Pleasant Hill council ready to focus on development, climate

PLEASANT HILL, CA (Jan. 21, 2025) — For Pleasant Hill, the beginning of a new year means some change and some staying the course.

We had our first district-based elections this past November, which resulted in three members of the City Council terming out and three new people being sworn in.

First, let me thank Tim Flaherty, Matt Rinn and Allen Vinson for their service. Their positive impact on this community will be felt for years. Second, let me welcome three new councilmembers: Belle La, Andrei Obolenskiy and Amanda Szakats. La is the first Asian-American to be a councilmember and Obolenskiy, I believe, is the first Slavic-American. We look forward to all three of their new perspectives and ideas.

Climate change

This year, we will be focusing on our first Climate Action Plan. This state-mandated requirement will allow us to explore opportunities to address climate change locally.

Pleasant Hill has already made great strides with its use of recycled water and our new net zero library. Now we will look at ways we can address this issue more broadly. There will be plenty of opportunities for community input, and I hope many of you will participate.

We will also be looking to make our zoning align with our recently completed General Plan. The council approved the changes that needed to be made to be compliant with our Housing Element last year, but this year we will complete the process. We will also be reviewing our development standards and design guidelines to ensure that any development that does occur fits best in our community. Again, there will be plenty of opportunity for public input.

Community events

Pleasant Hill is known for its community events, and 2025 will be no different. In addition to our Summer Concert Series, Off the Grid and Light Up the Night, we look to add an Earth Day Event, a potential Night Market and more exciting community activities. Our Diversity Commission continues to explore ways to make our community welcoming and inclusive with a third annual Juneteenth celebration and additional Community Conversations.

The revamping of the city’s website continues. With that goal of inclusion in mind, we have added the Google Translate function. Clicking on a dropdown menu in the top right of the site will allow visitors to view the site in their native language.

We hope that the public will keep up with all the happenings in Pleasant Hill by reading the Outlook, signing up for the city’s Bi-Weekly Updates and agendas for City Council and other commission meetings. The City Council also appreciates emails from our constituents. You can go to the city’s updated website at www.phillca.gov to find emails and other important information.

I’m looking forward to the year ahead and to seeing many of you at our meetings and events.

Contact Mayor Noack at Snoack@phillca.gov.