What readers need to know

Pacific Grove's City Council will meet Wednesday, September 2, at 6 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chamber, 300 Forest Avenue. The city also provides Zoom and Channel 25 access. The official agenda and 136-page packet are linked below.

Staff recommends authorizing the City Manager to purchase a MILO/FAAC virtual-reality police training system and five-year extended warranty for no more than $60,000. The packet identifies the Police Department's existing Supplemental Law Enforcement Services Fund as the source and says no additional appropriation is requested.

A separate staff recommendation would extend Harris & Associates' professional planning support for one year. The amendment would keep the total agreement amount capped at $876,805 and, according to the report, is already accounted for in the Community Development Department's fiscal-year 2026–27 budget. That figure is the agreement's proposed total cap, not a newly described $876,805 appropriation.

The council will also hold a public hearing on unpermitted accessory dwelling units and give staff direction. Staff reports that a prior amnesty effort produced four successful registrations while seven applications did not qualify and had to abate the units. The report says staff is hesitant to recommend repeating the same program and suggests focusing on outreach under current and future ADU rules. No new amnesty program exists unless the council later adopts one.

Two ordinance amendments return for second readings. One updates the city's conflict-of-interest code and adds designated positions; staff reports no fiscal effect. The other would raise the upper limit for open-market purchasing from $40,000 to $50,000 and the micro-purchase threshold from under $2,500 to under $7,500, while generally requiring three written quotes between $7,500 and $50,000 unless an exemption applies. Staff reports no direct fiscal impact and expects lower administrative and legal-advertising costs.