A Thank You to Marin D.A.'s Office

On the June 26 Novato City Council agenda, there was a closed-session item about the Eden Housing subordination agreement regarding a planned housing project on Diablo Avenue, across from the . On June 25, I emailed the city council and city manager and asked why this was a closed-session item. I did not receive a response of any kind.

Why would the city council have a closed item about Eden Housing when the city of Novato gave Eden Housing $1.5 million of public funds? Nevermind the consistent trash, shopping carts and tall weeds on the lot (is this how Eden Housing shows its  appreciation to the good people of Novato for their $1.5 million "gift" by not being a good neighbor?) Nevermind that Eden Housing has chosen to build low-cost senior housing — our most vulnerable population — right across the street from Wyndover, which has been riddled with crime including reports of gang activity of the Surenos and Nortenos.

The police reports from adjacent properties, and Center Place Apartments, aren't pretty, either.

Minutes before the 6 p.m. meeting on June 26, Mayor Madeline Kellner and City Attorney Jeff Walters agreed at the last minute to make it open session. From my understanding, a closed item on the agenda for the city council meetings are for litigation and personnel issues. Walters should know that, and he should know the Brown Act, the open-meeting law.

If the city staff of Novato — which includes the city attorney — and the city council do not follow the Brown Act, it threatens our democracy. What could be next?

Kudos to councilwomen Pat Eklund and Carole Dillon-Knutson, who wanted to postpone the vote until appropriate public notice and time for them to read the documents that they did not have copies of. The other three councilwomen voted yes for the subordination agreement without even reading the documents they were voting on.

Per the office of the Marin County District Attorney Edward Berberian, "It was determined that the City of Novato should have placed the Eden Housing issue on the agenda as an open-session item."

Thank you to the D.A.'s office, which recognized the city's departure from the Brown Act and ensuring the rescheduling of the agenda item as an open-session item and re-do the vote. The current vote, in favor of subordinating the $1.5 million "gift" from the city is invalid per the inspector of the D.A.'s office.

Do I think the vote will change? No. But going forward I hope the city will follow and respect the Brown Act. If not, they will be getting even more attention from the D.A.'s office.

The open session of Eden Housing's subordination agreement is rescheduled for  Aug. 23 at 6:30 p.m. at .