City of Orinda

Orinda Planning Commission

24 meetings on video, Oct 2024 to Oct 2026. The typical one ran 49 min in session.

Recent meetings

What the body took up lately

Meeting · 1 h 07 minTuesday, October 13, 2026The commission approved a special design review for an addition at 499 Dalewood Drive and approved a design review for a 1,432-square-foot addition to an existing residence by a 3 to 1 vote.Speakers: Kumani Armstrong, Marian Jelinek, Kevin Schmidt

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Meeting · 33 minTuesday, August 25, 2026The commission approved a design review application for 1,965 square feet of additions to an existing residence at 105 Crane Terrace, resulting in a 4,975 adjusted square foot, 2-story residence.Speakers: Kumani Armstrong, Robert Hubner, Kevin Schmidt

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Meeting · 45 minTuesday, August 11, 2026The commission held a study session on four draft preapproved ADU designs, a joint program, and gave staff feedback on design options, windows and ventilation; no determinations were made at the session.Speakers: Molly Doctors Rajashekhar, Kumani Armstrong, Robert Hubner

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Meeting · 58 minTuesday, July 14, 2026The commission unanimously recommended that the City Council adopt an ordinance streamlining the facade improvement program, with amendments including planning staff in the review and a term of 1 year or $75,000, whichever comes first.Speakers: Kumani Armstrong, Kevin Schmidt, Robert Hubner

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All 24 meetings

How we know

We count one meeting per body per day. A summary line shows only where a second AI reader checked every sentence against the transcript. More on how we count

Clips

What members said

Were there reasons submitted? Historically, we've seen sometimes for FAR exemptions, there is context behind it of either the site was really challenging, there was no other location this was required. Like, there was some reasoning behind asking for it. Is that the case here, either technically or Or was it just a want from the applicant?Marian JelinekCommissioner · Orinda Planning Commission · Oct 13, 2026Watch the full meeting from 1:11:09

One question that I didn't hear you address. Um, the neighbor's concerned that the house is 6 feet closer to their house. Um, and obviously the property is large enough. It seems like there could be, um, additional areas where that 6 foot could be compensated elsewhere. Can you speak on that?Kumani ArmstrongVice Chair · Orinda Planning Commission · Jun 24, 2025Watch the full meeting from 32:23
Another item to just add, I guess, for context is, and I'm sure the city can speak to this as well, is we don't see a lot of applicants with the FAR asking for exception to that. And I think just for context, it is a very large ask that comes to the commission because it does set precedents.Marian JelinekCommissioner · Orinda Planning Commission · Oct 13, 2026Watch the full meeting from 1:09:48
I would just say I'm just curious the need for the exemption, like what's driving needing the 284 square feet.Marian JelinekCommissioner · Orinda Planning Commission · Oct 13, 2026Watch the full meeting from 31:40
I will open it up to the commissioners for questions. I will start with, uh, you kind of touched on one of my questions that I wrote down here, but, um, will these new laws retroactively impact our housing element? And it sounds like you said, mentioned perhaps 2 of them, um, will.Kumani ArmstrongChair · Orinda Planning Commission · Feb 10, 2026Watch the full meeting from 16:40
Will there be any type of retroactive impact on the housing element that we're going to be looking at in the future for adoption?Kumani ArmstrongChair · Orinda Planning Commission · Feb 10, 2026Watch the full meeting from 17:12
On the downtown sites, again, ministerially, is there any public notice to that ministerial process?Robert HubnerCommissioner · Orinda Planning Commission · Jan 14, 2026Watch the full meeting from 20:22

How we know

Officials on the body's roster only, never members of the public. Each clip plays here from where the member began speaking, and we checked who is speaking before it went up. More on how we count

Where the time went

Housing element, rezoning and state housing laws took 37% of this body's meeting time.

Out of 23 hours. The two AI readers disagreed on 12% of it; that time stays in the total.

Housing element, rezoning and state housing laws37% · 8.5 h
Other building projects and design review31% · 7.1 h
Specific housing and mixed-use projects6% · 1.4 h
Downtown plans and business districts3% · 0.8 h
Trees and tree rules2% · 0.4 h

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How we know

Two AI readers (Claude Sonnet 5.5 and Gemini) each split every transcript into agenda items and gave each one issue from a fixed list. A stretch counts toward an issue only where both agree (lines on an item's edge are left out); the rest is 'unknown' and stays in the total. An issue's time is shown only when an independent Claude Opus read of randomly drawn moments (longer lines more likely) agrees at a Wilson lower bound of .90 or better. More on how we count

How members spoke, as a body

At least 20% of members' remarks raised a concern, of 86 remarks.

Board level only: never one member, never ranked against other bodies. A floor: the strict rule misses many polite concerns.

How we know

Three AI models read each member remark on these items. A remark counts as raising a concern only when all three agree, so the share is a floor. Never one member, never ranked against other bodies. More on how we count

Its busiest hearings

2 of the 20 busiest hearings were here.

19public commentersOrinda Planning Commission, Aug 12, 2025Housing element, rezoning and state housing laws · Housing element rezonings and objective design standards: staff presentation12 against · 3 for · 4 no clear side
9public commentersOrinda Planning Commission, May 26, 2026Specific housing and mixed-use projects · 10 Irwin Way Vista Verde project update (TOPS preschool concerns)No one who spoke was for it · 3 against

The members

Who talks on the Orinda Planning Commission

Minutes speaking per meeting · 24 meetings with names, Oct 22, 2024 – Oct 13, 2026 · talk time only, never tone or stance

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Listed by seatMuch of what members say isn't matched to a person yet, so these minutes are floors. The real totals are higher.

Minutes are each member’s own speaking time that we could match to them, so each is a floor. We are measuring how much we miss.

Members · listed by seat

Kumani ArmstrongChair · ran 10 meetings2.2+min per meeting, at least9 of 12meetings heard, of those seated and not running it1.0questions asked per meeting where we named them

Brenda DavisFormer commissioner1.1+min per meeting, at least2 of 8meetings heard, of those seated and not running it2.0questions asked per meeting where we named them

Robert HubnerCommissioner · ran 14 meetings1.4+min per meeting, at least5 of 10meetings heard, of those seated and not running it2.7questions asked per meeting where we named them

Marian JelinekCommissioner1.2+min per meeting, at least5 of 22meetings heard, of those seated and not running it5.2questions asked per meeting where we named them

Willy MautnerFormer commissioner · We could name only 0% of their speaking time. We rank members above 30%0.0+min per meeting, at least0 of 24meetings heard, of those seated and not running it—no question counted

Michael MerolaCommissioner · We could name only 28% of their speaking time. We rank members above 30%0.2+min per meeting, at least6 of 19meetings heard, of those seated and not running it0.3questions asked per meeting where we named them

Morgan OblinskyCommissioner · Sat in 5 meetings. We rank members after 80.6+min per meeting, at least1 of 5meetings heard, of those seated and not running it13.0questions asked per meeting where we named them

Ann ParnigoniFormer commissioner · Sat in 5 meetings. We rank members after 80.3+min per meeting, at least2 of 5meetings heard, of those seated and not running it0.5questions asked per meeting where we named them

Molly Doctors RajashekharVice Chair1.2+min per meeting, at least10 of 24meetings heard, of those seated and not running it1.1questions asked per meeting where we named them

Kevin SchmidtCommissioner0.4+min per meeting, at least4 of 15meetings heard, of those seated and not running it0.5questions asked per meeting where we named them

Minutes speaking per meeting held while seated, leaving out the meetings the member ran; a meeting they missed, or where we couldn’t match their voice, counts as zero, so every number is a floor · talk time only, never tone or stance · Hamlet · How we count

How we know

Two AI readers named each voice and had to agree. A blind reader checked 231 names across this group of bodies, as drawn: 230 were right, and the 1 wrong lines were taken down. Minutes count meetings while the member was seated; a meeting they missed counts as zero. Questions count the times a member put a real question to staff, presenters or colleagues; two AI readers had to agree, and 287 of 290 we checked were real questions. Only speech we could name counts, so they are floors. Meetings each member ran, of those counted here, from the body's dated officer list: Robert Hubner 14, Kumani Armstrong 10. A member's minutes leave out the meetings they ran. More on how we count

Public comment

13 of the 24 meetings we counted had a public commenter. The busiest, on Aug 12, 2025, heard from 19.

19 on Aug 12, 20252.3 a meeting on average

How we know

We count public commenters. They are counted, never named or quoted. Officials, staff and invited presenters aren't counted. We checked the count against a full read of 50 meetings: 50 were within one speaker. More on how we count

Attendance

The roll call, at the 24 meetings where we could read one

Roll-call attendance, member by meeting
Member	Oct 13	Aug 25	Aug 11	Jul 14	May 26	May 12	Mar 24	Feb 10	Jan 27	Jan 14	Nov 25	Nov 12	Sep 24	Aug 12	Jul 22	Jul 8	Jun 24	May 27	May 13	Mar 11	Feb 11	Jan 28	Jan 14	Oct 22
Kumani Armstrong	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Absent	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Absent	Present	Present
Molly Doctors Rajashekhar	Not recorded	Present	Present	Not recorded	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Not recorded	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Not recorded	Present	Not recorded	Present
Robert Hubner	Absent	Present	Present	Present	Present	Absent	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Absent	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present
Marian Jelinek	Present	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Absent	Not recorded	Absent	Present	Absent	Present	Absent	Present	Not recorded	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present
Michael Merola	Present	Present	Absent	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Absent	Present	Present	Present	Absent	Present	Present	Absent	Present	Present	Present	Present	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded
Morgan Oblinsky	Not recorded	Present	Absent	Present	Present	Absent	Present	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded
Kevin Schmidt	Present	Present	Present	Present	Not recorded	Absent	Present	Present	Present	Present	Absent	Present	Present	Present	Absent	Absent	Present	Absent	Present	Present	Present	Present	Present	Absent
Brenda Davis	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Present	Present	Present	Absent	Absent	Present	Present	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded
Willy Mautner	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Present
Ann Parnigoni	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Present	Absent	Absent	Absent	Present

PresentArrived lateAbsentNot recorded

How we know

From the roll call, or the chair's statement of who is present, read by two AI readers who had to agree. A meeting with no roll call we could read says "not recorded"; we never guess. We checked 158 roll calls against a separate read and 157 matched; of 91 absences, 91 were right. More on how we count

Members from the body’s own roster page · Meetings from videos the city posted