San Leandro council votes to fast-track resolution reaffirming intent to reopen Lake Chabot Road

The San Leandro City Council voted 5–2 on May 18 to agendize an urgent referral reaffirming the council's long-term intent to rehabilitate and reopen Lake Chabot Road, a half-mile stretch closed for more than three years after storm damage.

Vice Mayor Vivero Swalton moved to treat the request as an urgent referral; Councilmember James Aguilar seconded and the motion passed with votes from Mayor Juan Gonzalez and Councilmembers Fred Simon, Victor Aguilar and James Aguilar. Councilmembers Dylan Bolt and Councilmember Bowen voted no.

The referral, as described by the vice mayor, does not in itself commit city funds to a full reconstruction but would explicitly restate the council's goal to reopen the road to two-way traffic, identify the need for a geotechnical report to pursue outside grants, and seek funding for that geotechnical study without using general-fund reserves if possible. "The first step would be a geotechnical report," the vice mayor said, adding she was exploring philanthropic partners and grant sources to pay for it.

City Manager Janelle Cameron told the council that two of the four slide repairs on the road already have some funding, while two slides remain unfunded. Cameron said staff is continuing work on the funded slides (referred to in the meeting as slides 1 and 4) and will return to the council with a status update and recommended next steps after that work is complete.

Speakers representing Bay of Vista neighborhood groups and the citizens-led "Citizens for a Safe and Vibrant San Leandro" petitioned the council during public comment to prioritize reopening the road for evacuation safety. Residents cited an independent timed-evacuation study they commissioned, which the neighborhood says shows hundreds of vulnerable residents would have less time to escape in an emergency while the road remains closed.

Councilmembers asked procedural questions about what an urgency referral entails. The city attorney read the handbook definition that an urgent referral must be necessary to immediately preserve life, health or safety or risk harmful legislative or financial consequences; adopting an urgent referral requires a two-thirds vote of the council. The council's vote to agendize met that threshold.

The council directed staff to place the full resolution and discussion on a July meeting (dates discussed at the dais were July 13 or July 20) so the council can hear the geotechnical analysis, community input and options for funding. The vice mayor said she preferred that any funding direction be structured to avoid drawing on the general fund if possible.

What happens next: staff will schedule the July hearing, prepare the draft resolution and, according to the vice mayor, attempt to identify external funding sources for the geotechnical report. The council did not adopt any funding appropriation or contractual commitments on May 18.