Council approves consent calendar, honors KPFA building and welcomes new poet laureate

The Berkeley City Council opened its Jan. 20 meeting with a land‑acknowledgement and a ceremonial passing of the poet‑laureate laurel. Mayor Ishii thanked outgoing poet laureate Aya DeLeon for her service and invited incoming laureate Hanan Masri to the dais; Masri performed a poem that acknowledged Berkeley’s cultural ties.

During public comment, several speakers and KPFA representatives thanked the Landmark Commission for unanimously voting to designate the KPFA building as a historic landmark and encouraged the council to affirm that designation. The council then moved through its consent calendar — which included items on bicycle licensing, portable restroom pilots, small grants for community organizations and the KPFA landmarking — and adopted the consent calendar by roll call.

Clerk‑verified votes recorded the consent calendar as adopted. The council also recorded donations from multiple council members to support community events noted in the consent agenda. Later in the meeting the council approved fee changes for vital records and recreation programs and approved zoning amendments to implement by‑right housing on identified opportunity sites.

The meeting closed with additional public comments on surveillance and city process questions and adjourned for the evening.