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Pleasant Hill council reviews two‑year goals as staff highlight safety, street projects and budgeting
Summary
At a Feb. 9 special meeting, Pleasant Hill City staff reviewed achievements from the prior two‑year goal cycle and outlined priorities for FY 26/27–27/28, from school resource officers and crime‑fighting technology to a $4.6 million intersection project, Measure K spending and plans for climate and land‑use updates.
Pleasant Hill City held a special goal‑setting meeting on Feb. 9, 2026, in which city staff presented highlights of accomplishments over the past two years and sought council direction on priorities for the next biennium. City Manager Ethan Bindernival opened the meeting and introduced the executive team before staff walked the council through achievements in public safety, streets, finance, planning, economic development and technology.
Chief of Police Scott Vermillion said the department now has “our school resource officer fully dedicated to College Park High School and other schools,” and described the department’s increasing use of data and technology to prevent and solve crimes. “One way we’re able to use these in a proactive manner is our license plate reader system,” Vermillion said, adding that the department recently audited sharing practices and is “not sharing our license plate data with federal” agencies while continuing to collaborate with other California law enforcement under state law.
Public Works Director Anne James highlighted a visible capital project at Contra Costa Boulevard and Taylor Avenue, saying the city received about $4,600,000 in state grant funding that helped pay for new signals, bike and pedestrian striping, sidewalks and recycled‑water irrigation. “This is also the first intersection that we have in Pleasant Hill that has bike detection,” she said, and noted the city added a rain gauge to make irrigation more efficient.
Chief Financial Officer Eric Chung reviewed the city’s long‑term financial picture, saying the general fund balance has risen since 2016 and Measure K continues to fund infrastructure and library operations. He cautioned that CalPERS unfunded liability payments have grown substantially: “the PERS unfunded actual liability payment…is $5,200,000” in recent years, a figure he said will shape future budget decisions.
Planning staff told the council they have completed a major rezoning to align with the 2023 general plan and are circulating a draft Climate Action Plan for public review. City Planner Troy Fujimoto said pre‑approved ADU plans have led to a small number of built units, while SB 9 urban lot splits have been “more popular” with roughly six projects proceeding under that law so far. Fujimoto said the city will hold an expanded public stakeholders meeting about zone and general plan updates in March.
Economic development and community relations staff outlined programs to boost local businesses and events — including a technical‑assistance grant that helped dozens of businesses with websites and social media, a successful night market pilot, and plans to restart a Saturday farmers market in May. Community Relations Manager Jeff Gillette said the Civic Action Commission’s sponsorship work typically raises $13,000–$15,000 to cover headliners for the summer concert series and is targeting larger sponsorships this year to expand family zones at concerts.
Chief Technology Officer Ling King described recent IT work: switching the city website to phillca.gov to meet AB 1637, digitizing 65 years of archives, piloting AI tools for plan review and records search, and expanding Wi‑Fi coverage at City Hall and adjacent green spaces. King said the city is building an internal AI policy and training framework before fully rolling out the tools to staff.
During the question‑and‑answer portions, council members pressed staff on priorities including e‑bike safety (the police said education combined with targeted enforcement is the main approach), traffic enforcement resources and whether red‑light cameras are under consideration (staff said the city has none and would only pursue them where crash data supports installation). In the planning discussion, council members asked about outreach and notification for proposed rezones; staff described plans to notify properties rezoned in the prior cycle and to expand notice radius as requested by council.
Public comment highlighted residents’ concerns about zoning communications and neighborhood impacts, homeless encampments along Contra Costa Boulevard, veterans banners and recycling/garbage issues. Amanda Booth urged the council to add objectives that create “interactive 2‑way communication around the potential general plan and zoning ordinance changes,” recommending maps, visuals and small‑group forums to help residents understand potential changes.
Next steps discussed by the council and staff included: continuing the Safe Streets for All (SS4A) outreach and concept work; incorporating bike‑rack siting and the bike and pedestrian master plan into capital planning; completing the city’s hazard mitigation and asset management projects; and pursuing grant and outside funding aggressively to advance priority capital projects. Staff will post the meeting materials and continue to refine the draft goals based on council direction.
The council adjourned the special meeting and announced a joint State of the City session with the Recreation & Park District scheduled for Feb. 19 and the next regular council meeting for Feb. 23.
