the public who'd like to comment on any of these items can do so by following the call-in instructions. Tuesday's meeting starts at 9 a.m. with public comment on closed session. Then the Council heads into closed session before returning to open session at 11 a.m.

And that's it. Early next week, we'll preview the Rules Committee meeting of May 13, which will feature a review of a boatload of ballot measures proposed for the November ballot.

Enjoy the weekend, and stay safe!

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