Los Gatos council unanimously adopts Youth Commission's 2025 2026 work plan, asks it to help implement 2026 bag ban

The Los Gatos Town Council on Dec. 2 unanimously adopted the Youth Commission's 2025'026 work plan after members outlined goals in four areas: environmental policy, community outreach, teen wellness and traffic safety.

Cody, the commission chair, told the council the commission mixed new and returning members and prioritized realistic, budget-conscious projects for the coming year. "We have a really strong mix of new commissioners and returning commissioners this year and we're excited to revisit our old ideas and our new ideas with a fresh set of eyes," Cody said.

Vice Chair Anelie described the environmental ad hoc's intent to study revisions to the town's single-use straw ordinance, interview stakeholders and consider a move to BPI-certified compostable takeout plastics. The ad hoc also plans outreach to educate residents about a statewide plastic bag ban taking effect in 2026.

Nova Gerage, community outreach lead, said the commission will participate in the town's children's holiday parade, revive a spring "Spring into Green" outreach effort and pursue a multicultural event with the library. Teen-wellness lead Saki Chinakola proposed stress-management materials, a short video and school-based wellness activities timed to finals. Traffic-safety lead Eli Shigen described plans to continue e-bike safety education, parse a March traffic survey to identify risky intersections near schools, and pursue steps to increase student use of the VTA 27 bus line, including a possible school bus-pass pilot.

Council members praised the plan as well-organized and achievable. Vice Mayor Moore asked the commission to explicitly add language supporting the town's implementation of the 2026 statewide plastic bag ban; the commission agreed to revise the work plan accordingly. "Support the town of Los Gatos's implementation of the 2026 statewide plastic bag ban through educating residents and recognizing businesses that comply with the new law," the vice mayor suggested during the meeting.

Councilmember Risto moved to adopt the revised work plan; the motion passed unanimously.

What happens next: The commission will submit the revised work plan with the added language on the plastic bag ban and proceed with stakeholder interviews, surveys and outreach under the four ad hocs. Council members asked for periodic updates as the commission begins outreach and survey work.