[This transcript was generated automatically from audio using AI and hasn't been reviewed by a person -- it can contain mistakes, including plausible-sounding sentences that were never actually said. Treat it as a starting point, not a verbatim record.]

[0:00] So, we'll go ahead and start.
[0:04] Good evening. We'll go ahead and start tonight's closed session meeting at 6 p.m., calling the meeting to order at 6 p.m., may we please have roll call. Councilmember Carmona? Councilmember Sanchez? Here. Mayor Patenborajas? Here. Mayor Berksen? Here. And Councilmember Silva is going to be joining the Council shortly. Very good. Are there any public comments before we go into closed session? Anybody in the audience wishing to speak on a closed session item before we begin?
[0:32] We're going to close session.
[0:33] Very good, then we will adjourn to close session.
[0:40] Good evening, everybody.
[0:41] Thank you for being here at the Hyruva Valley City Council meeting on January 15th, 2026.
[0:48] It's very nice to see a full house as we begin the year.
[0:52] Do we have any Mr. Thorsen?
[0:54] Do we have any items to report from close session?
[0:56] No reportable actions from close session.
[0:58] All right, very good.
[0:59] Then we will go ahead and I will call the open session meeting, regular session meeting to order at 710.
[1:05] then, can we please have a roll call.
[1:09] Councilmember Carmona?
[1:12] Here.
[1:13] Councilmember Sanchez?
[1:15] Here.
[1:15] Councilmember Silva?
[1:16] Here.
[1:17] Mayor Potembe-Rajas?
[1:18] Here.
[1:19] And Mayor Berkson?
[1:20] Here.
[1:21] All right, very good.
[1:22] With that, we will move to the invocation,
[1:24] which we'll be given by Pastor Greg Rendell from Calvary Chapel.
[1:28] And please remain standing for the Pledge of Allegiance,
[1:31] which will be led by Mayor Potembe-Rajas.
[1:37] Mr. Mayor, the City Council, thank you for having me.
[1:42] Let's pray, Lord, we thank you so much for allowing us to live here in the United States
[1:48] of America.
[1:48] What a blessing.
[1:51] Secondly, Lord, to live in California, oh, real honor, Lord.
[1:54] We thank you so much for immersing your kindness.
[1:58] Most importantly, Lord, we thank you for allowing us to be residents of the City of Harupe
[2:03] Valley.
[2:04] And so at our meeting tonight, Lord, I humbly ask for your wisdom, your wisdom from above,
[2:12] not opinion, but direction.
[2:16] Let the city continue to be guided by you.
[2:19] Give us the intelligence to follow your lead in order to glorify you and certainly benefit
[2:26] ourselves, our families, and those who come.
[2:30] We thank you, Lord, bless this meeting in Jesus' name, amen.
[3:03] All right, we'll move to item 7, approval of the agenda.
[3:05] Are there any modifications to tonight's agenda?
[3:08] Madam Clerk, nothing?
[3:09] Okay, everybody good?
[3:11] We need a motion to approve.
[3:12] Motion to approve.
[3:13] Need a second?
[3:14] Second.
[3:15] All in favor?
[3:16] Aye.
[3:16] Opposed?
[3:17] Opposed?
[3:17] Motion passes 5-0.
[3:20] Next is a presentation by Mayor Pretembera-Huss.
[3:26] I don't know.
[3:26] All
[3:54] right, thank you all for being here again. Happy new year. I hope you all have great
[4:01] holiday season with your families. At this moment, I wanted to present a recognition
[4:06] to Mayor Brian Whitton for being mayor last year. So with this, I want to present with
[4:13] your sincere appreciation for your leadership as mayor in 2025. And we look to continue success
[4:18] So, with that, is anyone having any words?
[4:22] All right.
[4:23] Fixer.
[5:02] Thank you, everybody.
[5:03] I just wanted to let my colleagues know my sincere gratitude for being the mayor in 2025,
[5:10] allowing me that privilege and honor to do that and speak on behalf of the city.
[5:14] I think we've done quite at least in the second half of last year, we have tackled a number of major issues
[5:22] that was like the first half of the major list, and now we'll start this year addressing some of those major issues on the second half of the list.
[5:32] And so you will probably be in the city hall chambers a lot more than you like to, because we're going to talk about things that are important to all of us.
[5:39] So I appreciate the continued support of my colleagues to allow me to continue to sit in this position as mayor this year.
[5:45] here and I look forward to doing everything we can to make Rupa Valley as amazing and awesome
[5:52] as we can.
[5:53] So thank you all, appreciate everybody that's here and appreciate my colleagues.
[5:57] So thank you.
[5:58] With that, we will move to public appearance comments.
[6:03] We have a bunch of cards.
[6:08] Okay.
[6:09] So you'll have three minutes to address the City Council with any items that are not on
[6:14] Agenda, realize for those who haven't been addressed us in the past, we are not able to respond directly to most of your questions or comments because they are not agendized items, but staff will be here to assist you and we can ask very limited questions to staff if there is something that pertains.
[6:38] First speaker tonight is Henry Esclar.
[6:52] I know you know my name, but it's Henry Escalera.
[6:56] I'd like to speak on planning.
[7:00] I think the city has very poor planning.
[7:04] For one, you guys are changing rules here today on a project going on on Wainville and Limonite to make a 16 highway.
[7:13] Well, I think you need to work on what we do have our problems between beach and bain.
[7:18] We come from a two-lane road into a one-lane road, that's where it backs up, even to this place here, it backs up.
[7:26] So I think we need to think on what the city needs, not what the developer is going to want.
[7:33] It's not always about the mighty dollar of what happens to Herupa Valley because I know we don't have a lot of it.
[7:40] But we need to think of what's going on for the public.
[7:43] Look at our bridge, our new bridge on Herupa, supposed to have been done five years ago.
[7:48] Well, now they're saying maybe at the end of the year, which year.
[7:53] We don't know whose fault that was, but the blame stopped that you guys.
[7:58] And as you all know, I used to be involved with the county of Riverside before we were city here.
[8:05] Anyway, my time almost stopped, but I just want to say, people are watching.
[8:09] If you want to make the people happy, you know, watch what's going on.
[8:14] The development you guys are working on on Wainville and Limonite, that's kind of been
[8:18] approved for over 25 years and your hands are kind of tied, but let's see what happens
[8:24] there.
[8:25] Thank you.
[8:28] Thank you very much.
[8:29] Next speaker.
[8:30] Richard Miller.
[8:36] Mr. Mayor and the City Council, you guys know me very well because I have been here numerous
[8:40] times.
[8:44] Okay.
[8:44] to seek church over on Mission Boulevard, and here's the problem.
[8:47] Problem is, is they had a festival last year on NoMiver 9th, okay?
[8:53] Well, on 2024, they had the festival, and
[8:57] they block off streets from commuter rail all the way to Py-Rite.
[9:03] Because they block off these streets, we couldn't have my father had a heart attack in 2024.
[9:10] And we could not get the paramedics there fast enough.
[9:15] Fortunately, we had a nurse next door that was able to take care of him.
[9:21] So here's the problem.
[9:22] The problem is they don't go to the planning department.
[9:25] They don't get any permits to close down these streets.
[9:31] There's about 20 streets that is impacted on this.
[9:36] And they do this every year.
[9:39] And it seems like they're not, they're like above the law because they don't do anything,
[9:45] you know, that goes through the planning because they did the trucking thing that was
[9:51] right across the street from them, they try to do that and they're trying to still do that
[9:55] parking lot, that's still with them, okay?
[9:58] So something needs to be done with this, okay?
[10:02] I'm religious myself, so I'm not trying to say that they can't do their festival, but
[10:07] But there's people that are on my street that I talked about that are really ticked off
[10:11] because we can't get out of our property when they have this festival.
[10:17] I mean, there is over a thousand people that come to this place and they shut it down
[10:24] from communal rail all the way to Py-Rite.
[10:26] It's communal rail, proper road, Py-Rite, and Mission Boulevard, that whole area that is
[10:32] shut down.
[10:33] That is a lot of people in that area.
[10:36] So something needs to be done about this, okay?
[10:41] I looked it up on the internet and I found out that they have to go through planning,
[10:45] and then they have to go through and notify everybody in that area before they have their festival.
[10:54] Thank you.
[10:56] Thank you very much.
[10:57] Next speaker is, looks like Amanda Swagger.
[11:02] Good
[11:13] evening Mayor Berkson, City Council, City Leadership and everyone in the audience.
[11:17] My name is Amanda Swacker, I'm a 40 plus year resident of the Rupa Valley area.
[11:22] Having a resident over by the Glen Avon Library, just north of the disaster that's the bridge
[11:29] project at Rupa Valley, and the light situation that's occurring near the Rupa Unified School
[11:36] District.
[11:37] I saw a post on social media for a Hooper Valley group that illustrated a problem with
[11:44] the light there.
[11:45] We all know the problem.
[11:46] The light's impossible to see when you're driving.
[11:49] The scary situation now occurred about three weeks ago.
[11:53] I was out enjoying the beautiful sunsets we have in Hooper here and I went to cross that street
[11:59] with my dog.
[12:00] My dog Teddy doesn't like to play by the rules and I stopped there waiting for the light.
[12:06] my signal went and I started walking. Just have a car nearly hit me in my dog who didn't
[12:12] see the light and ran the red light right there. Of course the car didn't stop. Later
[12:19] that week because I'm so tall I literally cannot see the light signal at all when I approach
[12:25] that intersection. The light had turned green but because it's impossible to see the light
[12:30] situation there. Several cars honked at me and one engaged road rage nearly hitting the back
[12:37] of my car. That intersection is an absolute disaster both for pedestrians and everyone around.
[12:44] Finally, as we're working with the road situation there, when the past rains have come,
[12:49] that area has been a flood nightmare. I saw several cars nearly stall because of the
[12:58] The road was so filled with water that I could barely walk through the area and got completely
[13:05] soaked by a car driving at way too fast through that area.
[13:11] As we focus on other things tonight that are important to the city here, just keep in
[13:15] mind.
[13:16] The local residents like to enjoy things like Agut Park, they like to enjoy things like
[13:21] watching the kids play baseball at a heartbeat field, are amazing library, and eventually
[13:26] the amazing crossing our group of valley, over a group of road.
[13:30] But the reality is, we've got to fix the small stuff.
[13:33] The big stuff is great, but these little things are impacting our community as a whole and our way of life here in group of valley.
[13:40] Thank you for your time.
[13:42] Amanda, if you could speak with one of our staff members about which specific,
[13:47] I'm assuming you're talking about Pedley and the group of road, the new light that there, that's there,
[13:51] but I'm not 100% certain, but if you can let Mike Flat right there know the specifics about where you were crossing that way our public works team can take a look and figure out what's going on.
[14:03] Thank you.
[14:04] Okay.
[14:04] And Mike, can you give me updated on that one?
[14:07] I think it's in my district, so I want to make sure to follow up with Ms. Water.
[14:11] And next speaker Pam Waller.
[14:12] Good
[14:24] evening, guys, and thank you for being here.
[14:26] My name is Pam Waller, and I'm a resident of Proof of Valley.
[14:29] I want to speak to the people in this room, especially those who are here for the first time and those who may be sharing their voices publicly for the first time.
[14:38] For some, some, simple being here tonight took more courage than anyone may realize.
[14:44] I want you to know that you are not alone.
[14:46] Some of you have lived here a long time. You've watched the community grow and change.
[14:50] You carry stories, memories, and wisdom that matter.
[14:53] Your experiences are important and your voices deserve to be heard.
[14:56] being seen matters, beings heard matters and
[15:00] And even when your voice shakes, or your words don't come out, exactly the way you planned,
[15:04] your presence still carries weight. Choosing to stand here and speak tonight is an act of
[15:09] strength. I ask that we hold this space with kindness, hate, and patience, and we listen
[15:15] without judgment. We remember every person who comes forward does so, because something deeply
[15:19] personal brought them here. Tonight is not about being right or wrong, is it about it's about
[15:29] vulnerable that are supported respected and not alone to everyone else who found the courage to show up tonight
[15:35] You were seeing you were heard and you are not alone. I hope you guys will be patient with some of us. Thank you. Thank you very much
[15:42] We try to be patient with everybody
[15:45] Next speaker, Javier Polaris.
[15:58] Welcome sir. Good evening. Hello. I wrote you guys an email. I'm not sure if you're gonna get to us. I'll just read it for you
[16:04] My name is Javier Piotr. Can you pull the microphone down a drop? I can't hear you. Just thank you
[16:10] Hello, can you hear me now?
[16:12] Yeah.
[16:12] Okay, I moved here back in 09,
[16:14] where there was known as Mia Loma,
[16:16] an incorporated area of Riverside County.
[16:21] I am riding with facts, heard my research
[16:24] and observation, no emotions.
[16:26] When new cities are built, new structures,
[16:32] they literally impose on the established community,
[16:35] an established housing.
[16:37] I reside on Wymeville Avenue across the street
[16:39] from where the Eastville community begins.
[16:41] When the e-spec committee was built, they literally left the middle of the house under water.
[16:46] They raised the Y-Vill surface level and left the middle of the house on the downward slope,
[16:52] causing a man-made flooding issues.
[16:55] All my neighbors are forced to pump water out manually every time it rains, so this is a big issue.
[17:02] I've literally spent thousands of dollars sloping, grading, gutters, they left up on the water.
[17:08] So, specifically, with this new proposed building on live in the wineville, I know there's litigation with flooding issues now, they don't care about the established community.
[17:18] It doesn't matter to them.
[17:19] There's going to do their building and move on to the next neighborhood.
[17:22] So, I am definitely opposed to that built.
[17:26] I say, believe me, as it is, take care of it because right now, as we speak, you drive down wineville.
[17:33] And you'll see the hoarse fences all on the floor.
[17:39] Most of them are not standing anymore.
[17:41] The city doesn't even pick them up.
[17:42] They leave them on the trails, creating the hazard.
[17:46] And that mile, those kids are going to be longer if that gets built to the Vander Moulding Elementary School.
[17:51] That school was built for six to 700 students.
[17:54] That's where a thousand students are now.
[17:56] Now they moved in mobile units and whatnot.
[17:58] And the teachers are not able to give those kids that may need one-on-one attention, so they're up to capacity.
[18:05] So there's not be reckless and approving or I don't know how far along the process is, but
[18:12] some of us moved away from LA to get away from the concrete jungle.
[18:17] So I'm bringing it back over here.
[18:18] No room in this community for a quick one of you have.
[18:21] Thank you.
[18:22] All right, thank you, sir.
[18:28] All right, that is all the public speaker cards I have.
[18:31] So we will move on to introductions,
[18:34] acknowledgements, council comments,
[18:36] and announcements starting on my left with release of that.
[18:40] Nothing?
[18:41] Veronica?
[18:46] Thank you, just want to wish everybody a happy new year.
[18:48] Thank you for being here and giving us your time this afternoon.
[18:52] Just only council comment was just to share about the time
[18:56] that we recently went to Sacramento
[18:57] and just wanted to say that it was very informative
[19:01] and I really did appreciate the information
[19:03] that was given, we were able to understand a little bit more how, I guess, upper government
[19:08] works, got to meet with some of our assembly members, senators as well too.
[19:13] So all that information was knowledge from myself to how to continue and hearing my community
[19:21] so I know how to send up for us on bigger issues.
[19:25] So I just wanted to say that it was a very interesting event.
[19:31] And I wanted to also remind for district four we have an event coming up with Chris Moore which will be next week on Tuesday at the Senior Center.
[19:42] So we welcome everybody to attend and give their opinion about the trails there in that community.
[19:48] So thank you.
[19:48] All right, very good, Chris.
[19:50] I think again, thanks everyone for being here, thank you for your input and all of
[19:53] every speaker that's been to speak tonight.
[19:55] I want to let everyone know if you haven't seen it already, we have a community meeting
[19:59] coming up right here on Wednesday, February 18th for our next step in addressing homelessness
[20:04] across the city.
[20:05] It is to formalize our strategic plan to address homelessness, so I hope to see you guys
[20:11] here.
[20:11] Thank you.
[20:12] All right.
[20:13] Ronaldo.
[20:15] Yeah, thank you all for joining us.
[20:17] muchas gracias por acompañarnos a todos en esta reunión tan importante. Vamos a trabajar
[20:23] muchos temas de la vivienda, de inmigración, de homelessness, y esta reunión va a ser
[20:31] muy muy importante para el futuro de la ciudad. So I just want to thank you all for joining
[20:36] us here today. Your presence is super important. We're going to cover a number of issues today
[20:43] and looking forward to hearing from everybody and listening to the people.
[20:48] A couple of things, a happy new year, as it's been shared.
[20:52] We're starting off to a very eventful,
[20:58] 2026, both in the global national state and also in the local level.
[21:03] I hope everybody stays safe and warm during this large wind event.
[21:08] This last couple of weeks, a lot of rain started the year.
[21:13] We had some number of trees that were not down through down power lines.
[21:21] I got some calls from residents that were trapped inside their homes.
[21:26] So it was, I want to thank Paul and Rod for quickly responding.
[21:32] And of course, Lieutenant Shudda and the Sheriff's Department for
[21:35] for helping us to control those situations
[21:37] and appreciate everyone's patience
[21:40] as our public works team works to respond.
[21:45] There's a lot going on across the city that we're working on,
[21:50] so thank you all for your patience and for your commitment.
[21:52] Keep in us accountable, keep letting us know
[21:55] what are some of these big issues that are happening
[21:58] and keep us accountable and make sure
[22:01] that we are being responsive to those issues.
[22:05] I wish everybody a very happy and successful 2026 as a council intend to work very diligently
[22:14] and very hard this year on numerous issues which we hope will include the little things
[22:21] and the big things because we all live here and we all want to make our city great.
[22:26] So keep getting earthquake notifications. Hopefully it's not here.
[22:32] No, it's far away. Okay. All right. With that, we will go ahead and move to the approval of the minute. Oh, wait a minute. City Manager's update. How about we do that? Great. Thank you.
[22:44] Mary and Council, I have a few announcements that I'll get through as quickly as I can, and then Mr.
[22:49] Flat is going to give a little more information on the recent Sacramento trip that Council
[22:53] member Sanchez referenced a few couple of minutes ago.
[22:57] First one is that Council members Silva asked me just to give some quick information on how people can learn more.
[23:04] People that may be in the affected neighborhood near Pleasant Valley Park.
[23:08] There was an incident back around Thanksgiving time.
[23:13] where a burtech truck had to dump its trash load and that ended up some of the fire material that was sprayed to put out the fire because some of the material and the trash truck had started to catch fire flowed down, that firefighting material flowed down into Pleasant Valley Park.
[23:36] So it's gotten a little bit of traction on social media, ABC7 news was out here last week to do a quick story on it.
[23:44] You can stay updated on that if you're concerned about it, if you live in that immediate neighborhood.
[23:50] Just go to the Harupa Area Recreation Park District website.
[23:55] They're a managing that project because it happened in a cleanup project.
[23:59] happened in a city, happened in a JARPD Park, and then Burtek is ultimately responsible for coordinating the cleanup.
[24:09] JARPD's website is JARPD.org, and I checked tonight before the meeting started.
[24:16] On their homepage, if you scroll down a little bit, there's a section that is under what's happening, they have three or four items there.
[24:23] and there's a Pleasant Valley Park update that they update about once a week just to give people
[24:29] the latest information on that cleanup process. It's almost done now. They were slowed down by the
[24:35] weather, both the wind and the rain, but they're getting very close to completing that. So again,
[24:41] folks that are interested in that, JARPD.org and just check out their homepage.
[24:48] And then as far as
[24:55] on a survey. We have a citywide freight and truck and traffic study going on currently.
[25:02] The council recently approved this. We got some grant money from the state to complete this project.
[25:08] And it's kind of looking at all the issues around freight transportation, truck traffic, within the city of Harupa Valley.
[25:16] So we really encourage our community members to fill out that survey.
[25:20] It's a short online survey, and they can give us their thoughts or ideas,
[25:24] their concerns about transportation planning and quality of life here in Rupa Valley.
[25:29] That's at our city website, so it's RupaValley.org, forward slash freight survey.
[25:37] And that's going to be open to comments until February 11th. So you've got a little less than a month
[25:42] to share your thoughts with us on that. Again, RupaValley.org, forward slash freight survey.
[25:49] I wanted to remind also community groups nonprofits that the annual process for community
[25:57] development block grant public service grant applications is underway now.
[26:02] As a process we go through every year, the council ultimately approves organizations to
[26:08] receive a portion of our block grant funding, which is federal dollars we get.
[26:13] The deadline to apply is January 31st, so you've got a couple more weeks to get your
[26:18] applications in this again would be for nonprofits serving her Rupa Valley and the city's website Rupa Valley dot org has more information on that if you are interested.
[26:28] We have a free flood preparedness workshop coming up toward the end of this month, it'll be on Tuesday, January 27th, 4 p.m. to 5.30.
[26:38] It's going to provide a lot of helpful information on how to prepare for flooding and stay safe during storm events.
[26:46] We will provide some light snacks and refreshments.
[26:49] Again, it's free, and it's going to be held at the offices of Reach Out.
[26:53] Reach Out Group of Alley, that's 8,300 Limonite Avenue, Suite F.
[26:58] And the presenter is going to be our very own Bryce Bartlett, our full-time city emergency management services coordinator.
[27:05] Thanks again, Council for approving that position in the budget this year.
[27:09] Bryce is super knowledgeable, very passionate about emergency preparedness and
[27:13] and he'll be presenting information at that event.
[27:15] Again, Tuesday, January 27th, 4 p.m. to 5.30 at the Reach Out Offices on Limonite.
[27:23] And then my last one is just a reminder that this coming Monday is the Martin Luther King
[27:27] Junior National Holiday.
[27:29] We honor that holiday here, so City Hall will be closed on Monday, January 19th.
[27:34] All day, no city offices open, but we will be back to our regular schedule on Tuesday, January
[27:39] 20th.
[27:40] With that, I'll turn it over to Mr. Flagler to talk about the Sacramento trip.
[27:44] Thank you, Mr. Butler.
[27:45] So Assembly, we've done this many times by now, so, but Assembly Bill 1234 requires local agency legislators to report out on any travel expenses that were paid for by the agency.
[27:57] And as has been stated, Mayor Berkson, Mayor Pro Tembara-Has, Council members,
[28:01] Carmona and Sanchez attended the California contract, cities, Sacramento legislative tour from January 4 through January 7th.
[28:08] The expenses included travel accommodations and one meal.
[28:11] Most of the meals, as you all know, were covered during as part of the sessions, during the conference.
[28:17] Just to super high level overview, as you all recall, you met with dozens of legislators over a two day period topics included housing homelessness,
[28:27] truck impacts, a question area protections, a vehicle safety street racing,
[28:31] saying DUI vehicle-related fatalities, unfunded state mandates, and the impacts of the projected state budget deficit,
[28:39] which is the low end projection is expected to be about $18 billion.
[28:44] And then that's never good news for cities, because many times the state attempts to balance its budget on the backs of cities.
[28:50] So props to all of you for going up there representing the city, that don't just represent you here in Herpo Valley.
[28:56] They do an outstanding job representing up in Sacramento.
[28:58] And I had a few photos of some of the different meetings as you recall, there was a press conference that took place on the steps of the capital building that was directly targeted towards vehicular safety and eliminating fatalities, street racing, increasing the penalties for that.
[29:16] And then also pictured our meetings with Cervantes, Senator Cervantes, Assembly Member Castillo, and then also with the new, the swearing in of the new, first Latina and new State Senate President Pro Tem Limone, and she also spoke to the group.
[29:33] Mr. Mayor, I'll turn it back over to you just in case there's any additional thoughts that you had from the trip, but I thought it was very productive and was proud to be there with you.
[29:41] Yeah, I thought it was a very good conference.
[29:44] It is always nice to hear from senators and assembly members who are addressing other elected officials because they're not doing so in front of the camera.
[29:52] They're doing so kind of heart-to-heart given us their kind of the lowdown to behind the scenes.
[29:58] And, you know, the...
[30:00] They were just giving us, you know, they recognized their elected, we're elected, we're all kind of in the same sort of boat as far as that goes. So it was nice to hear how candid they were with us. It doesn't mean they're going to, you know, support certain things, but it was always nice to get a little more understanding about some of the senators and assembly members from Central and Northern California, because they don't see things the same way we see them down here. And it's nice when we have little one on one.
[30:29] where we kind of give them a little bit of insight as to what Southern California is like so that when they're making decisions, they kind of see the whole picture because I think that's one of the big things I recognize as they people up there do just don't understand that Northern California, Central California, Southern California, three way different animals and they all need to be treated in a completely different method, but Sacramento one size fits all, they determine a rule, they pass it and everybody has to
[30:59] follow through or follow suit, and unfortunately, they don't take into account the variety of scenarios that we face here, which they don't up there.
[31:11] So some of the people that we saw the state controller made a, let us know about the $20 billion deficit that they expect in 2027.
[31:21] And there's 14 billion, an unclaimed revenue from property tax refunds.
[31:26] So there's some kind of a website if you think you might be owed property tax money from 10,
[31:31] 15, 20 years ago, the state has $14 billion of money waiting to go back to its owners.
[31:37] Anthony Viragosa, prior mayor from LA who's running for governor spoke to us more like a campaign speech rather than anything of substance.
[31:48] Latisha Castillo, our assembly woman also spoke and there was a Mike Gibson, I can't remember
[31:58] if he was a assembler or senate, but Armando asked a question about his position on unfunded
[32:05] mandates.
[32:06] I will just say Armando asked in three different ways that question and the guy struck out
[32:12] in three different ways.
[32:14] He has no idea what an unfunded mandate even is.
[32:16] And that's the people making decisions that we have to live with.
[32:19] So, you know, it's sad, but true that sometimes the people up there have no idea what's going on, and this person happens to be one of them.
[32:30] So I appreciated Armando and his diligence in asking and trying to get a legitimate answer, even though at the end of the day, we didn't.
[32:39] And then the keynote speaker was the new Senate President Pro Tem Monique Lemone.
[32:45] She gave some very good words.
[32:48] Senator Bob Archuleta and the wrap-up was a sergeant from Los Angeles Sheriff's Department.
[32:56] They are the largest police force in, I know he said in the U.S., and it may be beyond that for sheriff's departments.
[33:05] They're the largest.
[33:06] just, they actually have an office in Sacramento, which I learned on this trip.
[33:10] So they advocate for things, all year long, that affects us down in Southern California.
[33:15] Because we are much more aligned with the LA Sheriff's Department than we would be with somebody in Sacramento or San Francisco.
[33:23] Anyway, they provided us some insight about things they're looking to do this next year and
[33:28] how we can all work together.
[33:30] So those are kind of the highlight points that I picked up on and
[33:34] Again, I appreciate my colleagues who all were there, and we look forward to continuing to pursue any financial methods we can.
[33:44] And I'll throw out one last thing.
[33:46] Both meetings with Senator Cervantes and Assemblywoman Castillo, we cut to the chase, there was no pitter-pattering around.
[33:57] We want money, we want to do things for X, Y, and Z, how are you going to get us that money, how are you going to help us?
[34:03] that was the basic ask so we absolutely asked and asked and asked and we hope that they will
[34:10] provide some funding so we will keep you all informed as we progress through the year and we
[34:16] together will see if they can help us or not help us and we'll again let you know so thank you
[34:23] for that I don't know if anybody else had comments on this feel free Armando you're shaking your head
[34:31] I think it's fascinating to see how, and not speaking to any of these folks, I think they're well connected to what's happening here, but it's fascinating to see speaker after speaker of the Sacramento Assembly members, state senators, constitutional officers, and how completely disconnected they are from the issues happening.
[34:59] and not just our community, but just communities in general and how little they understand in so many cases as that one, and it's very concerning because they, while there is hearings, they do have public hearings, they're all in Sacramento.
[35:20] So the rooms where they have these hearings are probably a fourth of the size of this room here.
[35:25] So I doubt that a majority of them, especially those that didn't hold local office, have ever been in a room where they're confronted with a hundred residents, and so it's important to pay attention to who you're voting for, what they're doing, what they're following through for, what their value systems are, but it's important to see that across the state, because once you speak to these people, and
[35:55] And really it was a low-ball question, it was a very easy question that was completely
[36:02] missed and so it's unfortunate.
[36:04] Not for the question but for our state that is really missing an opportunity for great
[36:14] leadership.
[36:15] So that's what I'd say.
[36:16] But overall it was very interesting, learned a lot to be out there and it was great to be out
[36:21] there with you all.
[36:23] I'm going to add one thing to that real quick.
[36:26] Another thing that I also learned, and this is something I also want to share that miss
[36:29] our Assembly Member, Lisa Castillo, look at her face closely.
[36:34] She's in a lot of our events here in Herrupa Valley.
[36:38] And the reason I share that with you is because it's so nice to have an Assembly Member participate
[36:42] to see Herrupa Valley participate and be with the residents.
[36:47] So when you have concerns, approach her, talk to her, write to her, email to her, just like
[36:52] If you come here and you express yourself publicly to us here as local government,
[36:57] speak to your legislators as well to let them know, educate what certain bills are being proposed,
[37:02] or maybe something that you might have an idea.
[37:05] She's always very open and very willing to listen to the community.
[37:08] So it's something that I really do appreciate her.
[37:11] I've seen Mr. Bruner's revantes as well too in the community as well, advocating for us.
[37:17] So they're all approachable, all of them.
[37:19] So if we have something to complain, they're the ones that you want to start with as well too.
[37:24] So going up the ladder, so I just wanted to share that with the community, thank you.
[37:29] All right, Chris anything?
[37:31] All right, very good.
[37:32] I think that wraps up your report, Rod.
[37:35] Okay, very good, then we will move to approval of the minutes for December 18th, 2025.
[37:41] Anybody want to make any comments or adjustments?
[37:45] Do I have a motion then to approve?
[37:46] Which approve?
[37:47] Do I have a second?
[37:48] Second.
[37:49] Second.
[37:50] Motion in a second.
[37:51] All in favor?
[37:52] Aye.
[37:52] Opposed?
[37:53] Abstention.
[37:54] Motion carries 5-0.
[37:55] Consent calendar.
[37:56] Any items that any council members are wishing to bowl?
[38:09] Is that a question?
[38:11] A quick,
[38:16] not E?
[38:22] M as in Mary?
[38:22] M as in Mother.
[38:25] Mother.
[38:26] Okay.
[38:27] Okay.
[38:28] And is that a question you want?
[38:29] No, I just wanted to get confirmation.
[38:31] So this is the agreement for the affordable housing projects.
[38:37] Can someone give a quick summary just so we have it on the record what this one's about?
[38:42] Absolutely, we'd be glad to do that.
[38:44] Curtis Miller, our housing manager, will be providing that in response.
[38:48] Thank you, Joe.
[38:49] Good evening, Council.
[38:50] So item M is part of the affordability agreement required for the Canterra development,
[38:58] formerly known as Warmington.
[38:59] So, as part of the approval of that, they agreed to build X amount of affordable units which turned out to be three at a
[39:12] affordability of 50% below.
[39:14] So, there's going to be three affordable units for sale that'll be under city control for 45 years.
[39:22] So, we'll have 45 years of affordability for three first time home buyers that are a very low income.
[39:29] So 50% of the area median income for Riverside County, which would just for reference your typical household of four that be a family making $55,000 or less.
[39:41] So really a life-changing opportunity for individuals and families that otherwise probably wouldn't be able to attain home ownership.
[39:49] Is that total household income?
[39:51] Total household income?
[39:52] Can an individual apply for purchase at home?
[39:55] An individual can apply, so there's going to be guidelines in place, there's going to be a formula factor, there's three different unit types.
[40:06] So the developer has three different plans that are going to be available, and they opted to do a mix of each of those, so it makes it a little bit easier for different household types.
[40:16] In terms of the process for selecting the person who is the city, do you or are you involved in that process in any way?
[40:26] Yes, very much so, so we're going to administer that process on behalf of them.
[40:31] There's going to be whenever the time comes, a lottery period for folks to enter.
[40:37] And then once the period closes, names will be randomly selected.
[40:42] and those individuals will have to cross-qualify in order to ensure they meet the not only the income
[40:47] requirements, but the debt to income ratios and other requirements for affordability.
[40:54] And how is the price being set and then how is the down payment being set and kind of how's the price being set first?
[41:02] So those are still being determined as we move forward with the units when they come available.
[41:07] Is it in relation to the market value, and a certain, you know, in relation to that, or is it in relation to the value of local property?
[41:19] So there's, it's not going to impact. I think I understand what you're saying. It's not going to bring down any values, if that's the concern.
[41:28] No, no, just how is it going to be valued?
[41:30] So it should be valued at the full market rate, or they could do an option of the low market rate.
[41:37] There's two different ways to look at that.
[41:39] One would put a lien in favor of the city for the difference, which would be a benefit to the city's ledger.
[41:47] The other option would be selling at the low market rate, which is generally the easier way to go about it.
[41:53] only because the property taxes and other items that would be costly would be a little bit much more.
[42:02] We're not finalizing that process, we're just agreeing to work with them on the process.
[42:06] That's correct, so we're going to be recording the final map as well as recording the affordability agreement.
[42:12] And in terms of those are two options that we could pursue.
[42:15] So essentially the first one, if the market rate, just to be even, it's $500,000, it could
[42:24] be sold at that, but we essentially, the city controls abortion off the top and then
[42:33] sells the bottom part, is that accurate?
[42:36] Yes.
[42:36] So essentially what you would back into is what's affordable for a low income, a very low income
[42:41] in this case, family, and there would be a carryback if that was the case, or they
[42:46] would just sell it well below what the market rate is to just back into it kind of like
[42:51] a habitat for humanity type model.
[42:54] To sell it, if they're all at 500, this one could be sold at 200 or it could be sold at 500,
[43:02] but then we maintain control of whatever excess there is outside of the affordability and
[43:09] And then if equity goes up in 20 years, then we take it from there.
[43:13] There would be like an echo sharing in my case.
[43:16] But more likely than not, it would be the fire at the bottom.
[43:20] The below market rates, I understand, thank you.
[43:22] And just one other question on that topic, can we put in any kind of condition to allow,
[43:32] or to mandate a group of alley residents, existing residents are prioritized?
[43:38] Is that something we're allowed to do?
[43:40] Well, we have to be mindful of fair housing laws, and so typically what we'll do is we will advertise it heavily within the city of Harupe Valley.
[43:50] So you're saying we can't, we can't only have or prioritize that's correct, but in the way that we get the word out can be focused on Harupe Valley.
[44:00] Okay. Any other questions on that issue, item?
[44:03] Any other items, then I need a motion to approve?
[44:06] Move to approve, look at the second calendar.
[44:08] Second, you, okay, all in favor?
[44:12] Aye.
[44:12] Opposed?
[44:13] Abstention, motion carries.
[44:18] All right,
[44:22] public hearing to consider master application number 22248 with general
[44:28] plan amendment change of zone tentative track map site development permit to allow for
[44:32] construction of 232 residential units and 24,000 square feet of commercial retail space within a 33 acre site located
[44:40] at the southeast intersection of Limonite Avenue and Weinville Avenue, APN's 157-250-011157-250-013.
[44:52] The applicant is diversified Pacific Development Group.
[45:00] Before we begin, before we move into anything else? Sure, be happy to. Thank you, Mayor and council members. This evening is a public hearing for this item was reviewed by the city council back on December 4th. If you recall, at that meeting, the council had requested additional information from staff to bring back, particularly in regards to the
[45:30] applicability of certain state housing laws to the former or the existing zoning and the proposed zoning.
[45:38] And so we were certainly prepared to do that this evening.
[45:42] However, we are altering our recommended action this evening for two reasons.
[45:51] Number one, we have received a number of requests for information and
[45:57] clarity on the project and rather than respond to those verbally in an ad hoc fashion we felt
[46:06] that it's more appropriate to have and take the time to ensure that our responses are
[46:12] clear and accurate and provide those in writing for the City Council because those requests came
[46:19] in. This week it just made it very, very challenging to do so and actually we need the extra time to
[46:26] do that.
[46:27] The second reason, and this is actually the more important reason, is that yesterday,
[46:33] in our conversations with the applicant, the developer, we were informed by them, surprisingly,
[46:43] to us that a portion of the retail component, you'll recall there is a section of the proposed
[46:51] those projects on the far west end that is designated as commercial retail, that a portion
[46:59] of that was not identified as being reduced, in other words, changing from retail, commercial
[47:09] retail to residential.
[47:11] We just learned that that is now the case.
[47:13] And the reason why that is important is because it requires us then to ensure that we get
[47:24] this right, that we understand that this new information relates to and is consistent
[47:33] with the way that we have provided public noticing for this project, the way that we have
[47:39] analyzed it as part of the environmental review process and for full public disclosure.
[47:46] And so, typically, as I said, we would be in a position to give a formal presentation
[47:51] on the project, but because of this new information, we need clarity, weaving staff needs clarity
[47:58] to ensure that the project that's being presented to the City Council for that's been done.
[48:03] As a result of that, we do not have a formal presentation this evening.
[48:10] We, of course, this is a notice public hearing.
[48:13] We do recommend that the City Council conduct the public hearing and basically consider
[48:19] all the public testimony.
[48:20] I see that we have a number of folks who have spent their valuable time to be here this evening,
[48:25] so we believe that's important.
[48:26] and that the City Council continue the public hearing to the March 5th City Council meeting.
[48:34] The applicant has been informed of this and they are aware of that.
[48:38] They are here this evening and they are also available for questions as are we.
[48:43] And so that is our recommendation this evening.
[48:45] Thank you.
[48:46] Okay.
[48:48] Council, we as council do have the definitive ability whether we're going to push this hearing
[48:56] or hear it tonight and I know there's always conversations, so I want to find out where
[49:03] people were. We have a whole bunch of speakers. We're going to listen to everybody and accept
[49:09] all comments. The question is do we act on this? It would be unfair in my viewpoint for the
[49:17] council to make any definitive decision tonight until we understand how the reduction of commercial
[49:26] So I'm not sure where the disconnect was between the developer and the city, but
[49:32] typically these things are not picked up on a day before the hearing.
[49:35] They are picked up on months before, weeks before.
[49:39] So I'm not sure where things didn't match up, but the developer has reduced the size of the commercial and
[49:46] our team here, our planning department wants to ensure that what they present to us and
[49:52] to the residents is accurate and tonight they're not comfortable doing that so if we have
[49:59] no objection I think what we will do is move forward we'll give the applicant their time
[50:06] their ten minutes if they would like to present and then we will go into public comments and
[50:11] we can ask questions but we'll just continue the hearing unless we have objection from council
[50:16] right now.
[50:17] Well, I have an objection to that.
[50:19] Okay.
[50:19] I think, and I just want to clarify a few things before I state my objection.
[50:27] And I just want to get this straight.
[50:29] So the developer, for the last two years, they've been asking to change the land use,
[50:37] and they've been marketing this, that they're, they only want to change the land use designation.
[50:41] And I've heard this over and over again.
[50:43] They want to change the land use designation of 1.1 acres of commercial to residential.
[50:49] And they've time and time again, I've heard it's only one acre, guys, it's only one acre.
[50:54] But you're telling us that that was a lie, that that was false, that the developer lied
[51:01] about that, and that it's actually, it's not a reduction in commercial, it's an increase
[51:06] of residential.
[51:07] So, they're actually trying to do more than what they were legally allowed to do, even though not only did they market the 1.1 acres as a big kind of point, but they also marketed saying that what they were trying to do was legally allowed currently.
[51:28] Because I heard that over and over, I mean, even Chris, but I has, he lied about that too.
[51:34] And he said, in the last meeting, that 232 acres were allowed currently, planning
[51:41] commissioners reviewed this, so I just want to clarify, that's what's been happening.
[51:46] Well, I can't speak to intent, but I can't speak to the facts.
[51:51] And that is that this is new information for us, from the staff level.
[51:56] Well, I can't speak for what the developer has or hasn't communicated publicly in meetings
[52:05] or advertisements, but I can tell you from our perspective, from staff's perspective,
[52:10] this is new information.
[52:12] Now, that's fair.
[52:13] Another thing that one of the reasons that we moved this hearing last month is because
[52:26] of questions around SB786. So I wanted to get some clarity on that because also I know Chris,
[52:34] you posted on your social media line to residents that SB786 would be used to double the density.
[52:44] And Peter, can you explain, what does SB786 have to do with the developer's ability to increase density?
[52:54] The SB 786 has two aspects to it.
[52:58] One is dealing with potential conflicts in a general plan and the land use element.
[53:04] And SB 786 says that if there is a conflict between development standards in one section
[53:12] of the general plan or the other, the most recent enactment is the one that controls.
[53:17] And that was generally what came up in a number of cities where there were old development
[53:22] But when the city adopted a new housing element and compliance with state law they change some of those so this just clarifies it's the most recent development.
[53:31] The second part of SB 786 is some substantial changes in the process for litigating issues relating to the housing element.
[53:42] So in this case, we don't have any conflicts in the general plan between the density in one any either in the housing element or in the land use element.
[53:51] So in that sense, SB 786 doesn't make any changes to this project or doesn't affect this project when we're at the other.
[53:59] Okay, and then another question that was remaining that we were told was that the current zoning was expired.
[54:10] I saw that a lot, that was also marketed and that was told to our residents that put one planned unit development one was expired.
[54:21] And so, but now we've clarified that it's actually not expired.
[54:27] So yeah, this is a very technical nuanced issue because of the type of zoning that it
[54:34] is, this PUD zoning that we've all been referring to.
[54:40] So in 2017, just to give you a little bit of background here, in 2017, PUD number one was approved.
[54:47] and had number one allowed for 130 residential units and there were two important documents
[54:53] that were attached to that zoning.
[54:56] One was a development plan, what we would now call a site development permit.
[55:01] And the other is a map.
[55:04] Both of those basically define and articulate the type of development.
[55:11] Provides development standards, how everything is laid out on the site in terms of development.
[55:16] Well, neither of those documents were ever recorded and have now expired.
[55:22] So, technically speaking, there is no site development plan for it.
[55:27] There's no map, but the underlying PUD1 does exist.
[55:33] So, anyone wanting to develop using the existing zoning PUD1
[55:37] would need to apply for a new site development permit and a new map.
[55:44] And that would be similar to anyone and any other property that has a consistent zoning that is active.
[55:53] They could come in, apply for site development permit, and if that gets approved,
[56:00] goes through you guys, tenant attract map, then they'd be able to build.
[56:03] So there is something they could build.
[56:04] And so reading the current staff report, the most recent one, there was some calculations.
[56:11] And I'm wondering, Joe, if you can help us with these calculations, because in the last
[56:18] meeting, it was stated that they could currently build 232 units, which obviously it's false.
[56:25] But really, they write currently in put one, they have a cap of 202 units or around 200 units.
[56:33] Can you talk about kind of the hypothetical we laid out if, since the 130 housing track
[56:40] is expired, their ceiling would be 200 units.
[56:45] Sure.
[56:45] So this is based on the current, the PUD1?
[56:50] Yeah, currently.
[56:52] Okay, currently.
[56:52] So PUD1 still exists as we just talked about.
[56:56] So if the developer wanted to come in and maximize the number of units on the site,
[57:03] They would rely upon the existing general plan
[57:09] land use designation of MHDR.
[57:12] That allows five to eight dwelling units per acre.
[57:16] So we're going to take the eight, which is the maximum of that.
[57:19] So given that calculation, if they use that,
[57:22] then they would be eligible to have two hundred and two units.
[57:29] If they did that.
[57:31] In addition to that, state law allows them to use density bonus law, and there are two
[57:38] tiers to that, depending on the percentage of units that are deemed affordable.
[57:46] So the lower tier would allow them to get 20% additional units on that, which takes us
[57:53] to 243 units.
[57:56] The second tier, if they allowed for every single unit, all units to be affordable, they
[58:04] would be allowed a bonus of 80% units, and that takes us to 364 units.
[58:11] So according to our analysis, and it also comports with the developer's methodology, which we
[58:18] We agree on that methodology that the maximum would be 364 units.
[58:25] This is, of course, would be part of the site development permit and map that I indicated earlier.
[58:32] So that would be for PUD-1, that's what they could do today.
[58:35] That's the hypothetical in the current zoning if they were to use some of the state bonuses.
[58:41] If they use the state, right now the ceiling is 202.
[58:45] And if they use the state laws, they could go up to 364.
[58:50] That's right.
[58:51] And I know I got a memo from the developer, they're saying they can build over 400 or
[58:58] 460 or something.
[58:59] Maybe I can touch upon that briefly.
[59:01] The reason for that discrepancy is that I believe the developer in their analysis made some assumptions that we did not make.
[59:10] I think some of it had to do with location to feature transit facilities and so forth.
[59:16] And so that's the discrepancy because we don't know that those are going to happen.
[59:19] That's why in the analysis portion of the staff report, we felt comfortable with that 300, 64.
[59:25] But that's the reason for discrepancy there.
[59:27] In my understanding is they've told residents that if this isn't going to get approved, they're going to build.
[1:00:00] There are thousands and thousands of units in this area, but just to clarify for what they can't do that, so that's also another false statement. But in put, too, if that was to be approved, if this rezone was to be approved as the planning commission recommended, those hypotheticals actually go much higher than that. Is that correct? So it changes the baseline. Okay.
[1:00:28] So, instead of a baseline of, if you recall, when we're comparing apples to apples here,
[1:00:36] so instead of a baseline of 202 maximum, you'd be looking at a baseline of 232, okay,
[1:00:44] so that's your baseline under what's being proposed right now.
[1:00:49] You would, again, the two tiers of density bonus, the first tier is 20% bonus, that takes
[1:01:00] us to 278 units. I'm just doing a quick math there. And 80% would be 417 units.
[1:01:09] So if we were to, if the council was to rezone, it would actually open up the city in
[1:01:20] that area or an extra 150 or 120 units, more than we would if it was to remain.
[1:01:32] I mean, I think if we're looking at density, I think it's pretty clear to me what direction
[1:01:39] I want to go, but I also want to confirm and Peter, one of the aspects that we talked
[1:01:47] about earlier in terms of the ordinance passed that Mayor, now Mayor Berkson helped pass
[1:01:56] in 2017 is a mandatory feature of put one that requires 20% of the residential area to be
[1:02:07] the open space. And from our conversation, that still remains an effect with Putt-1,
[1:02:14] correct, which is why the buildable, while it's 25 acres of MHDR, they can only build
[1:02:23] on around 22 acres, right?
[1:02:26] I'm not familiar with the acreage, particularly with changes coming up. It makes it difficult
[1:02:32] to discuss that. But the analysis that the staff did was that the open space for the
[1:02:41] PUD-1 and the landscaping and the amenities was close to 20% and that the amenities and the
[1:02:49] landscaping and the open space also exist in PUD-2.
[1:02:53] Yeah, but for a larger, for a smaller piece. Okay, yeah, I mean, I think there's just a lot
[1:03:00] of information that was cleared up, I think the developer submitted this project.
[1:03:06] I think they're ready for us to vote on it.
[1:03:10] So those are the statements I'd like to make.
[1:03:12] I'd like to hear from the community, rather than moving it, and maybe we can come to a decision
[1:03:17] today.
[1:03:19] Okay.
[1:03:20] Anybody else have comments before we start?
[1:03:22] We'll just clarify some things, you know.
[1:03:24] And, you know, unfortunately Pam, not everyone listens to what you asked for earlier.
[1:03:28] here. So, if without the commercial with the current general plan, the max they could
[1:03:34] do is 232. So, that was the number that I used, and that's why I used it. I didn't say
[1:03:39] that we are going to do that. I said they could do that if you removed the commercials
[1:03:42] that they're asking for. The general plan was that they allowed. And also, my social media
[1:03:46] posts, I said that bill can be used by developers to challenge because we just heard even if we
[1:03:53] don't do the commercial, they are allowed to or to in the current general plan. And the
[1:03:57] put it allows 100 in whatever it is. That can be challenged in court is inconsistent
[1:04:02] because that is the definition of inconsistent. It's 200 to 100. That was where we wanted
[1:04:08] to clarify because there's a whole bunch of other state laws that we just talked about.
[1:04:11] So now that we know that because staff doesn't have a report ready, I still would push it.
[1:04:18] But I think we have a lot of the clarifying information. And part again, the maps, I feel it's
[1:04:27] It sounds like what their proposal was, especially if it's 232.
[1:04:32] Part of that commercial was already in the proposal.
[1:04:33] I don't know how it was missed, but since staff is in our report, I would push it.
[1:04:39] Okay, anybody else have comments?
[1:04:42] We're going to, yeah, we're going to, we're going to first, we're going to bypass the staff report.
[1:04:48] We're going to move to the developer who will have 10 minutes to address the body, and then we will hear from the public.
[1:05:01] Good evening mayor, councilmembers, my name is Nolan Leguel, I'm the Vice President
[1:05:06] of Ford Planning for Diversified Pacific.
[1:05:09] I will admit when staff let us know last night that there was some inconsistencies in
[1:05:14] the documents and they are going to recommend continuing, we were pretty disappointed.
[1:05:18] We were very excited to be here tonight and present our project after discussing it with staff
[1:05:25] today.
[1:05:26] We do support their recommendation.
[1:05:31] I will say that the amount of commercial we've proposed on this project has been consistent since our application in 2022.
[1:05:38] So I'm not exactly sure where the discrepancy came from which is probably the reason we need to discuss and figure that out.
[1:05:46] But I'm going to wait for the rest of my presentation on when we have a hearing where we're actually going to make a decision on the project.
[1:05:54] I know there's a lot of people at least on our hand who didn't show up today when they heard the news is being continued
[1:06:00] So we don't we don't think it's fair to the public
[1:06:03] To let an applicant know the decision from staff is to continue it and so still move forward with the hearing
[1:06:09] I don't want to interrupt you
[1:06:11] But I want you to give your report because it could be voted on tonight. That has still not been determined
[1:06:17] So you should present your project
[1:06:23] Okay
[1:06:23] All right, then we did have a presentation when we were planning to move forward.
[1:06:31] Rinaldo, do you have that ability to pull it up?
[1:06:38] Mr. Rowe, perhaps we just need a moment to actually get and queue that up.
[1:06:43] We'll pause the clock and take a five minute break.
[1:06:46] Thank you.
[1:06:52] We're going to go ahead and start up again.
[1:06:59] Re-invite the applicant up here.
[1:07:02] We'll reset the clock and let you go with your ten minutes.
[1:07:06] Welcome
[1:07:14] back, Councilmembers.
[1:07:19] Before I begin, I would like to note when staff informed us that this is going to be continued or recommended to be continued.
[1:07:28] There's over 130 people that wrote support letters that I asked all of them to come tonight.
[1:07:34] When I found that out, I said, hey, there's no need to waste four or five hours of your time on an item that's going to get continued.
[1:07:41] also our technical team. I gave them the night off as well on an item that's going to be continued.
[1:07:48] So I'm here as well as Mitchell Bradford from our team because we knew there was going to be
[1:07:54] discussions on our project and prepared to answer questions. But I wanted to state that for the record
[1:08:00] that there's a lot of public input you're missing and technical team depending on the questions.
[1:08:06] I should be able to handle most of them but I wanted to make sure that's in the record.
[1:08:10] The other thing I'd like to note before I get in the presentation is given a one, the fact that we're not getting a staff presentation, a lot of this, I was going to skip through a lot of the staff staff was covering, so I would ask for a couple more minutes, but unless the council changes the direction of wanting me to move forward, I'm prepared to move forward.
[1:08:33] It's very unorthodox situation.
[1:08:35] Then, a quick question to clarify, if I may.
[1:08:39] Just in terms of, you said 130 people that sent in emails, does that include the emails
[1:08:48] that we received, then we later received a notice from them saying that they didn't even
[1:08:53] send those emails?
[1:08:54] There's a lot of people that sent in emails that told us that those were, that their name
[1:09:02] was used falsely.
[1:09:07] Yeah, there was a couple of people who said that they needed to send that, I think there was 138 totals, the 130 would exclude those people.
[1:09:18] So with that, Nolan Legio, Vice President Ford planning for diversified Pacific, with me, one of our partners, Mitchell Bradford,
[1:09:37] I'm going to skip a lot of the slides, the reason I kept them in there for this presentation, is it, it covers a lot of discussion topics on this project that have been brought up at community meetings, members of the public at the planning commission, so I thought leaving those visuals in this presentation would be very helpful if some of you are interested in this project.
[1:09:57] Some of those questions come up that I can actually pull up some of the more detailed plans.
[1:10:01] But for the sake of time, I'm going to be skipping through a lot of those and just focusing on a couple of core slides.
[1:10:06] So with that project location, some aerial photos of the property, 33 acres.
[1:10:12] You'll see some street view images, one I'd like to note is 63rd Street, the dirt road on the bottom left.
[1:10:20] We'll touch on that and we can get some of the infrastructure of the projects building.
[1:10:24] The first slide I'd like to stop on for a little bit is community feedback.
[1:10:28] This is a project we started about five years ago now.
[1:10:33] And community input, community feedback is something critical to diversified in our development process.
[1:10:40] So when we started, we met with city staff, we met with city leadership.
[1:10:44] We had an idea for this property.
[1:10:46] It's very different oriented today.
[1:10:48] We came in thinking it made sense to be an apartment complex,
[1:10:52] right off limonite route of the 15 freeway, we thought that made a lot of sense.
[1:10:56] After discussing with city stakeholders and city leadership,
[1:11:00] we immediately realized, hey, we should look at different options for this property.
[1:11:06] And that culminated in a planning commission workshop.
[1:11:08] We host in April 22, we invited everyone in a thousand foot radius,
[1:11:13] over 500 homeowners to that hearing.
[1:11:17] We got a lot of helpful feedback from the planning commission at the time
[1:11:20] and the public that has been incorporated into this project.
[1:11:23] There's obviously an environmental impact report that goes has different public input stages and public notification stages.
[1:11:30] We then held another community meeting at Skyview Event Center in October to present to the public kind of the polished project before it went to public hearings.
[1:11:39] And then all during that four or five years we're consistently meeting with civic leaders, city staff, members of the public.
[1:11:44] Like every time I've been at one of the meetings, I leave my card that has my personal cell phone and email.
[1:11:49] Instead of responding to questions that way.
[1:11:52] And then the 130 letters support we touched upon.
[1:11:55] I'm happy to talk about that in more detail how those people wrote those letters, but for the sake of time, I'm going to skip that.
[1:12:01] So the community feedback, some of the major components we heard.
[1:12:05] No apartments, two story maximum, homes fronting 63rd, including single stories on 63rd Street.
[1:12:11] We know high density, a commercial retail component and wine villain, something that's destination based not, you know, just a gas station or car wash.
[1:12:19] A equestrian friendly project, equestrian trails, a bridge over to the day creek channel, installing a landscape meeting and limonite, non-gated community,
[1:12:28] curvilinear spine street and community infrastructure improvements and then common areas for both residents, existing residents and residents in our project.
[1:12:36] And we think we've made a concerted effort to check every single one of these boxes in a meaningful way.
[1:12:43] And I'm going to talk about some of those as we go through it today.
[1:12:47] The general plan in zoning, there is a, would we consider a minor general plan amendment about three and a half acres of commercial is being transitioned into medium-high density residential, which matches the other 25 acres of the site.
[1:13:03] That was the nature of the distributed staff as mentioned.
[1:13:07] I'm happy to discuss that in more detail, but for the sake of time, I'm going to skip
[1:13:11] through it.
[1:13:12] This is somewhat unfortunate.
[1:13:14] I got tons of slides on the actual project details.
[1:13:17] This was all supposed to be in staff's report.
[1:13:20] There's no way I can get through the project plans in four minutes.
[1:13:24] So happy to discuss these in much more detail if you would like.
[1:13:28] but I would like to note that you can see here we did over 50% single stories along the 63rd
[1:13:35] street. There's some of the architecture in four plans. This is all included in staff report,
[1:13:41] staff's presentation. Here's the commercial, the foreacre commercial that we dealt with in
[1:13:45] corner of Wineville and Limonite. As you can see, this is intended to be a destination really geared
[1:13:50] toward local and regional food and beverage tenants, brought to indoor outdoor dining options,
[1:13:56] The architecture is centered around a grary and equestrian architectural design.
[1:14:05] Here's some more rendering, some public clauses and open space in the project.
[1:14:10] The equestrian project design, again, staff's presentation talks about this a lot and you
[1:14:14] can read in the staff report.
[1:14:16] I would like to highlight that we're building over a mile in trails along the south side
[1:14:21] of 63rd to north south through our project connecting with Limonite Trail. We're rebuilding
[1:14:27] the traffic signals at both the Crescia and Wineville and Limonite to include equestrian crossing
[1:14:31] buttons. We have a half acre equestrian park available to the public along that trail as well
[1:14:37] as building an equestrian pedestrian bridge over day creek channel at 63rd. I'm going to skip through
[1:14:43] a lot of the the open space in amenities within the park. Here's a here's that half acre equestrian
[1:14:49] the green park that shows the grass lawn, shade structures, picking nubles, and hitching
[1:14:54] posts and watering drops along the equestrian trail.
[1:14:57] There's also hitching posts and watering drops at the...
[1:15:00] The public infrastructure, this is one of the major elements of this project and really why the property hasn't developed is, as you can see, it's a very long linear shape property that has a ton of infrastructure requirements on it. I want to highlight limonite, about 4,200 linear foot of frontage, almost a mile, and we're doing about 80 feet of width of improvements. That's about 7.7 acres of just improvements to limonite.
[1:15:28] We're doing to the tune of millions of dollars.
[1:15:32] That includes widening limonite over the day creek channel,
[1:15:35] those trapped signal upgrades at 12 to 14 foot median,
[1:15:39] and 21 feet of parkway, including a multi-purpose trail along
[1:15:43] our frontage.
[1:15:44] Similar major improvements on 63rd Street,
[1:15:47] as well as other infrastructure water sewer lines.
[1:15:51] Here's some of the sections of limonite and 63rd.
[1:15:53] I'm going to skip through these.
[1:15:55] These were a major discussion topic in planning commission,
[1:15:58] So I felt important to keep in this presentation if staff had any question or the council's any questions
[1:16:03] But for the sake of time I'll skip to parking you can see over a thousand parking stalls for 232 units in the commercial center
[1:16:10] So definitely a well-parked project
[1:16:13] And one of the last topics I want to touch on is the housing laws
[1:16:18] To be candid this was not a topic we planned on discussing at the 12th for hearing
[1:16:24] We don't think at the time we thought it wasn't relevant
[1:16:28] To the conversation on our project, are we understanding our project is a discretionary
[1:16:33] application.
[1:16:34] There's a three and a half acre general plan amendment associated with the larger 33 acres
[1:16:39] of our project.
[1:16:42] But listening to that 12-4 hearing, seeing what staff included in their staff presentation,
[1:16:48] we understand what could happen on this property if we don't move forward, is a material consideration
[1:16:53] to you guys' decision tonight.
[1:16:56] So in this presentation, we decided it was something that was necessary for us to cover.
[1:17:03] So there's a more formal memo in the staff report.
[1:17:05] Our position on the state density bonus law is you can get a 50% density bonus.
[1:17:11] And then there's a double density bonus, which would give you a 100% density bonus.
[1:17:16] So on the 202 units we discussed in the beginning, we get you up to 404 units.
[1:17:21] And that's based on the existing 25.17 acres of residential, so that's before any changes that we're proposing.
[1:17:30] ADU laws allows an ADU by MJD, ADU per lot, and then AB 2011 and 2243, based on this property specifically, would allow up to 60 unit DU acre on the commercial.
[1:17:44] I'm wrapping up the next minute or two.
[1:17:49] I have to cut you off, but you'll have your five-minute rebuttal at the end, so save it.
[1:17:56] All right, everybody gets the same ten minutes, I'm not treating anybody any different.
[1:18:03] So now we're moving to public comments, first speaker, and you'll have three minutes each, is Charles something, I apologize, I can't read the name.
[1:18:17] William, come on up Charles, we
[1:18:30] welcome you back.
[1:18:32] Thank you, sir, we lived here since 91.
[1:18:37] This was a sweet little quiet forest town.
[1:18:42] We are now becoming Eastphal, Anita Beach, Irvine,
[1:18:47] everything else, every square inch of open property.
[1:18:50] We're now sucking up to build somebody's new future homes to
[1:18:55] to help the developers make their money in this.
[1:18:58] This area they want to put commercial down
[1:19:02] in their food court or whatever as they was talking about.
[1:19:06] Go one block, you got Pats Ranch Road,
[1:19:08] you got all these food eateries in there.
[1:19:11] What about the new development that's taken place
[1:19:13] over at the farmers' field
[1:19:14] where it's supposed to be the new home city hall and all this?
[1:19:18] We're talking Starbucks over here is the only thing
[1:19:22] in this shopping center.
[1:19:24] But we're always looking for the build new.
[1:19:28] When are we going to stop?
[1:19:30] We are just, we're choking ourselves here.
[1:19:33] The residents have been here the longest, see the changes, we're disgusted with it.
[1:19:38] We get no input besides this once a month.
[1:19:41] If we're lucky they hear about the meetings.
[1:19:45] We don't all don't have time just to get on the social meeting like, okay, yeah, look at
[1:19:50] who's probably having a meeting.
[1:19:58] I don't know what else we can do here but talk to you about it but it's getting ugly and you want to now take or the developer wants to take our two lanes.
[1:20:10] We go from three to two to one back to two coming up this way.
[1:20:16] Now we want to go three to two to one and choke us out up there
[1:20:21] And you know where I'm talking about it's down there by vain and that will choke out again, and now we're gonna
[1:20:29] Back farther up. We the locals. We don't even go that way at
[1:20:34] Three four o'clock in the afternoon. We can't always see us tell light
[1:20:38] Most of us know the backways around the get around places. Why should we have to do that?
[1:20:44] You know, we've lived her long enough.
[1:20:46] We paid our dues, how about a little consideration for us now, instead of these developers coming
[1:20:53] in and seeing a piece of open land force and snagging it up and saying, we're going to build
[1:20:58] this to improve.
[1:21:00] That's all I got to say again.
[1:21:02] And I'm sure I'll see you next month.
[1:21:05] Would you tell me your last name so I get it, right?
[1:21:08] Okay.
[1:21:08] Here we go.
[1:21:09] It's very easy.
[1:21:10] It's turf-linger, paint the e if you change it to a u piece of cake.
[1:21:17] All right, I'm going to work on it.
[1:21:19] You better hockey.
[1:21:27] All right, the next speaker is James McKenzie.
[1:21:32] James?
[1:21:35] It's what?
[1:21:36] Mac Niddle.
[1:21:38] You know what?
[1:21:40] Either I may need some glasses.
[1:21:45] I've never been here before.
[1:21:47] Well welcome, welcome.
[1:21:49] I live in Sky Country, right below Sky Country Elementary.
[1:21:54] Seeing this gentleman's proposal, all these houses,
[1:21:57] the ones that are upwind building everything else,
[1:22:00] there's nothing about schools.
[1:22:01] This is close enough, will everybody be going
[1:22:03] to Sky Country Elementary?
[1:22:05] There's nothing about schools, all these people,
[1:22:07] 200 to 400 houses, a lot of children, a lot of cars.
[1:22:11] There you go, a lot of cars, a lot of children, all that stuff.
[1:22:16] I've only moved here, I've only lived here 10 years, I've loved it over here, grew up in
[1:22:19] Ontario, Pomona, where these used to be orange groves, and Darries and everything everywhere.
[1:22:23] I graduated from Ontario High School in 82, lots of Darries and everything, and everything's
[1:22:26] all, like you said, choked out where the Darries were, all the Amazon buildings, and everywhere
[1:22:32] moved over here 10 years ago, because it's like, oh there's fields, there's actually yards,
[1:22:36] there's people running their motorcycles on, it's kind of cool.
[1:22:39] Now, we're just, I mean, shouldn't we finish one housing project, the one that's on
[1:22:43] wineville, the north side on alumni night by the 15, finish one, at least before we start
[1:22:47] the next one.
[1:22:48] We can have all these construction going on.
[1:22:50] We haven't finished anything.
[1:22:51] First, you just keep building anywhere there's a field.
[1:22:53] It doesn't make sense.
[1:22:54] It really doesn't make sense.
[1:22:56] So just I would say no, or wait, or hold off, or it's nice that he's going to build lights
[1:23:03] and signals for the horses, but 30 there.
[1:23:05] So that doesn't really matter.
[1:23:08] Well, I had two cents or a nickel worth.
[1:23:11] We appreciate you coming down, spending your time letting us know your feelings.
[1:23:15] And just so, you know, maybe the developer can answer the question on what schools.
[1:23:20] That's a school district issue.
[1:23:21] We don't know which schools, but the developer would have had to have engaged with the school
[1:23:26] district to find that out so they may know.
[1:23:28] And then the other thing you mentioned about finishing before you start the next one.
[1:23:33] These are all different developers with all different projects.
[1:23:35] And so it just don't care, and all the fuel, it's not that we don't care, it's just a matter of if a developer comes in with a project, we hear it when they bring it in.
[1:23:45] It's not that we can stop them from doing that, or you can stop them, you're in the seat, you do the math.
[1:23:51] So you can, if you can't, none of us can.
[1:23:54] No, we can't stop them from bringing projects forward.
[1:23:57] We can vote against them, let everybody get whatever they want.
[1:24:01] Yeah, that is we want stuff to all right. I think it looks
[1:24:15] like the next speaker is going to get six minutes Cindy Shryer
[1:24:19] You are you here and you have a donation from miss Walker?
[1:24:26] Okay, six minutes you you will have hello.
[1:24:34] Good morning. Good morning
[1:24:36] Good evening everybody. Good evening mayor city council members and
[1:24:42] Staff of the city of Rupa Valley. My name is Cindy Shryer. I have lived in this
[1:24:48] Mariloma Hrupavelli area for the past 40 years.
[1:24:51] I have come here tonight to speak on this agenda item 15A, which is the proposed multifamily housing project along Lemony and Wineville in Hrupavelli.
[1:25:02] This property is sandwiched between Sky Country and a big part of Old Town Mariloma with half acre to one to two acre properties, zone for animal keeping.
[1:25:11] We are not Eastville at the end of town, nor do we want to be.
[1:25:16] We are very happy to be within a protected equestrian overlays zone.
[1:25:21] This proposed project, as it is currently written, will have a huge impact on the residents
[1:25:27] of these people off of Smith, Frank, and other streets of Old Maryland, not designed to
[1:25:32] handle the amount of traffic and congestion which will pour into their neighborhoods.
[1:25:38] We want to keep what remnants of animal-keeping lifestyle we have left before it is all completely
[1:25:44] raised by those of you who want nothing more but progress.
[1:25:49] You are encroaching on our beloved lifestyle by building so many homes into our
[1:25:54] a Christian OLA area that is so important, so that it is important that we work together
[1:26:01] and that the developer recognizes this and work with us to give us something in return.
[1:26:08] I am requesting some changes to this project.
[1:26:11] Number one, do not allow the zoning change from PUD1 to PUD2.
[1:26:19] Number two, increase the amount of landscaper proposed by the developer to also include
[1:26:26] many more trees.
[1:26:28] Number three, the equestrian tie-ups within the proposed park should include and enclosed,
[1:26:35] should be enclosed within a pin to keep a horse from getting loose and also to keep non-horse
[1:26:41] Savvy Public to keep the non-horse Savvy Public safely away from the horses.
[1:26:48] Number four, the proposed bridge to have the horses to be able to cross safely from
[1:26:54] Sky Country over to the new project area should have permanent mounting blocks for
[1:26:59] the equestrians at both ends of the bridge for those riders who prefer to handwalk
[1:27:04] their horses and then be able to remount safely like old people like me who have to
[1:27:10] get on and off. Number five, there should be a bridal path on the project side of limonite
[1:27:18] as well as the sky country side with tall, strong fencing. You're taking away the bridal
[1:27:24] path on the south side. The meeting I attended a few weeks ago, at least
[1:27:30] Elaine and others at the farmer voice on Edawanda, was supposed to be just a casual question
[1:27:35] an answer meeting, a fellow interested local constituents to discuss the upcoming City Council meeting
[1:27:41] and this agenda item. Low and behold, John Russo, a co-owner of this property and Laura Schultz
[1:27:47] from the Planning Commission, showed up to our meeting which had been posted on Facebook.
[1:27:51] I had never met either one of them before this night, and so I had no idea where they were.
[1:27:57] I sure learned in a big hurry who John Russo was as he completely took over our meeting.
[1:28:02] I felt very threatened and intemityed by him as he tried to bully us and to not protesting
[1:28:08] any parts of this project at the upcoming, upcoming January council meeting.
[1:28:14] He told us that if we didn't allow him to do this project his way, he would then just sell the property
[1:28:20] and that the next buyer would then come along and definitely request him much higher density project
[1:28:25] than he has proposed.
[1:28:26] I came away from the meeting, feeling very bullied, dejected and deflated.
[1:28:33] Feeling as if we had no choice but to give in to his demands, this was truly his intent, I do believe.
[1:28:42] Thank you, councilmembers, for your attention to this manner, and I do ask that you consider your vote on this project very, very carefully.
[1:28:52] Thank you.
[1:28:58] All right, the next speaker is George Ruiz.
[1:29:07] Thank you, council members.
[1:29:09] I'm not going to waste your time.
[1:29:10] I want to reserve my comments to the following hearing.
[1:29:13] If I choose to speak then, because of what happened this evening.
[1:29:16] So I really, it would be unfair to give any kind of comment at this point.
[1:29:19] But I appreciate your time.
[1:29:22] All right, next speaker, Amanda Schorger.
[1:29:27] Swagger?
[1:29:28] Okay.
[1:29:29] I'm going to get an eye doctor.
[1:29:35] Once
[1:29:40] again, good evening, Mayor Brexon, Council, everyone here tonight.
[1:29:46] Like many of the other people here, I had much different things to say before the information
[1:29:52] provided that we weren't going to get a full detailed lockdown of what's happening tonight.
[1:29:58] After seeing the sign, I-
[1:30:00] Item of the agenda. I decided to take my very eager puppy on a walk in the post area to see the community before I made my decision points on what to say tonight. I saw a horse property now knowing to be up to one acre, plenty of livestock and agriculture in the area, and a big, giant lot that was not being developed. As somebody who's been trying to buy a home in this community for years and been unsuccessful due to ongoing housing
[1:30:29] crisis and the lack of reasonably sized lots. I was excited to see the opportunity to have
[1:30:37] properties developed in the area that I could actually afford on a salary that is not small,
[1:30:43] about $120,000 a year after 19 years in the classroom. The reality, though, is I'm deeply concerned
[1:30:50] about the presentation given us tonight, 200-ish units leave room for larger plots, for example,
[1:30:59] single-family homes. But the idea that we could bring up to 400 high residential units is not
[1:31:08] something our community needs. Going through and saying we'll have leeways for horses and for those
[1:31:15] thing, our one thing. But the question I ask ourselves is, are we changing the
[1:31:21] character of the area by bringing in this large amount of property? Are we
[1:31:25] actually changing what we know here from the Hooper Valley area? Because the
[1:31:30] reality is we need to stay to our roots here. Our roots are single-family homes, our
[1:31:36] roots are land, beautiful nature here in our community, and the reality is that we
[1:31:42] We need to keep that here.
[1:31:43] I have no opposition to them building houses in that property.
[1:31:47] It matches the community around it, whether it be the HOA communities to the left towards the Eastfield area, or the properties behind.
[1:31:56] But we cannot make a decision tonight with the information provided.
[1:32:01] No one in the right mind would pass something like this without knowing exactly what's going to happen.
[1:32:07] And as we know, this is if I could get a postponement until March 5th.
[1:32:13] And I hope you would do just that.
[1:32:15] Thank you for your time.
[1:32:20] Next speaker, Veronica Staffel.
[1:32:39] Good evening, everybody.
[1:32:40] My name is Veronica Staffel.
[1:32:42] I had a really eloquent speech, but I'm going to pass on that.
[1:32:47] This is my first time here.
[1:32:48] And admittedly, I have to be honest.
[1:32:53] It is incredibly disorganized.
[1:32:55] the amount of different information coming around,
[1:32:57] and then we have a presenter from the planning
[1:33:03] from the actual housing track who's not ready to present,
[1:33:06] and we have new information about,
[1:33:09] guess what, we're probably not actually gonna vote tonight.
[1:33:13] Makes me understand why a lot of people
[1:33:15] don't wanna get involved, which I hate to say,
[1:33:18] but my first impression is personally less than stellar.
[1:33:22] Regarding what we're all here for, if something has to go in there, it should be PUD1.
[1:33:31] I think we're all pretty much aware as to why.
[1:33:35] And if you don't know why, I suggest you just go out into the community and talk to people.
[1:33:41] I've been very fortunate here.
[1:33:43] My family bought in Sky Country in 1991.
[1:33:45] one, I was three years old so I have literally grown with the community and I feel very very
[1:33:52] fortunate and very privileged to have had that opportunity and it's a place I don't anticipate
[1:33:57] leaving. I do plan on staying here. One of the things I find so unique is that we don't
[1:34:04] have a community, we have a heartbeat. There is not one paradigm here, it is a constantly
[1:34:11] shifting pot of different people, different values and the vast majority of the people who
[1:34:18] come here are coming here for what we have and what we have is open land. We have opportunity.
[1:34:25] We have the chance to have a little bit to call our own. So why are we going to stray away
[1:34:32] from what people want? If people want what we have, why don't we give that to them?
[1:34:40] Thank
[1:34:43] you very
[1:34:43] We appreciate you, Veronica, coming down for your first time, and this is not a normal scenario that you're watching tonight.
[1:34:51] This is actually very abnormal, but normally it doesn't go this way.
[1:34:57] The next speaker is Lisa Lane.
[1:35:16] Good evening.
[1:35:17] I have been a resident of a Rupa Valley for 40 years.
[1:35:20] I have been a real estate agent here for 25 years.
[1:35:24] I can say this was certainty.
[1:35:25] People do not move to her Rupa Valley for congestion, pollution, or traffic.
[1:35:29] They move here for quality of life, open space, larger lots, and a quieter, more rural
[1:35:35] community.
[1:35:36] This project was originally approved as a PUD1.
[1:35:39] The council accepted that decision when it was voted on in 2017.
[1:35:44] I am asking the City Council to honor the original approval and keep the PUD as one, the
[1:35:49] PUD.
[1:35:49] We don't want to do another, a paradise nose.
[1:35:52] We are repeatedly told that Lymanite is the gateway to Herupa Valley.
[1:35:55] If this is truly our gateway, then it should be enhanced and protected.
[1:36:00] Increased density traffic and congestion do not enhance the gateway, it diminishes it.
[1:36:06] A few weeks ago, I held a community meeting.
[1:36:08] John Russo, the property owner, attended.
[1:36:11] And as it became clear, the community had concerns and was not supportive of the change.
[1:36:16] His approach became much more like bullying and threats.
[1:36:19] He told us that he could simply sell it and put a thousand apartments units on it.
[1:36:23] As a real estate agent, I can tell you that bullying and threats do not build trust and do not lead to successful outcomes.
[1:36:30] If I use those tactics with my clients, I would not be in business today.
[1:36:35] Communities should not be pressured into accepting decisions that permanently impact their quality of life.
[1:36:41] Many people moved here, left their families, and have worked hard for what they have, and are now being told that it no longer matters.
[1:36:48] That is unacceptable.
[1:36:49] It does matter.
[1:36:50] These residents are the people who built this community, invested in it, and continue to support it.
[1:36:55] Thank you.
[1:36:56] All
[1:37:03] right.
[1:37:03] Thank you very much.
[1:37:04] Next speaker is Randy Reynolds.
[1:37:13] Good evening.
[1:37:14] I am Randy Reynolds.
[1:37:16] This is my first time here, and this is a disorganized mess from my opinion.
[1:37:21] I'll take your word that this is now.
[1:37:22] It normally is, although I've heard other people say that this is typical.
[1:37:26] So, I'll make my own judgments.
[1:37:31] I think I would like to go back in time to the zoning change that made this PUD1 and
[1:37:39] change it back to what it was, the agricultural ranch type development that was in the original
[1:37:49] plan.
[1:37:50] It's too late for that, clearly I would suggest that we stay with PUD1.
[1:37:56] And I do like the phrase gateway to the Valley Islamite going through, what a great opportunity we would have if we turned that property that's in the middle of the equestrian overlay into something equestrian, if we had an arena there, if we had something that is horse oriented.
[1:38:20] And if that's not possible, at least let's not turn it into the development that's going
[1:38:29] next to the 15.
[1:38:32] If we can have high density residential in this town, but not in the middle of the
[1:38:39] question overlay, not in the middle of the, you know, we're surrounded by horse property.
[1:38:46] I live in Sky Country.
[1:38:47] It's amazing.
[1:38:48] I love when we have friends come in from out of town and I say hey look, there's no sidewalks, we have bridal trails.
[1:38:56] That's cool, it's unique, it adds value.
[1:38:59] It's something that doesn't exist in a lot of the world.
[1:39:03] Why do we want to give up that equestrian flavor?
[1:39:09] It's a big town, there's places for high density.
[1:39:13] This is not that place. This is the place that we should be proud of, that we should look at and say,
[1:39:19] wow, how cool is that development, how cool is this area? Let's not lose that. I don't care if a developer wants to come in and make money.
[1:39:29] That's what he's in business for, but let him make that money, developing something else.
[1:39:33] This property is special. We should treat it like this. We don't want to look back.
[1:39:37] If you guys want to look back in 20 years and go, yeah, we approve that monstrosity, right?
[1:39:43] And ugly development with some horse stuff on it is, I love that phrase, lipstick on
[1:39:54] a pig is what this looks like, trying to appease, trying to appease, to get us to change
[1:40:03] our minds about what we feel very deeply about which is this is a horse community. This is special.
[1:40:10] This is why we're here because we care about this. It's why we live here. Thank you very much.
[1:40:22] Next speaker is Pam Muller and you have Carol Olson this year giving you three minutes correct?
[1:40:29] Okay you have six minutes.
[1:40:41] Those comments are going to be hard to beat. They've all had a lot to say.
[1:40:48] Okay guys, Mayor Burke said I'm looking to you for leadership on this project.
[1:40:56] You were involved in 2017 and when it was originally approved, you were serving as a councilman
[1:41:03] and you voted in favor of what you believed was the right proposal for Mayor Aloma.
[1:41:08] I hope you still believe that the original approval reflected the best interests for the community.
[1:41:13] This project is 100% discretionary and the decision before you tonight rests entirely
[1:41:20] with you in this council.
[1:41:21] Your consistency, integrity, and leadership matter, especially in moments like this.
[1:41:27] I trust those principles will guide your decision this evening just as they did in the past.
[1:41:32] I ask that you honor your previous vote and the values it represented by continuing to protect
[1:41:37] your community.
[1:41:38] Mary out Loma isn't just a name on a map, it's a community with deep roots built by
[1:41:43] people about their land, their animals, their neighbors.
[1:41:48] For decades they have cherished the Equestrian lifestyle, arena lights, dust, horses on local
[1:41:53] roads, or nut nuisance, and they are all expected and accepted.
[1:41:57] And understood, they are part of the character of the people knowingly choose when moved to
[1:42:03] They represent self-reliance, tradition, and a way of life that cannot coexist with urban scale.
[1:42:11] When that kind of development is introduced, conflict is unavoidable and the conflict does not fall in the developers, it falls on the residents.
[1:42:20] It leads to complaint-driven enforcement vines and new restrictions imposed on the very people who built this community.
[1:42:27] Seniors, longtime residents and families who poured their savings and their lives into
[1:42:32] these properties are the ones who pay the price.
[1:42:35] That is not progress that is pressure and it is displacement and intimidation.
[1:42:41] Councilman Brahas and silver property owner and developer have all made or echoed statements
[1:42:46] that if the project is not approved they will return with something larger, denser and
[1:42:51] more disruptive or sell the property to somebody who will.
[1:42:55] That's not collaboration, it's coercion, and it is attempt to use fear as leverage to
[1:43:01] bully community into accepting projects it does not want.
[1:43:05] That is not how a democratic process is supposed to work.
[1:43:08] And the saddest part is this, it's working.
[1:43:11] Many residents, especially seniors, are afraid to speak publicly.
[1:43:15] They have told me directly that they fear retaliation, increased scrutiny, or subtle forms
[1:43:19] of harassment if they do.
[1:43:20] So that has created silence and fear.
[1:43:24] The silence is dangerous.
[1:43:25] Silence allows this behavior to continue unchecked.
[1:43:29] What makes this even more troubling is that tonight's staff report confirms this pressure
[1:43:34] does not end with approval.
[1:43:36] On page 5 of the report, staff report, it clearly describes that the same pressures and
[1:43:41] tactics could possibly continue if PUD2 is approved.
[1:43:45] So approval does not resolve the problem and institutionalize it and sends a clear message
[1:43:49] that intimidation works, and that fear is more powerful than residents' voices.
[1:43:55] Trust is what is truly on the line here.
[1:43:58] Councilman Brahas has repeated a used technical sounding language to mislead the community
[1:44:04] about what is possible, what is legal, and what is supposedly inevitable.
[1:44:09] This is just not confusing its dishonest and our residents deserve transparency.
[1:44:14] Good faith, communication, not political spend disguised as planning expertise.
[1:44:19] intimidation, misinformation, threats, and manipulation destroy public confidence and
[1:44:24] undermine faith and city leadership.
[1:44:27] And yet, despite all of this, one thing remains absolutely clear.
[1:44:31] Our general plan is not vague and it is not open for interpretation.
[1:44:36] It explicitly identifies Merrill Oma as rural, equestrian, and deserving of the protection
[1:44:41] that was written for the residents, not for the developers, and for administration convenience.
[1:44:46] Leading this property as it is, currently zone protects open space, equestrian use, public
[1:44:52] safety, property values, and all of which are harmed in compatible urban development.
[1:44:58] I direct my next-
[1:45:00] Next comment to Councilman Silva. Councilman Silva, constituents that supported you, trusted you, and stood behind you because they believed you would protect them in moments exactly like this. You are elected to serve the community, and that means listening to the people who built Miraloma, not those seeking to exploit it. Now is the time to stand behind the residents who have stood behind you. They expect you to vote no, and there is no other vote that honors the trust that they have placed in you.
[1:45:28] They are watching and they are depending on you to defend the values you promised to uphold.
[1:45:34] Council members, this decision is about far more than property, is about whether intimidation,
[1:45:39] misinformation, and threats become accepted as tools in shaping her Rupus future.
[1:45:44] You can choose honesty, transparency, and resident right, or you can proceed with the pressure of
[1:45:51] manipulation and let it win.
[1:45:53] Stand with your residents who have trusted in you to make the right choices, stand with the people who built this community and continue to care for it, protect marijuana, protect our heritage, protect our homes.
[1:46:05] I'm calling on each and every council member to vote no on this project, especially Mr. Mayor Berkson, who has been involved with this project from the beginning, and councilman Silva, who has a duty to defend the residents who trust him.
[1:46:18] Her roof residents are watching closely, particularly in districts with upcoming elections, make it clear tonight that the voices of the people still matter in this city.
[1:46:28] Elections are coming up, do the right thing, just as their voters will on November 3rd. Thank you very much.
[1:46:37] And the next speaker is Betty Sanchez.
[1:46:40] Hi,
[1:46:51] I live on Wyneville about five houses away from where the new developed would be and where you've moved here 38 years ago and we moved here for the question lifestyle we have horses we can hardly even get out of our driveway.
[1:47:05] There's so much traffic from all the developments that are going on and all the everything all the new people that are moving in they do not care about our question lifestyle.
[1:47:16] They just, they race up and down.
[1:47:19] The horse trails are all knocked down because of all the crazy drivers.
[1:47:24] And nobody comes out and fixes up.
[1:47:26] Our streets flood, our driveways flood because when they built a new housing track across the street.
[1:47:33] They put the new road in, they built it too high.
[1:47:36] They put the horse trails too high, so all the water from the rain goes all into our driveways.
[1:47:41] We have to pump out our driveways.
[1:47:43] And now they want to build more houses, more traffic.
[1:47:47] We can't even get in and out, it's crazy, it's just too much.
[1:47:53] I just, I do not go along with this because we need more open space and less people.
[1:47:58] And less, okay, the opening for the shopping center or whatever they're going to put.
[1:48:02] It's going to be online bill.
[1:48:04] We're really not going to be able to get out of our drive race.
[1:48:07] It's going to be so hard for us to even ride our horses.
[1:48:12] in the area to be so close to the river be able to go down and enjoy yourself.
[1:48:17] We're going to end up getting hurt.
[1:48:19] We're going to end up getting hit by a car, even though we're on the trails because people don't know about the horses.
[1:48:25] They all come in from cities.
[1:48:27] They don't respect our request for your lifestyle.
[1:48:30] Okay, thank you.
[1:48:32] Thank you very much.
[1:48:35] The next speaker is Ted Smith.
[1:48:41] Ted Smith.
[1:48:55] Good evening everyone.
[1:48:56] everyone? I've seen our name on the agenda number 16 so I wasn't sure.
[1:49:03] Oh, you put 50, do you want to talk about the other item?
[1:49:06] No.
[1:49:07] You want to talk about, Pyrate?
[1:49:09] Yeah, Pyrate.
[1:49:09] Okay, so we're not on that yet.
[1:49:11] Oh, okay.
[1:49:11] This just said this item, but we'll move it to the next one.
[1:49:14] All right, all right, just hang tight.
[1:49:17] In that case, the next speaker is Laura Inman.
[1:49:24] Okay, so Matt Burris, you have six minutes.
[1:49:29] That's been
[1:49:41] a while, I was one of the inaugural planning commissioners here served planning commission for seven years that we had a planning commission and I was one of the planning commissioners that helped to prove this project in 2017.
[1:49:56] At the time while being on planning commission it seems like the sentiment is still the same.
[1:50:02] The idea behind incorporating was always, we do not want to be east-fail.
[1:50:08] We want to be rural, we want to maintain our character who we are, our lifestyle.
[1:50:13] And that played out all seven years that I was on a planning commission.
[1:50:17] And that played out as we were reviewing John Russo's project ten years ago.
[1:50:22] At the time, it seemed like it was worth the bargain to double John's density in exchange for
[1:50:29] that would help serve our community, provide some tax revenue into the city, but also a number of amenities that would really help embrace that idea that this is the gateway to Miroloma.
[1:50:41] I'd really like it to see that some of these things that we negotiated with John ten years ago play out here again at this project ends up getting approved.
[1:50:52] One of the most important ones was limonite.
[1:50:55] Our streets are our rooms in our city, right?
[1:50:57] We're not going to see what's going on in any particular neighborhood.
[1:50:59] But when you drive into a Miroloma, what you see on limonite is going to be the first impression.
[1:51:04] And a big six-lane arterial is not Miroloma.
[1:51:08] That is yeastfail.
[1:51:10] And we asked at the time that that road be knocked down for two lanes in each direction.
[1:51:14] Have it be a four-lane or the big wide median filled with trees.
[1:51:19] The city could get its ultimate right of way.
[1:51:20] And in the end, if we end up needing the room for additional lanes, we would have the land.
[1:51:24] That was agreed upon back then, and it seems like that should be played out here.
[1:51:28] We asked for the same things when we updated the General Plan in 2017.
[1:51:32] And one of the ways to help make that happen traffic-wise is the General Plan proposed
[1:51:36] that Cantu-Galliano would be knocked through, so that would take all that pressure off
[1:51:41] limonite.
[1:51:42] That's still in the General Plan, still viable strategy, could still make limonite a beautiful
[1:51:47] country street.
[1:51:48] Let's keep it two lanes in each direction. One of the things that Russo promised us that he would love to see is that we would have trails on both sides, and they would upgrade the north side of Limonite trails, fencing trees.
[1:52:00] Make it a beautiful tree line street as you enter in.
[1:52:05] Please don't allow any turn pockets on Limonite. Make it two lanes in each direction. Let it be a little bit of slower street.
[1:52:11] the congestion is already there. I mean, who cares that it's congested one more block, right?
[1:52:16] I mean, let's just keep it a smaller tamer street.
[1:52:20] The shopping center would be great to make sure that any of those horse facilities get put into that center.
[1:52:27] We've required crows on and off over the years, they get used, especially in Miraloma.
[1:52:32] Please make sure we've got some good crows there, they will be used.
[1:52:35] One of the other things we discussed 10 years ago is that this project is going to bring a whole lot more traffic
[1:52:40] through sky country and there were supposed to be traffic calming that would come with this project for Lucrecia to help.
[1:52:47] Help minimize the traffic and the speeds through our equestrian community that's clearly going to be impacted.
[1:52:54] At the end of the day, whatever you guys decide, be great if we could get a number of these additional amenities to help make sure we keep our rural character.
[1:53:03] And the one other thing I'd ask is that perhaps this general plan amendment that they're asking for,
[1:53:07] which gives the city an extraordinary amount of discretion.
[1:53:11] Maybe it could come with a development agreement, so whatever gets decided gets locked down and that decision runs with the land, and we don't have to be back here in a few more years.
[1:53:21] The other thing I throw out there, nobody's going to want to fight.
[1:53:25] These types of fights are like knife fights, no one's going to get out unharmed, no one's going to come out clean.
[1:53:31] So maybe we can work together with a developer to find something that's going to actually benefit the community.
[1:53:35] At the moment, it feels like it's a lot of cost to all of us.
[1:53:39] Way more homes than we agreed to, we doubled their density in 2017.
[1:53:44] After years of working with them, we were supposed to get a number of amenities to make our community look nicer.
[1:53:50] Now we're missing out on the retail that's going to help our coffers and
[1:53:54] help us provide services for more homes that is not going to bring more revenue.
[1:53:59] And I do not see the additional benefits that we negotiated for this density increase years ago.
[1:54:03] So hopefully those things can help as you guys did a lot.
[1:54:14] And we appreciate your comments and refreshing us because 10 years ago was a few days ago.
[1:54:22] Okay, the last speaker I have on this item, Roberto Ramirez.
[1:54:35] Good evening council members.
[1:54:37] One of the things that we're not bringing up is the project that's already going to happen.
[1:54:42] It's already been approved, the one on Lymanite and the 15th freeway.
[1:54:48] How many homes are coming there?
[1:54:51] I mean, hundreds of homes are coming there.
[1:54:55] Just add that to this particular project, which is right up the street from that, we're
[1:55:00] just going to make things worse.
[1:55:03] Paradise knows was one of our gems that we had in our community.
[1:55:08] The golf course was beautiful.
[1:55:11] You could see the mountains, it was just beautiful.
[1:55:13] Now all we can see is a block wall.
[1:55:19] This project, the picture that was left up here on the screen,
[1:55:23] this is exactly what they want.
[1:55:26] This is what they want, Harupa Valley, Miraloma to look like.
[1:55:30] The picture that's left on the screen right now.
[1:55:33] And that's just not who we are as a community.
[1:55:36] I did it in this community for 26 years.
[1:55:38] I raised all four of my kids here.
[1:55:42] Three of them were born here.
[1:55:44] One came here when she was a few months old.
[1:55:48] And they've all moved out already.
[1:55:51] And you know what they all want?
[1:55:53] They want to live just like they grew up.
[1:55:56] This is what they're looking for.
[1:55:58] You know, they don't want to go live in an apartment.
[1:56:00] One of my daughters, my oldest,
[1:56:02] a sergeant in the Marine Corps,
[1:56:04] just bought five acres.
[1:56:07] She wants cows and she wants that's the vision. That's how they were raised. That's what they're looking for.
[1:56:14] You know, we come here for a reason and we depend on you guys, you know, to support our dreams.
[1:56:22] You know, we voted for you because we thought that you would represent us.
[1:56:27] Chris, you don't represent us, buddy.
[1:56:30] You represent the developers and these money people.
[1:56:36] Chris, you're a great human being.
[1:56:38] I think you have your heart where our heart is.
[1:56:42] Willie, this is Cadi Corner to your community.
[1:56:46] You shouldn't vote yes on this.
[1:56:50] And I shouldn't say nothing about Raqq and Armando because I know for a fact that their
[1:56:55] heart is on voting no on this.
[1:57:00] These are these people that if this project is
[1:57:02] approved the people that live in this community are the type of people that
[1:57:05] are going to complain about us that that already live here now. You know let's
[1:57:11] get let's get that mentality guys we depend on you guys to take care of us. We
[1:57:16] put you guys here please respect us please respect our decisions. I truly
[1:57:22] truly think that you guys as hard as in the right place, you know.
[1:57:27] Chris, you need to change your ways, buddy.
[1:57:30] Nobody likes what you're doing, but thank you.
[1:57:40] Okay.
[1:57:41] I am out of public speaker cards for this item, so the developer will have five minutes to
[1:57:46] come back and do their rebuttal.
[1:57:53] So I ran out of time during my presentation when we were talking about the housing laws,
[1:57:58] Rather than to continue walking through some of the nuances of those laws, I think it's more important to talk about why they exist.
[1:58:05] I think everyone in this room has a son, daughter, cousin, friend who's had to leave the state of California for affordability.
[1:58:14] I mean, I personally know ten people in my close circle who have left the state.
[1:58:20] These housing laws are because we're the second most of
[1:58:24] unaffordable state in our union because we don't build enough housing to supply the residents that want to live in the state.
[1:58:35] And also I want to comment on the images.
[1:58:38] Those images are not at all what we're proposing.
[1:58:40] Those are some of the projects that could be built using those housing laws.
[1:58:44] Obviously our project is, most of the product is completely detached.
[1:58:48] All except for the townhouses, which are captured two stories, all important feedback we got from the community when we are designing this.
[1:58:56] But I don't want to end on what our project is not or what a hypothetical project could happen on this property.
[1:59:03] I want to end on what our project is.
[1:59:06] You know, we spent five years, we started in 2021 on designing this project.
[1:59:11] And it has gone through a ton of changes, which is added a lot of time to the process because we've consistently made tweaks as we got feedback from all the different folks on, you know, what makes the best project?
[1:59:23] And was it the vision we started out with? No, but do we think it made the best project that we could bring on this property that still feasible develop?
[1:59:31] Absolutely. It's bringing tons of amenities not only for our community but for the surrounding public.
[1:59:38] it's bringing three different housing product types that are incredibly
[1:59:42] in demand and we didn't choose the housing product type just because you know
[1:59:47] we threw a dart in a dart board there's a reason this housing product is so
[1:59:50] in demand. Quarter acre lots half acre lots are not affordable for new people
[1:59:55] getting into the there for their first home you know they're million dollar houses
[1:59:59] This is now...
[2:00:00] In the UN Empire, you know, you look at LA Orange County. So the housing product that's being developed is a little bit denser than what may have been done in the 70s or 80s, but it's the way to keep our kids in the state. It's the way to keep your kids in the city that they grew up living in. And, you know, the tradeoff, as you get a lot of amenities and common area for that. I also want to note a lot of people are talking about the previous entitlement. We had nothing to do with that.
[2:00:28] we weren't part of the project till 2021. I would note it's not built. There's reasons it's not built.
[2:00:34] This project is incredibly economically difficult to make pencil. I know they had promised a lot of
[2:00:40] things, a lot of things that we kept in our proposal but we're confident this project can move forward
[2:00:47] as designed and we're excited to see see that happen. I would note the over 130 people that
[2:00:56] that wrote support letters again for you all to know they are asked not to come today.
[2:01:01] So I get the sentiment of the room is largely skewed into one direction, but that's not
[2:01:08] necessarily the overall sentiment of the city of Rupe Valley.
[2:01:12] There is a lot of people that want new housing.
[2:01:14] I've had multiple community meetings where people have come up to me and said, hey, I'm glad
[2:01:18] you're providing these different housing options in our city.
[2:01:21] So I did want to note that because obviously the opinions are definitely in one direction tonight.
[2:01:31] I want to touch briefly on a comment, Council Member Krohmonement about the housing laws and how does this new proposal, which does change about 3.7 acres from commercial to residential, does that expose us to using housing laws?
[2:01:51] laws more. Housing laws already allow housing by right on commercial property. It's actually
[2:02:00] a much higher clip than they do your five day units breaker even with the density bonuses.
[2:02:06] So if you're worried about some hypothetical scenario where this project doesn't get built
[2:02:12] and someone proposes something new, it actually decreases the total unit someone could put
[2:02:17] on this proposal because you have a few acres less commercial and a few more acres of
[2:02:23] five to eight units. The acre. Again, it's absolutely our intention to have this project get built.
[2:02:29] We've put a lot of blood, sweat, tears, and money into this project and think the residents in
[2:02:36] the city are going to be really proud to see when it happens, when it comes together. I get it's hard
[2:02:40] to see a lot of these when you're looking at 2D images. But when that commercial centers built,
[2:02:45] Well, I think it's going to be a jewel for the City of Rupa Valley that most of the residents are proud that it's in their community.
[2:02:51] So with that, I'm still happy to answer. I know there's a lot of technical questions.
[2:02:55] Happy to answer those, but I want to make sure I said that in about five minutes.
[2:03:00] Perfect. Thank you. All right. Now, it's up to the dias. So we have a decision first to make on whether or not we continue this, or is there anybody in council that is requesting that we vote on this?
[2:03:14] So start with asking who wants this to be voted on tonight.
[2:03:20] Well, I'd like to discuss it and go ahead.
[2:03:25] Yeah, I mean, so I'm close to making a decision.
[2:03:33] I think that I had a quick question.
[2:03:37] Well, no,
[2:03:40] I think there's a couple of things on this project that convinced me and
[2:03:49] to make a decision.
[2:03:55] One big question is, is PUD2, is what they're offering more beneficial
[2:04:03] to our community and to residents than PUD1. That's one. The other is, and it's fascinating
[2:04:13] to hear the presenter that, you know, because I've heard it over the last few months,
[2:04:23] oh, the developer, Russo, they're threatening us.
[2:04:27] They're threatening residents with a worst project, with a bigger build.
[2:04:32] And, you know, you hear it and it's like, okay, you process it and document it.
[2:04:36] But then hearing him right now, spending so much time on these hypotheticals,
[2:04:42] It just reaffirms, it's astonishing, you know.
[2:04:48] I was told that you guys were pumping your chest
[2:04:50] and saying, hey, if you don't approve this,
[2:04:52] we'll build something worse.
[2:04:54] And whether you wanna believe that or not,
[2:04:57] you leave your slide up, you tell people,
[2:05:00] this is what we're gonna do.
[2:05:02] You've already ran through the scenarios.
[2:05:04] And the reality is that if the zone changes,
[2:05:07] is those scenarios get worse exponentially.
[2:05:13] And so I think that's one.
[2:05:16] In terms of the infrastructure, I mean, we heard it,
[2:05:19] and very clearly from a previous planning commissioner,
[2:05:22] and I appreciate him coming up, that there's,
[2:05:26] the infrastructure that PUD2 and this project is presenting
[2:05:31] doesn't necessarily outweigh what would already be allowed,
[2:05:36] and what would already be required under PUD1.
[2:05:42] So those two are really important.
[2:05:45] The other is we saw a slide, I think it was his fourth slide.
[2:05:49] They've been working on this for two years,
[2:05:52] and how is it that in less than 24 hours,
[2:05:57] they already had a very clear slide about what the actual density is
[2:06:03] versus the density that they were lying to us about.
[2:06:07] So that makes me believe that they've known that this wasn't 1.1, it was actually 3.0
[2:06:14] or, you know, it was more acreage, and they were just hoping to fix that later on,
[2:06:19] which we're talking about trust, that makes me lose a lot of trust.
[2:06:24] So,
[2:06:27] for me, it's a lot more clear in terms of how I want to vote on this point.
[2:06:34] All right. So, I'll ask, I'll re-ask the question.
[2:06:38] Who wants to vote on this tonight? Yes or no?
[2:06:42] Yes.
[2:06:46] Okay. No, no, no. Yes. We've already got three knows. So, all officially continue this until March 5th,
[2:06:56] 2026, that will be hopefully the wrap up final hearing.
[2:07:00] We will bring this back when we have not only the developer who has now told us a number of times about 130 residents who may want to show up and we'll see if that happens or not.
[2:07:14] But we will have all the facts that Mr. Perez was mentioning about the commercial issues.
[2:07:21] We will get, hopefully, not hopefully, we will get additional clarification on things that were stated tonight on what we have.
[2:07:31] What we have, if we do nothing and leave it at the PUD1, what scenarios would PED2 evolve into if PED2 didn't get built as designed with the density issues.
[2:07:44] We want to know how that would look.
[2:07:46] I am on to spend quite a bit of time talking about numbers.
[2:07:49] I want the council to be very, and the public to be very well informed of what the developer is claiming.
[2:07:59] Could be scenarios, let's bring those back so we can dissect those as well in this conversation.
[2:08:05] I appreciate Matthew Burres, who was my planning commissioner before me, who was Michael Goodland's planning commissioner.
[2:08:13] Now Arlene Pruitt is my planning commissioner, but I spent many years with Matt looking at projects just like this.
[2:08:21] He's a very knowledgeable guy, so I appreciate you coming and speaking tonight to refresh us, and with that we will move to the next item.
[2:08:30] Okay,
[2:08:35] next item is item 16A, Council of Business.
[2:08:38] This is an in-term urgency ordinance of the city, Council of the City of Rupa Valley, California,
[2:08:44] When you're imposing a temporary moratorium on the approval of new development applications within the North Pyrite Master Plan area until completion of environmental studies identifying and addressing safety concerns for future development.
[2:08:59] Principal Planner Jim, could check us, may we please have a staff report?
[2:09:05] Thank you, Mr. Mayor, members of the City Council.
[2:09:10] I'm on a roll, and I give me a break.
[2:09:14] Anyway, I've been called worse by me, not me, not by you.
[2:09:21] Anyway, we're going to talk about the interim urgency ordinance for the North Pirate Master Plan tonight.
[2:09:31] The interim ordinance is a temporary moratorium pausing acceptance of processing of land use applications.
[2:09:40] It's done in accordance or is written in accordance to the government code, and it protects the public health and safety pending environmental studies and investigations being completed.
[2:09:52] And it addresses some potential impacts from the string pillow super fun site and we'll get into a little more detail on that.
[2:10:00] Just some background, North Pirate Master Plan is approximately 215 acres and this map
[2:10:06] shows you the outline of the master plan area along with in the square there are congested
[2:10:14] up on the upper end of the canyon is the string fellow site location.
[2:10:21] And then the site is historically accepted approximately 35 million gallons of hazardous
[2:10:31] waste between the years of 1956 and 1972.
[2:10:36] It was identified as a superfund site and the responsible agency for the cleanup is the
[2:10:44] state DTSC, the Department of Toxic Substance Control.
[2:10:48] and then it's overseen as the responsible agency for the supervising to clean up the environmental protection agency, which is the federal agency.
[2:11:01] Long-term, environmental conditions in the lower north pirate canyon remain unknown or uncertain.
[2:11:09] So the description of the issues, the public health safety risk due to unknown soil, groundwater
[2:11:18] and vapor intrusion conditions, incomplete environmental data for the entire canyon area,
[2:11:26] and unknown development suitability.
[2:11:32] The EPA has not issued its final record of decision.
[2:11:36] That's probably two to three years, at least two or three years away, and that would provide more information about the contamination and the suitability development, but again, that's quite a ways away.
[2:11:50] Environmental studies to date have been on a parcel by parcel, but not a comprehensive analysis of the contamination in the canyon.
[2:12:00] the city council and the community have requested verification of safety priority and you need to develop the terrain and the canyon.
[2:12:09] So the proposed scope of the moratorium would prohibit acceptance, processing, and approval of any new development within the canyon area.
[2:12:19] It applies to discretionary and ministerial permits. It prohibits the expansion of existing uses within the North Pyrite Master Plan area.
[2:12:27] It does allow for maintenance of legal existing uses in public safety infrastructure.
[2:12:34] It also exempts the EPA, DTSC remediation and monitoring activities within the canyon.
[2:12:43] The duration of a more tariff, the initial more time if you were to proceed, would be 45
[2:12:52] days, and maybe extended up to two years in total.
[2:12:57] The ordinance is exempt from CEQA.
[2:13:02] The moratorium prevents potential environmental impacts during the moratorium period.
[2:13:08] I'm not allowing additional development.
[2:13:12] And the cost of this city is limited to the advanced planning budget.
[2:13:16] But also as we talked with the processing of a study, we would bring forward a cost sharing
[2:13:26] reimbursement program along with the council's consideration at that time.
[2:13:32] As far as the process itself, we're talking about the more time tonight if it were to move
[2:13:37] forward on the next City Council meeting on February 5th, we would bring a report describing
[2:13:45] the measures that have been taken so far to alleviate the conditions that led to the more
[2:13:51] Then on February 19th, we will come back to City Council for the consideration of extending the moratorium for another 10 months and 15 days bringing it to a total of one year, which would expire on January 14th, 2027.
[2:14:08] So that brings me to the recommendation, which is to adopt an interim emergency ordinance
[2:14:14] and pose in a temporary moratorium by receding, processing, and approval of new development
[2:14:19] within the North Pirate Master Plan area, and also determining that this ordinance would
[2:14:24] be exempt from CEQA.
[2:14:27] And that concludes my presentation.
[2:14:30] All right.
[2:14:30] Do we have questions for staff on this?
[2:14:33] Okay.
[2:14:33] We have speakers, so we'll move to them.
[2:14:36] First one looks like Joaquin Castellos.
[2:14:50] Good evening, City Council staff, the community.
[2:14:52] My name is Joaquin Castellos.
[2:14:55] I'm here representing the Center for Community Action
[2:14:57] and Environmental Justice.
[2:15:00] CCAEJ. I'm here today in support of this urgency ordinance, and I'm asking the council to support it as well. It's really important to continue to analyze the site for potential impacts to protect the community. As we all know, the history of the string-fellow acid pits, a lot of families were hurt by it, long-term damages. A lot of hurt, and we got to prevent that from happening again. And not
[2:15:31] So we look forward to speaking with Council staff about this item and continue to talk about it.
[2:15:39] And we're hoping that you approve this item and support the urgency ordinance.
[2:15:46] Thank you.
[2:15:47] Thank you very much.
[2:15:48] Next speaker is Penny Newman.
[2:15:59] Good evening.
[2:16:01] Penny Newman and I'm representing also CCA, J is the intervener in the string fellow federal enforcement action.
[2:16:08] That means that we are a party to any cleanup, any activity that affects String Fellow by order of the court.
[2:16:18] So, we are not just the general public, we are a party to that cleanup.
[2:16:25] You have EPA, as the overseer, you have Department of Toxic Substance Control, which is the polluter, that is the responsible party.
[2:16:33] They were found in court to have not fulfilled their role as a protective agency, and were found 100% liable for all of the cleanup.
[2:16:48] It's a much different situation than happens in any other site, superfund or not.
[2:16:55] I'm here to speak in favor of the moratorium.
[2:16:57] I think it gives us a little time to take a better look at the canyon and what we can expect from it and what we need to protect.
[2:17:07] I wanted to make it clear that I do not believe and I'm pretty certain no one is being exposed to toxic chemicals at this time.
[2:17:16] We work very hard to make sure that that happened.
[2:17:19] The soil has been tested from the canyon down through the elementary school and on down through into Santa and a river.
[2:17:28] So I wanted to make that very clear because people kind of over-react thinking about that canyon and what has happened in the past.
[2:17:36] Our job now is to make sure it doesn't happen again, and that's why I'm concerned about the development in that canyon.
[2:17:44] We've come up with some ideas that will protect the infrastructure, the piping, the wiring,
[2:17:51] the wells that are located in that canyon.
[2:17:55] It's a very narrow area along that road that might, if we can provide a way of protecting
[2:18:02] it, they can develop around it.
[2:18:05] But we need to really look at that very closely, and so I'm really pleased that we're doing
[2:18:10] the moratorium and that you guys are conducting a study that will make you much more secure
[2:18:15] in what your actions will be. Thank you. All right, thank you.
[2:18:21] Next speaker is Charlie. I'm going to butcher it, so I'm not going to, but I know who you are,
[2:18:26] so come on up.
[2:18:31] A long Polish one, Sysa Kowski. Sysa Kowski. Sysa Kowski. You were very close.
[2:18:38] So, really?
[2:18:39] Yes.
[2:18:40] Not very many people get it closed, so.
[2:18:42] All right.
[2:18:43] Well, good evening.
[2:18:44] Mayor Borkeson and City Council members.
[2:18:46] My name is Charlie Stacowski and I am a consultant working for EPD solutions on behalf of Riverside
[2:18:51] Legacy.
[2:18:52] I'd like to speak tonight regarding the temporary moratorium proposed on this agenda item.
[2:18:56] I'm here to ask you not to adopt the ordinance, but if you do, you must modify the moratorium
[2:19:01] scope so that it covers only the contaminated land and doesn't harm properties that have
[2:19:06] have been tested and proven to be completely safe.
[2:19:09] This is the same ask contained in Riverside Legacy's December 11th, 2025 letter to this council,
[2:19:15] which is a part of the administrative record and is included in attachment number three in tonight's staff report.
[2:19:21] Specifically, Riverside Legacy requests that you narrowly modify the proposed ordinance to exclude its property from the North Pyrite Master Plan Environmental Review and associated moratorium.
[2:19:31] The Riverside Legacy property must be excluded from the moratorium because there's no string
[2:19:36] fellow contamination affecting the property in only a small corner of the property is included
[2:19:41] within the study area. Only a little over an acre of the 22.26 acre property lies within
[2:19:47] the study area and that area has no proposed development on it. There has been extensive
[2:19:53] environmental investigations and site-specific diligence for the property and every report
[2:19:59] and the peer review concluded that the string follow-up loom is not a restraint to the property's future use
[2:20:04] and that there are no environmental conditions prohibiting any industrial development.
[2:20:08] Your staff has these reports and they are two part of the administrative record.
[2:20:13] It is also worth noting that the SEGIS previously approved development in the immediate vicinity,
[2:20:18] including the shops at Rupa Valley based on site-specific environmental analysis
[2:20:23] using the same scientific standards and regulatory framework applied here.
[2:20:27] That project moved forward following a detailed environmental review and clearance despite being within the same area.
[2:20:35] Riverside Legacy's property has undergone equivalent and in some cases a more extensive environmental scrutiny with very similar clear results.
[2:20:44] With that context, I want to briefly highlight five concerns with the proposed moratorium.
[2:20:49] The moratorium is overly conservative and is too broad.
[2:20:52] And the moratorium is legally problematic because it subjects unaffected property owners
[2:20:57] outside of the string fell prune plume to a development moratorium on their properties
[2:21:03] even though there is no contamination on their property and even if they have a development
[2:21:08] application currently being proposed in the city.
[2:21:12] The companion environmental review to the moratorium is also legally problematic because
[2:21:17] it forces unaffected property owners outside of the string fell plume to pay for something
[2:21:22] that does not apply to them, does not benefit them, and yet they'll be the ones picking up the tab.
[2:21:28] Inclusion of the property in the moratorium coupled with the proposed EIR creates an unavoidable
[2:21:33] uncertainty as the property, right? It is an illegal extraction and would constitute an
[2:21:39] unconstitutional taking of private property. I thank you all for your time.
[2:21:44] Thank you. And Peter, when we're done with public comments, if you can address the comments
[2:21:50] from Charlie. Next public speaker Ted Smith, that's your turn.
[2:22:13] Hello. Hello. Yeah, we can hear you. Hello. Yeah.
[2:22:17] A good evening, council. And first I'd like to commend Penny Newman for her years and years and years and years of
[2:22:28] environmental positive work done, especially on the acid pits, the superfund site there.
[2:22:36] So there's not too many property owners that would basically be willing to put for this
[2:22:46] environmental study $300,000 out of our pocket to have it done on our property.
[2:22:53] I'm not sure how many property owners or business owners would be willing to do that.
[2:22:59] Now, I haven't heard of any other North Pi-Rite property owners have put anybody into
[2:23:07] the kitty to get this done, but I don't think that should stop us.
[2:23:14] I think we can get a lot done for if the city wants to put in three and we put in three.
[2:23:20] I think we get a good study because there's nobody but the property owners that are there
[2:23:24] now are don't want to be something bad. I mean, we're, you know, we got, I don't think
[2:23:34] the property below the superhand fight should be penalized because of what the state let
[2:23:40] happen over the 67 years ago. You know, we're working with the city, we're working with you
[2:23:50] here as far as making sure what we have there and what we can be done there.
[2:23:57] Storing cars is one thing, but if we do an environmental study and we can see
[2:24:03] we could put business part commercial sites or something in there. Hey, we're all
[2:24:09] for it. We're all for it. Let's do that. But let's not penalize the property owners
[2:24:15] of the North Py-Wryt Kansas because of the superman sight up there.
[2:24:20] There's been a rock quarry up there for the last 60, 70 years.
[2:24:24] The auto recycling was given a permit by the county of Riverside in 1952
[2:24:32] for auto recycling there.
[2:24:36] I ran the pickup part operation there from 1988 until when I sold it in
[2:24:42] in the 19th, 2010.
[2:24:47] And basically, we've never had an issue
[2:24:51] environmental-wise with the city.
[2:24:54] It's just we do a good job up there.
[2:24:57] And we just, you know, this is my retirement.
[2:25:00] I've worked a lot of years doing what I've done here
[2:25:04] and I'm sure I'm held on to be penalized at 73 years old.
[2:25:09] So just give us a chance to prove to you guys that we want to be partners.
[2:25:15] We want to be a part of the solution.
[2:25:18] We don't want to fight the city.
[2:25:19] We don't want to fight the citizens of city of the group of allies.
[2:25:26] So that's what we got to go under next first time.
[2:25:30] Thank you very much.
[2:25:31] All right, that is the final public speaker card we have.
[2:25:34] So we'll bring it back here to the dias for comments, questions.
[2:25:37] What do we got?
[2:25:38] Anybody want to start?
[2:25:39] You had a question for Peter, I think.
[2:25:41] I did.
[2:25:41] Peter, can you give us clarification on the issues that Charlie had mentioned about legality?
[2:25:46] We believe that the ordinance as presented is legal and valid.
[2:25:52] We are not picking properties based on whether they are contaminated but whether they are within
[2:25:57] the area and what development there might impact either the other properties that are contaminated
[2:26:03] or the improvements that are required to clean up the String Fellow site.
[2:26:09] Okay, so we're good legally.
[2:26:10] We're good.
[2:26:11] And then one thing I wanted to just clarification on the map on the overhead right now,
[2:26:20] the vacant parcel that would be on the north-east corner of Granite Hill Drive and Pyrite.
[2:26:30] It's not in the blue area, it's right beneath the blue area, small triangle.
[2:26:35] you know which one I'm talking about okay why is that not included it's just
[2:26:41] never been part of the master plan area so any particular reason why not because
[2:26:48] that isn't that where the and penny could tell us penny isn't that where the the
[2:26:53] string fill went right down that area isn't that Jim can you point to that area yeah
[2:26:59] Somebody have a little thingy the
[2:27:04] top right corner
[2:27:06] No down on the bottom between granted right by the freeway off-line. Yeah
[2:27:12] Right there that's fine
[2:27:14] Not that one that
[2:27:17] Because the other side as the gas station and that's already built out. This is vacant
[2:27:21] That's why I'm asking because isn't that where the string fellow came penny you can
[2:27:25] right
[2:27:34] there
[2:27:35] There's not parcels. The state runs below the blue line though. That parcels would you should come to the microphone?
[2:27:44] Jim, you said something about that parcel.
[2:27:46] The parcel I'm pointing to right there is extraction wells and it's all it's part of the string fill a cleanup right there.
[2:27:53] It's all by the state.
[2:27:56] Yeah, but it's not that one I'm talking about. No, I know. Yeah, I'm right there. Exactly. I want to know, um, to me,
[2:28:02] I think that should be included in the area because that is part of the area.
[2:28:05] That's why I was asking Penny to clarify if that was the part of the contaminated area.
[2:28:11] Well, it was at one point, but they've tested all the way up from the site down through the school district.
[2:28:18] I mean, because we demanded it, so we're pretty sure it's clear why I'm not concerned about people being exposed up in there.
[2:28:26] I'm concerned about disrupting the infrastructure that goes down Pyrite, and if that happens, then we have to worry about people being exposed again, because that's critical to that 400-year cleanup is taking, and the property, the legacy property to the east, the none of the plume ever went to the east.
[2:28:49] It's only it goes if you look at the plume, it comes down the canyon, and then follows
[2:28:54] Pyrite Creek more toward the west.
[2:28:57] So their property has never been impacted by String fellow.
[2:29:01] Okay.
[2:29:02] Other questions?
[2:29:03] Thank you, Penny.
[2:29:04] Other questions or comments?
[2:29:06] Are we also – Peter, are we capped at a year?
[2:29:10] Is there – No, I can go for an additional year after that, but you have to have a second
[2:29:15] public hearing at the end of the year.
[2:29:17] One at a time.
[2:29:18] You can do the first 45 days, then you do the next 10 and a half months or whatever, to get to the first full year, and then you can do one more year after that, so you have a max of two full years, 24 months.
[2:29:32] And that's for the environmental analysis and I understand that there's general plan inconsistencies, is that still the case?
[2:29:41] will we look at that during this time, or will we do that afterwards?
[2:29:46] Yeah, a gym, a gym.
[2:29:47] Yeah, yeah, we're just looking right now at just the environmental hazards
[2:29:52] in the canyon, and then that'll help inform us on what we want to do for the landings.
[2:29:57] Okay, so this would happen first.
[2:30:00] After the moratorium, so the moratorium would also be on looking at zoning issues, development issues, we just look at the environmental, and then afterwards we have those conversations. So the moratorium would be allowing us the time to actually figure out what the land use should be, what appropriate development is. And we'll do an analysis as, you know, the hazard area
[2:30:29] is identify the hazard areas, how bad they are, can they be mitigated, can they not, are they
[2:30:35] suitable for development at all? Are they, you know, partially suitable, or completely suitable,
[2:30:41] and kind of gives you all the information you need to make good land use decisions?
[2:30:45] Okay, and a few months ago, we talked about bringing back more information and potentially
[2:30:52] initiating a study in that area. How is that related to this, or are those separate paths,
[2:30:57] Is that connected?
[2:30:59] It's related to it, it'll be the, what the more time is doing is allowing us time to
[2:31:04] get that study done.
[2:31:06] Okay.
[2:31:07] So we will be coming back to you very soon and next month with a draft RFP that we're
[2:31:14] going to go out to different consulting groups to do this kind of analysis for your approval.
[2:31:22] Is that good?
[2:31:23] Yeah.
[2:31:23] I think I'm going to ask my question, right?
[2:31:24] So the call months ago we approved the funding to go forward, so the RFP has to be one of
[2:31:29] questions that is great.
[2:31:32] The moratorium for those folks that are listening, watching
[2:31:35] and still here, and catches you, you clear that out very, very concisely. It's to allow,
[2:31:41] it basically stops all current applications and future applications from moving forward
[2:31:46] in the planning process. It's a legal mechanism because, you know, Brian alluded to earlier
[2:31:51] on the other project. Developers, applicants, landowners, landowners,
[2:31:54] to be you or me or a big developer. By law, we're allowed to apply for things we want.
[2:31:59] Does it mean the council will approve it? But this allows a mechanism to freeze all that
[2:32:04] until we understand everything. And it was part of the process after we approved the funding of
[2:32:11] the EIR, so we can know what, if anything, it's safe to be built anywhere in that area.
[2:32:18] Other than that, I'm fully supportive of this.
[2:32:20] All right, and I just wanted for my own clarification, for your clarification of my opinion, as I've preached a Jewish preacher, as I've preached to you so many times, this is 100% has to do with what is safe for people who are going to work there, live there,
[2:32:41] transit, you know, walk around the area, is it safe for them? And we still just don't know.
[2:32:48] So this new environmental report will answer those questions, they'll do samples and testing on the various
[2:32:55] parcels so that we, when it comes back to us, will be satisfied and comfortable to say yes,
[2:33:02] you can build this particular thing, or that particular thing, or nothing at all.
[2:33:06] We don't, we still don't know if that's going to be an option, and I, I would hate just to have somebody bring something to us and we approve it, and then we find out later that, oh my God, we never should have done that, this is the worst thing in the world, so we are taking the time, even at the unfortunate cost to the developers or property owners who own these parcels, they're going to have to wait until we have the information, and then we can come up with a great plan
[2:33:35] that will get everybody, you know, in order to do what they want to do, and we'll have a really great area up there.
[2:33:42] But it is going to take time for the environmental, and of course, we're going to push staff to try to get that expedited.
[2:33:48] I know it takes a long time, but I think staff can still have a little bit of influence on the consultants doing it to try to keep things moving along for us.
[2:33:58] And once we get results, the moratorium, in my opinion, will be over.
[2:34:03] And we will be working with all the property owners so that something can be designed that makes sense for the area.
[2:34:11] So with that-
[2:34:12] Mr. Mayor, just one thing is to follow up to what I said earlier, and not only are we looking at the safety of people who may work there,
[2:34:20] but we're looking at what the impacts are of any development upon all of the infrastructure to clean up the strength yellow side.
[2:34:27] It's an important issue.
[2:34:28] Thank you for also clarifying that.
[2:34:31] Do we have a motion to approve staff recommendation to initiate the moratorium?
[2:34:37] Move to approve.
[2:34:37] Do we have a second?
[2:34:39] Okay, all in favor?
[2:34:40] Aye.
[2:34:41] Opposed?
[2:34:42] That moratorium does pass 5-0, unanimous, so that is now intact.
[2:34:46] Thank you.
[2:34:47] And we will move to item 16-B, approval of resolution concerning mass federal agents impersonate
[2:34:58] in impersonation crimes and resident protection, City Attorney Peter Thorson is going to present to us.
[2:35:05] Yes, Mr. Mayor and members of the City Council at the November 4, 2025 Council meeting.
[2:35:13] The City Council at the request of Council Member Carmona asked the staff to bring forward a resolution
[2:35:19] requesting that all federal law enforcement officers refrain from wearing mask and conducting operations
[2:35:26] in Herupa Valley, and to use properly identified vehicles.
[2:35:31] The resolution before you includes a lot of the concerns expressed by Councilmember
[2:35:38] Carmona.
[2:35:39] I have to give him credit that he wrote most of it.
[2:35:43] I put it into the City of Herupa format.
[2:35:46] It is a statement of principles relating to protection of the community and
[2:35:52] I wanted to demand for federal law enforcement officers to be transparent and to allow people to know what's going on.
[2:36:01] It also raises a number of issues relating to confusion and the impacts on residents of the group of alley and crimes that were committed as a part of them.
[2:36:13] So I don't mean to pass the buck, but I know councilmember Carmona has a lot of thoughts on this and so I'll let him move forward with explaining his
[2:36:22] Is views on this?
[2:36:24] Yeah, should we go ahead?
[2:36:26] Cool.
[2:36:27] Yeah.
[2:36:28] Thank you, Peter.
[2:36:28] And thank you, Council.
[2:36:32] Last October, here in Sky Country,
[2:36:36] there was a group of masked armed individuals
[2:36:40] that showed up at someone's home,
[2:36:42] one of our neighbor's home,
[2:36:43] knocked on their door and entered their home,
[2:36:50] claiming that they had a warrant.
[2:36:53] Looking for someone that was living there.
[2:36:56] These individuals entered their home, they zip tied the family, several adults, kids, and
[2:37:03] an elder and they spent hours robbing and ransacking their home.
[2:37:09] These individuals all had their faces covered.
[2:37:11] They looked exactly like the masked federal agents that were seeing across the country terrorizing our communities.
[2:37:19] They looked exactly like the federal agents who shot and killed the U.S. citizen in Minnesota, just a few weeks ago, running good.
[2:37:29] And they also looked exactly like those who shot at a vehicle to U.S. citizens here in Ontario.
[2:37:36] Here in San Bernardino, this passed October around the same time.
[2:37:43] We're in a moment where we can no longer tell the difference between the mass criminals who are robbing and kidnapping our communities, and these mass agents who are equally terrorizing and kidnapping members of our community.
[2:37:58] The federal government is trying to bring chaos here to our communities, and I think this resolution sends a strong message that we're not going to stand for that.
[2:38:08] And we're not going to just stand around watching.
[2:38:13] We want to send a message to our community that it's necessary to defend ourselves, to inform ourselves, to know our rights, and to work with our local agencies, a local sheriff department to really clear the difference.
[2:38:29] who are the criminals, who are not, unfortunately, these tactics that are coming top-down are
[2:38:36] blurring the lines between who the criminals are and who the agents are, because at the
[2:38:46] end of the day, they're not acting as law enforcement, they're terrorizing our communities.
[2:38:52] They've picked up, illegally picked up, U.S. citizens, and I hope we can hear from members
[2:38:57] of our community today, this resolution also directs and requests that all government agencies that do work in the city of Rupa Valley, including our sheriff's department to report any to the city, any incidents they see of mass individuals or armed mass individuals roaming the city that are including but not limited to federal agents, it also restricts the use of city property.
[2:39:26] for federal law enforcement staging where there's city-owned lots of offices or any of our resources.
[2:39:37] And so, thank you all for your support of this.
[2:39:40] I think this is something that everyone expressed support.
[2:39:45] Shortly after that incident that we saw here in Skycountry, even the FBI has issued statements,
[2:39:55] and several statements saying that it's not a good idea
[2:39:59] or federal agents to lock out their faces
[2:40:04] and not identify themselves.
[2:40:05] This is about how do we keep our community safe?
[2:40:10] And so I'm looking forward to hearing from our community
[2:40:14] and putting this into action.
[2:40:16] Thank you.
[2:40:17] All right, very good.
[2:40:19] Any other comments?
[2:40:24] That's fine.
[2:40:24] And we
[2:40:28] do have quite a number of speakers, so we'll get going.
[2:40:34] Julio, yeah, I do need help, I can't tell if that's a W or an M.
[2:40:38] Monacoin?
[2:40:40] Monacoin?
[2:40:40] Left?
[2:40:41] Okay.
[2:40:42] How about,
[2:40:44] I do, I already said that tonight.
[2:40:50] Joaquin Castellos?
[2:40:57] What's that?
[2:40:58] I didn't want to say that.
[2:41:00] Good.
[2:41:01] but evening again, once again,
[2:41:03] Parking Castellero, some representing CCJ,
[2:41:06] here in support of this resolution.
[2:41:10] It's very brave for the city to put something forth
[2:41:12] like this and important for our region to show
[2:41:15] that we care about our communities
[2:41:18] and we're protecting those that are most vulnerable.
[2:41:21] We're living in times where people fear to leave their homes
[2:41:25] in the case of a R and Mast person attacking them,
[2:41:30] taking them away, kidnapping them, and we need to send that clear message that our cities,
[2:41:36] our local governments, stand with the community and our here to protect and serve them.
[2:41:43] And I urge the City Council to approve this resolution to make sure that this is put into action
[2:41:51] and that our communities know that we are representing them, we are fighting for them, and we are
[2:41:58] doing something to make sure that they feel safe at least something you know there's not a lot
[2:42:03] that can be done but this is a very important step and an example to other cities in our region
[2:42:09] to do the same so I urge you to pass this resolution and you know take this important step to protect
[2:42:15] our communities and you know do it with bravery and you know we're all here to support you thank you
[2:42:22] All right, thank you and next is Penny Newman.
[2:42:26] So
[2:42:36] happy that this is being addressed and thank you Armando for putting it forward.
[2:42:42] I think we've seen the terror that is being created across the country from this operation.
[2:42:50] I wish it could go a little further where we ask that our local law enforcement or sheriff's
[2:42:57] department step in when we see federal agents illegally kidnapping people going door-to-door
[2:43:06] without their warts. I wish we could get some way of making the Sheriff Department protect
[2:43:13] our residents, which is their job. But this is a good first step and I really commend you
[2:43:19] for it and I totally support the idea. I think that one of the reasons this is becoming acceptable
[2:43:26] in many areas is because we've created the vision of other.
[2:43:30] It's okay to do it for them because they're illegal,
[2:43:33] or it's okay to do it to them because they're professional protesters.
[2:43:38] So I think it's really upon all of us to watch our language
[2:43:43] when we talk about issues that we not refer to people as lying,
[2:43:49] that we not refer to people as bad people because they have a differing opinion
[2:43:54] that it's got to start with us.
[2:43:57] We need to be more gentle, more forgiving on all sides.
[2:44:01] Thanks.
[2:44:02] All right, thank you.
[2:44:03] Next is AJ Joven.
[2:44:06] Okay, all right, and next see, Alejandro Ponce de Leon.
[2:44:15] Okay, I know it's late.
[2:44:20] Angel Borado,
[2:44:24] yes, okay, we got one.
[2:44:27] Welcome, come on up.
[2:44:32] Hi, I'm Angel Fajardo, the executive director for the Inland Empire Immigrant Youth Collective.
[2:44:39] We're currently running our mentorship program at Patriot High School, at your Pervali
[2:44:43] High School, and at Rubido High School, so we're pretty present in the area right now, and
[2:44:49] we just really wanted to relay that we've already received this from the students have expressed
[2:44:56] fear on their day-to-day because of the mask.
[2:45:02] It's really heartbreaking, they've expressed how they're afraid to do their daily basis routines. And so I think we're just kind of here to, in support of their voice, right? Because it's also a school night. It's really late. We did try to get some of them here. All that was in factor. But yeah, we just really want it. Once you all to be behind this resolution,
[2:45:30] As it was mentioned, I think it'd be really showing to them that where the City Council is, right?
[2:45:37] If they're in support of their families of them, that they all are doing what you can to make them feel protected.
[2:45:45] That's all I want to admit.
[2:45:47] Thank you.
[2:45:48] All right.
[2:45:55] Okay.
[2:45:55] Next is Hector Arraya.
[2:46:07] Good evening, City Council and City staff.
[2:46:10] My name is Hector Pareda.
[2:46:11] I'm the political manager for the Atlantic Coalition for American Justice.
[2:46:14] Here in strong support of the resolution that the city is going to pass.
[2:46:19] Federal agents are wearing masks just for one reason, and that's to act with complete disregard for
[2:46:25] the law as they brutalize their community members and as they violate their rights routinely.
[2:46:31] And so we applaud the city for taking this important first step.
[2:46:34] And sending a clear message that Huropa Valley is not going to be a partner in this administration's actions of illegality and violence towards our community members.
[2:46:45] And so we strongly urge you to vote in favor of this resolution.
[2:46:49] Thank you.
[2:46:52] All right, next is Eddie Torres.
[2:46:55] Eddie?
[2:47:03] Good evening, City Council.
[2:47:05] My name is Eddie Torres, I'm the policy director with the Yale and Coalition for American Justice.
[2:47:10] back in 2018, I started covering City Council meetings here for now Senator Sorrentes so it's a bit of a flashback to be here with some old faces and some new faces, so it's really nice to be back in the city.
[2:47:21] My mom has worked in Hyper Valley for the last 20 years or so, the best work that driver in all of this city and a warehouse down at a one down Philadelphia.
[2:47:30] So I'm here in obvious strong support for this resolution, 2026-09.
[2:47:36] It has never been the time to sit idly by while your neighbors disappear quietly one by one.
[2:47:44] It is always the time to act bravery, to act with bravery and boldness, to take actions
[2:47:50] to protect our immigrant community.
[2:47:53] This resolution takes the significant step in doing so by addressing the mass agents that
[2:47:58] are terrorizing our communities and by curtailing their ability to stage and plan the abduction
[2:48:04] of your constituents.
[2:48:06] I, Skidna, two people just this past Sunday of Van Buren and this is the same route that
[2:48:12] my mom takes every single day to work and every day that passes and not using the resources
[2:48:18] that the city has, leaves a significant portion of your residents vulnerable to disappearances.
[2:48:24] So I ask that you all vote in favor of this resolution and create a buffer between Terror and
[2:48:30] in the city of Harupa Valley.
[2:48:32] And I hope that this is just the beginning
[2:48:34] of your advocacy for the immigrant community
[2:48:36] in Harupa Valley.
[2:48:37] There was a strong, vibrant immigrant community, right?
[2:48:41] The question community has large, large roots
[2:48:44] in the Chicano and the Mexican-American community.
[2:48:46] And I think it makes Harupa Valley what it is, right?
[2:48:49] There's also a large population here
[2:48:51] that loves to, street vent to become entrepreneurs.
[2:48:56] And there's so much that we can be doing
[2:48:57] for that community as well.
[2:48:58] So I implore you all to continue this great resolution and the work that we're starting today, but also think about creative ways to support the entrepreneurship spirit of our immigrant community and help them along the way to get out of the shadows because it's been so hard economically for them to
[2:49:15] then and be out in the community.
[2:49:16] It's time to create some steps for them in order to step out of the darkness and really, really support their families.
[2:49:22] Thank you.
[2:49:23] Thank you.
[2:49:23] Thank you.
[2:49:24] All right.
[2:49:25] Elsa Hernandez.
[2:49:27] Hello
[2:49:44] and good evening everyone.
[2:49:46] My name is Elsa Hernandez.
[2:49:49] I am here representing the NLN Coalition for American Justice in support of the Resolution
[2:49:55] 2026-09.
[2:49:58] I coordinated community, community hotline for community members to report ice sightings,
[2:50:04] ice arrest, and we provide support and resources to those affected by this actions.
[2:50:09] Through this work, I received calls from families who are afraid to leave their homes.
[2:50:16] Many are living in fear due to mask agents abducting people without identifying themselves.
[2:50:23] Immigrant families should not have to live in fear. They should not be afraid to go to work,
[2:50:27] take their children to school, or go to the grocery store.
[2:50:31] Family should be able to live their lives in peace, and no one should have to leave their home
[2:50:37] I'm wondering about their loved ones being taken
[2:50:39] or wondering if they will return home to their families.
[2:50:43] This is why I strongly support your repavali
[2:50:45] and respectfully ask you to vote in favor
[2:50:47] of Resolution 2026-09.
[2:50:54] Thank you so much.
[2:50:55] Next speaker, Veronica Roman.
[2:51:14] Buenas noches a cada uno de ustedes.
[2:51:16] Mi nombre es Veronica Roman.
[2:51:19] Good evening to all of you.
[2:51:21] My name is Veronica Roman.
[2:51:28] I am speaking on behalf of the UN Coalition for Immigrant Justice and on behalf of the
[2:51:34] residents of Group of Alley.
[2:51:36] I am here to express my firm support for Resolution 2026-09.
[2:51:41] I am here to express my firm support for Resolution 2026-09.
[2:51:57] Today, a lot of families fear going outside, walking the streets, they fear going out to shop, and they fear going to work, including their kids going to school.
[2:52:07] There is a constant fear of being deported and being treated with violence.
[2:52:22] This is not an abstract fear, this is a stark reality for many families.
[2:52:32] Grupa Valley will not be complicit in the mass deportation actions of President Trump.
[2:52:37] Las familias no están viviendo en paz, están sufriendo de estrés, ansiedad y miedo constante.
[2:52:43] Families are not living in peace, they are constantly suffering with anxiety and fear.
[2:52:49] Los niños sienten esa inseguridad, lo que afecta subienestar, su educación y su salud
[2:52:54] emocional.
[2:52:56] And the children feel that insecurity, they are affecting, it's affecting their health, their
[2:53:00] education and their emotional health.
[2:53:08] Nobody should be living in fear for simply trying to live their daily life.
[2:53:12] A community that feels safe is a community that is stronger and united.
[2:53:27] I ask you all respectfully to support and vote in favor of Resolution 2027.
[2:53:32] six, that's zero nine, thank you.
[2:53:34] Thank you.
[2:53:34] Thank you.
[2:53:37] Leck, the next speaker is Lewis and Noesco.
[2:53:50] It's all good evening, but time is a 10.
[2:53:55] Also passed my bad time.
[2:53:56] My name is Lee's Noesco.
[2:53:57] I'm a senior policy advocate and organizer
[2:53:59] with the American Civil Liberties Union.
[2:54:02] I'm selling California here in the LN Empire.
[2:54:05] I mean, all of what I was planning to say has already been said
[2:54:08] by my colleagues at ICIJ just really strongly urge you
[2:54:12] to pass this resolution not only for the message that is sent to the citizens and the residents of Trurope Valley, but
[2:54:20] more so that we're not using any resources, right, from our cities and our localities to do what the Federal Government is doing.
[2:54:28] We have seen what these mass agents have done in Minnesota, taken lives, and we don't want to see that same thing happen here.
[2:54:34] And we should, by no means, spend our well-earned taxes and resources that we have here,
[2:54:42] here in the Olin Empire to assist these type of operations.
[2:54:45] So with that, we are used to strongly support this resolution.
[2:54:49] Thank you.
[2:54:49] Thank you.
[2:54:51] Martha Rivera.
[2:54:54] Martha?
[2:54:56] Dawn?
[2:54:56] Okay.
[2:54:58] Let's see, Daniela Ramos, Rodriguez.
[2:55:11] Good evening, my name is Daniela Ramos, and I am the youth organizer for the inlin Empire Immigrant Youth Collective.
[2:55:18] or organization helps undocumented students gain professional development, community, and advocacy skills.
[2:55:24] I am here to urge you to pass resolution number 2026-09, putting a stop to mass agents.
[2:55:31] Immigrant families have been in herpavali for years, decades.
[2:55:35] It's their home. They don't deserve to live in fear.
[2:55:38] Many of the immigration enforcement in this city and all of the inland empire has been unlawful and violent.
[2:55:44] People are scared, parents are scared, the youth is scared.
[2:55:48] I work with undocumented students and youth from mixed status families, daily including here and her group of alley.
[2:55:54] The need to protect undocumented students is there.
[2:55:57] We do what we can as a community to make students feel safe, comfortable, and important.
[2:56:03] But it's up to you as City Council to uphold and vote on resolutions that allow the youth to feel protected.
[2:56:09] This fear leads to a lower enrollment in schools causing lower levels of funding that impact the entire student body.
[2:56:17] It's also impacting undocumented students' ability to work towards a better future for them and their family.
[2:56:24] Do we really want the youth to carry such a burden when you have the power to help?
[2:56:28] Another important factor is the heavy work that educators, school counselors and allies are facing as first responders to the emotional trauma and distress that students are experiencing.
[2:56:38] the city must do everything it can to reassure and protect its residents.
[2:56:44] Passing resolution 2026-09 is a step in the right direction.
[2:56:50] Thank you very much.
[2:56:52] Next speaker, Yeni Ruiz.
[2:57:14] Hola, buenas noches.
[2:57:15] Mi nombre es Yeni Ruiz.
[2:57:17] Hi, good evening.
[2:57:17] My name is Yeni Ruiz.
[2:57:20] Me da gusto verlos juntos y conocerle a su persona.
[2:57:23] It's my pleasure to see you all together to meet your own person.
[2:57:30] I've been a resident of Whopper Valley for the past seven years and I've been witness
[2:57:39] to the large growth of the city for the last seven years.
[2:57:47] I'm here to ask you to support Resolution 2026-09.
[2:57:52] In my perspective, this will help reduce the abuse of authority, because it is
[2:58:01] evidently identified by the agents, which, for me, would reduce the death and uncertainty.
[2:58:07] From my perspective, this resolution would provide a buffered dilution of the terror and
[2:58:13] the anxiety that families have to go through.
[2:58:23] I am a small business owner and I work in food festivals and I work in the food industry.
[2:58:39] The problems that we're seeing across the country have impacted our customers and the
[2:58:45] vendors as well.
[2:58:55] This is not only affected my wages, but it has affected the local economy as well.
[2:59:14] This is not only affected my wages, but it has affected the local economy as well.
[2:59:18] I want to ask you all to support this resolution, and to remind you that big things could be accomplished when we were united.
[2:59:27] Please approve resolution 26 or 9.
[2:59:30] Thank you.
[2:59:35] Okay, thank you.
[2:59:36] That is the wrap up of the public speakers.
[2:59:38] Now, I'm going to call one other person up to give us some clarity.
[2:59:43] And that would, if you wouldn't mind, Lieutenant Sholda, would you come up here and I'll put you on the spot for a minute.
[2:59:51] Here's why.
[2:59:53] When we had previous, when the mast fell.
[3:00:00] Folks first showed up. We had several issues or incidents, a couple of them at least. And I immediately reached out to our lieutenant to ask him what their process was in order to validate that they are actually officers of the law doing their job rather than impersonating, you know, criminals impersonating officers. So can you give us a little bit of perspective, if you wouldn't mind, on how the Sheriff's Department is working to protect
[3:00:32] In any instance, where there are masked individuals, what is the process that you're using to ensure they are legitimate?
[3:00:43] So, when we do know about it, of course, this for full transparency, we do not know about when they come into town, what town they're going to.
[3:00:52] do. We hear about it through social media and or a call comes in for service through
[3:00:58] Dispatch 911. Then we show up, we respond, we identify, we make sure there are actual
[3:01:05] ICE agents and they're there for a law for reason. And then we stay there until the scene
[3:01:12] is cleared. We do not participate and we're done.
[3:01:17] So, what would your recommendation be if a resident is either seized an incident or as Armando had made a comment about somebody, you know, potentially breaking into somebody's house saying they have a warrant, you know, something like that?
[3:01:35] What should a resident do when they are in uncertain about who is approaching them?
[3:01:42] I would definitely call that one immediately, do not hesitate.
[3:01:49] So the bottom line that I wanted to try to point out is our sheriff's department and
[3:01:54] the city.
[3:01:54] We're working hand in hand for our residents here, not for the federal government, and
[3:02:00] we together will do what we can to ensure the safety and legitimacy of those who are here
[3:02:07] we're reporting that they are enforcing federal law, but we certainly are not going to let anybody run ramped or create illegal scenarios to expedite fear, which is what we're trying to prevent.
[3:02:24] So I thank you, if you want to add anything else you could.
[3:02:29] We're not going to act on any in concert with the federal government when we go to serve
[3:02:34] search warrants in the community, there are search warrants, there are not federal government
[3:02:39] search warrants, we're not going to go there for immigration purposes, vehicle stops,
[3:02:45] it doesn't matter, but at pet checks, it doesn't matter.
[3:02:49] Your status as a citizen doesn't matter, whether or not you committed a crime.
[3:03:01] And we appreciate that.
[3:03:02] So I think that was something I wanted the public to hear because our Sheriff's Department
[3:03:08] is not working with the federal government nor are we.
[3:03:11] I think this particular ordinance that is being asked to be approved has an additional
[3:03:17] point that I find interesting that I completely get behind the support and that is that we are
[3:03:23] saying that we are not giving permission to the federal government to use city property
[3:03:28] a staging areas or to utilize it in any other way, and that, to me, is a big thing.
[3:03:35] Because I think, for most of us, we've heard the federal government very clearly saying,
[3:03:42] you pass all the laws you want, we're not abiding by them.
[3:03:45] So I don't expect this law or this rule ordinance to have a major real impact on the federal
[3:03:51] government, because I don't think they're going to listen.
[3:03:54] They believe they're doing what they need to do and we believe that we're trying to protect our residents from what they're saying they need to do.
[3:04:02] So it's just going to be this pickle between us and them for a bit and hopefully things will settle down at some point.
[3:04:09] We'll see.
[3:04:10] We appreciate that. Thank you for coming up on the spot.
[3:04:13] I know I didn't give you a heads up, but I'm always happy that you're able to address the council.
[3:04:19] Any other comments, questions, concerns?
[3:04:23] Comment.
[3:04:25] And thank you everyone for coming in to speak and staying up past our bed times, and we're going to go home and knock out as soon as we can.
[3:04:33] I always look at everything in every perspective, and I look at it objectively, and sometimes that comes off as cold, but so I'm going to try the best I can.
[3:04:42] We have to be, and in the region, there's a lot of leaders who have to be very cognizant
[3:04:46] with this administration that people who speak up tend to become targets.
[3:04:52] But with that, I also want to be clear that we are at a time now where we can't be silent.
[3:04:58] We have to make a statement even if we know there might be consequences because we all know
[3:05:04] that folks who stand up, this administration makes a target of.
[3:05:08] We have to understand that, right?
[3:05:09] We're doing that, we think we're going to, I feel we're going to do the right thing and make a statement because it's protecting everyone, because citizens are being taken based on status non-citizens, it's affecting everyone, we saw we're in a good in Minnesota, we saw folks down in Ontario, they're not being specific on what they say they're targeting, which is criminals, we all know that a lot of evidence that is just false, and
[3:05:39] And what happened is Guy Country, how do residents know not to open the door?
[3:05:45] Like, know your rights.
[3:05:47] This ordinance is a statement that we stand behind all our residents of all statuses.
[3:05:53] But please, please, know your rights.
[3:05:56] Call 911 if you see someone that's masked.
[3:05:59] Let our sheriffs do what they are able to do and verify who that person is.
[3:06:05] And as many of you probably already know, the current state mask ban and identification law is currently in the courts.
[3:06:13] And instead of California has been very clear that they will not attempt to enforce that new law that they just passed until the court case is settled.
[3:06:21] So hopefully too, that will add more actionable items, assuming that it plays out on the courts the way that we the state of California hopes to play on the courts.
[3:06:31] So I'm in full of support of this, I don't think anyone can stay silent anymore, and I hope all our partners in the region join us.
[3:06:39] Thank you.
[3:06:39] And other comments, go ahead, Amanda.
[3:06:43] I'll do a final comment, Anwayan, and thank you all, thank you for those comments, thank you all for your comments, I think that it's hard to be asked and sometimes it's unreasonable to ask people that are in the line of fire or
[3:07:00] people that are facing, you know, this terror to be nice and to be kind.
[3:07:09] We have to, like Chris said, we have to make a statement, we have to take a stand, whether
[3:07:15] symbolic or not, whether it holds in the courts or not, we have to make it clear.
[3:07:19] And I think this helps make it clear that our resources won't be used to facilitate ice
[3:07:27] and the federal government's overreach here on community.
[3:07:31] Also reiterating the point, know your rights, super important,
[3:07:36] but also the constitution affords us the Second Amendment.
[3:07:40] So I know here in Rupa Valley, we're strong believers
[3:07:44] in the Second Amendment.
[3:07:45] I am, so defend yourself, defend your community.
[3:07:49] If criminals are coming up to your home with fake documents
[3:07:55] and trying to terrorize and kidnap and rob your community.
[3:08:00] You use the constitutional rights that we have in this country.
[3:08:05] Thank you all.
[3:08:11] Just want to say I guess a little story since it's not too late, right?
[3:08:17] This is, I agree with my colleagues and I feel it's kind of personal in a way
[3:08:22] because my dad always tells us a story that in the early 60s,
[3:08:27] He came to this country illegally and there was a roundup and he was part of that roundup.
[3:08:34] He got, there was maybe about 20 of them in line getting ready to put on a bus.
[3:08:38] And he says that there wasn't for his slim figure at the time, not because he was athletic
[3:08:43] or he was athletic but because he didn't have money to eat.
[3:08:46] He was able to fit in between a wall and a building, a brick wall and a building and he slipped
[3:08:51] through there with his component and they took off running into a park.
[3:08:53] work, and the way the wall and the building were, or was, by the time they ran around
[3:09:01] to find him, he had climbed up one of the big trees and hit up in top of the tree, and
[3:09:06] his compiler took off somewhere else.
[3:09:07] They lost each other, but he stood there for about 8 to 10 hours, he remembers, because it
[3:09:12] was early in the morning when the roundup was, and it was already sunsetting when he decided
[3:09:17] to climb down.
[3:09:18] He climbed down, he ran to a near-spaired phone called his
[3:09:22] compiler, they're still right together to this day.
[3:09:25] Came and picked them up and he meant it, he credits that day
[3:09:31] that he got away to the reason that led up to him meeting my mother.
[3:09:35] So I wouldn't be here if he hadn't got away.
[3:09:37] And so that's why I said it's personal, those type of things, right?
[3:09:41] And he got away.
[3:09:43] Later on, he naturalized.
[3:09:44] And so those things are kind of their hard stories, when he says it, he tears up and gets
[3:09:56] emotional about it, and so with that, we always stay in our family with the radio station
[3:10:02] and say, I support this ordinance, or if you want to make your emotional, all right.
[3:10:11] All right, any other comments before we ask for that?
[3:10:15] Good, all right, we have motion to approve.
[3:10:17] I'll make a motion to approve.
[3:10:19] All second.
[3:10:19] All in favor?
[3:10:20] Aye.
[3:10:21] Opposed, abstention.
[3:10:22] Motion does carry 5-0 unanimously, so there you go.
[3:10:30] Now for the fun, item 16-C, annual reconformation process for members of the community development advisory
[3:10:38] committee.
[3:10:39] Our city clerk, Maria Morris, we please have a staff report.
[3:10:42] Good evening, Mayor and Council Members.
[3:10:45] A status recommendation that per the city's municipal code, that the city council can
[3:10:49] city that reconfirmation of appointment of community development, advisory committee members,
[3:10:55] Nancy Chandro, Nadeira Ernaalis, Rachel Lopez, Jorge Ruiz, and Sonia Rape.
[3:11:05] This is just a yearly reconfirmation.
[3:11:07] Any anybody on the council wishing to ask for any changes?
[3:11:13] Are we good with the list?
[3:11:14] Move to approve.
[3:11:15] Second.
[3:11:15] All in favour?
[3:11:16] Aye.
[3:11:17] Opposed?
[3:11:18] Abstention?
[3:11:19] That carries.
[3:11:19] Congratulations to the members of the CDAC committee.
[3:11:24] Next we will move to item 16D.
[3:11:29] Annual reconformation process for members of the Public Works Advisory Committee.
[3:11:35] Ms. Morris.
[3:11:36] Yes, again, this is the same thing for the Public Works Advisory Committee.
[3:11:42] And this is a reconfirmation for our Robert Kalindo,
[3:11:46] along with the new news, Dennis Walls, process on the ban, and Josh Steffi.
[3:11:51] Move to the committee.
[3:11:53] Anybody want to make any changes?
[3:11:55] I move to seconded.
[3:11:56] It's moved.
[3:11:57] It's seconded.
[3:11:58] All in favor.
[3:11:58] Aye.
[3:11:59] Opposed?
[3:11:59] extension, motion carries unanimously.
[3:12:02] Congratulations to our public works advisory committee members.
[3:12:06] And next, annual reconformation process for members of the planning commission.
[3:12:11] As more as?
[3:12:11] Yes, again, a study is recommended that period of municipal code, the City Council can see it.
[3:12:16] Consider the reconformation of the appointment for the planning commissioners.
[3:12:20] Urieth de la Torre are linked to it, Christophe Rosales and Laura Schultz.
[3:12:26] The staff also wants to note that the Planning Commission, the Penning Human, has resigned
[3:12:31] from the Penning Commission effective today.
[3:12:34] Therefore, vacancy will be declared.
[3:12:36] The City Clerk's office will be scheduling disappointment vacancy the next City Council meeting
[3:12:42] on February 5th, and to allow no less than at least 10 days prior to that meeting, the posting
[3:12:48] of the pending appointments and received letters from interested residents as required by the
[3:12:53] municipal code.
[3:12:57] Okay. Can we do a line, a line vote on this one?
[3:13:00] Is there, well, let's ask the, I'll ask the question, what, what is, so, same question.
[3:13:06] Does anybody have any concerns with anybody?
[3:13:09] Say which one you don't want to vote for?
[3:13:10] Yeah, just, just get it out there so we know what we're talking about.
[3:13:12] I'll just move in some a second and then we can just say which one you want to vote for.
[3:13:15] Yeah, I don't want to vote for Laura Schultz.
[3:13:17] Okay, I'll say again.
[3:13:19] I don't want to vote for Laura Schultz.
[3:13:21] Okay.
[3:13:21] Sir, there's a motion rest.
[3:13:22] Are we leaving?
[3:13:23] I'll second the rest.
[3:13:23] So if the remaining balance is okay, so we have a motion on the balance without Laura Schultz will do her separate is that what he's just going to learn her the rest of the year. Let's do Laura Schultz separate.
[3:13:35] It's fine. We can we can do it separate whatever you guys want.
[3:13:40] So Laura Schultz will pull separate the balance we have a motion. Yes, no, sure.
[3:13:47] And a second? Okay, all in favor?
[3:13:50] Aye.
[3:13:51] Opposed?
[3:13:52] Abstentions?
[3:13:54] We have, I didn't hear two of you, that's the balance except for Laura.
[3:14:01] Yes, yes.
[3:14:02] Okay, now we have five, thank you.
[3:14:04] Now, Laura Schultz.
[3:14:06] I'm going to approve Laura Schultz.
[3:14:07] Second.
[3:14:08] You moving, you're seconding, anything you wanted to make comment about in regard to that, it's
[3:14:14] up to you.
[3:14:14] You guys are voting for her, so I'm just going to say no.
[3:14:17] Okay.
[3:14:19] So we've motioned a second, all in favor.
[3:14:21] Aye.
[3:14:22] Opposed?
[3:14:23] Of course.
[3:14:24] To opposed.
[3:14:25] To opposed?
[3:14:26] And abstentions zero.
[3:14:28] So that passes three, two.
[3:14:31] Europe's, you're abstaining?
[3:14:33] No, I said yes.
[3:14:34] Oh, you said yes, I said yes.
[3:14:35] Yes, yes.
[3:14:41] And let's see.
[3:14:42] That's where we are for that so next we move to item 17 city council member oral written reports regarding regional boards and commissions
[3:14:52] The RTA meeting
[3:15:02] We're going to present to the full RTA board, but this is in the committee meeting to, you know, so we talk about the transfer of the buses, the old buses, and we're, I think, on a list to get a bus. Well, we had a discussion recently about what about all the cars that we have, the ones that take the bus drivers to different spots, you know, there's like regular cars, you know, like city cars. And those have always been auctioned off.
[3:15:28] So we've now changed, we're in the process of changing the rules so we can add those into the mix to give those away and donate those to 501c3s and government agencies.
[3:15:41] So that, that is in process now.
[3:15:44] We are also modifying our procurement process for contracts.
[3:15:49] Again, this goes back to higher locally, so what we've decided to put to the full RTA board is
[3:15:59] If, when requests for proposals come in, in the event that the company that you would have given it to,
[3:16:09] the one with the best price, if a local contractor has also put in a proposal that's within 5% of that,
[3:16:19] they will be given an option to match the other contract, which is the lowest one,
[3:16:26] for an automatic basically way in to give it to local.
[3:16:30] So it's something we'll bring to the full board at the next RTA meeting,
[3:16:34] but that is a way for us to finally get some more local contracts.
[3:16:39] I like that. Can we do that here?
[3:16:41] We can discuss it.
[3:16:42] That'd be great.
[3:16:43] So why don't we wait a little bit and see how it pans out for that?
[3:16:47] Because yeah, I'm all for local, and that's one of the reasons we're talking about this.
[3:16:54] Well, I get that, but you could still do contracts, and that's outside of workforce agreement.
[3:17:03] Contracts would be a consultant.
[3:17:06] You know, it could be any contracts with city issues.
[3:17:08] So there may be something to it.
[3:17:11] We'll bring that back at some point, I think.
[3:17:15] Anyway, that's what I had to report on.
[3:17:18] And then Mayor Prattemberaas, you have a couple things to report on.
[3:17:22] Yeah, you're a simple WRCAG, regular business strategic planning.
[3:17:27] It continues every year, nothing exciting or important.
[3:17:30] I want to bore you guys, it's late contract cities, or three of you are with me up there.
[3:17:35] You guys saw and heard the marching sound of abundance.
[3:17:41] That is what we can, I'm not, you know, supporting a sponsor in the head anyway.
[3:17:47] Anyway, but that is the drum that they are beating to in Sacramento.
[3:17:53] I'm probably sharing with that book is that Governor Newsom read and
[3:17:58] hasn't inspired him apparently, and is asking all his director heads to read it as well.
[3:18:02] And the assembly members and state senators, this good information has depends on how you perspective and how you understand it.
[3:18:08] But that is what they are all looking at, state wise, and then I know a lot of my colleagues had a lot of good conversations up there.
[3:18:14] One thing that I will share again, I'm trying again, is trying to get an assembly member or
[3:18:19] a state senator to carry my truck camera bill for those that don't recall what that is.
[3:18:26] We, especially now with AB 98, that we have an implement, which I was very clear with a lot of assembly members and
[3:18:31] state senators that AB 98, all that requires is for every city to make a pretty map that can't be enforced.
[3:18:37] We don't have enough deputies to do truck enforcement.
[3:18:41] The deputies we do have, we like to focus on crime.
[3:18:46] So if we could finally get someone to have the courage to carry that bill,
[3:18:51] and be a champion for not only our community, but the region,
[3:18:55] then we can actually enforce the intention of AB 98.
[3:19:00] So hopefully I get somebody that will carry it, and I'll be able to share that soon.
[3:19:04] But that is all that some of you have already shared what we talked about up there, so it's it.
[3:19:08] Very good. Thank you for those reports. And anybody have questions for Chris or for myself? Okay?
[3:19:15] All right with that we will move to request for any future agenda items.
[3:19:21] Okay
[3:19:23] One thing I will mention to my colleagues here is that I know
[3:19:30] Mayor pertainment myself will be meeting with city staff to go over the priorities for this year
[3:19:37] And that's going to happen, I think, in the first week of February or second week of February.
[3:19:41] What I'm going to say is I'd like to meet with all of my council members before we get to that.
[3:19:46] So we can determine if there's additional priorities that we, or to make sure that the right, the list is in the right order.
[3:19:55] I know we have the master list, which we will go over.
[3:19:59] And I know that we've talked about things in the last several months that may or may not have hit the list.
[3:20:04] But we want to have fully engaged conversations throughout this year about all the things that each of us want to talk about.
[3:20:13] So expect to hear from me this week or early next week so we can get something set up.
[3:20:20] And with that, we will move to City Attorney's Report.
[3:20:24] Okay, any final council member reports or comments, Veronica?
[3:20:28] Okay.
[3:20:29] I do, I do have a comment.
[3:20:31] I just want to say that congratulations to those who are new appointees here.
[3:20:35] I'll be serving with us here in 2026.
[3:20:39] I do want to add to that and just say that as Miss Pam had mentioned earlier in her comments was that,
[3:20:47] it's important for us to show respect, kindness, and patience.
[3:20:52] And I hope that our appointees also got that same message as well too.
[3:20:56] I hope that they understand that we are all on the same team and that we all represent
[3:21:01] the same city. And because of that, that means that they should, they should conduct themselves
[3:21:07] with integrity and show respect to our community, not trying to intimidate, and to always act
[3:21:14] professionally because it's very important and the positions that we hold here in this city
[3:21:21] and as well as us as council members, as we give respect to the community, you know, we ask that the community give the same respect to us, and so should our appointees as well too.
[3:21:33] So I hope that with all of that being said, I hope that we can look forward to a better year in 2026.
[3:21:41] Thanks.
[3:21:43] Thank you.
[3:21:43] Cheers to that.
[3:21:45] Anybody else?
[3:21:47] Last round, comments?
[3:21:49] Well, let me get my dissertation.
[3:21:51] I'm going to fill a buster this meeting.
[3:21:54] Okay, well.
[3:21:58] All right.
[3:21:59] Yeah, we're not going to be able to do it during the meeting if you all leave.
[3:22:02] All right.
[3:22:03] No.
[3:22:04] Thank you for those comments.
[3:22:06] And I would say that all of the council,
[3:22:10] So all of the planning commission, all of the other committee members that represent and make up the city are all representing the city.
[3:22:18] And so I would hope that we all can work together and keep the fighting relatively quiet and get things done and concentrate on the real work that we need to do rather than on pushing people's buttons.
[3:22:33] But I know, I know life, it doesn't work always the way we want it, and we just, we'll make it work one way or another.
[3:22:42] So I look forward to working with all of our committee members and with everybody.
[3:22:48] So the good news is I'm out of stuff to say and we can go home now.
[3:22:53] So we will adjourn the meeting.
[3:22:56] We are going to adjourn the meeting at what?
[3:22:59] but 1048. Thank you so much.