The three committee meetings this week are full of high profile items including changes to the Parks Master Plan and developing an ordinance addressing "ghost guns".  Committees will also consider a proposed ballot measure to change city policy on Project Labor Agreements and an update on Stormwater funding and revenues.

From the Office of Council President Jennifer Campbell 

Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee Meeting - July 14, 2021 - 9 a.m.

Councilmember Monica Montgomery chairs the Public Safety and Livable Neighborhoods Committee Meeting with six (6) items on the agenda.

Item 1 - Parks for All of Us – Parks Master Plan, General Plan Recreation Element Amendment, Park Impact Fee, and Chollas Creek Regional Park designation – This item proposes adoption of the City of San Diego Parks Master Plan, an update to the Citywide Park Development impact fee and an ordinance designating Chollas Creek Watershed as a San Diego Regional Park.  The new Regional Park Policy includes a call for identification and designation of regional parks that are located in Communities of Concern.  An updated Citywide Park Development Impact Fee would replace all current community planning area–based existing park impact fees to enable the delivery of more parks faster

Item 2 - Addressing the Proliferation of Untraceable, Non-serialized Firearms (“Ghost Guns”) in San Diego – This item requests that the City Attorney’s Office work with Council District 5 to develop an ordinance addressing “ghost guns“ to be presented to the full City Council for consideration.  On April 22, 2021, a man with a criminal conviction who was prohibited from legally obtaining a firearm committed a mass shooting in the Gaslamp Quarter of San Diego. The man allegedly obtained a “ghost gun” to end the life of a fellow San Diegan and injured others, despite the legal barriers meant to prevent him from owning a lawfully purchased gun. The number of “ghost guns” in San Diego is rising. According to the Chief of Police, San Diego Police Department, David Nisleit, “About one in four of every gun we’re recovering right now is a ghost gun."

Item 3 - San Diego Fire Department Diversity Efforts

Item 4 - Report on the Proliferation of Personally Manufactured Firearms "Ghost Guns" in San Diego

Item 5 - Update on Your Safe Place – the San Diego Family Justice Center

Item 6 - Report on the status of re-opening of Libraries

Rules Committee Meeting – July 14, 2021 – 2 p.m.

Two items on the Agenda will be considered by members of the Rules Committee chaired by Council President Jennifer Campbell.

Item 1 - Proposed Amendments to the Current Municipal Code and Council Policies to Promote Inclusive Language - Request the City Attorney’s Office work with Council President's Campbell’s Office and Councilmember Campillo’s Office to draft amendments to the current Council Policies and Municipal Code to require future amendments to Council Policies, the Municipal Code, and City Charter use non-binary and non-gendered language to describe a person or group of people, to be brought back to the full Council for approval.

Item 2 - Initial Consideration of a Proposed Ballot Measure for the November 2022 Election Concerning Amendments to the San Diego Municipal Code Article 2 Division 44 to Amend the City’s Contracting Policies (Safeguard San Diego) - This item is the initial discussion of a proposed ballot measure that was submitted in compliance with Council Policy 000-21. The Committee will decide if the proposal will advance to a second Committee discussion for further consideration.  Current City contracting policies has put the City at risk of losing millions of dollars in infrastructure funding. The Safeguard San Diego ballot measure will update these policies, provide the City the choice to enter into Project Labor agreements, and to ensure no infrastructure funding is left on the table.

Environment Committee Meeting – July 15, 2021 – 1 p.m.

Chaired by Councilmember Sean Elo, the Environment Committee meets to discuss four (4) items on the Agenda.

Item 3 - Long-term Stormwater Funding Strategy Response (Recommendation #5) Interim Implementation Update to the “Performance Audit of the City of San Diego’s Storm Water Division” - In June 2018, the Office of the City Auditor completed a performance audit of the City of San Diego’s Stormwater Department, entitled “Performance Audit of the City of San Diego’s Storm Water Division”.  The Audit identified opportunities to improve SWD’s operations and maintenance of stormwater infrastructure and management programs and significantly increase stormwater revenues.  The central finding of the Audit was that current levels of stormwater funding are insufficient to fund present and future stormwater management needs, due in part to the expansion of the City’s stormwater responsibilities over time.

Item 4 - Presentation by WILDCOAST and Tree San Diego: Carbon Sequestration in San Diego County - Carbon sequestration, which refers to the long-term removal, capture, or storage of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to mitigate or reverse the impacts of climate change, is gaining prominence as a method for achieving climate action goals. Representatives of WILDCOAST and Tree San Diego will provide informational presentations on projects and programs in San Diego that result in carbon sequestration and how local public policy can incorporate and promote ecosystem-based carbon sequestration.

Item 1 - First Amendment to the Agreement with Downey Brand Attorneys LLP to provide Legal Services for General Industrial Storm Water National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit

Item 2 - Water Authority Agreement for the Operation and Maintenance of the San Diego 28 Flow Control Facility

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To participate in the meeting, click on the agendas and follow the instructions. 

You can watch the meeting on cable TV channel 24 or AT&T channel 99, or  stream it online (external link). 

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