By Sara Beth Williams–
After debate among City Council members and multiple public comments, the Citrus Heights City Council agreed to withdraw the motion to dissolve the Planning Commission temporarily and voted 3-2 in support of appointing a new at-large member to the Planning Commission.
At a prior council meeting on April 11, Vice Mayor Jayna Karpinski-Costa had requested that the City Council discuss “suspending the Planning Commission for a year or two.” The discussion topic was seconded by Councilmember Porsche Middleton.
During a May 9 City Council meeting, multiple public commenters voiced their opposition to dissolving the Planning Commission. Albert Fox called the motion to abolish the Commission “an ill-planned assault” on the community’s freedom to provide input on development within the city and added that less frequent meetings or the cost of city staff and attorneys at meetings “is not a legitimate cause for removing the Planning Commission as a public forum.”
Current Commissioner Tom Scheeler said Planning Commission members come from multiple backgrounds and experiences and provide “another layer” in which to review projects.
Former and current Planning Commission members discussed the responsibilities of the Commission members, including regularly reviewing use permits, design review permits, subdivision maps, and more, and warned that the City Council’s workload would “significantly increase” if the Commission were dissolved.
“The City Council has not taken on an effort to eliminate the Planning Commission,” Mayor Bret Daniels said in reference to several public comments. “A council member brought up the idea for discussion. A second council member agreed to bring that forward, and that doesn’t necessarily mean they’re in support or in opposition to that idea.”
Middleton echoed Daniels’ statement and added she had previously seconded the idea of a discussion so that Karpinski-Costa “would be able to have a voice,” as well as hear opinions from the community.
Karpinski-Costa stated that the passage of multiple legislative bills has rendered the actions of a Planning Commission “redundant” and added that the city of Rancho Cordova also temporarily abolished their Planning Commission at one point.
Karpinski-Costa also claimed that the Planning Commission has only conducted 13 meetings in the last two years because there were so few items to discuss. She also said she wished there were more public comments at meetings and claimed that only three commission meetings had public comments.
“I see the Planning Commission as an additional opportunity to engage the community,” Councilmember Tim Schaefer said, adding that it’s the council’s responsibility to “heighten that engagement to the greatest degree.”
Daniels mentioned a recent dispute that arose over the proposed subdivision of a lot on the corner of Mariposa Avenue and Church Lane and called the situation a “good example” that highlights the importance of the Commission in allowing the community to voice their concerns and moderating between two parties.
In response to Karpinski-Costa’s April 11 request, the city initially drafted four resolutions in the online agenda, but due to the withdrawal of resignation from Commissioner James Remick, one of those resolutions no longer applied.
The remaining three resolutions were presented to the City Council on May 9: direct staff to proceed with necessary Municipal Code updates to either dissolve the Planning Commission; appoint an individual, by majority vote, to fill the at-large unexpired term on the Planning Commission; do nothing and allow the Planning Commission to operate with existing members until 2025.
Karpinski-Costa withdrew her motion to dissolve the Planning Commission, and Schaefer nominated Area 3 Neighborhood Association President Kelsey Nelson to fill the Commission’s at-large vacancy.
Councilmember MariJane Lopez-Taff, Schaefer, and Daniels voted in favor of appointing Nelson to the Planning Commission. Middleton and Karpinski-Costa voted against.
Former commissioner Michael Lagomarsino, who had also applied for the position, clarified during the meeting that he had not served for eight consecutive years on the commission, as had been stated in a city staff report. Lagomarsino said he had a break of about six months in 2017 before being re-appointed to fill a vacancy. City policy allows for members who previously served eight consecutive years on the commission to be eligible for re-appointment to the commission after two years have passed.
