mincow 09-22-25

1 MINUTES OF COMMITTEE OF THE WHOLE SEPTEMBER 22, 2025 COUNCIL CHAMBERS Present: Councilmembers Kepple, Baker, Bullock, Marx, Strebig, Steiner, Evans Also Present: Law Director Vargo, Dara Adkison ( Executive Director for Trans Ohio), Elizabeth Katavich ( Lead Advocacy Coordinator, LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland), Sean McCann ( Policy Strategist, ACLU of Ohio), members of the public and Council staff Call to Order: 7:00 p.m. Approval of the minutes of the September 12, 2025 Committee of the Whole. Motion by President Kepple, seconded by Vice President Baker to approve the September 12, 2025 minutes. All members voted in favor. Minutes approved. Approval of the minutes of the September 15, 2025 Committee of the Whole. Motion by President Kepple, seconded by Vice President Baker to approve the September 15, 2025 minutes. All members voted in favor. Minutes approved. RESOLUTION 2025-45 - A RESOLUTION to take effect immediately provided it receives the affirmative vote of at least two thirds of the members of Council, or otherwise to take effect and be in force after the earliest period allowed by law, adopting the City of Lakewood Gender Freedom Policy in response to attacks on transgender rights at the state and national levels. President Kepple referenced a revised version of the Resolution that had been distributed to Council and would be displayed on screen. Councilmember Strebig provided opening remarks in support of the Transgender Community. She said that Ohioans and Lakewood residents deserve better than the negative political rhetoric that has been thrown at the Trans Community. She expressed hope that the resolution and policy provides as many protections to the Trans Community as legally possible until our State political leaders are replaced with those that promote unity. President Kepple introduced the evenings guests; Dara Adkison ( Executive Director for Trans Ohio), Elizabeth Katavich ( Lead Advocacy Coordinator, LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland), and Sean McCann ( Policy Strategist, ACLU of Ohio). She credited the three of them for their help reviewing the legislation and invited them to make opening remarks. Sean McCann provided context on where things stand in regard to the litigation that the ACLU of Ohio is bringing against the state to strike down House Bill 68, which is the bill that put into place Ohio’ s ban on gender affirming care for minors. He said that the Ohio Supreme Court accepted the case after the State appealed a favorable decision for the plaintiffs. He said that the Docusign Envelope ID: C0C329A7- E796-4436-A911- D955363DD750

2 ban remains in effect until the Ohio Supreme Court makes a ruling, and that Lakewood’ s legislation is very timely. In response to a question from President Kepple, Dara Adkison explained that HB68 passed with a grandfather clause attached so that if children were actively receiving gender affirming medical care when the bill was passed or at any point a temporary restraining order was in place, then they can continue to receive that care within the state. However, if they were looking to start new care or change a course of care, they cannot do that within the state of Ohio at this time. Dara Adkison said that they are excited to see Lakewood take a stand and that in the current climate it has been hard to find municipalities willing to make a public statement that trans people are welcome. They said that there has been an alarming increase in the quantity of anti- trans legislation introduced both nationally and statewide, and that any protections at the municipal level are vital. Elizabeth Katavich said that every day the LGBT Community Center has been facing some new form of legislation that has been making it very difficult to support a marginal and vulnerable population. She said she believes that local protection is valuable and is excited about the level of protection that this resolution is proposing. Councilmembers went on to express support for this proposal and thanked everyone that has contributed to the process. President Kepple reviewed the changes that have been proposed since the item was first introduced, starting with the gender freedom policy document. In response to a question from President Kepple, Law Director Vargo said that his answer was reflected in the document that he sent to Council that explained the Law Department’ s legal analysis, which is protected by attorney client privilege. He said that privilege can be waived by a vote of Council. President Kepple then asked Councilmembers if they wanted further clarification on the matter, to which the response was no, so she determined to move forward. In response to a question from President Kepple regarding edits to the Gender Freedom policy proposed by ACLU, Sean McCann said that he suspects the language was removed from the bottom of the second paragraph for brevity and to avoid redundance. There was additional discussion between Law Director Vargo and Council around the choice of language and the legal implications of different drafting options. Law Director Vargo commented that he reviewed the changes that President Kepple submitted this afternoon, and they are consistent with the advice given to Council. Dara Adkison expressed concern that the current version looks like it would not cover a potential restriction on gender affirming care for trans adults in the future, to which President Kepple said her intention was to cover trans adults as well. Director Vargo suggested adding the “ including but not limited to” language to permit the policy to cover adults as well. He also added that if they miss something, or more legislation comes from the state in the future, they can come back and amend the policy. Docusign Envelope ID: C0C329A7- E796-4436-A911- D955363DD750

3 President Kepple made a motion to add “ but not limited to” after the word “ including” at the bottom of paragraph two. President Kepple amended the motion to first move to substitute the legislation with the edited policy and resolution that is currently before Council, seconded by Vice President Baker. Discussion: Councilmember Strebig said she is in favor of keeping the verbiage in question in the policy, as it helps to spell things out for the general public. On the motion: All members voted in favor. Motion to substitute passed. President Kepple then made a motion to add “ but not limited to” after the word “ including” at the bottom of the second paragraph to read: “ including, but not limited to,”. Motion seconded by Vice President Baker. All members voted in favor. President Kepple then reviewed the remainder of the policy and the minor edits made between the original and the substitute version. In response to comments from Vice President Baker about including language about investigations involving transgender care being the lowest priority of the City in the third paragraph, Law Director Vargo responded that he felt the language in the fourth paragraph addressed his concern. President Kepple explained the language is in a different location than the 2022 Reproductive Rights Policy because it is combined with the language in the fourth paragraph that adds protections for drag performers in addition to gender affirming care. In response to a question from Councilmember Bullock, there was discussion around the language in the third paragraph and the use of the work “ including”. Dara Adkison called attention to the fact that Ohio’ s Obscenity Law is one of the places where the definition of sex was modified in the State Budget and questioned if that could impact paragraph four. There was additional conversation about how to address this concern. President Kepple made a motion to amend paragraph four, line five of the policy document to read “ would not otherwise fall under the City’ s enforcement of Obscenity law.” Motion seconded by Vice President Baker. All members voted in favor. Motion passed. President Kepple then moved on to review the language of Resolution 2025- 44 and any edits made. She said the language in the first whereas clause was updated for the purpose of clarity and the fifth whereas clause was updated to include the most recent survey data. In response to a question from President Kepple on Section 4, Law Director Vargo responded that he agrees with her suggestion that she contact the Mayor to further discuss the best language. He said he believes the Mayor is in agreement with the intent of the policy but he perceives she is seeking discretion on how and when to distribute the policy. There was further discussion between Councilmembers around this matter and how to best address the issue. President Kepple asserted she believes it is a relatively minor detail that can be sorted out before the next General meeting. Docusign Envelope ID: C0C329A7- E796-4436-A911- D955363DD750

4 Public Comment Michael Miller, Westwood Ave. - Mr. Miller thanked Council for taking a stand on the issue of transgender rights. He expressed hope that this Resolution will lead civic organizations, including the Board of Education, to do the same. President Kepple thanked everyone that contributed to making the policy better and stronger. She said that every day we see negativity coming towards our trans neighbors and anything we can do to stand in solidarity is very important. President Kepple made a motion to refer the substituted policy and resolution favorably back to full Council for adoption, seconded by Vice President Baker. Discussion: Councilmember Bullock added that he agrees with the sentiments of everyone gathered here tonight that there is an ugly tone in our country right now and we need to speak up with our values and not be afraid. He said that fear is contagious but so is courage and he still believes most Americans are decent people. On the motion: All members voted in favor. Motion passed. RESOLUTION 2025-40 - A RESOLUTION to take effect immediately provided it receives the affirmative vote of at least two thirds of the members of Council, or otherwise to take effect and be in force after the earliest period allowed by law, appointing _______________ to the Planning Commission for the five-year term beginning January 1, 2026 and ending December 31, 2030. RESOLUTION 2025-41 - A RESOLUTION to take effect immediately provided it receives the affirmative vote of at least two thirds of the members of Council, or otherwise to take effect and be in force after the earliest period allowed by law, appointing _____________ to the Tree Advisory & Education Board for the three- year term beginning January 1, 2026 and ending December 31, 2028. RESOLUTION 2025-42 - A RESOLUTION to take effect immediately provided it receives the affirmative vote of at least two thirds of the members of Council, or otherwise to take effect and be in force after the earliest period allowed by law, appointing four volunteer members to the Complete and Active Streets Education & Advisory Board and one ex-officio non-voting member of Council to serve as liaison. A motion was made by President Kepple, seconded by Vice President Baker to enter executive session for the purpose of considering the appointment of a public official. A roll call vote was conducted as follows: Yeas: Baker, Bullock, Evans, Kepple, Marx, Steiner, Strebig All members voted in favor. Motion passed. Committee of the Whole entered executive session at approximately 6:55 p.m. At 7:56 p.m. Committee of the Whole exited executive session and adjourned. Docusign Envelope ID: C0C329A7- E796-4436-A911- D955363DD750

5 Approved: Sarah Kepple, Chair Committee of the Whole Maureen M. Bach, Clerk of Council 9/29/2025 Docusign Envelope ID: C0C329A7- E796-4436-A911- D955363DD750

Committee of the Whole 09- 22- 25 18: 00 Agenda Name Comments Support Oppose Neutral RESOLUTION 2025- 42 - A RESOLUTION to take effect immediately provided it receives the affirmative vote of at least two thirds of the members of Council, or otherwise to take effect and be in force after the earliest period allowed by law, appointing four volunteer members to the Complete and Active Streets Education & Advisory Board and one ex- officio non- voting member of Council to serve as liaison. ( referred to COW 9/2/25) 1 0 1 0 Sentiments for All Agenda Items The following graphs display sentiments for comments that have location data. Only locations of users who have commented will be shown. Overall Sentiment Docusign Envelope ID: C0C329A7- E796-4436-A911- D955363DD750

Agenda Item: eComments for RESOLUTION 2025- 42 - A RESOLUTION to take effect immediately provided it receives the affirmative vote of at least two thirds of the members of Council, or otherwise to take effect and be in force after the earliest period allowed by law, appointing four volunteer members to the Complete and Active Streets Education & Advisory Board and one ex-officio non- voting member of Council to serve as liaison. ( referred to COW 9/2/25) Overall Sentiment Amy Herberger Location: Submitted At: 5:39pm 09-21-25 I strongly oppose resolution 2025- 42 being passed as an emergency. Section 6 is factually inaccurate, there is no immediate threat to public peace, health or safety, or city operations justifying emergency action. The City has operated without these appointments since July, showing no urgency. More importantly, the public is UNAWARE these positions are open or that they could serve on the board. Rushing this vote limits transparency and excludes community input. It appears to serve a narrow interest group rather than the broader public. Additionally, the Bunts Road Multi-Modal project under the Complete Streets initiative presents real safety and traffic concerns that remain UNADDRESSED. Emergency approval of this resolution bypasses the opportunity for meaningful public involvement on issues that directly affect residents, pedestrians, motorist, bicyclists, EMS workers, crossing guards, police and fire personnel. This resolution does NOT serve the greater community. Approving it as an emergency undermines trust and transparency. I urge you to reject the emergency designation and engage the public open and fairly. Docusign Envelope ID: C0C329A7- E796-4436-A911- D955363DD750