Resident Asks Council to Pull Capitola Mall Item and Ask Council Member to Recuse; City Attorney Explains Recusal Rules

During oral communications, resident Heidi Kellison asked the council to pull the Capitola Mall consent item and to allow Council member Orbach to recuse from participating, citing a formal complaint filed by Orbach’s spouse with the State Department of Housing and Community Development. Kellison said the combination of a close family relationship and the state complaint raised reasonable questions about impartiality and public confidence.

The city attorney addressed the council to explain recusal standards: a council member with a financial interest in the outcome must announce the interest and leave the room. The attorney added that other conflicts—such as bias concerns—typically arise in quasi‑judicial proceedings where a council member would be acting like a judge on a specific property decision; legislative decisions to set rules or policies do not ordinarily require recusal.

No formal recusal occurred during the meeting. Later in the consent discussion, Vice Mayor Jensen asked staff to follow up with the mall development team and encourage strong local workforce outreach; the council approved the consent actions and recorded unanimous support for emphasizing local hiring in the project conversation with the developer.