Join us for a conversation with City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto.

We hope to have an opportunity to ask her:

1) for an update on the wildlife ordinance

2) for the status of the new-building electrification ordinance, given the Berkeley ruling

3) how she handles (apparent) Brown Act violations

4) what legal exposure the City has in allowing developments over uncapped oil wells

5) to explain her interpretation of SB 411 (given our different understanding)

6) potential enforcement of the gas-powered leaf blower ordinance (or, barring that, a new ordinance based on Councilmember Raman's motion in Council File 24-0055)

7) about her office's “trees committee” that we understand has been established to address illegal tree removals and tree policy enforcement

8) what (other) areas of sustainability we can look forward to her prioritizing with respect to enforcement

9) why her office apparently spent up to $300,000 on outside attorneys to look into circumventing the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) once a judge's ruling caused the Sidewalk Repair Program EIR to be rescinded (and also requiring a pause on tree removals) rather than following other cities’ lead and focusing more on alternatives to tree removals 

10) for an explanation as to why her office has said neighborhood councils shouldn't weigh in on City lawsuits, given that neighborhood councils have a duty to monitor the delivery of City services

11) for guidelines that neighborhood council board members can use regarding what qualifies as bias (as touched on in the State and City Conflict of Interest Laws: Information For Neighborhood Councils), so that that board members know what they can and can't do in the community if they want to fully participate in issues that come before the board

12) regarding the gondola project and Councilmember Hernandez's amended motion (in Council File #24-0011-S4, passed by City Council in March), what actions have been stopped in the City related to the project and what actions are still allowed to proceed at the City level, and how the amendment came about

13) how the job is going, what has surprised her, about her background with neighborhood councils, and the role of a city attorney

Please spread the word! Here are our posts on Instagram and X.

A recording of the event is on our YouTube channel here.