Click here to view the recording of the April 11, 2026 Meeting
Follow-up from City Manager Paul Buddenhagen:
Thank you for the opportunity to come and dialogue with the group yesterday. I hope the information I shared was useful and I appreciate the thoughtful questions. My follow-up from the meeting was to share information about how people can sign up for alerts from the City that advise people of danger. I appreciated this question because it gave me a chance to remind folks that people who are signed up for alerts and have a plan evacuate faster and are safer. Having a plan means you’re not scrambling in the moment. You’re following steps you’ve already thought through and being signed up for emergency alerts means you’ll be able to respond faster -- so we want everyone to download the Genasys Protect App and sign up for AC Alert.
The Genasys Protect app connects you to the Genasys Protect Map. The online map is viewable on any device. It won’t alert you, but will allow you to share links of specific locations’ status to family and friends who may not have the app.
The power of the Genasys Protect app is that you can sign up for immediate alerts when locations you care about have evacuations or protective action orders. The Map will be the first tool that is updated, so having the App on your phone means that you’ll be first to know when evacuation orders are issued.
AC Alert, a County-wide notification system used by the City, is also critical, because we can provide you with more detailed instructions than we can on the Map/Genasys Protect App. We want people to sign up now for AC Alert to be able to receive more detailed information to their phone and email.
Agenda
10:00 - 10:05 Welcome and announcements - Union Pacific Railroad plans to widen berm that train runs on which will remove all trees between the tracks and the Aquatic Park. See the related documents in "News from the Neighborhoods"
10:05 – 11:35 Q&A with City Manager Paul Buddenhagen
- Safe evacuation routes in light of increasing housing density and street modifications
- Current status of city policies toward the unhoused population.
- Status of policing policies given the recent city attorney's ruling.
- The rationale for the proposed $300M bond and sales tax measures.
11:35 – 11:55 Draft EIR for Berkeley waterfront available for comment now through April 28
11:55 – 12:00 Announcements