Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Good evening. Welcome to another episode of a meeting with the Carson Planning Commission. Thank you for coming. Our meeting is officially called to order. Madam Secretary, will you please give us a roll call?

Madam Chair Thomas?

Here.

Vice Chair Diaz?

Here.

Commissioner Johnson?

Here.

Commissioner Infome?

Here.

Commissioner Huff?

Present.

Commissioner Doctoso?

Here.

Commissioner Wilson?

Present.

Commissioner Guerra and Commissioner Monteclaro are excused. We have a quorum.

Thank you. Next we will have our flag salute and we will be led by our vice chair, Commissioner Diaz. Justice for all. Next item, we have oral communications for matters not listed on the agenda. The public may at this time address the members of the Planning Commission on any matters within the jurisdiction of the Planning Commission. No action may be taken on non-agendized items except as authorized by law. Speakers are requested to limit their comments to no more than three minutes each, speaking once. Do we have any speakers, Madam Secretary?

There are none, Madam Chair.

Thank you. Next we have oral communications for non-public hearing items listed on the agenda. The public may at this time address the members of the Planning Commission on any matters within the jurisdiction of the Planning Commission. No action may be taken on non-agendized items except as authorized by law. Speakers are requested to limit their comments to no more than three minutes, each speaking once. Do we have any speakers?

We have not a minimum, Chair.

Thank you. Next item on the agenda will be the approval of the minutes. We're looking for approval of the minutes for regular meeting on December 9th and special meeting on December 17th. I will entertain a motion.

Madam Chair, move to approve the minutes of December 9th and December 17th, 2025 of the Planning Commission.

I second the motion.

Madam Chair, we have to do the vote separately.

Yes, okay, so we'll take item 6A and we will vote on that first. It was moved, so would you restate your motion then, please?

Madam Chair, I move to approve the minutes of December 9th, 2025, regular meeting of the Planning Commission.

I second the motion.

And moved and properly second. My screen is just not working with me right now. My vote screen is not coming up. Why am I not getting it? Is my screen the only one not coming up? No, it's not coming up.

I would love to vote, but you won't let me.

So, are you able to?

Assistant City Attorney, can she vote by voice?

I got it now. Thank you. Thank you. All right. Well, that's the...

Motion carries.

I love it, I love it, technology. Thank you so much, and then now item 6B.

Madam Chair, move to approve the minutes of December 17th, 2025, special called meeting of the Planning Commission.

I second.

It's been moved by Vice Chair Diaz, seconded by Commissioner Mfume. Please cast your ballots, hopefully.

Why does mine not come up?

Hmm? Okay, IT, can you do it? Yeah, she's got control.

Motion carries.

Thank you. See, my agenda doesn't even come up on the screen. So Edgar is coming up to talk amongst yourselves. No, I don't mean that. Give us a minute, a little technical difficulty. It's, okay. I'm into the presentation. That's what I said. Six. Shall we continue or wait until you? Thank you. Yeah. So we will continue. The first public hearing item that we have is item 7A. Consider adopting a resolution recommending a city council approval of an addendum to the general plan update environmental impact report and adoption of the Carson Civic Center specific plan. And we will be receiving the staff report from our illustrious Nathan Freeman, Director of Community and Economic Development.

I like illustrious, that sounds really good. You like that? Yes, I should put that to my business card.

I ain't no police.

Well, thank you, Chair. So good evening, honorable chair, vice chair, and distinguished planning commissioners. Again, Nathan Freeman, your community and economic development director. Tonight, I have the pleasure of stepping out from my normal chair and getting to present to you. I don't get to do this very often, so I feel very good about this evening. I'm being told to speak closer to the mic. Yes, okay, am I good? All right, so item number seven before you this evening is your consideration of the much anticipated draft Civic Center specific plan. So at a very high level, a specific plan is a detailed guide for how an area such as our Carson Civic Center can develop. So unlike a general plan, it provides more detail about land uses, building locations and heights, streets, open spaces and infrastructure. You can think of, as I often do, it as a blueprint that ensures development is coordinated, consistent and aligned with the city's long term vision. The draft Civic Center specific plan before you this evening implements the goals and policies of the general plan, translating that into a broader vision, framework, excuse me, for how this campus could evolve. Tonight, I'll be walking you through the draft plan, which includes new civic buildings, cultural and performance spaces, residential and mixed use development, and potential retail and entertainment opportunities. I'll show you how each piece works together to create a vibrant, connected, and functional Civic Center. To set the stage, let's first take a look at the existing Civic Center, its current layout, its key buildings, open spaces, and overall location within the city. So before you this evening is the Civic Center. You can see on the map, I'm gonna zoom in just a little bit. You can see there are items numbered there. These are just here for your reference. So number one on your screen is the current city hall. Number two is a parking lot. Number three is a parking lot. Number four is the Carson Event Center. Number six is six, excuse me, Civic Center Drive. Number five is a surface parking lot. And number seven is Civic Plaza Drive. So the slide shows the current layout, the building locations, and open spaces which provides context for how the draft specific plan builds on what is already here. So now that we've reviewed the existing campus, we can see the opportunities to improve connectivity, Open spaces and enhance civic and cultural uses so in the next two slides i'm going to show you the two concepts for how the civic Center campus can be redeveloped to create a more vibrant and functional campus. So before you is one of two options that are contemplated in the draft specific plan and it really identifies. the downtown area and specifically the Civic Center campus as the symbolic heart of the city. And the goal and objective of all of this is to create civic, cultural, and mixed-use opportunities in the future. We want to activate public spaces, and we want a more walkable and connected campus. So I'm going to zoom in here a little bit, and I'm going to go through each one of these uses with you. And they're all labeled so that you can follow along, and we'll go through each one of them individually. So number A there on your screen is a proposed performing arts center. And the performing arts center is anticipated to be constructed northwest of the central elliptical plaza. It is expected to include a main theater with up to 2,000 seats, along with a 150 seat black box theater. And if you're not familiar with a black box theater, it's a smaller flexible performance space that can be reconfigured for different types of shows and community events. One of the things having attended black box theater before It's a very immersive theater experience, meaning you can sit around the theater. So it's very popular in other communities and we're looking forward to a similar experience here in our community. The main stage is anticipated to face Desford Street with support spaces to the east and west. The primary entrance is planned to align with the main access of the Jewell Plaza, creating a strong visual connection. Item B before you on the screen is what we call the Jewel Plaza. Remember, this is a play on Carson being the jewel of the South Bay. So at the heart of the campus, the central loop is designated in the shape of a jewel, defined by walkways and landscaping to create an elliptical tiara, reflecting Carson's identity, again, as the jewel of the South Bay. The site is anticipated to include one or more levels of underground parking, An iconic elliptical plaza is framed by a covered colonnade approximately 15 to 20 feet wide and at least 15 feet tall. The flat roof above the colonnade could be used as a running track or viewing area, allowing visitors to look down into the plaza. Access to the roof via stairs or an elevator is expected to be integrated into nearby buildings while preserving the elliptical form. C in front of you is the existing city hall. And as part of this plan, the existing city hall is anticipated to be preserved, restored, and reused for another civic purpose.

Could you speak just a little bit louder? You're getting softer and softer.

I'm very tall, and this thing doesn't quite... Maybe if there's a mic, that would be... There we go. See, Dr. Lennox to the rescue. Thank you. Okay. Did you know that could do that? Wow. You learn something new every day. Is that better? Much. Much. All right. I'll go back. The existing city hall building is anticipated to be preserved, restored, and reused for a new civic purpose. The surrounding open space will be enhanced with landscaping while keeping the building highly visible and prominent from the street corner. The main entrance is planned to face the plaza with a possible secondary entrance toward the street if needed. So item D on the screen before you is the new city hall. Adjacent to the existing city hall, a new civic building is anticipated to be one of the tallest buildings on the campus, establishing a strong presence along Carson Avenue. its most distinctive feature is a cone-shaped city council chamber facing the elliptic plaza the rest of the building is expected to curve around the site rising highest on the west side and stepping down towards the eastern green space the main entrance is planned from carson avenue with a drop-off area along the colonnade at the jewel plaza portions of the building facing the plaza and the eastern green are expected to include ground floor retail and all or part of the building may include one or more levels of underground parking. So C on the screen before you is the Carson Events Center. So the Carson Events Center is anticipated to be remodeled to make better use of its space. It consists of two main parts, a long wing for arts and crafts, and office spaces, and a diamond-shaped wing containing the community hall and theater spaces. The space between these sections is planned as an outdoor or partially covered pedestrian walkway. The diamond-shaped community space is expected to be integrated with the new city hall. The main entrance will be highlighted by a new tower element facing the Jewell Plaza. with a secondary entrance along the northern road. So number F, as you can see on the screen there, directly north of the Jewell Plaza, residential development is anticipated with up to 140 rooms in a four-story building above a four-level parking structure accommodating up to 600 vehicles. Ground floor uses and residential amenities are expected along the new street and facing the plaza. The building is anticipated to be west of the existing single family homes along East Desford Avenue, stepping down in height near those homes to reduce visual impacts. The design is expected to be organized around one or two courtyards with every unit facing a public street open space or an interior courtyard. Number G on the screen before you, or letter G, excuse me. Finally, the eastern portion of the campus is anticipated to be developed As a hotel with up to 20 stories and approximately 400 rooms, along with conference space and other amenities it's slender design is expected to provide high visibility from the 405 freeway with primary access from Carson avenue or to the adjacent Eastern street. And you can see on their age it's a little hard to see this would be tucked in between the new city hall and the potential hotel would be a civil rights garden. The green between the New City Hall and the hotel or entertainment complex can be accented with sculptures, statues, and or art pieces commemorating the Civil Rights Movement and its key figures. I'd like to also note that it's anticipated to include the existing Jose Rizal statue that's located along Carson Street and future Gil Smith statues. And as you can see in the bottom portion of the screen, the letter I, although it's not on this Rendering you'll see another one is a intended bus depot. So this gives you an alternative look from a different angle of what this development could look like. And as I mentioned, there are two options included in our draft-specific plan. The second option is identical in almost every single way with one exception, letter G instead of a hotel. This could be developed as an entertainment and retail complex instead of that hotel, but the remainder of the development would stay the same, and you can get a better view of the letter I in the corner, which would again be that bus depot. And here's the different angle. So very quickly, because this question has come up, how would this be parked? You probably didn't see any parking structures other than the one that I told you was gonna be incorporated into the residential development. It is anticipated that the parking for all of this development will be subterranean and would be sufficient to park all of this proposed development. So as we move forward, in doing the environmental review, the city obviously engaged with a consultant to draft this specific plan, but we also engaged with a consultant to come up with the environmental review. And included in the packet that was presented to you was an addendum to that certified EIR that was done for the downtown. And what that addendum concluded was that there are no new significant impacts and that an additional EIR was not required. So moving forward, staff's recommendations to the Planning Commission that you conduct a public hearing on the Civic Center specific plan and related addendum to the 2040 General Plan Update EIR. And secondly, adopt a resolution 26-897 recommending that the city council approve the addendum and adopt the Carson Civic Center specific plan. So with that, myself, my colleague Makina, and our two consultants who helped put all of this together for you this evening are available to answer any questions you have. And after that, I would encourage you to conduct that public hearing and then staff will be available for more questions after that.

Thank you. Any? Madam Chair?

Madam Chair.

Are we good? No, it's okay. Just wanna get everybody straight.

Yes, questions. Question for Mr. Freeman. Is this anticipated to be built in phases, phase one, two, three, or?

It's to be determined. I think we all anticipate that it'll be in phases. We don't know how many phases at this point.

If you get any softer. We're going to get you another mic.

Wow. OK. There you go. All right. So I realize I have to put this right in my face. So it was always anticipated this would be developed in phases. How many phases is unclear at this point. But the development community is really going to be the one that dictates how many phases this gets built out in.

Well, this is a wonderful, well-kept secret that we're hearing and seeing. Everything looks fabulous. Is this all going to be funded through the general fund?

So ideally, we would put this out to a request for proposals to bring on a master developer who potentially could build all of this out at their cost.

Okay.

I'm complete, Madam Chair. Any other questions?

Yes, Commissioner Huff. The center itself, you said that it would accommodate 2,000 people and then you said there would be underground parking. Is that going to be enough underground parking to accommodate those 2,000 if they should be there or they would use other parking around as well because you said each one would?

Ideally, we would like to park to the city's code all of these buildings, whether it be underground or some combination thereof, that's to be determined. Ideally, because of the limited space we have at the surface, most if not all of the parking requirement would be handled via subterranean parking.

Anyone else? Yes, Commissioner Wilson.

Thank you. How does the city plan on managing the property? and the relationship between the developer that's eventually chosen to build the project?

Well, while everything is subject to change, the idea right now is at some point we issue a request for proposals to bring on a master developer. It's not the city's intent to sell any of this property, so we would enter into a long-term ground lease, probably 50 years or longer, And that's how we would continue to maintain not just ownership, but some level of control of the entire campus. Does that answer your question?

Yes, thank you.

Have any other questions? Yes, Commissioner Huff.

When we spoke of the first rendering and there was a proposed hotel, is that, I should say, how is that impacting the Doubletree that is already there? That will replace it completely?

This would not replace the Doubletree. The Doubletree is on separate property, so the Civic Center campus is owned by the city. and that is privately owned. So the Doubletree is not part of this specific plan.

So we would have two hotels if we go with that one?

Theoretically, yes.

Okay, thank you.

Any other questions?

Is there a goal for getting the project done?

Tomorrow. Certainly, this is going to take some time, so we we still have some homework to do with staff before this ultimately gets parked in front of City Council. We are going to put out an RFP and we don't have any prescriptions on how long this is going to have to take or how long this will take to be built out. A lot of the development community is going to, and the environment is going to drive a lot of this. But we feel like this is a inspirational piece that we can use to drive the type of development that we want in the downtown area. We think this will be a catalyst, not just for this campus right here, but all of the immediate properties around us. So we feel like this development will spur on other developments and will create ancillary economic benefits for the city as well.

Madam Chair, will this, I know we're in the initial stages, RFP, will that go out to union bidders as well, labor?

So this will go out to a, we'll be seeking a master developer. Whether they use union labor or not is to be determined. There is no, I can't imagine there would be a requirement to do so unless we are instructed by the city council. So certainly we do encourage local labor, developers usually like that because it just means it's a little cheaper since folks don't have to commute. So I don't anticipate that being an issue, but that will be something we have to discuss in the future. Thank you, I'm complete.

Any other questions? Commissioner Wilson.

Will there be any public forums, any community outreach regarding this anticipated idea before it goes to council?

So we don't have any planned further community outreach. The Planning Commission is one piece of that opportunity, if you will, for the community to get involved, to articulate if they have any concerns or if they support this concept. It will go back before city council, but there will be, I assume, other opportunities for folks to get involved and to voice their opinion.

It's an amazing project. It's totally futuristic, and I think it will certainly be a great addition to our community as we go forward. Thank you.

Anyone else? My turn. Okay. So those of us who saw the mayor's state of the city address last year saw a lot of this in the state of the city. And it is very, very exciting to see that it is moving forward in some form or fashion. And Obviously, we will be making a decision to make a recommendation to the City Council. I just have this nagging thought in my head, subterranean parking. I thought someone else would ask the question. In all of earthquake California, nobody said anything. What about earthquakes? What are we thinking here?

Subterranean, if it is constructed in accordance with the California Building Code, is very safe. So if the concern is what happens during an earthquake, if staff is doing our job correctly, we're able to mitigate those risks.

Okay, you said that so confidently. I just love it. I don't necessarily... I'm not hanging my hat on it, but I just had to ask because that has always been something that I've heard in all the years that I've been here is that one thing we tend to stay away from is subterranean parking because of the earthquake, but if you can make it safe, I'm good. Thank you for the presentation. I will now open the public hearing for any speakers that we have. I have one card here, but I have a feeling, let's say I have one card. Brendan Cotler for 7A. Please come forward. You have three minutes to speak. Your time will begin when the secretary gives you that.

awesome uh not quite as tall as nathan um so i'm brendan cottler uh all of you know me i'm actually speaking on behalf of myself this evening uh and not on behalf of fairing or any other entities upon which we've developed in this city um i think it's it is not often that you have city staff members who so dramatically and aggressively try to set the tone for the private development community. When you look at a plan like this, and I know the director mentioned several times the idea of it being a vision and really kind of marking the bar that they expect the private development community to hit. And I can tell you that that's an amazing way about going around a project of this importance. this planning commission has often approved projects of much less grandeur, right? This is the recently approving, you know, really nice looking warehouses or multifamily buildings. And I've always done so with the utmost respect for that type of development, recognizing the value it brings to the community. But there's also a part of this city led by, Madam Mayor, the City Council, and then Madam Chair and the Planning Commission, and then the city staff itself, that reflects an idea that Carson deserves better. That Carson should not just take what is provided to them either historically or by the community at large, but that Carson should kind of put its foot down, put a stake down and say, we deserve the same thing as any of the other really spectacular communities, not only in the South Bay, but in all of Southern California. And When you have a city staff led by the city manager and his team that have put forward a vision of this scale, I think you can feel very confident that you are, in fact, putting it out there that Carson does deserve better. And whether or not a civic center gets developed exactly like the renderings, I think as the director mentioned, this is a vision, right? This is early in the process. I would simply ask of you to consider not quite accept the first response you get from the private development community. Don't give up on your vision too quickly. You're going to hear a lot of negative things from the private development community. You're gonna hear comments about subterranean parking and the costs associated with that. You're gonna hear comments about the kind of general futuristic vision that Commissioner Wilson commented about. You don't need to just give in right away. You guys have set the vision. You have lived with the Civic Center for many, many years. I think as Chairperson Thomas has told me in the past, we can live a few more to get what we want. And so I think this really kind of sets the bar about what the city wants, and I'm excited to see it take shape.

Thank you for your comments. That is the only card that I have. Are there any other speakers on this item? Seeing none, I will now close the public hearing. As soon as you stood up, that noise. Did you wish to make another statement?

No, I am available still for any further questions.

I think we've asked all the questions. I'm now back with our commission. Do we have any further comments from my fellow commissioners? If not, I will entertain a motion.

Madam Chair?

Yes.

I'd like to recommend that the Planning Commission One, conduct a public hearing on the Carson Civic Center specific plan and related addendum to the 2040 General Plan Update EIR. And two, adopt the resolution number 262897, a resolution of the Planning Commission of the City of Carson recommending that the City Council approve an addendum to the Carson 2040 General Plan Update Environmental Impact Report and adopt the Carson Civic Center specific plan as outlined this evening.

I second that motion.

Okay, it's been moved by Vice Chair Diaz, seconded by Commissioner Don Dossell. Call for the vote.

We're waiting for that end of the.

There we go.

Motion carries. Yay, it's working.

Thank you so much. It is a vision that we all had almost a year to sit on in our minds after seeing it being presented by our mayor, and it is just excellent to see it moving forward in some form or fashion. So to our planners out there, we're counting on you. If you mess up, you have to come back here again, yeah. Thank you so much for all of your hard work. Thanks for the presentation. We'll move on to the next item.

Yes, absolutely.

Our next item is going to be, oh, are we waiting? Next item will be item seven, be public hearing to consider adoption of resolution number 26-2898, recommending city council approval of an amended and restated development agreement number 23-19 between the City of Carson, Imperial Avalon LLC, and Lennar Homes of California LLC for a mixed use project located at 21207 South Avalon Boulevard, The staff report will be presented by McKenna.

Oh, I'm sorry. I forgot.

By our assistant city attorney, Ben Jones.

I'm good. I'll just do it from here. So this pertains to the imperial avalon development project, which is a project that was approved by the city council in December of 2022 it is an 1115 residential unit project, including 351 town homes and. 764 multifamily residential units in two buildings, so two apartment buildings, as well as 111,000 plus square feet of publicly accessible open space, including a 23,000 square foot park and 10,000 square feet of commercial restaurant space. So the city council approved a development agreement number 2319 as part of the approvals for the project in December of 2022. Following approval of the development agreement, the city council or the community development director approved a series of minor modifications to the development agreement. So the development agreement provides that minor modifications can be made um by director approval and there was a series of those that were approved making changes to the development agreement as well as conditions of approval and in one case resolving a discrepancy with the specific plan those were approved uh between may 2023 and now Additionally, during that time, Lennar Homes of California, which is a residential home building firm, purchased the portion of the property that contains the townhomes. The western portion of the project site is the townhomes, the eastern portion is the apartment buildings. Lennar purchased the western portion for the townhomes and Lennar will be building the townhomes. So they entered into an assignment agreement with Imperial Avalon LLC to basically take on the obligations of the development agreement related to the town homes, whereas Imperial Avalon LLC retained the obligations related to the apartment buildings. And that's more particularly detailed in that assignment agreement, but that's the rough explanation. So following all of those occurrences, the developer Imperial Avalon LLC applied to the city recently to amend and restate the development agreement. So they're requesting ultimately city council approval of an amended and restated development agreement that essentially takes the edits and the revisions that were made by that series of minor modifications and incorporates them all together into one document so that it all makes sense and that it's all consolidated into one clear document. You can look at one consolidated development agreement, amended development agreement, and that includes all of the changes that were made by the various minor modifications instead of having to look at six different documents. So it really cleans things up. And they're looking for the City Council to approve that and they're looking for the Planning Commission tonight to make a recommendation of approval to the City Council. I should mention that the environmental review for the amended and restated development agreement is that it was the project was assessed by the ir that was done environmental impact report was done for the project. That was approved back in December 2022 and. this action is covered by that EIR because there's no further substantive changes intended by this item. It's just to integrate and incorporate the changes that were made by the various minor modifications. A public hearing notice was issued as required by law. By January 13th, notice was published in newspaper and posted in the designated public places. And I would like to also mention that the development agreement, the amended and restated development agreement includes certain provisions related to the requirement of payment of development impact fees by the developer to the city according to the city's code. And to clarify the requirement there, what the required diff is, we have the breakdown on the screen that you can see right here. So the breakdown is that apartment building, apartments A to B, So that apartment building, 465 units, consists of 313 studios or one-bedroom units, and those are charged at one rate, which is $16,918.01 per unit. So you can see the subtotal for that. And then the city has a separate development impact fee rate for two-plus bedroom units. So apartment building A to B has a total of 465 units, 313 are studios or one bedroom, 152 are two plus bedrooms, and you can see that the two plus bedroom units will be charged at the rate of 21,147. dollars and 52 cents per unit so then for the other apartment building you have 300 apartment c to d 300 total units consisting of 225 studios and one bedroom units which would be charged at the sixteen thousand nine hundred eighteen dollar rate and then 75 units uh two plus bedroom units which would be charged at the twenty one thousand dollar 147 rate And then the third column there, you have the townhomes, which is 351 units. And those are all two-plus bedroom units. So those would all be charged at the rate of $21,147.52 per unit. No fee credits would be available for demolition or otherwise. And so the total amount, according to this, as shown in this table, would be $21,352. $21,325,155.94. And I would just point out that, and so that's payment that's coming to the city for this project. So that's something for the city to be excited about. And the apartment C to D, I'll just point out that apartment building is still in the plan check process. So there may be slight modifications to those numbers as the as that building goes through plan check and gets its building permits, whereas apartments A to B has already gone through plan check, so we know that those numbers aren't gonna be exact. So that's pretty much it. So tonight the recommendation before you is to adopt the proposed resolution, resolution number 26-2898, to recommend city council approval of the amended and restated development agreement number 2319. between the City of Carson, Imperial Avalon LLC and Lennar Homes of California LLC for a mixed use project located at 21207 South Avalon Boulevard. You guys have anything to add to that? That concludes my report, thank you.

Thank you. We will now open the floor for our Planning Commissions if you have any questions. I'd just like for clarification, you mentioned Apartments AB and that number is pretty much set. Apartments CD you said is subject to some slight change.

Yeah, there may be a slight change like it may be off by like one unit depending on as it completes plan check and gets the building gets building permits. It could be you could see a variation of one or two units in the number of studios one bedroom versus the number. two plus bedroom and possibly like a variation will change accordingly depending on what that is will change accordingly yeah so you could be looking at a change of maybe i don't know twenty thousand dollars in the total for that subtotal so the total would would you know be subject to change based on those slight variations okay all right any questions yes commissioner how

back to me again about this. The moderately priced units that were residences that were part of this project before, where are they within this? Are they with the condominiums or just where are they counted in? Can you tell me that?

Are you referring to the mobile home park units?

Yes.

So the mobile home park, are you referring to like the the option C if that's what it was referred to where residents had a right to have afforded housing in the project. So my understanding is that no one ended up taking that option of the park residents. They all ended up taking the option where they could sell their coaches to the developer and receive relocation benefits paid in exchange for that and then move to other locations. So all of the mobile home park residents have relocated and they all did, so I believe maybe the applicant can correct me under option B. So I don't think there's any option C units required for this project, but maybe the applicant can speak to that.

Any other questions? This item is also identified as a public hearing item, so at this time I will open the public hearing. Madam Secretary, I don't have any cards, but are there any speakers?

They are not, Madam Chair.

Thank you. And with that, I will close the public hearing and refer back to our fellow commissioners. Do we have any?

Madam Chair, we have the applicant to come up before closing the public hearing.

Yes. Applicant, come up.

Good evening madam chair and planning commissioners, my name is Dave Rand, Rand Pastor Nelson, Land Use Council for Imperial Alleyland LLC. Appreciate the city attorney's detailed staff report and the staff's work on this. As he mentioned, this is just a recitation and memorialization of what has already been done for this project via minor modification, but we do appreciate the work to amend and restate and consolidate all of these changes into one document and appreciate your support tonight. Thank you.

Thank you. Before you walk away. So we went over quite a few numbers here. And I would like to just have for the record, do you agree with the diff numbers and you're on board with all of that?

Yes, we do. We do agree with the diff numbers shown on the screen earlier.

All right. Thank you. With the potential of a little change, but not a big change.

A little bit.

You're on top.

Thank you.

Thank you so much. Appreciate that. With that, then to fellow commissioners, if there are no further questions, I'll entertain a motion.

Madam Chair? Yes. I'd like to move that the, recommend that the Planning Commission adopt Planning Commission Resolution Number 26-2898, a resolution The resolution of the Planning Commission of the City of Carson recommending the city of Carson City Council approve amended and restated development agreement number 23-19 between the City of Carson, Imperial Avalon LLC and Lennar Homes of California LLC for a mixed use project located at 21207 South Avalon Boulevard. Second.

Has been moved by Vice Chair Diaz and seconded by Commissioner Johnson. Please cast your votes. We don't have it yet. At least I know. You got yours. Double tap.

Ah, there we go.

Got it.

Motion carries.

Thank you, excellent. Again, another great project that's moving forward in the City of Carson. The dream is being realized, the vision is being realized. We're so excited when we have such wonderful partners to team with. It's always a pleasure to have you before the Planning Commission. We have agreed on both resolutions tonight, so now it moves to the City Council at some point. Good luck, thank you for coming. Next item on the agenda, of course, will be the manager's report.

Thank you, Chair. Yes. Even though it's the end of January, it's not too late to say Happy New Year, right? Right. Since we haven't seen each other, so Happy New Year to the Planning Commission. As always, thank you for your service to this community. It is definitely appreciated. As always, I'd like to thank staff for the hard work they put in to make this agenda tonight possible. Kudos to Laura, to Makina, and her entire planning team for a job well done tonight. As always, our goal and objective is to give you good information so you can make good decisions on behalf of our community. So thank you, Chair. That's my report. Thank you. Excellent.

We have the honor of having our city manager and assistant city managers in the office. Would you like to make a statement tonight?

Thank you, Madam Chair, and the commissioners just wanted to say briefly really how thankful that I am of your due diligence. as you hear reports that are given, the opportunities when economic development approaches your desk that you actually go through it thoroughly, the way that you do, the questions that you ask. And I know that because our team is constantly jumping through hoops and trying to answer questions that you all come up with. But it's appreciative. And the decisions that you all make obviously make a major impact in our city. And tonight is really just another Staking the ground, evidence of the hard work, the review, period, the diligence that you all take. And it's really appreciative to see as we really see the vision being cast. You know, they always say there's an old proverb. It says where there is no vision, certain people will perish. But I believe that's not the city of Carson. You all have taken the vision and become mission-minded in your activity, in your due diligence and review. And so we are really just thankful tonight that we could just be part of history and seeing all these projects come to fruition And so it's not just we talk about it. We are going to be about our business. And so making the city the jewel of South Bay is just another step closer to that dream and reality. And so I'm excited really just for what's coming ahead because that's not just the beginning. It's just the floor. This isn't the ceiling that ends. So I'm excited to see what we get to bring before you all here in the upcoming months. That's also been kind of brewing on the – channels, but we'll be bringing something quite unique. Really excited to share that it's going to be something globally recognized, and so I'm excited. So just be prepared. Just know that your team is working as diligently as we can to ensure that the city of Carson will be a light that cannot be hid. So thank you so much.

Thank you. Thank you. You're good? All right. Appreciate the staff. Let's go through for our oral communications with our commissioners. And we'll start to my left, Commissioner Wilson.

I just want to thank Team Carson, everyone, from our staff to our commissioners. I really appreciate how everyone takes ownership of the community, and it's not referred to as, oh, your community, but we all refer to it as our community. And I really feel that, you know, The fact that we can all refer to this as our community, we're all committed and we see this as like a team effort. So I feel that the staff has ownership of the community and feels ownership that they have a responsibility as well. So I just want to thank you all for your work and obviously our commissioners and go team Carson. Thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner, Dr. Ossel.

Yes, Happy New Year to everybody. I didn't get a chance to join in the special meeting that we had to round out 2025, but I'm excited that we are off to a hot start for 2026. I think everybody agrees that the vision is amazing, and obviously the fact that we had these two projects cross our desk and we moved forward with those, I'm definitely excited for what's to come. And to the point about ownership, it's amazing when everybody kind of has skin in the game, so to speak. Because we're all pulling in the same direction, commissioners and staff alike. So it makes the job that much easier. It's a job, certainly. But again, with everybody's participation and support, it makes it so much easier. And it makes it that much more enjoyable when we're all seeing that vision and we're taking the necessary steps to achieve it. So hats off to everybody. Thank you.

Thank you, Commissioner Huff.

Good evening to everyone. It is a pleasure to be sitting here and be a part of this team. I can only say that I approve and agree with all the statements that have been made before me. I'm ready. My sleeves are rolled up to continue working or get back to work, and this is going to be a beautiful, blessed year. Thank you all for everything that you do, and Happy New Year in this 2026.

She said her sleeves were rolled up. I thought about giving her a shovel. But anyway, Commissioner Johnson.

Hello. Excited to be here. Excited to have the band back together, most of us. Excited about the projects and moving them forward. It's an excellent centerpiece to the table that we're setting. Thank you.

That was pretty cool. Okay.

Commissioner Mpume. Okay. What can I say? I'm just thrilled. I was prepared for the Imperial Avalon. We've been kind of going back and forth with that. Looking forward to when it's over for that one. But this, the City Hall, I am overjoyed. It is beautiful. I don't really know what to say. I live near, so I'm gonna be able to enjoy the amenities of all of what's getting ready to happen here. The vision, the staff, you guys, you're awesome. I just, I look at it and I'm going, how are they gonna put all this beautiful stuff, these items in this little small space?

But I'm sure you guys got it all worked out.

And I'm proud to be here on a part of carson living in carson and working with these wonderful commissioners here and i will be able to say i had something to do with that so i'm excited all right i'm complete thank you vice chair diaz well i'm not going to sugarcoat everything other than um

Ditto what my fellow commissioners state out here. I think we say that each and every meeting at the conclusion because We shine when city staff provides us the detailed information and we do our due diligence to review everything. And I think all our stakeholders in this great city. But back at you, city manager, everything that you said coming this way goes back to you and assistant city manager, directors, managers, and all staff. I mean, I think that we do work well together. It hasn't always been this way. It's not always this way. And again, we'll agree to disagree sometimes, but at the end of the day, I think we are helping moving the city in the right direction with the visions that are coming before us. I also wanna do a shout out to the developers and applicants that have come before us. and not only once, twice, or several times. I think they've been proven. They've also learned what the city needs are, what the community needs, the residents to anticipate certain concerns, issues, and they're willing to work with our staff to help implement some changes or make some modifications or to mediate certain situations. So I think all in all, we're moving in the right direction. And I think that 2026 is gonna be a better year than 2025. Thank you.

I agree. So I also want to say Happy New Year to anyone. I have not had the pleasure of doing so, and it's not too late, because we're still in January. So Happy New Year to everyone here, everyone who is in our viewing audience. It is a pleasure to see another new year. I want to say that we need to continue to be in prayer for our own Commissioner Guerra, who is just making sure his health is what it needs to be. So we want to continue to pray for him for that. As we're entering the end of January and going into February, we had our celebration in the city for the MLK celebration, which was awesome, even if I do say so myself. And coming up, we have Black History, and we will be celebrating, the city will be celebrating Black History program on the 27th of February, put it on your calendar, look for the flyers that are gonna be coming out soon. I am always honored to work with city staff as we put these programs on as a part of CCCAF, and we've got some plans for you. So it's gonna be great. It will start at six o'clock, the doors will open at six, so that's February 27th, and of course it will be at the event center. Other than that, it's great to have everybody back. We're all going to roll up our sleeves, dig a little dirt up, and put some buildings down. Appreciate everything that all of you do, and I am just thankful that I have the opportunity to be a part of it. So with that, have a good night. This meeting is adjourned.