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In-Person City Council Meetings Resume April 5
Beginning on Tuesday, April 5, City Council meetings will once again take place in person at the Council Chamber located at 1950 Parkside Drive.

Councilmembers and City staff will participate in person. Members of the public are welcome to participate in person or electronically via Zoom.

Public comment will be accepted verbally in person and by Zoom.

All written comments will also be accepted by email to cityclerk@cityofconcord.org, and those that are received by 3 p.m. on the day of the meeting will be posted to the City's website as "Correspondence" under the relevant agenda item and provided to all City Councilmembers prior to the meeting.

Please note that emailed comments will NOT be read aloud by staff during the meeting.

For more information about how to participate in public comment during future City Council meetings, please review the Public Meetings web page.
Second Booster Now Available to People Ages 50+
Contra Costa Health Services now offers second booster doses of the COVID-19 vaccine to people who are 50 and older or who are immunocompromised by certain health conditions.
 
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has authorized second booster doses of the Moderna or Pfizer vaccines for people in these groups after at least four months have passed since their first booster.
 
Concord's vaccine clinic is located at 1034 Oak Grove Road.

It is open Wednesday through Saturday: 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. (closed for lunch: 12:30 to 1 p.m.), and on Tuesdays: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. (closed for lunch: 4 to 4:30 p.m.).
 
Appointments can be scheduled by calling (833) 829-2626 or going to cchealth.org/coronavirus. Walk-ins are welcome, and there is no charge for the shot.
Redistricting Process to Conclude April 5
The City of Concord's Redistricting process is scheduled to conclude on Tuesday, April 5 at 7 p.m. with the fifth and final public hearing. 

At the March 1 hearing, the City Council again took public comment and reviewed the revised draft plans from the City’s independent demographer. Council provided direction, and the proposed final map has been uploaded to the City’s redistricting web page. 

Council is expected to vote on the final map at the April 5 hearing, and the map will be submitted to the County Elections office by the April 17 deadline, so the new updated district lines are in place prior to the 2022 elections. 
 
 
 
April 6 Meeting Explores Objective Design Standards
The City of Concord will host a special joint meeting of the Housing and Economic Development Committee, Planning Commission, and Design Review Board on Wednesday, April 6 at 6:30 p.m. to consider and provide input on “Objective Design Standards” for housing projects, in response to State legislation.

The overview will include:
  1. The project’s goals;
  2. Initial tasks;
  3. The timeline;
  4. Community outreach; and
  5. The City’s relevant design documents.

The meeting will include an open discussion on “What housing design makes Concord look and feel like Concord?” and members of the public will be invited to provide public comment.

Because this is a special meeting, it will be held in-person only in the City Council Chamber (1950 Parkside Drive), and will not be available by Zoom, nor will it be televised.

The project intends to support Concord’s tradition of high-quality design and assist in the creation of housing in a streamlined fashion, consistent with the State Housing Accountability Act.

Negotiating Period Extended to May 25
Concord's Local Reuse Authority is extending the negotiating period with Concord First Partners, LLC -- master developer of the former Concord Naval Weapons Station -- for 30 days to finalize a "term sheet" for City Council consideration.

The two parties have made substantial progress in discussions about the term sheet, but need additional time to further negotiate terms, and prepare and release documents for consideration by both the community and City Council. The tentative date for City Council consideration of the proposed term sheet is May 24, 2022.

Council Allocates Residual Funds to City Priorities
Since the Great Recession of 2007-09 took a severe toll on the American economy, the City of Concord has been focused on economic recovery and long-term fiscal stability that would not only enable it to continue providing essential services, but would replenish and strengthen its reserves to weather any future storm.  

The COVID-19 pandemic was that storm, and Concord braced for the inevitable drop in revenue. Fiscal Year 2019-20 General Fund revenues were anticipated to come in $6.2 million lower than expected, so Council made the tough decision to stabilize the budget through reserve spending and deep cuts to the FY 2020-21 budget. 

As a result of Council’s fiscal leadership and FY 2020-21 revenues coming in higher than anticipated, the City ended the year with a $10.5 million budget residual in the General Fund, and a $3.6 million residual for Measure V, Concord’s voter-approved sales tax. These are one-time funds that the Council allocated during its March 8, 2022 regular meeting.  

In addition, the recent meeting served as a mid-year budget update, and FY 2021-22 revenues are also coming in higher than projected. The budget residuals and the higher current-year revenues enabled the City Council to make some much needed investments in restoring the City’s reserves, service levels, roads and infrastructure, homeless services, and paying down unfunded liabilities.

Concord Seeks Design Professional for Board Appointment
The City of Concord is seeking a design professional to fill an unscheduled vacancy on its Design Review Board. Applications are due by April 22.

The Design Review Board is composed of five members: three design professionals who may be nonresidents of Concord, e.g., architects, landscape architects, urban designers, building designers, at least one of whom shall be a professional licensed architect; one public member (must be Concord resident) with experience or training in design concepts; and one member of the City’s Planning Commission.

Example of board duties include: reviewing the design of each improvement for which a building permit, certificate, or other approval is required, and any matter referred to the Board by the City Council, Planning Commission, Zoning Administrator, or Planning Manager, and/or staff. The Design Review Board meets on the second and fourth Thursday of each month at 5:30 p.m.

Blood Drive Scheduled for April 12 at Senior Center
The City will be hosting a Vitalant Blood Drive on Tuesday, April 12 at the Concord Senior Center (2727 Parkside Circle).

Consider giving the gift of life by donating blood.

Appointments are encouraged. Use the code "ConcordCity."

To schedule an appointment, please visit vitalant.org.

All healthy donors are urged to donate now; if you’ve had COVID-19 and have been symptom-free for 14 days, you are eligible to donate. Whatever your COVID-19 vaccination status, you are ABSOLUTELY allowed to give blood or platelets.
Call 811 Before You Dig
The weather is warming up and it's time to tackle those outdoor projects, including gardening. As the start of "digging season" begins, please remember to call 811 prior to excavation activity – no job is too small to call! It’s important to:

  •  Call two full workdays before you begin
  •  Wait for the site to be marked, indicating utility lines
  •  Respect the marks
  •  Always dig with care, especially near the marks

811 protects you and your community! Hitting a buried utility line while digging can disrupt service, cost money to repair, or cause serious injury or death. Always contact your 811 center, wait the required time for utilities to respond to your request, and ensure that all utilities have responded to your request before putting a shovel in the ground.
City of Concord | www.cityofconcord.org