Jweinat Pitches Business Attraction Playbook to Diversify San Ramon's Sales Tax Base

The San Ramon City Council's Aug. 25 meeting surfaced a substantive policy debate about the city's economic future: whether to pursue corporate and wholesale business recruitment — not just retail — as a strategy to grow sales tax revenue before Measure N expires. That discussion, paired with a proclamation partnering the city with a local nonprofit to install free naloxone stations citywide, defined an evening that toggled between fiscal strategy and public health.

• Council Member Jweinat proposes studying business attraction models from Torrance, San Diego and Irwindale to capture point-of-sale revenue from corporate headquarters and B2B operations
• San Ramon partners with NCAPDA to install free naloxone distribution units at public sites across the city as national overdose deaths decline
• Resident challenges city on downtown tree removal, arguing it directly contradicts the Climate Action Plan's carbon sequestration and walkability goals
• Consent calendar approved 5-0 despite a public request to pull three financial items for scrutiny
• Former Councilmember Greg Carr warns against converting commercial land to housing, saying it undermines the tax base

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Beyond Storefronts: A New Sales Tax Strategy Takes Shape

Councilmember Robert Jweinat used council member comments to lay out a detailed case for rethinking how San Ramon grows its sales tax base — moving beyond the assumption that revenue gains require new retail shops and restaurants.

Why it matters: San Ramon hosts corporate headquarters, regional sales offices, medical device companies, semiconductor firms and clean energy businesses. Many of those operations generate taxable wholesale business-to-business transactions that the city could actively recruit. With Measure N's timeline finite, the pressure to find durable revenue sources is real.

Where things stand: Jweinat pointed to three California cities as potential blueprints. "Torrance has a business attraction program tied to increased sales tax revenue. San Diego has a performance-based agreement to retain manufacturers and point-of-sale operations. Irwindale recently introduced limiting its incentive program to verify net new sales tax revenue," said Councilmember Jweinat. He argued the city shouldn't be "pigeonholed" into depending on additional storefronts or restaurants.

The City Manager confirmed that the groundwork is already underway. "We will be presenting economic development strategies to the council as we're spinning up our economic development efforts," the City Manager said, adding that the work would be intertwined with the broader development of the city core.

The other side: Greg Carr, a former councilmember speaking during public comment, reinforced Jweinat's push from a different angle — warning bluntly against converting commercial property to housing. "The old adage: commercial businesses earn money. Housing cost you money," Carr said, urging the council to prioritize attracting high-sales-tax businesses rather than yielding to state housing mandates.

Councilmember Sridhar Verose reported on the MCE board's response to a civil grand jury report, framing it as a cautionary tale about governance. "I would suggest that this is a great case study for any public elected or any board members to learn what is the importance of being focused on your agenda items as well as the work and operations that's going on within your jurisdiction," Verose said.

What's next: The City Manager indicated economic development strategies will come to council as part of a broader city core development discussion. The timeline was not specified, but the convergence of Jweinat's proposal with staff's existing work suggests this will be a recurring agenda topic.

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City Partners With NCAPDA to Bring Free Naloxone Stations to San Ramon

Mayor Mark Armstrong presented a proclamation declaring Aug. 31, 2026, as International Overdose Awareness Day, handing it to April Rovero, founder and executive director of the National Coalition Against Prescription Drug Abuse, based in San Ramon.

Why it matters: National overdose deaths are seeing a sustained decline for the first time, and the organization working on the ground in San Ramon is now partnering with the city to expand free, no-barrier access to the overdose-reversal drug naloxone.

Where things stand: Rovero told the council that NCAPDA is working with city personnel to identify locations throughout San Ramon to install naloxone distribution units. "We are now seeing a sustained drop in overdose deaths nationwide. And key contributors are cited by the CDC to include community education," Rovero said. Current naloxone sites include all three San Ramon Valley libraries and the new John Muir Urgent Care center on Camino Ramon.

NCAPDA Youth Ambassador Edison Wang and San Ramon Valley Project Manager Alice Power also spoke, sharing personal experiences with drug overdose and recovery.

The presentation drew emotional responses from multiple council members. Councilmember Richard Adler became visibly moved, telling Rovero: "You're a citizen and you are saving lives. We just took a tragedy and made it into something positive. And it doesn't happen very often in this world."

Vice Mayor Marisol Rubio praised the organization for building a bench of young leaders. "Your tenacity and perseverance and persistence over the years is truly exemplary," Rubio said.

Mayor Armstrong shared a personal connection, noting his 96-year-old father-in-law keeps a naloxone kit at home. "He has suffered from some serious falls and some surgeries recently. And he's taken Dilaudid, which is one of the strongest opioids that's out there," Armstrong said.

Public commenter Joyce Carr specifically came to congratulate Rovero, noting she had taught at the school Rovero's son attended and had followed the organization's work for years.

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Resident Says Tree Removal Undercuts Climate Action Plan

During public comment, Adam Cleary, who said he holds a master's in environmental policy and nearly 20 years of experience in the field, delivered a pointed critique of the city's downtown tree removal practices.

Why it matters: San Ramon's Climate Action Plan targets net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2045. Cleary argued the city is actively working against its own goals.

Where things stand: Cleary praised the plan's scope but said the removal of mature trees in the downtown core directly contradicts its strategies on carbon sequestration, energy reduction and pedestrian transportation. "We've removed a ton, a ton of mature trees in our central core of our city. It puts us back decades, decades, decades," Cleary said.

He singled out the Chevron property as a flashpoint: "I ask you to please, please do what you can to keep the trees there before anything else, before developers remove those trees."

Vice Mayor Rubio asked for Cleary's contact information to follow up.

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Minor Items

• Consent calendar — All seven items approved 5-0 (motion by Councilmember Verose, second by Vice Mayor Rubio). A public commenter had requested pulling items 5.2, 5.5 and 5.7 — related to the register of demands, public funds and FY 25-26 budget adjustments — but no council member supported the request.
• Fall recreation registration is now open; the City Manager announced an Athletic Fields Utilization Survey accepting input through Oct. 4, which will shape future field-use policy.
• Councilmember Adler reported visiting the San Ramon Historic Foundation and discussed potential expansion of tractor-related programming at Forest Home Farms, noting Cal-OSHA compliance reviews are underway.
• Vice Mayor Rubio reported pitching a DVC inter-campus shuttle service to County Connection, which she said would benefit students with disabilities who need to access classes at different campuses. She also reported on LAFCO, the 250th U.S. Independence/80th India Independence celebration in San Jose, the Roya Foundation ribbon cutting, and the Hellers Jeweler 30th anniversary.
• Mayor Armstrong reported attending the Tri-Valley Mayors Summit at Garay Vineyards discussing economic development and housing, and throwing the first pitch at a Little League World Series game where Bollinger Canyon Little League won 8-5 to advance to the U.S. championship.
• Councilmember Jweinat reported on a Street Smarts bike and e-bike safety presentation at Iron Horse Middle School.
• Public commenter Chirag Kathrani announced a new local newspaper completing its first three months with 5,000 copies distributed, and challenged council candidates to clarify their positions on whether appeal fees should be capped at a fixed amount.