Mike Katz-Lacabe
He said it!
Mike Katz-Lacabe often speaks out at City Council meetings. The following are summaries of what he’s said, taken from official minutes and/or newspaper accounts. Unfortunately, the minutes often times do not actually report what public speakers said, and in the cases of City Council working sessions, minutes are not always taken. That’s one of the many items Mike wants to reform if he gets elected.
CHERRY FESTIVAL
Mike Katz-Lacabe, San Leandro resident, addressed the City Council, commenting
that 2009 is the 100th Anniversary of the first San Leandro Cherry Festival and urging
the Council to restore the Cherry Festival and Sunday library hours. City Council meeting, 6/19/06
CHINESE FLAG
School board member Mike Katz-Lacabe spoke against raising the flag. He and his fellow trustees on the board decided not to hold their Oct. 1 meeting at City Hall as planned and have asked the superintendent to find a new location. City Council Meeting 9/3/13, as reported in the San Leandro Times.
COLLABORATION WITH SCHOOL DISTRICTS
Garbage
Mike Katz-Lacabe, President of the San Leandro School Board of Trustees, who
was joined by District Superintendent Christine Lim and Board Member Pauline
Cutter, addressed the City Council, expressing appreciation to the Council, staff and
ACI for their willingness to consider the District’s request. Trustee Katz-Lacabe
commented on the benefit of this cooperation to the students, parents, and the
community. City Council meeting,4/6/09
DISASTER PREPAREDNESS
Mike Katz commented that the MCE on the Hayward fault should be re- evaluated in light of
this year’s earthquake and tsunami in Japan. Disaster Council, 15/7/11
EMINENT DOMAIN
Mike Katz, 46 Estabrook Street, addressed the City Council in opposition to the
use of Eminent Domain to take control of business property. City Council Meeting, City Council meeting,9/18/00
EMPLOYEES
Mike Katz, San Leandro resident, addressed the City Council, asking the Council to hold
off on the decision to approve the MOUs, and commenting that the incoming Council should
be allowed to vote on them. City Council meeting, 12/20/10
Mike Katz, San Leandro resident, addressed the City Council, commenting that San
Leandro is only one of three cities that pays the employee portion of PERS, and urging
the Council to adopt the resolution. City Council Meeting, 7/5/11
ENTERTAINMENT BAN
MIKE KATZ-LACABE, San Leandro resident, commented that he felt the Zoning
Code amendments would unnecessarily limit the uses of the industrial area. City Council meeting, 2/21/12
GAY MARRIAGE
Michael Katz, 46 Estabrook St., addressed the City Council, requesting the Council adopt
an advisory resolution urging the Alameda County Board of Supervisors to begin issuing
malTiage licenses to same-sex couples. City Council Meeting, 3/1/04
HALUS WIND TURBINE PERMIT
Mike Katz, 46 Estabrook Street, described Mr. Berger’s scare tactics as “very entertaining.” He said
we’re talking about a windmill on a piece of property that is zoned for industrial use – which is
neither in the marsh nor on sensitive environment land. As a regular user of the Bay Trail, he said
the most prominent features there are the 12-story-tall electric towers between the Heron Bay
development and the Bay, followed by the regular aircraft landings. He said the aircraft are about 16
times louder than the wind turbine. Mr. Katz said there have been plenty of studies, including one in
December 2009 by the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory that looked at the effect of wind
turbines on nearby home prices and found no correlation. He also cited a January 2012 study for the
Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and Massachusetts Department of Public
Health that documented no epidemiologically significant impacts of noise from wind turbines on
nearby populations.
Encouraging the BZA to grant the variance requested, Mr. Katz asked them to think about the
scientific documentation and not what people’s fears are generating. This is not a wind-farm project,
he said, but a project by a company in the business of refurbishing wind turbines and another similar
company would want the same. Mr. Katz said he supports the requirement for monitoring effects on
avian life, but he cited domestic cats, electrical power lines and communication towers as more
dangerous to birds than a wind turbine. He cited a University of Southern California study released
in April 2012 that documented seven million annual bird kills by the communication towers we rely
on for cellular phone and TV service. Mr. Katz said that having an EIR would not be a bad thing, but
in this case he considers it inappropriate. Board of Zoning Adjustments Regular Meeting Minutes February 7, 2013
MEDICAL MARIJUANA DISPENSARIES
Mike Katz, San Leandro resident, addressed the City Council, requesting the City Council to adopt a shorter moratorium and commenting that 10 months would provide
sufficient time. Mr. Katz commented that the City should not dismiss medical
marijuana as an opportunity for business. City Council Meeting 11/15/10
MIKE KATZ, San Leandro resident, spoke in opposition of banning medical marijuana
dispensaries, and disputed the idea that marijuana is a gateway drug. City Council Meeting 6/18/1
POLICE
Oversight
MIKE KATZ- LACABE, San Leandro resident, addressed the City Council regarding
the need to incorporate a civilian oversight component in the mutual aid agreement. City Council meeting, 11/7/11
School board member Mike Katz-Lacabe said that Spagnoli appeared to be making progress within the department. Katz-Lacabe also reminded the CIty Council that they are in charge of watching over the police department.
“It’s a great start in changing a department with $1 million in lawsuits,” said Katz-Lacabe. “I hope the City Council does its job and treats (the police department) like the rest of the city departments and does oversight.” City Council working session 11/28/11 , as reported by the San Leandro Times.
Surveillance Cameras
Mike Katz-Lacabe – who is running for City Council in District 1 this November – said that if the cameras are installed in public places with no expectation of privacy, maybe the footage should be broadcast publicly for all to see on the internet to avoid police misuse.
Katz-Lacabe also said that the City Council should be in charge of the camera policy rather than the police, regardless of whether the police have good intentions and safety in mind.
“Police are not elected officials, they do not represent us,” said Katz-Lacabe. City Council Meeting 7/21/14, as reported in the San Leandro Times.
Public speaker and school board member Mike Katz-Lacabe told the council that he had major concerns about the cameras, mainly that they have never been proven deterrent to crime and the cameras simply placate people.
“Is reducing the fear of crime a legitimate reason for installing these? Wouldn’t actually reducing crime be better?” Katz-Lacabe asked. City Council Meeting 4/4/14, as reported in the San Leandro Times.
Public speaker Mike Katz-Lacabe has been a vocal critic of the cameras and once again spoke out against them.
“I encourage you to give this (the cameras and storage of the photos) a lot of scrutiny,” Katz-Lacabe to the City Council. City Council working session, 12/9/13 as reported in the San Leandro Times.
Katz-Lacabe also questioned whether the cameras were effective deterrents. He said that when
they do catch criminals, they most often nab small time violations like expired tags. City Council meeting, 9/3/13 , as reported in the San Leandro Times.
Katz-Lacabe said he was happy that the photo storage policy has changed, but didn’t see why photos needed to be stored at all. He said he was also concerned that the change was made by the police department, not by the City Council in a public meeting.
“The police are city employees funded by San Leandro residents and policy changes should be discussed,” said Katz-Lacabe. City Council meeting, 12/10/12 , as reported in the San Leandro Times.
RANKED CHOICE VOTING
Mike Katz, San Leandro resident, addressed the City Council, stating that he felt
RCV would encourage more people to vote, and possibly to run for office. He
commented that voter turnout is 30% higher in November. Mr. Katz commented that
the biggest issue is cost, and he asked whether the City should implement RCV now,
and start saving now, or start saving later. City Council Meeting, 1/19/10
RED LIGHT CAMERAS
Mike Katz, San Leandro resident, addressed the City Council, commenting on the RedFlex
red light camera agreement. Mr. Katz asked the Council to consider whether red light
cameras are the most cost – effective tools for reducing traffic accidents, and whether the
$414,000 per year the City spends on red light cameras would be better spent on police
officers. City Council Meeting 3/21/11
Mike Katz, San Leandro resident, addressed the City Council, providing reasons for
not approving the contract and commenting that cameras were not installed at other
more dangerous intersections in San Leandro. City Council Meeting, 4/4/11
At the April 4 City Council meeting, resident and school board trustee Mike Katz-Lacabe said residents were paying hefty red light tickets “at a time when our economy, not to mention our residents, can hardly bear that burden.”
Katz-Lacabe mentioned several studies indicating extending yellow lights can do an equal, if not better, job at reducing red light violations and accidents. San Leandro Patch’s report on Mike’s comments at 4/4/11 meeting.
Mike Katz, San Leandro resident, addressed the City Council, commenting that red
light cameras are not installed at most dangerous intersections in San Leandro. Mr.
Katz suggested that lengthening the yellow light timing would be more effective than
red light cameras at reducing collisions. Mr. Katz commented on cities that have
chosen not to renew their red light camera contracts. City Council Meeting 4/18/11
SOCIAL SERVICES
Building Futures for Women and Children – Shelter
Public speaker Mike Katz-Lacabe urged the council to approve the funding.
“Building Futures is doing the work our government should be doing, but is not,” said Katz-Lacabe. City Council Meeting 5/19/14, as reported in the San Leandro Times.
Homeless
Mike Katz, San Leandro resident, addressed the City Council, commenting that the
EveryOne Horne Plan importantly recognizes that homelessness is a regional problem
and that preventing homelessness is easier than rectifYing it. Mr. Katz urged the City
Council’s support for the Plan. City Council Meeting 12/11/06
TRANSPARENCY
“Action” Minutes
Mike Katz, San Leandro resident, addressed the City Council, commenting on
transparency and accountability issues of action minutes, and urging the City Council to
vote against approval. City Council Meeting, 5/16/11
Audio Record of Meetings
Mike Katz, San Leandro resident, addressed the City Council, suggesting that the audio
recordings of City Council meetings be recorded in digital format and posted on the City’s
website.
City Manager Jermanis commented that staff would look into Mr. Katz’s suggestion to
digitize the audio recordings of Council meeting proceedings. City Council Meeting 5/6/06
Sale of old Albertson’s Property (now “The Village”)
MIKE KATZ, San Leandro resident, commented on the Issues with the process, such as the purchase of the property from Norcal, the Request for Qualifications process,
the number of community meetings held, and the purchase price of the property. City Council Meeting 5/21/12
School board member Mike Katz-Lacabe did not support or oppose the project but argued that the planning process had never really given community members a voice until it was a done deal. San Leandro Patch’s report of Mike’s comments above.
TREE ORDINANCE
Speaker Mike Katz-Lacabe said that the proposed ordinance is “ironic,” as the city recently removed the Juana Avenue trees. City Council Meeting 5/19/14, as reported in the San Leandro Times.
URBAN FARMING
Public speaker Mike Katz-Lacabe said that the ordinance could discourage agriculture enthusiasts if it is too strict.
“This whole approach strikes me as wrong,” said Katz-Lacabe. “It’s not a matter of animal control, it’s urban farming.” City Council Meeting 3/18/13, as reported in the San Leandro Times.