Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

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okay commissioner or vice chair Muhammad sorry Vice chair Muhammad are you ready to begin sense mhm I call this this regular planning meeting commiss Planning Commission meeting to order at 6:33 please stand for the pledge flag United States stands indivisible andice Nicole roll call please yes um Vice chair Vice chair devet Muhammad present um commissioner Eric Alman present appointed commissioner Marilyn abalon present appointed commissioner Shelby Goss present appointed commissioner Charles plumber present youth commissioner r Janda present and we'll go ahead and do the oath of office okay I'd like to call to the podium appointed commissioner Marilyn

abalon and if you could please raise your hand and repeat after me I state your name I maryn do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support and DEP defend that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the State of California and the constitution of the State of California against all enemies foreign and domestic against all enemies foreign and domestic and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and I will bear truth faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States to the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the State of California and to the Constitution of the State of California that I take this obligation freely I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion for purpose of observation evasion evasion and that I will well and Faithfully discharge I will well and Faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter the duties upon which I'm about to enter congratulations thank you thank you very [Applause] much I'll take if you oh would you like to take photos please stand up at the front and your phone are you well yes I

am congratulations [Applause] next I'd like to call Shelby Goss okay I state your name I shall be gos do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support and defend that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the State of California and the constitution of the State of California against all enemies foreign and domestic against all enemies foreign and domestic and that I will bear true faith and Allegiance and that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States to the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the State of California and the constitution of the State of California that I take this obligation freely that I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion or purpose of evasion and that I will well and Faithfully discharge and that I will well and Faithfully discharge the duties upon which I'm about to enter the duties upon which I'm about to enter congratulations thank you [Applause]

family I'll one more folks [Applause] and finally I'd like to call Charles plumber to the [Applause] podium all right I state your name all Charles plumber do solemnly swear do solemnly swear that I will support and defend that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the State of California and the constitution of the state California against all enemies foreign and domestic against all enemies foreign and domestic that I will bear true faith and allegiance that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of the United States to the Constitution of the United States and the constitution of the State of California and the constitution of the State of California I take this obligation freely I take this obligation freely without any mental reservation without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion or purpose of evasion and that I will well and Faithfully discharge that I will well and Faithfully discharge the duties upon which I am about to enter the duties upon about about which I am about to enter congratulations [Applause]

director Cooper can we take a picture with all of us yes and the new committee members very good idea for I will now open up for a public comment this time is reserved for members of the public to address the Planning Commission on items of interests that are not on the agenda and are within the subject matter jurisdiction of the Planning Commission it is recommended that speakers limit their comments to 3 minutes each and is requested that no comments be made during this period on items on the agenda members of the public wishing to address the Planning Commission on items on the agenda should comment via email prior to the start of the meeting or to verbally comment on the item during the meeting click the raise your hand button if joining by

Zoom or press star n if joining by phone when the item is called the Planning Commission is prohibited by law from taking any action on matters discussed that are not on the agenda and no adverse conclusions should be drawn if the Planning Commission does not respond to C public comment at this time speakers are asked to please speak clearly and provide their name any handouts for distribution to the planning commissions must be emailed by 3 p.m. on meeting day I have Germaine Dell good evening oh big voice um my name is Jermaine Dell I'm a journeyman carpenter representing Local 751 can you hear me um I want to speak to the importance of a livable wage proper benefits and hiring locally and apprentiship as a journeyman carpenter who has gone through the apprenticeship I understand the training and the value of the union and union jobs um they have provided me and my family with the opportunity to have a home health care and a pathway to a successful future also while in my career I've been fortunate enough to work in my community which is why I support hiring locally so much I believe it not only gives a carpenter a sense of pride in their Community but also creates positive economic impact in the community as well so in closing as we look to the Future supporting Union work local hiring will be essential for not only infrastructure but for Al also opportunities for our future generations to come thank you very much thank

you are there any other public comment in the room not related to the agenda Nicole are there any public comments on Zoom we do have Justin hle with his hand raised one moment please Justin please unmute yourself Justin please unmute yourself and begin speaking okay I can see that your mic is moving Justin but for some reason we can't hear you I'm G to I'm going to text Our IT department downstairs Justin hang on just one moment just bear with us for another Moment Justin Justin can you try speaking again please H okay just bear with us I have it working on it I

apologize okay this this may take some time maybe we can come back to non- agendized comments later okay okay Justin we'll try and get back to you later while our it Department's working on it anybody else on Zoom Nicole um let me I'm gonna it looks like our it person wants to try and test it so administrator please unmute yourself and speak okay we're still having the same problem it we can't hear you as well okay they're going to continue to work on the issue I apologize okay so if there are no further public comments I just like to welcome the new members congratulations and you have a job ahead of you and uh we're all we stand behind you 100% so congratulations to all of you thank you Fran no further public comment we're going to go ahead and D director Cooper are there any agenda changes Vice shair Muhammad There Are No Agenda changes tonight all right so we're going to go ahead and move the consent calendar make a motion to staff recommends the consent calendar to be uh continued to your next regular meeting on February 27th so that the new Commissioners have an opportunity to review the minutes from the last meeting okay and go ahead and take a motion yes

please do I have a motion to move the consent calendar to the next meeting February 27th yes I will move that we move the uh consent calendar to the next regularly scheduled Planning Commission meeting and do I have a second I'll second that Nicole roll call please yes commissioner Eric Alman I commissioner Marilyn abalon I commissioner Shelby Goss I commissioner Charles plumer I Vice chair dvet Muhammad I thank you all right we're going to go ahead and open this up to public hearings open up to public hearings thank you Vice chair um Muhammad um staff is recommending that the Crawford way multif family project design permit be continued to your next uh Planning Commission meeting the applicant would like some additional time to review the materials um this is a public hearing and so the Planning Commission would be appropriate to open the public hearing accept a testimony um that's here tonight and then close the uh public hearing and continue it to February 27th take a motion or hear the public hearing first you can just open the public hearing and then proceed as recommended by the director and then and then after afterwards your discretion you can continue it by a vote to the next meeting thank you so I will go ahead and open up public hearings on the Crawford way multif family project design permit I have speaker cards in front of me I have Demetria Thomas

hello I'm Dei Tom everybody calls me Dei um we live in the house right next door to the proposed is that better okay sorry um anyway I'm Dei Thomas and we live uh my husband and I live in the house right next door to the proposed uh project um I have some questions here uh I was thinking the developers might have been here but um there's supposed to be a 6 foot perimeter fence around the entire property we have a circular driveway in our home and two other driveways when we're leing through the driveway closest to the property having a 6ot fence right there is going to be a big Hazard for us trying to get out of our driveway if we want to turn right onto Crawford it's a hazard now with the tree that is there um so that's one thing the surveyors that were there uh a little while ago um they were measuring the property lines they left a big mess behind them on the property and my husband and I went and cleaned everything up after the fact so if you know who the surveyors are please ask them to be more careful when they're out doing their job um the other question is will a fir Tru be able to make a full circle within the property if there's only going to be one uh way in and out on Crawford way and if there's a problem uh and will the

balconies be facing our property we are going to lose quite a bit of privacy and when the fencing goes on their property will I be able to take my fence down and feel safe is it going to be butt up against ours there's going to be kind of an issue with the property lines I would assume so that's another thing to think about and um will there be a manager living on the property site when it's built 30 seconds I'm done thank you thank you Dei I have Teresa AA hello I'm Teresa ABA I live right next door to Dei so I'm the second house I have the complex dei's house my house she's like my family um so anyway I do appreciate the Aesthetics of the project and I really wish the developer was here with this plan CU we met with him and the the project does look nice but um I have opposition to this project so it's 100 units on a very small parcel 4.34 Acres it's just 1002 and three bedro bedroom units for that means three four maybe 500 people on 4.34 Acres it's it's just too many people I think they call it high density the only entrance an exit it's one on Crawford way and Dei mentioned

fire trucks but if there's a fire and all these cars are trying to get out and one entrance and the fire department is trying to get in that just doesn't make sense to me um the amount of traffic on this small section of Crawford way will increase substantially the traffic will only go north and south and merge onto James Road or Broadway also known as Highway 29 and it will just continue to cause further traffic backup through American Canyon especially during commute times and there more traffic I think will probably lead to more accidents at Crawford way and the highway because we already see them cars pull out slow it's a highway we see many crashes I just wanted to know if there's any plan for a light a stop light in the future there like there is one in Donaldson Way um and my last concern is parking 100 units means several hundred cars and the developer has a garage underneath but I doubt that all those residents will be using the garages so I'm concerned about the traffic parked up and down on Crawford way I'm sure they'll be using the business parking lots across the street just for their parking um let's see so the area that we live in is called Midnight Acres it's a rural area of American Canyon we have large lots and a lot of space between our home we have a lot of backyards and sidey privacy this high density project is taking some of that away from this it appears for those who live on the West Side Crawford way and James Road the

second store balcony will face right into our backyard I mean I saw it on the plan please begin wrapping up please begin wrapping up okay so I want to request that the developer besides that six foot fence put trees along that fence fast growing tall trees maybe 20 foot trees to protect our privacy thank you for your time thank you Teresa next speaker Philip Thomas hello my name is Philip Thomas uh my wife we live next door to the property I just have a couple of questions about the project um is this going to be a market rate project and is there any affordability component to it that's one question uh the second question is that I have is has the developer built any large apartment complexes before for uh that's a big issue um because I'm in the commercial real estate business I've seen a lot of apartment buildings built and 5 or 10 years later they turned into slum properties that's what I'd have a concern about and then who will be managing the property I'd like to know what their management experience is and um I think that's the only questions I had but I'm more concerned with the experience of the developer in developing large apartment buildings and the property management company that's going to take over take it over I'm really concerned that if it's not properly done and not properly managed it will turn into a slum property and we don't want a slum property next to our property that's the only questions I had thank you very much for your time thank you Phillip Leanne my name is Leanne Selenas and I

live at the uh James and Crawford house um my family came to americ Canyon in 1960 at uh that time we could play out in the streets and come in when the lights came on and that doesn't exist anymore you can barely get out of the driveway and cross the street safely I think there was a plan that was for senior citizens assisted living that was going to go on that piece of property some time ago I think that would uh create employment opportunities for the citizens of American Canyon which I would be happy to apply for um apartment buildings is too many already we need something more than jobs for um fast food gas stations and Walmart I think uh from if there was a senior citizen's assisted living or something similar that put on that piece of property there would be employment opportunities for maintenance workers um Food Workers Health Care workers doctors nurses Etc it would be a really great place to build something like that that could create jobs for American Canyon and the apartments that would be going in would bring in more people more crime way more traffic and there's too much of that already as uh from what I can see so I would like to consider not doing doing an apartment complex of that that size uh something else that would bring more employment opportunities and help create a better environment for all of American Canyon my opinion thank you thank you

lean anybody any other public comments Nicole are there any public comments on Zoom we have Justin hle on Zoom again I'd like to try him I believe it's a non agendized item but since we're taking public comment okay to wait finish this okay I I apologize Justin I've just been advised by our City attorney that we will get back to you after we complete this item I apologize any other public comments on Zoom regarding the Crawford way multif family project design there's no one else on Zoom thank you I will go ahead and close public hearing and I would like to entertain I will I will make a motion that we continue this hearing to our next regularly scheduled meeting and go from there do I have a second I'll second that motion Nicole roll call please yes commissioner Eric Alman I commissioner Marilyn abalon I commissioner Shelby gos hi commissioner Charles plimmer I Vice chair devet Muhammad I all righty moving on to the 285 Napa Junction so um Vice chair Vice chair Muhammad I think be appropriate at this point to um return to public comments okay we will go ahead and return to public comments non-agenda it items all right Justin I'm going to ask you to unmute yourself now hold on all right Justin okay Justin I can see your microphone moving can you try speaking up a little

bit Justin I really apologize it seems that we're having a lot of technical difficulties at this point I know it can hear me in the control room if you could please take a look at this um Justin if you'd like to send an email I will make sure that the Commissioners get it I apologize I apologize for the technical difficulties everyone thank you Nicole we will go ahead and move on to the next agenda item 285 Napa Junction citation appeal um we I've consulted with the c oh sorry I'm we're going to close public comment non- agendized items we're going to move on to the next agenda item I have consulted with the city attorney's office and due to financial conflict of interest I need to rec recluse myself recuse myself and we will have provisional chair Alman I think the what should happen is because of the configuration of the Planning Commission um the you do have an obligation to recuse yourself uh that requires your removal from the dis and preferably exit the hearing room um the next commissioner with the most experience is commissioner Altman I think the commission should entertain a motion to confirm commissioner Altman as the provisional chair for the next mam on the agenda which is the matter from which you are disqualified so it would be appropriate for commission motion to confirm commissioner Alman as the chair for agenda item number four because of the required recusal of Vice chair Muhammad someone can make that motion

I'm happy to make a motion to uh have interim chair Alman um continue the conversation on item number four 285 Napa Junction citation appeal I second that motion Nicole roll call please yes commissioner Eric Altman I commissioner Marilyn abalon I commissioner Shelby Goss I commissioner Charles plumber I Vice chair devet Muhammad I okay well thank you Planning Commission members of the public I'm Brent Cooper community development director for amican Canyon and I'm here to uh provide a brief overview for an appeal of a citation at uh 285 Napa Junction Road um here's just a vicinity map showing the property uh at the end of today's snappa Junction Road the West Side um a key issue related to this has to do with the zoning code um I have a a segment here from the zoning code that shows that in the medium density residential zoning District where the property is located um shows that vehicle storage is not permitted um the code designates that by a dash um if something is permitted there will be a p and if it requires a conditional use permit which is a different form of entitlement there would be a c so a dash shows that there's it's not permitted and as you can see um it's also not permitted in

other residential zoning districts I have this one RM highlighted in yellow um there was some uh rece C received a complaint that there was a food truck stored on the property um in around March toward the end of March of 2022 and um as part of our investigation um the photograph was taken from the public RightWay um which you can see that there was a food truck located there which is a commercial vehicle um over different times um there was uh photographs that were taken uh of the property um through um April and May of 2022 kind have a a brief uh explanation of the code enforcement process um when a property um has a code violation um it's natural for residents to not know the code that's you know clear and and it's expected um and so our code enforcement uh process is one where the first notification is one just to inform a property owner what the code is and then it includes a time frame for when uh be reasonable for the code violation to be resolved um we're really interested in in res resolving code violations and so we're often flexible with the time frames for it everyone has their lives um things to do um there could be also some time to sort of process that that whatever is happening on the property um doesn't meet with the code so um if there's a there's a time frame to to clarify and and correct the violation if that doesn't happen in the correct period then we offer a second um courtesy notice to remind that there is

a violation there and there's a new deadline to correct the violation um and so in the case of of this project um there were three notifications um and there's no there's no fine for this that's it's um uh it's a request with a deadline um the code enforcement officer spoke to the property owner and the property owner requested a 30-day extension for time frame which was granted um and so that pretty much takes us um to the beginning of May of 2022 um around that time the city received uh a letter from a la Law Firm moss and Russo um expressing a concern that the code enforcement had a basis in um discrimination uh and so at that point um code enforcement ceased we put held it in OB bance um and we forwarded the letter to our City attorney and so um on October of 2023 the City attorney issued a letter saying that there was no evidence of um discrimination and the city doesn't support that the um issue had been identified based on the zoning code um and so we continued to wait for compliance um up until around uh beginning of September of 2024 so um that was about 27 months in between for for held in AB band um unfortunately compliance didn't happen and so um according to the municipal code if the um courtesy notices aren't

successful in a voluntary compliance then the municipal code would call for citations which unfortunately come with a a fine a progressive fine as each um citation continues and so um in let's see around um the October and November of 20124 there were three citations each of them had a two-e compliance date and and it was after the third one that we received uh an appeal for the um citation uh on the basis of of um discrimination so when the planning commission's considering they're the appeal body for a citation appeal which is the property owner's right um the municipal code spells out the criteria that the Planning Commission must use to judge whether or not an appeal is um worthy of being upheld or or not and so um the unisal code um says that the Planning Commission shall only consider evidence related to whether there was in fact a violation and whether the notice went to the property owner or the person responsible for the property there's um I think if you're 18 and your I think your parents become responsible if you're 18 but if you're the property owner then you're the you're the responsible person um in the case of the evidence that that we have um the person that received the violation is in fact the property owner and um the property was storing commercial vehicles which is inconsistent with the zoning so from our staff's perspective

uh and recommendation um there is no basis to support the appeal I think you know we're very sensitive to the way in which uh we work with the community and I think it's all very um clear that there is you know presence of discrimination in our society and I think we recognize it could certainly feel that way um and so we're we're very sensitive to that um nevertheless the code says what it does um and and we're obligated under our charge to uphold the municipal code and so um the the um issue hasn't been resolved and and therefore our policies would say that code enforcement must continue um in addition to um the letter that we received there was some additional concerns that weren't specifically related to this uh code violation but but others elsewhere in the city um it pointed out that there were some sign code violations uh in their view um near their property and so we have opened up which is their right to to say that anybody has that um and so we've opened up a code enforcement case related to these sign code violations and we're researching and pursuing them um the letter referred to some other concerns um but in our view we weren't able to discern exactly what those concerns were but if the property owner would like to clarify those um we're happy to follow up with any other code violations that that they may uh believe exist in the city which is any which is anybody's right um and then the third issue it raised had to do with food truck processing um and so there weren't any specifics as to what the concern was and we're always happy to

talk to people about any concerns they have uh about a project they may have with the city to kind of work through and resolve concerns so um kind of bringing us to the staff recommendation um we believe there the criteria to approve the appeal hasn't been met and so it would be our recommendation to deny the appeel um but I think in in this case uh it might be appropriate um if the Planning Commission concurs um to provide the Planning Commission with the opportunity to to work with the app to the property owner on on a reasonable compliance date I mean we're really concerned about compliance that's kind of what our goal um and if that may help resolve the issue I think that might be um kind of a nice way to do it and in this case if if there is an agreement on a compliance date and the property owner achieves that um I think staff would recommend that the citation fines that have been assessed would be returned to the property owner um citation finds are really meant to to encourage compliance and at the end of the day if that happens it's it's not about the money it's it's about the compliance and so I think it'd be fair um to to return return the fines so that's concludes my presentation I'm glad to answer any questions that you have any questions for staff from the commissioners seeing none um or do we yeah me please go ahead my question is was the property owner given a chance to fix the issue before the citation um oh thank you uh youth commissioner Janda um yes the property owner was given um three courtesy

letters there was a telephone communication and a 30-day extension in addition to the time that each of the notifications provided uh another one of my question is did the owner provide any evidence to dispute the t uh citation um we were unable to discern any substantial evidence to support their appeal thank you any other commissioner questions um just so I'm clear the the fines that have been levied have been collected or have not been collected already um uh thank you commissioner plumber um in order to uh qualify to appeal uh citation it's necessary that the property owner pay the fines and so the city is holding those funds today and and those are the funds that I would suggest if if it is resolved between the property owner and the Planning Commission that they be returned to the property own commissioner Avalon I have a clarifying question how many um H how many months have passed from the code violations um it began the we received um the first complaint in um March of 2022 and so we are uh approaching 3 years in 3 years minus four months or so three month thank you any other questions from Commissioners another one of my question is has the owner set up any meetings or communication to talk about the citations um for this question I'd like

to um refer it to our code enforcement officer she has the firstand knowledge of of communications between her and the property owner um Tiffany would you mind coming to the podium hi Commissioners um so since issuing the citation Tiffany I'm sorry can you lean in and speak since issuing the citations there's been no direct communication to me um that's been through the the the their attorney there was one telephone call I think you had but she said since the CIT thank you any further questions from Commissioners no thank you code enforcement officer thank you uh director Cooper and I would love to at this point hear from the uh property owner and or their representation uh in legal terms the appellant uh thank you ladies and gentlemen uh you always know with attorneys they're always going to disagree with uh the law I mean it's seems that's what they teach in law school but I want to make something very very clear that I'm sorry could you please state your name for the record oh I apologize uh Daniel Russo I'm an attorney uh in valo been there for

almost 50 years uh so when you have Municipal Code or any code enforcement it can't be used in a discriminatory fashion now the code of uh the the the uh the gist of what I just heard was well look this is black and white uh if you did it and uh you don't remove it your guilty is charged and that's the end of it and it can't be because Municipal codes can't be used in a discriminatory fashion and it can't violate due process one would think that the municipal code in this in American Cannon enshrines due process and so here's our problem in this case uh we don't contest the fact that uh Mr Lara and the this is the owner of the property Michael Lara and this is William Lara they both uh and their fathers here too uh they both established the residents of this community for a long time they have several businesses in this community uh they employ 10 people in this community and so when this issue first arose I think it's really important to understand that the responsiveness of the hearing officer and it's not really true that the hearing officer I think she misspoke I don't think intentionally she's had no contact with these folks because she had contact with them at their restaurant uh where she was complaining to them about signage in the restaurant and they pointed out to her that all around the restaurant were all these

really large signs that were much larger but to get to the point and not waste all your valuable time uh what I had when when Mr Lara first came to me what I said was I looked at the code and said you're violating the code and Mr Lara explained to me that there was countless examples of other individuals violating the code and so what I had him do is take a series of photographs and I and I apologize to the commission uh because I only made two copies uh and I should have made enough for everybody of instant after instant of violations ongoing continuous violations uh in his neighborhood his own property he has uh two minor children uh Mr William Lara does and his property has been blocked by commercial vehicles so many times that he had a transfer his children from the school they were in because he couldn't get there on time the city's uh lot storage lot for commercial vehicles is right next to his property but it's not uncommon for him him to have uh trucks and vehicles blocking his property so I I mean I'm curious to see who made these complaints but if the commission is open to seeing the evidence uh what I'd like to do is present a series of photographs that reflect the vast amount of commercial vehicles parked in pure resident IAL neighborhoods in the city of American Canyon right near Mr Lara

and in fact right behind the police station right behind City Hall and have been there for a long time because this the municipal code says they're only supposed to be there five hours and we we have photographs of vehicles that have been there literally for weeks so when I say uh I it's true that Mr L Mr Lara has violated the ordinance what I'm saying is it appears that he's being singled out and to the point that he had uh uh some other folks from the city come and open the manhole in front of his house and when he questioned them about why they were doing that they said well we got a complaint that was Greece in the sewer lines and obviously the implic ation of that is that he dumped Greece from his uh uh truck into the sewer lines and that's that's a fair thing well there was no evidence of Greece and they came three times so you know someone who is an employer a taxpayer and a citizen of American Canyon it starts to look even from the most objective Viewpoint as he he is being specifically single out and it's impacting his ability to conduct his business and his livelihood and even his enjoyment of his own property so uh if you're interested in that if you feel that's an issue uh I can I can show you these photographs because I do I do think it's clear evidence of a discriminatory uh procedures so I'll say this sure we are always interested if there is actual

evidence of discrimination we want to know about it so I would encourage you to please provide the evidence you've got but I will also follow on with a couple of quick questions um I don't know and nothing here tells us who or where the initial complaint against Mr Lara came from right what I would ask is with the evidence you're providing did M Lara notify code enforcement so that they could then investigate and look at all of the different examples you're mentioning because as I understand it and I will ask the code enforcement officer and director Cooper and City attorney Ross to chime in as appropriate um the code enforcement officer doesn't drive around looking for issues and then basically self-report them code enforcement receives a call or receives a notice that there is a violation and then goes and investigates so until someone notifies nothing happens and so in this case I am operating on an assumption here I'll tell you that right up front but that there someone and I have no idea who made a complaint and if mrar it has an you've got evidence of other violations we'd love to know about them because we'd like to get them cleaned up as well um but if he did not register a complaint to code enforcement we're not going to enforce them well when we initially took the photographs and I if I can respond to you commissioner uh when we initially

took the photographs we sent them to the City attorney we sent them to the uh code enforcement and uh and so uh the idea and with all due respect the idea that you can drive through the city be right next to City Hall and not see commercial vehicles part one behind the police station parked there for weeks I I mean I understand that this is a complaint driven process I I do understand that but that's like saying well someone complains they breaking my window and on the way to driving to seeing my window being broken there are 40 other houses with broken windows I I just don't think it it doesn't work that way I think one of the things that a a municipality owes to its citizens is to make sure if they enforce uh uh the code that they enforce it evenly and so I I don't know who who made the complaint and honestly I'd almost invite the Commissioners to go out and look at the property because the city has stored right next to his property some maybe 25 commercial vehicles uh so I really it's hard for me to kind of look at that and God help us all in common sense and say well the someone made a complaint about his food truck so I'll offer you the evidence and you can take it any way you want to I just want to make my record you know and I think uh the laras contribute a lot to this community uh and I think they do great stuff here and I think it's unfortunate they have to go through this Mill we're not interested and I want to and I

appreciate uh uh Mr Cooper's offer we're the $800 is is meaningless I mean it's it's money and things cost money but it really is meaningless in terms of what is happening to them uh so if I can I I can have him identify it or I can simply I think the photographs are kind of self-evident with the exception of a few of them so maybe I could have I could pass out some of the photographs and just and have them briefly explained we won't spend a lot of time on it yeah just telling them what it is so this I'm going to this is Mark one we're we're here to hear the appeal and we need we need in order to consider the appeal we need to have the evidence that we can take a look at and so I'm going to have the occupant uh not the site te but the occupant William Lara tell us William what is photograph one reflect good afternoon um so this right here is you're looking at the view from you're looking sorry you're looking at the view from my property and where I live and you can see about I don't know how many commercial vehicles being stored there um at that time I'm not sure if it was Martin Bros Martin Brothers or construction company or if it's the one that stores their vehicles now which is Russell Square um they all store their commercial vehicles [Music] um you know at first you know when I saw it I of course I felt you know like I'm being discriminated I said well how can they say we're not allowed to have one food truck here or but you have several commercial vehicles and then like um Mr Russo was saying it got to the point where I was being blocked by semi trucks and a couple people from the city would say oh are you blocked and I say yes and more more than I would say three four

times um people forgot their keys to their Bobcats or however whatever machine it was and we'd have to wait my wife was was late um to drop off the kids in private uh in the school in Napa so we'd have to after a year of taking them to school in Napa we had to take him out um because we were late every day every morning and I brought it up to the the guy that was in charge at Martin Brothers and he was um he was really nice but the workers they they got annoyed about it and they said oh we're working you know we're working doing our job but it got to the point where we were just late every day um Okay so can I interrupt for just a second with a with a question um or two which is do we know the address of this property and do we know the zoning of this property so I'm 285 Napa Junction Road this is the property right behind um right behind the city hall uh not not the vacant one with the not the one with the house but the vacant lot where all this vehicle commercial vehicles are being stored I would say right across the street from the old Napa Elementary okay let's just stick to describing the photograph so we're not here all night okay okay the the just so you understand the reason I'm asking this question is if we're talking about and and I don't know because I don't have the zoning Maps memorized uh within the city so so but but the issue of course is is that Z is it is that zone a residential zone or is that zone a non-residential Zone where commercial parking commercial vehicle parking may be permissible I don't have that answer so you know I but but that's why I'm asking the question

because that becomes part of the issue here if that is a in a Zone an area of zoning where commercial parking is legal then there's no there's no discrimination there's no violation and and so on so you know I don't know that's why I'm asking for the address and if we know what the zoning was a house there before I so let uh William why don't you tell us what's on two two is um more commercial vehicles being parked um this time you can see well you can see one blocking the road to leave my property um that day I don't remember I wish I would have gotten better photos there you could see I don't know how many vehicles uh being stored in the property right across from mine and a Peter Built semi Tru blocking the road okay now uh let's go on to three and what does three reflect three is a house I believe right behind the 7-Eleven on what is it real de real demore real demore commercial vehicle being parked in front of their house okay how about uh four and let me give them copies of four four is on hulum Lane there are several so I if

I if I can go back to three for a quick moment um and again I'm ignorant on California vehicle law so bear with me um we've got a side view and there's no question that this is a work truck that you're showing here this is uh A1 guaranteed what I can't see and what I don't know is does that vehicle have a commercial plate which would make it a commercial vehicle or does it have a regular plate because it is basically a van uh and so on and people can use personal vehicle as a business vehicle without it being a commercial vehicle correct right but they can't uh put a license on the uh vehicle so okay so we know this this is why right this is this is why I say I I am not an expert on on California vehicle law so okay uh now this is uh so we're talking about four and what is four William four you see here a couple of bobcats and tractors I believe it looks like on hul Lane it's a property probably same size as mine with few Bobcats being stored okay and then uh give me five five you only have one photograph of five and what is five five is an international um I A semi-truck so it's an international truck um much larger than a food truck parked in a driveway on I'm not sure what the street behind the Canyon Cafe is but that road right there okay and then six oh do we have two copies yeah okay yes so why you tell what six

is six is a ezu box truck commercial vehicle parked in a driveway um I believe it's on the same road by what is that the 7-Eleven okay the same thing okay we can go to I and I apologize to the board but no we can you don't have to give them an order do you want me to go to the taco trucks no no let's go to this okay uh 20 is more what's 20 20 is another commercial vehicle commercial truck being parked um on the side of a house um in the wetlands and then uh this is 13 tell us what 13 is 13 is another ezu box truck being and some type of commercial van I'm not sure what kind it is it's a commercial vehicle it's actually three commercial vehicles being parked in front of a house and as well that's wetlands area this okay tell us what what number is that do we have a number marked on that the taco truck taco trucks okay well let's do the taco trucks and this is the one behind the police station right there okay here well you got to talk about that all right so right here it is an aizu box truck um right parked right behind the American Canyon police station it's graffitied and tagged all over it and it's been there for quite a while for over a year it's been in the same position and as my client said it's right behind

the police station okay and then uh what's uh 25 NAA Junction Street na Junction Road it's okay so this this one is um a black taco truck parked and another commercial vehicle is a commercial van but this was a black um taco truck parked on a property on I believe it's called com Napa Junction Street okay I that let's get don't we talk about I don't know I can't even read my own writing on this one here uh let's go to this one so this is another this looks like a Chevy vehicle a Chevy commercial vehicle U parked in front of a house on looks like I believe in vintage Ranch area so what I'm trying to get the board of flavor of it literally carpets this city with commercial vehicles in really visible spots and unlike Mr L's vehicle which is I'm sorry excuse me sir could you please talk in the microphone the um your what you're saying we'd like to hear and folks online can't and the recording wouldn't catch it either okay uh and I apologize I'll try to do that uh so what we're showing is a wide variety uh of vehicles in not hidden or concealed but out in the open and continuous and so you can understand uh

and we have countless examples of Vehicles parked you know beh behind the police station uh near near this very building uh so if that was the sum in total that it would be problematic but he's all Mr Lara has had contact he has a business Canyon the old Canyon Cafe which he's changed and uh the this code enforcement officer came to that place and complained about his sign which in comparison to all the other signs surrounding it was very small and that's I guess what that became a complaint and some code enforcement was done but it it comes down to I mean I can understand in any of the photographs we got we gave you if a neighbor those are all pure residential neighborhoods if a neighbor complained and said hey this guy's had or This Woman's had a semi in front of my house for a year and a half but it I know you can't disclose who made the complaint but it seems that in an area that's filled with commercial vehicles to single out Mr Lara he can it appears to be a discriminatory purpose and uh so that's what we want to bring to your attention I I do believe that that's an issue you must consider I do not agree with Mr Cooper that the simple violation of a municipal code is

not subject to doe process I I just don't accept that uh but I guess you know maybe the City attorney disagrees with me I'm sure he does uh and uh unless you have any questions for uh Michael Lara who's the owner or William Lara who's the occupant uh I'll submit it on that I think we may have some questions so let me uh open it up I know I've got a couple more that I I'm interested in and let me open it up to uh Commissioners um my question is were these these pictures taken before or after the citation these are during the citation excuse me could you repeat that when I'm sorry these photos were taking dear in the citation in other words at the same time could you be more specific during I'm sorry I'm sorry what was that could you be more specific as to time this is well I could clear it up because I asked for the photographs to be taken some were taken uh the same day as the citation uh all three sit the most recent citations some were taken earlier when when uh and uh when this F when the issue first arose and we submitted some of these photographs earlier and some were taken maybe a couple weeks ago as well another one of my question is the owner was giving three citation how come they didn't communicate or resolve the situation well I can speak to that I I called the

city uh I wrote uh Mr Ross and he was more than uh I think he was responsive to me and wrote a response but the as I said the situation was going to change uh and uh so the city's been aware of our position for since we sent the photographs and that's more than the first time was more than a year ago yes thank you I actually have a question for um a code enforcement officer if you don't mind um could you may help me understand and clarify uh code enforcement for private property versus public streets so I don't enforce um parking violations on public streets I enforce on private property can I ask just a follow question if you're done sorry apolog just a question on that if if a complaint was filed and the uh say a commercial vehicle in this case was on public streets you would uh investigate that complaint I I would forward that complaint to PD because I often get complaints of vehicles parked on the street and those complaints get forwarded to PD okay thank you I just wanted to understand the process thank you and just can I have a question so commercial vehicles that are parked in private driveways would be in your domain yes okay thank

you so I I have questions about this um I'm not sure who to direct it to though because I don't think this is an issue just for you um I understand essentially what this comes down to is the city is saying that you violated this code and you're saying that you are being unfairly held to that when a lot of instances there's no enforcement right and that feels unfair I I I'm understanding that correctly right okay yes yes so I think from at least my perspective you know what we're talking about tonight like for the mission to decide is uh about the appeal itself and that seems very limited in scope and what [Music] you're the issue that you're raising seems much broader and I'm wondering what the process would be to address it because I'm not sure that the appeal process fits specifically but I I don't want to dismiss the issue entirely I just am not sure what the correct Avenue would be yeah and I respect that and I mean maybe the City attorney wants to chime in but what I what I'm trying to say to you and and I know there's disagreement here is that any Municipal Code has to be imposed with due process so you can so you can raise the issue of due process and UNC unconstitutionality and I'm not saying that that it is constitutional what I'm saying is that this individual's due process is being violated because a code is being

enforced in discriminatory fashion the whole history of civil rights is the is codes that were made in the South that were infor that on its face were completely non-discriminatory and fair but were enforced in such a manner and so that's that's that's what our argument is but your analysis is correct from what Mr Cooper says this issue can't be raised and I appreciate the board giving that uh me that time but I'm trying to avoid uh litigation to be perfectly honest I'm trying to figure out what is really going on be you know but I appreciate your comment any additional question questions from anyone or are we up to me um I have a question were there any complaints for the neighbor about this situation I kind of don't understand that because you said like neighbors could complain about this stuff were there any complaints or no uh uh supposedly there was but no one have no neighbors he see here's the thing that is a little bit distorting he has no neighbors if you look at the map there was one house but the house was demolished so he doesn't really have any neighbors and and that leads to a certain amount of cynicism about who made the complaint thank you Comm ralon

anything thank you for the photographs they they they tell a a lot in this picture well thank you thank you well thank you for giving us the time hang on I've got I've got a variety of of uh points of clarification and information that I'd like to try and understand here um to to sort of help uh me wrap my head around all of this I I certain certainly can appreciate um and and uh am very concerned with any allegation of discrimination I also uh know that the Lara family has contributed to the community and so I'd like to as an aside just thank them um I know that they have a tax business and and I believe that is why our uh Vice chair had to recuse herself um you know so so uh and and you mentioned Canyon Cafe now the buo spot at Canon Cafe um and and so on so you know from what I will make clear is certainly from uh those of us on the commission there is absolutely no um discrimination we're appreciative of businesses uh contributing to this community um now my couple of points and questions are I see the pictures um I look at them and this is is where I go back to a comment that I believe you made Mr Russo which is if it's parked for 5 hours it's not a violation that's right it's got to be longer than that and so the problem that I've got with these pictures is there're one-offs and it's not a picture of the same vehicle in the same spot on two different days on four different days

whereas we have pi pictures for better or worse of the Lara Taco Truck on their property maybe not in the exact same location but on their property at different time periods and that's completely reasonable but what I suggested to Mr Lara was to only photograph Vehicles he saw on consecutive days so that if he saw a a a vehicle parked on one day he wouldn't photograph it until the next day so that he at least knew it was 24 hours sitting there so I I mean I I I don't know if that helps but you know I I would have preferred him to to take two photos that would in fact be able to show the time and so on um BEC because you you get where I'm coming from in terms of reasonable question looking at at it it's like okay you've got a bunch of pictures and there's no question there are pictures of commercial vehicles some of them are on public streets so that's not a Code Enforcement issue as we've heard but some of them are not some of them are on driveways which would be some of them are in other positions um on on lots and so on so there's potentially some things that give Credence to the argument that you're making speak right I understand but in in my estimation without having that timeline as I look at this I can't say that I'm seeing any kind of pattern of discrimination which is what I would need to be convinced of in order to think of buying into your question

before even turning to um the City attorney to you know inquire as to your points on due process so you know I mean that that's where I'm at not to dirty up the issue with common sense but we could all take a drive right now and see 90% of these vehicles the ones parked in driveways their commercial vehicles I mean they're the burden on Mr Lara has been a lot you've already heard that as a result of what's been happening uh he's had to take his children out of school so it's really impacted him and I understand uh you know if this was a CRI criminal case I'd have to show guilt Beyond a reasonable doubt that's not happening what we're trying to do is present to the board the appearance what the appearance is and the appearance is is that Mr lar is being discriminated against you may find that he's not but we're concerned because it impacts his business and his ability to H have a livelihood in this city well I I hear you and and completely understand and then um I guess where I'm struggling with some of what you said though is is well actually I'll come back to this let me go to add something real quick to to this to this answer sure please go ahead thank you first of all good evening um their father and uh please state your name for the record my name is Emil Yola we were blessed with the opportunity to move here to Aman Canyon uh 21 years ago back in 2004 and I am extremely proud to be a member of the community uh over the last 21 years we have several opportunities to move to

other cities but we would never even think about it because we love our city we are proud of our leaders we are proud of our American police we are proud of the community and and we love it here that's why it really bothers me to see this no um like you said this could be one single incident this could be uh Vehicles park on the road no these our vehicles Park on driveways we can go and by next week we can have three different pictures or four different pictures or five different pictures of the same Vehicles no on different days and we will have those okay okay also what really bothered me the most is that finally I really believe that my the city that I love so much through maybe one person or or or through a a flu or whatever it is is single in all my kids it really hurts me it really bothers me you know and I have a perfect example of that my kids just bought the K Cafe the um they have now was uh the various P Cafe um and shortly after they opened they were doing great they were they were told they had to take down their banners because banners were not permitted after so on so the lady that came in Miss for it said it's not my department but I believe and she started looking trying to do some extra digging to see about the banners and she said they had to take the banners down they pointed out that right across the street there's a hotel with six banners six banners not one not two not three but six banners but she said that's not what I'm here for I'm here for your one right behind this house the apartments the new condos apartment

there's a huge huge Banner as big as a a almost whole building that's not the issue either right in front of 7-Eleven right across the street from 7-Eleven the apartment complex there are two banners one in each Corner that is not an issue either Chicken Guy pizza place so many other baners around the city that is not the issue either the issue is your business guys come on my kids are trying to be good citizens of American Canyon trying to add to the city try trying to to be a business successful business here pay taxes hire people in American Canyon because we love the city you know just give him a break help him give him a chance to be successful I mean that's all we want we want to be a proud member of our city like we've been for the last 21 years that's all I'm asking appreciate that and and just as an FYI not that it's relevant to anything I moved here the same year you did ohw 2004 so uh you know been here just as long and and have similar feelings in general about the city love it it's why I'm involved it's why I'm on the Planning Commission um trying to help Advance the city in whatever little limited role I may have so I thank you I thank and again I thank your kids because they are contributing what what you said they are doing they have successful businesses as a family you have successful business is in town where you're hiring people in the community so for me personally and for me in whatever limited capacity I have

as the uh interim chair of the Planning Commission at the moment you know on behalf of the city I you know we thank you we we want folks like you in this community so you know the the allegations of discrimination are con erning that's why we want to hear you out it's also the why you know we need to ask questions to understand to see and so the the bottom line question that I was going to get to really is is this this has been going on for nearly three years I guess I look at this and I go so I understand the Discrimination but I don't think the Discrimination you know and correct me if I'm mistaken here but I think the Discrimination is is that is that an allegation from the beginning from the 2022 that it was the initial complaint was discriminatory or is it just that over time it has become a discriminatory pattern no I think the initial uh we believe it was discriminatory because at the time time that it was made there was no neighbors okay um what are you looking for as the ultimate resolution because you've acknowledged that there is a violation of the code and my understanding from director Cooper's presentation uh especially his saying hey look we don't care about the the the fine it's not this is not an issue about the money we you know make that go away that that that's not a concern and you indicate it again it's all that's not what where the issue is

either right you know so so it's it's not that the the issue is and and for me and I trust my fellow Commissioners the the issue is can we have the truck moved and and why hasn't in the three years why hasn't it been moved and if I can just explain that briefly please come to the to yeah just so we can get it all on yeah if I can explain it briefly it's because he needs to service it he needs to have it close to his property he needs not you know that it won't be vandalized that he can have access to it uh I I just find it Well I just if you look at the code section that's cited the last paragraph and uh talks about I think the the last paragraph in the code section that's cited do you have that before you I I have it in my desk okay so B in of 1032 10-32 d110 says no person shall Park a commercial vehicle on any Street or pushing there off if such parking would in the opinion of the traffic engineer interfere with the reasonable and comfortable enjoyment of life or property of any person own or occupying

any nearby residence apartment building motel hotel or other single or multiple dwelling and if such street or portion thereof has been posted with signs giving such notice of parking limitation so at least in theory and I want I assume that that given this the the city issue would be satisfied if he parked it on the street in front of his house house and that seems to me kind of to be counterproductive but maybe that's the solution that he's just got to park it on the street in front of his house you certainly could do that you could do it tonight so here here's G given that comment quick follow on question I'm assuming again assuming that the taco truck actually operates on a daily basis or almost daily basis as a taco truck and is out in whatever location or locations during you know lunch hour dinner hour or whatnot serving tacos and other food to whomever so that it's it's it's not just an idle oh yeah object just sitting there right yeah right it is Shel it is a functioning you know mobile food service business yeah that employs people here in this community yeah I mean so maybe that uh okay maybe that's the solution so at this at this point I'd like to get some comments um actually I'm GNA hang on one second because I see a question here so I'd like to have my fellow commissioners

fire away um going back to my one of my questions how long ago were these pictures taken because you guys didn't give me the dates or any they were taken over a period Well some were taken in excess of a year ago some were taken couple of weeks ago uh which one was a year ago can you tell uh here a year ago would be I believe 12 yeah and maybe I can show you which one that is you have a copy this taco truck was a couple weeks ago then uh this one which is the taco truck was taken just a few weeks ago okay let's go uh which one was the year ago is that one that you showed me right yeah the first one and then the taco truck the it's a picture uh we had called it number 12 but it has three commercial vehicles actually parked in a driveway they're not parked on the street thank you commissioner Avalon Mr lar I appreciate how you came to the podium to share um the work of your children the work of your family so thank you I guess my question is is is one again of clarification you were talking about signs sir that there were

signs posted outside of your restaurant was that another code violation issue that was brought up I I just wanted to clarify we were asked to remove the manners so we had to and sales dropped by with 50 or 60% immediately after until we were able to get the permit for the permanent signs so we we were forced to take the signs down and what bothered me is that we had to take them down while other businesses bu were allowed to continue having them display may may I ask another question was your sign too big was it too small one of them was big no but not as big as some others but the point again is that while we were forced to take him down other businesses were still permitted to to have him there and they're still there right now okay so in your opinion sir you had to remove your sign but yet there are other neighboring business surrounding your restaurant that still had their signs up and in fact he registered a complaint about it and they were never acted on and so that starts to bleed into whether he feels discriminated against thank you yeah go ahead also that day um I remember because I was opening Tiffany Ford had driven by and she had a phone on her and she was being very um well in my opinion discreet like just taking pictures and then when I came out she turned around and I said oh I introduced myself hi how you doing how how I help you and she said oh hi um are those banners or do you have permits for those banners and I said I'm sorry do I need permits and she goes I'm not sure that's not my department and I said okay so what

should I do and she said you can reach out to I believe his name is William he and the next day I believe we were cited thank you okay so I was going to ask the uh City attorney and um planning director for input and comments on what they have heard and some guidance at this point uh chair members of the commission uh pent I think we I'd like to comment briefly referencing items in the staff report that confirm Communications with the appellants and I think you know Brent wants to supplement from a staff report but uh basis and conduct of Staff but I'd like to go through some things that are frame the issue before you and the kind of evidence that you look at and respond um uh to show and I'm going to summarize right now no matter who the city official has been the city official has investigated the causes for discrimination requested evidence to support that at the time that it's Advanced the allegations of discrimination are taken very seriously uh by the city and likewise if there's an issue about another code violation that's teed up and that's pursued by City staff I'd like to briefly reference matters in the record before you to set the factual and legal

chronology I think it would be helpful um I think the first thing I'd reference would be my letter of October 13 2023 that's addressed to Mr Russo it's on page 702 of the record before you and that response to a claim of discrimination then it was investigated by contacting all applicable City officials and we found no evidence of it in that's in the context of the letter not providing evidence of specific claims of um discrimination I'd like the next go then to a further communication by Mr Russo it's on page 680 it's addressed to me and um curiously to the law firm of libert Cassidy Whitmore as City attorneys uh libert cassid represented the city on a Personnel matter it's now four years ago so it's unclear you know why that address took place nonetheless um uh our office responded to um uh that matter and that's found it's on page 718 it's attachment 16 where we set forth the chronology of all the communications that have gone to the appellant in this matter about the violation including the C the courtesy letters which I would respectfully note contained the procedure to offer evidence to refute uh the claimed violation the the sequence here uh supports the conduct that I referenced in the initial statement that the

overall effort is as mentioned in the beginning by director Cooper is to seek resolution of the citation um I you know I'm I know in my conversations with Mr Russo I represented that consistent with what other City officials do that the fines are irrelevant the goal is to cure the violation right I the the reason I raised that is there's also a comment there about the sign violation and how that can be pursued and um at that time when we made the investigation we concurred with City staff and representations or claims of violations of other code violations are pursued by City staff um the claim of discrimination you know continues um staff in the in the staff report you know to give the character of the demands of code violation and how they're disposed of sets forth on page 673 you know a summary of what occurs in 2024 and and how they're acted upon and disposed of by staff so quite respectfully you know what is that issue before um the commission is you know three citations that were appealed upon and if you read that you know the uh our second communication attachment 16 you know we allowed additional time for compliance with the pro the appeal procedure to be complied with by the appellants the contributions of the appellants to the community is not an

issue what is specifically at issue are three citations in the chronology of multiple um warnings uh about the issue that's um I'm going to say it as a lawyer clear on its face but has been advocated by City staff multiple times to the appellant to cure to just fix it and address it right you know you know the the staff report references the specific provision that's applicable to the appeals and you know as a lawyer I suppose I have to you know reference that and if you give me a moment I'm just going to say some things for the record and I'm also going to enforce what I I'm also going to emphasize what I would say has been a consistent courteous respectful timely responsive conduct of the code enforcement officer U the the planning director um I'm going to I'm going to say that um both myself and Miss Bardo in Communications on this have U scrupulously um follow that procedure with respect to this particular violation is it a long record yes it is but quite frankly it reflects the patience of City officials to try to get this violation cured um with respect to these photographs if you give me a moment um I'm I am going to say the kind of things that a lawyer would say is um you know and I believe there have been five offered

right um they're IR relevant to whether the uh citations are valid how many of these have been reported to code enforcement at the time of the violation um were they where the pictures were taken did they confirm the zoning related to each of the properties contiguous to where the P pictures were taken um and there would be an obligation on an appellant in this situation to confirm that there's no conditional use permit or variance minor modification or major modification that would authorize the vehicles that are portrayed in those photographs to be at the locations that they are all right that last segment is what the City attorney has to do for the record here but I really want to go back and emphasize what's in in the record is that the continual effort of staff is to get a a satisfaction of the citation to get this cured and again the monetary amounts are irrelevant the goals the you know the the goal is to achieve compliance the structure before you tonight is to make um two findings first about whether a violation occurred two to instruct staff about the basis that support your decision about those violations existing and to communicate that um to the appellants right um I think staff's made very clear that if there is a commitment for curing the violations that the appellants want to make that can be included as a condition in the communication as director Cooper has

referred to so um that's the City attorney input on this matter matter um please respectfully note that um I referenced just a portion of what would be known as the administrative record before you with attachment references and specific citations to the pages so I would I would yield to director Cooper so noted and appreciated the one inquiry out that that I've still got is we heard a suggestion and I have no idea whether it serves as the Cure that you're talking about um if the taco truck is parked on the street in front of the home is that a cure you know legally I don't know the answer to that now um I would I would think there would be an issue that would trigger a parking violation right but uh I will certainly look into that thank you D all right well well I can I can provide maybe a less technical um certainly less legal perspective um I think we're all we're we're very sensitive and we understand where you're coming from and how code enforcement actions could be perceived the way they are um I did make a point in the staff report of of mentioning there are hundreds of Code Enforcement cases that are opened and closed in the course of a year and we have one code enforcement officer and so in the city in any given time there are a lot of Code Enforcement violations but because there's only one

person the the actions are focused largely on complaint based and when somebody complains there's an obligation to follow up and if anybody has their right to file a complaint and and we'll do our best to to follow up with the limited resources we have so uh thank you for sharing the photographs of of other trucks around town and we will follow up on those um but the reality of the matter in American Canyon is we'll never be able to enforce all code violations everywhere because of just the limited resources so when there is a complaint and when there is a violation on a property um we're obligated to inform the property owner and seek compliance and we then we're on to the next case there's because there are so many that are that are addressed in any given year but um I just think because of the reality of the matter I I can certainly understand why you feel the way you do so um and I think it was a healthy conversation tonight um I think uh it's always we can always do things better and I think you've helped Elevate um your concern and uh certainly I will be reflecting on it as well and um the extent that we can improve our procedures and and our reasons and and explanations whatever the case may be to help um resolve the issue I'm certainly committed to to thinking that through so and we certainly and and there's no question in our minds and I speak for Tiffany um and as as well as our Public

Works director and and all of us here and staff uh we we very much appreciate the good work that you do for the city and um we know you're you're good people and um we wish we didn't have to have the conversation tonight um and uh so that's I guess as much as I can say for now thanks if just briefly respond and then we done uh I I don't have the benefit of having that report uh that's referred to uh and I believe that's a city document and I wouldn't receive a copy so I can't really respond to that but what I can respond to is Mr Cooper saying there's only one code enforcement officer and ironically that code enforcement officer had time to to war to to at least threaten a citation on the banners so you can understand a reasonable person might think we're being isolated and I I'd submit on it understood so I want to I want to come to a question that I've got for director Cooper at this point because I've asked my question of the City attorney in looking for potential resolution after hearing from the appellant ls Regarding why they continue to park the taco truck in violation which is they need to service it they need to maintain it if parking it on the street is not an option and City attorney said he would look into that is there an option via I know that that um the zoning

presently no go is a modification to the zoning something that can be requested um or so on by the appellant in this case and considered for the specific circumstances given that presently there is no neighbor there is nothing you know there um in the immediate surrounding area um I I think uh chair Alman what you're referring to would be um a an entitlement of A Sort to park a food truck on a residential property um at the moment not aware that there is any uh home occupation permit mobile service vendor permit design permit there's no specific authorization for a food truck at that address and therefore conclusion is it's being stored because there's there there isn't one so but perhaps there there could be some other Avenue uh I can't tell you without having check the code um because I could be wrong um but there may be there may be an Avenue we can pursue or look for that may um legitimize in a sense the the truck being at that location yeah um and if that's a com if that's uh something that the commission would like staff to look into we we wouldn't be able to resolve that tonight but perhaps at a subsequent meeting we had a chance to review what is possible and then talk to the lws and see what might be acceptable to them and that's seems really fair and Equitable in my mind you know and you know sometimes lawyers make things

worse only sometimes oh got to talk to my mom I I apologize don't apologize don't apologize don't apologize thank you very much thank you thank you you okay chair from uh from City attorney perspective since we're going to look into this perspective um I'm not going to call it a remedy but alternative uh I think the our recommendation be continue it till the next hearing so that corre that's what we're we're looking at but I first do um youth commissioner Janda does have a question or comment then I don't want to ignore her so please go ahead um I just wanted to say thank you for answering my question and coming here tonight so as I was reading the violation letters I came ac across uh for this violation on attachment 13 on September 18th 20 2024 um um it says that all UNP permitted uses at your property and it says on the bottom of the paper and highlight in yellow avoid a minimum fine of $100 this could have been avoided and do you have any opinions why wasn't this avoided at that moment

my question is there was this violation that was sent on September 18 2024 it says requesting that you cease and desent from all unpermitted uses at your property and on the bottom on attachment 13 it says avoid a minimum fine of $100 why wasn't this I'm I'm sorry um Mr Russo you'll need to speak into the microphone and and I'm G to help you a little bit but here I I think the answer to the inquiry and we're about to get it confirmed I believe but is because they believe that there is discrimination therefore they have not complied period so the fine is immaterial so I I guess you're going to law school yeah that's exactly it that's a very accurate and more succinct than I could offer the advantage of not being an attorney I can be succinct yeah okay no thank you okay so at this point [Music] um I think we're ready to see if there's any uh motions uh I'd like to make a motion uh chair I'd like to make a motion for continuance on item number four 285 Napa Junction citation appeal until we can get uh further uh options uh for resolution from staff and City attorney uh to to propose some additional options that might be available to uh the appellants um to make a a better decision for this commission do we have a second and do we also have a continuance

time frame do we want to continue and I'm asking staff for their input on this do we want to continue to the next regularly scheduled meeting or do we want to kind of keep it open uh at this point and just continue it to the Future yeah chair Al but I would recommend we continue to you the next meeting and hopefully we'll have a resolution but if not it's on the agenda perfect I'd like to make a motion that we I'd like to second your motion that we can do the continuance to February 27th meeting okay we have a motion and a second can we get a roll call please Nicole yes uh commissioner Eric Alman I commissioner Marilyn abalon hi commissioner Shelby C hi commissioner Charles plumber hi I and vice chair DEET Muhammad has recused herself from this item for the record all right I'd like to thank everyone um I'd like to thank you folks thank the City attorney and Mr Cooper for their patience because I yes not not on this yeah yeah this this is chair Alman um I'd recommend you take public yeah okay then I'm getting overruled but so public comment open please good evening Beth Marcus um I'm not here to say I don't know what the rules are citations or whatever but I do want to thank thees for everything they do here in the in the city um this just surprises me because I know where your house is at I'm at the old Napa Junction school all the time for quanas and doing everything I've never seen the truck there to be honest with you I'm not saying it's never there or

whatever but I've never really really seen it there um and then I had a question about the sign ordinance way back in I think it's like 15 years ago when I was chairman of the uh chamber we had a sign ordinance that was put together I'm not sure if it's the same ordinance that's in process today or not but was my understanding when a business came into town and they were applying for a business license they received a copy of that sign ordinance and all the ordinances so that's could have been something that might have been provided to them or may not have been provided to them I don't know but anyhow thank you for all that you do okay so I also would like to take a quick moment and because I think it's a thankless position um and give recognition and appreciation to our code enforcement officer because it's you're you're single-handed it's a tough job there are a ton of uh issues for you to take a look at and speaking for myself and I believe my fellow Commissioners we believe that you do things in a fair and Equitable fashion and so we appreciate your efforts so thank you and now we need to uh get our chair back so we to close public comment first CU oh yes let me close public comment and now let me go get the uh vice vice chair back so we can continue our meeting should be recessed for five minutes yeah that's not a bad idea why

don't we just do a five minute recess and then we'll be back thank you thank you e e

e e e e

e e e e are we ready to resume we are

ready I just mov on so next agenda item item five selection of Planning Commission chair and vice chair for 2025 so can I make a motion to appoint a chair let's start with chair for the 2025 year and if so I would love to appoint our current Vice chair Miss DEET Muhammad because I think she's doing a fantastic job and if any's in bu's in agreement we need a second on that I I will happily second that can we have a motion please yes or sorry roll call Nicole yes um commissioner Eric Alman I made the motion I commissioner Marilyn Avalon I commissioner Shelby Goss I commissioner Charles plumber I Vice chair dvet Muhammad I thank you very [Applause] much commissioner alalon I'd like to make a motion to nominate Eric Altman as our Vice chair I would like to make a motion to nominate Charlie Plumber as V Vice chair I'll second the nomination of Charles plumber as Vice chair I have been chair and vice chair long enough I I didn't know that but

wonderful can I get but I do appreciate the sentiment commissioner Avalon roll call please okay actually we need a a motion in a second for Charles plumber I'm G to make the motion to um second Charlie Plumber as our vice chair excellent okay well just all right commissioner Eric Alman I commissioner Marilyn abalon hi commissioner Shelby gos hi commissioner Charles plumber thank you I Vice chair dvet Muhammad I congratulations thank you with that can we move on to management and staff oral reports all right director Cooper thank you chair Muhammad um uh I don't have too much to report to you today um we don't have um any new discretionary projects but we work working very hard on moving forward with construction projects so on oill uh Apartments uh the lower tier we call parcel B um we have a meeting scheduled and we've been working with the applicant on uh processes for occupancy so they're they're coming in the home stretch on on building those uh apartment buildings um and we're working with them to iron out things so that we have a smooth transition into occupancy for them so it's coming up um and on uh the home to Suites um it's the project has struggled over the years and um so we're going to be more actively working with them to uh schedule and Stage uh the construction to make sure that it's everything is done in the proper sequence um to get it completed I

did note on the website that they're taking reservations in September so if you're looking for you like a date weekend but don't want to travel very far that would be an ideal place to be um the Chicken Guy restaurant of course we all know they're um open for business um they have a few things to finish up with their roof screening in solar um they have two different contractors um and so we are going to meet on Monday to facilitate better communication between them so that the solar panels don't interfere with the mechanical equipment screening and vice versa um I think we can do this and and then it'll get finished and um we'll be on to the next thing if you need a hand from a bond guy I'm happy to help we might um let's see we do have a a application uh the Promontory subdivision this was approved gosh I think last spring uh by the Planning Commission and city council um this is the new fam's comp uh part of Watson Ranch and um they have a modification to their request is to remove um a connection between their neighborhood and the vine Trail um there's some great issues there um I think we'll be able to find a solution where that connection be can be kept because the vine Trail is just a you know what an amazing wonderful facility um and it would be a shame if the folks that live there and probably can look at it um couldn't reach it so we're going to I think pretty optimistic we'll find a solution where it it can be retained um but we are working with them on Final maps and construction and and so on um the uh General Plan update um we have uh completed the public review for the environmental impact report at the end

of December our Consultants are working on responding to all the comments they will all be answered and responded before it comes to you um and then also there um uh is U some zone changes some minor zone changes that we'll be pairing up with the general plan so that it all gets taken care of in one one spot um it's looking like we might be able I'm optimistic and hopefully we'll be able to bring this to you with the general plan and the environmental pick report in April so it's coming up uh only a couple of meetings away so that'll be a nice Milestone to to complete and then we can take that and build on it with the next thing we want to do so anyway that's my update for you tonight thank you director Cooper and with that do we have any commissioner items commissioner Alman I've got a couple of uh different things good stuff um we have talked and and I one I want to extend a personal thanks to our city council member for being here because it is not all that often that City Council Members come to Planning Commission meetings and I think it is very valuable and it is noted and appreciated that a new council member is here with that I'm going to also so bring up um an issue near and dear to my heart that our new chair is well aware of and that we discussed last year in a joint meeting between the Planning

Commission and city council and I understand there's new members on both but I'm a firm believer that the Planning Commission and city council need to meet periodically certainly at least once a year so that we can be sure that we are on the same page and so with this commissioner item I am publicly asking and requesting that staff work with city council so that we can establish in the not too distant future a joint meeting so that we can get together and make sure that we are on the same page because as I've point pointed out in the past there have been cases where we clearly were not and it just doesn't feel good and it doesn't look good to anyone so that's my big commission I will convey the message thank you thank you commissioner Altman and with that I will go ahead and adjourn the meeting at 850 good night American Canyon Just Jump Right In