2026-01-12 - Minutes DRAFT 1 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Before beginning discussion, Chr. Chang asked whether any members of the public wished to provide testimony on the item. A member of the public then came forward to provide testimony. DEBBIE HECHT, provided comments With no further testifiers, Chr. Chang closed public testimony and proceeded with commission discussion on the item. Chr. Chang stated the current rules require a minimum score of 50 percent for a property to be recommended for acquisition and noted the threshold has varied in past years. Chr. Chang asked Deputy Corporation Counsel Campbell to summarize prior thresholds. Ms. Campbell said she reviewed annual reports for each year of the program while gathering information for the County Council's ad hoc committee. She commented that the commission's annual reports contain extensive useful information. Ms. Campbell reported that the 50 percent threshold first appears in the annual report in 2015 and has remained at 50 percent for roughly the past ten years. She said there was an earlier period when the threshold was not recorded in the annual reports, so she could not confirm what it was during that time. She reported the original threshold was 80 percent,then changed to 70 percent the following year, and then became unclear due to the lack of documentation. She said she did not research why the threshold changed but noted it may be possible to determine from older minutes or additional review of annual reports. Cmr. Crivello asked whether a motion was needed to continue discussion. Ms. Campbell advised that the commission was still in the fact-finding portion and that once commissioners move into discussion, a motion would be needed. Chr. Chang asked whether the original 80 percent threshold was set in the Charter or County Code. Ms. Campbell said it does not appear in either document. She said she did not have information on how the 80 percent figure was selected because that was outside the scope of her review, and said the reason may be in older annual reports or meeting minutes. She noted she could research further but it would take time, and she added that the annual reports are available on the commission's website for anyone who wishes to review them. MOTION: Cmr. Rosam moved to change the rules regarding the scoring criteria percentage threshold. Seconded by Cmr. Crivello. Chr. Chang opened discussion on the minimum scoring threshold for recommending properties for acquisition and noted the current rules set the threshold at 50 percent. Cmr. Crivello said she initially supported revisiting the threshold but said her concern arose after a council member advanced a blanket resolution that pushed through lower scored properties. She questioned whether the threshold itself would have prevented that issue and suggested the larger problem may be higher level decision making and a lack of individual property review during the council resolution process. She asked whether there is any way to discourage blanket resolutions and whether the commission has tools beyond adjusting the DRAFT-Minutes of January 12, 2026 Page 12