City Council - Regular Meeting

Martin? Here. Council member Mora? Here. Council member Rounds?

Here.

Mayor Pro Tem Rodriguez?

Here.

And mayor Zamora?

Here.

Members of the public financing authority and water utility authority receive $150 for their attendance at these meetings.

Public comments are now open. The public may address the city council on closed session items only. For those that are here to make a public comments, you will have three minutes to speak. City clerk, do we have any members of the public that wish to speak?

Mayor, we do not.

I will now close public comments. I would like to call upon Lloyd, the city attorney, to read the closed session item.

Thank you, mister mayor. Lloyd Pilchin with the city attorney's office. So the council will be adjourning into closed session on one item. It is conference with Real Property Negotiators. This is an exception to the Brown Act that allows, the council to discuss matters, certain matters in closed session, and this involves assessor parcel number 7005007050. Under negotiation, price and terms of payment relating to an interest in real property. Thank you, Mr. Mayor.

Thank you, Lloyd. We will now reach us to closed session. We will reconvene the meeting after the closed session discussion to hear the report from the city attorney and to continue the rest of the meeting. Thank

you.

Testing.

How are you doing?

I'm good. How are you guys?

Pretty good.

Are you recovering from your five k run?

I'm good. Ready to do another five k.

You did the one last year too.

I did. Yeah.

No. He's all over it. Yeah. It's just five k. You can handle it. Yeah. Have our Jonathan on Friday.

Oh,

yeah? And I've been doing these wacky videos for the kids. I post them. Right? And I was I did this one. Let's see. Where where? Let me show you. This is just funny. My staff posts them for me.

When I'm doing wacky videos to get them all, like, motivated. Here's the one from today. Can you come fifteen minutes early in my school? I have this really fun idea. And she's like, what?

So I'm like, can you make sure you bring the car and then be in uniform? She's like, I'm in uniform. I'm like, okay. Good. So let me just show you. I'm a pull me over. I'm running. You're gonna pull me over for exceeding the speed limit because I'm a super fast runner. She's like, okay. Pretty wacky. One of my old recreation friends posted it was yesterday I did another wacky one, and she goes, you are so recreation.

I was like yeah. Right.

That is a recreation. Oh, totally. I was like I

said it's in my blood. I just I can't help myself.

Are you guys looking into summer? Are you excited, or is it stressful?

For me, it's always stressful. We've got three and a half weeks to go of finishing out grades, student behavior, parent communication, kids that aren't passing. It's all my fault. Our teachers don't teach right. What time does school start? Both we've been tardy 17 times, but what time does school start? It's me. You know school starts at forty. What time does school start? And then the best is, how do you log in to look at the grades?

It's it's May. And we let me resend you your password. It's May. You haven't looked at your child's school. Is it globally or just the teacher? It's the whole school? The whole school. Oh, then that's not true.

Two years ago, I stopped. I'm like, oh

my Teacher communication is one thing, but if it's global where it doesn't involve you, but you're getting getting emails about the fifth grade pizza party Yeah. But you're in second. All across the board.

And we had

an eighth grade parent today, eighth grade, and was telling the teacher, well, how are you teaching? Because my student's not getting good grades because you must be teaching badly.

Because and the and and

it's because they were crying. They're like, why are you crying? I don't wanna play first I'm like, you're 14. You're a freshman in high school. You do what you're told.

Yeah. I'm the coach, and I told you to play first base. Okay. But And don't do it.

Yeah. But it's like

The mayor has to sign it.

Yes. What

happened to my PIN? It's freezing in here.

Yeah.

K.

I would like to reconvene the meeting. City attorney, is there is is there a closed session to report?

Thank you, mister mayor. City council met in closed session. All members were present in person. The council met on one item identified on the agenda. No final reportable action was taken. Thank you, mister mayor.

Thank you, sir. We will now continue with the rest of the meeting. I would like to call upon city Jarvis to leads today's invocation. If you guys can please stand. Bow your heads.

For in him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities. All things have been created through him and for him. Colossians one sixteen. Let's be thankful for those in authority. God honors our actions as we give reverence to our leaders.

As we take a moment to think on how we can be a good example to others or simply say thank you to those who lead, let's do our part to make this world a better place for the next generation. It starts with us. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, we give you honor for being the ultimate example of how we should live our lives. We strive to be more like you in all we do as we love like Jesus. Continue to show us ways to honor you and build community that puts you first. We pray for all those in seats of leadership. Continue to guide them, protect them, and surround them with God fearing people. We give you all the glory for what is to come in the city of Santa Fe Springs. Amen.

Amen. If you guys can continue to stand. I would like to call upon youth leadership committee Valeria Corona to lead the pledge of allegiance.

Please place your right hand over your heart. Ready, begin. I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Valeria, you know your routine. Right? So Valeria, real quick, is gonna explain to you what youth leadership is about. And actually, you guys can be seated, and then also explain what duties she does as a youth leadership, and what hobbies she has here in the community.

So hi, my name is Valeria Corona. I'm a senior at Santa Fe High School. I'm in tennis, women achieving greatness. And for the city, I'm a part of the youth leadership committee. And with the youth leadership committee, we just help out the city and we were the voice of the youth of the city and put in inputs, and we have monthly meetings, and just overall, it's a great opportunity.

Thank you, Alethia. Now we're gonna be recognizing our four high school champion sports teams. So I would like to call upon director of parks and recreation, Gustavo Hernandez.

Thank you very much, mister mayor.

And just real quick, just give you a little shout out with Gus. If you ever see our parks and recs, any type of events that you see in our parks, we just had an eighties fest recently. You know, anything we give Gus the idea. We talked about it and, you know, give Gus and he just runs with it. So if you really enjoyed our last event when it came to eighties for that, you know, give Gus a round of applause. A lot of the stuff that you see in our parks, anywhere else, it's Gus. Alright? Just to let you know, and his team, of course.

Thank you, mayor. You're Yeah. You're too kind. We have a great team behind all of all of what we do in Parks and Rec.

So we also have a great leader there.

So thank you. Thank you. Thank you. So tonight, I am here, standing before you proudly to present to you four high school championship teams. First off, we're gonna start off with the Saint Paul High High School Pep Squad Varsity cheer team. We can have the Saint Paul High School team come up, please. Oh, maybe they can't hear me.

So you're gonna have Saint Paul, and who's on deck after that? Saint Paul,

and then we have the Santa Fe High School boys varsity wrestling team.

Okay. So after that.

So first up, we have the, again, Saint Paul High School Pep Squad varsity cheer team. We're recognizing them for their exceptional accomplishments I as student athletes and members of the Saint Paul High School pep squad varsity cheer team whose performance at the USA Nationals spirit USA Spirit Nationals in February 2026

Congratulations.

Resulted in earning the distinguished title of national champions. Your hard work, discipline, and spirit represent the very best of Santa Fe Springs. And I I would like to just name name all of these wonderful student athletes starting with Isabel Isabela Aguirre. Just Mila Cuevas. Shirley Del Luna.

Myelani Lully, Marley Mancinas, Bella Miranda, Naya Padilla, Alyssa So to, Sofia Uria, Isabella Zee. I'm not gonna try your last name.

I'm

sorry. Can't pronounce that. Oh. Zanjirian. Zanjirian. Thank you. And they are coached by David Garcia. Congratulations, Saint Paul. So

real quick, we're gonna have our staff take the picture, and then we'll let parents you guys can stand up and take photos too. Don't cover your faces. Okay.

Alright. Three two one. One more. Three two one.

Yes. Now parents yeah.

Open up

your award.

Oh, open up your award. Think yeah. There you go. Alright. Parents, you guys can come take pictures. Make it easy. Anybody else? Alright. You guys want same part. You guys wanna say a little cheer or something?

You know, just in case. Show us what the championship, you know, pedigree is all about. Now you get nervous and you guys perform in front of thousands of thousands of people.

A cheer. Do a cheer. Okay. Stay calm. Stay Three, one, two, three. Stay calm. Thank you. Thank

you, ladies. Congratulations.

Thank you. Katie swordsman, congratulations on your national championship. Next, we are recognizing the Santa Fe High School boys varsity wrestling team.

Hey. We're gonna we're gonna

For their exceptional accomplishment of student athletes and members of the Santa Fe High School chiefs boys varsity wrestling team, whose performance in the Del Rio League resulted in earning the distinguished title of league champions. Your hard work, discipline, and commitment to excellence represent the very best the very best of Santa Fe Springs.

Congratulations.

Congratulations, team.

Congratulations. Congratulations.

Of this team include Ali Ascari, Andrew Sanchez, Angelo Garcia, Antonio Calderon, Ben Buck, Carlos Medina, Daniel Sanchez, Elias Anthony.

We can have

Elias Michel, Gabriel Lopez, Jay Garcia, Johnny Juanci, Jose Rios, Louis Hernandez, Matthew Cisneros, Matthew Muniz, Matthew Chaban, Michael Hernandez, Noah Barajas, Patrick Krzyzewski, Raymond Carbajal, Ryan Correa, Sebastian Velasquez, Silas Hernandez, Vincent Marquez, and they are coached by coach Anthony Romero. Congratulations. Thank you, and congratulations.

Thank you, sir. Okay.

Next, we would like to recognize the Santa Fe High School girls varsity wrestling team for their exceptional accomplishment as student athletes and members of the Santa Fe High School chiefs girls varsity wrestling team whose performance in the Del Rio League resulted in earning the distinguished title of league champions. Members of this team include Abigail Sanchez, Alexis Luna, Alina Figueroa, Andrea Hernandez, Brianna Chan, Danielle Diaz, Eva Salas, Hazel Gamedos, Isabella Ochoa, Isabella Diaz, Kaylin Santa Maria, Kaya Rodriguez, Kiara Fernandez, Maria Dominguez, Maricela Gavin, Melanie Rodriguez, Nala McCoy, Rose Pacheco, Roxanne Serato, Samantha Godinez, Victoria Romero, and they're coached by coach Anthony Romero. They are also coached by coach Johnny Santa Maria. And looking at their plaque, they are finalists in the southern section CIF championships.

First down.

Congratulations on your accomplishments. And our fourth team to present tonight, last but not least, is the Santa Fe High School Chiefs girls varsity soccer team. For your exceptional accomplishment as student athletes whose performance in the Del Rio League resulted in earning distinguished title of league champions. Congratulations. On their team is Jordan Bert Bertram, Isabel Moreno, who's the captain, Adam Garcia, Alyssa Perez, Emily Cortez, Janelle Martinez, Serenity Serenity Hernandez, Camilla Hernandez, Mia Gallegos, Olivia Betancourt, Alexa Gomez, Mia Campbell, also a captain, Kaylee Ruiz, Lauren Ornelas, also a captain, Hailey Freeborn, Sofia Romo, Alyssa Funes, Guatemala, and Mariah Hernandez.

And they are coached by coach Sergio Perez. Congratulations. And before we conclude, do wanna thank the athletic director, miss Hughes, principal, mister Campbell. I also wanna thank the administrators from Saint Paul, Tiffany Villegas. Congratulations on your accomplishments.

Thank you.

Thank you, ladies.

Go, cheese.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you.

And thank you to all the parents for putting in the time and effort for all your kids because actually, your your your child cannot your child's success is is is a testament to you guys. So keep it up, god bless you all. What's up, Danny? Yeah. Yeah.

For sure.

Appreciate it.

It. Pops.

Thank you, guys. Very nice. Thank you. Alright.

Next, we have public

works week.

I would like to call upon director of public works, mister James Enriquez.

Thank thank you, mayor, members of the council city council. Public works week is, celebrated May. This week, it's May 17 through the twenty third. And the theme for this year, is rooted in service powered by community. It highlights all the important work, public works does to keep a city running and and keep it safe. So here today, I have several public works employees that are here to help us celebrate.

Alright. I have a proclamation, and I know that, it's quite a bit of words. So we're just gonna try to skim through it where it says, whereas public works services provided in our community are an integral part of our citizens' everyday lives. So thank you public works for doing your part, and thank you for your hard work and effort. K.

Now I wanna call up our deputy director of community services, Kylie Torres, for our proclamation of older adults month.

Good afternoon, honorable mayor, members of the city council, and distinguished guests. Thank you for joining us as we celebrate Older Americans Month, a special time to honor and recognize the incredible contributions, wisdom and resilience of our older adult community. Today we celebrate the individuals who have shaped our families, the neighborhoods and the community through their experience, guidance and lifelong dedication. We are grateful for all that they continue to contribute and for the example they set for future generations. At this time, I would like to recognize the members of the Santa Fe Springs Senior Advisory Committee and present them or have you present them with the proclamation in honor of Older Americans Month. Thank you.

Thank you. So this is it says, whereas the city of Santa Fe Springs recognizes May as Older Americans Month. Of course, it's not just May. Should be every month. Right? And honors the lasting contributions and impact of our older adults within our community. Thank you very much for your kindness, your wisdom, and your grace.

And today, have joining us members Astrid Shesterkin, Nancy Kruger, and mister and missus Nakamura.

And, of course, I just wanna recognize Janie and Gilbert Aguirre. I know they can't be here. Our prayers are with, you know, Janie, but she would be up here. I mean, she comes to our meeting. She always sits in the back two seats every every meeting. So, I mean, I do wanna recognize that also. Thank you, guys.

She was on such a long vacation. There you go. 4. Good. Okay. 321. Alright. Then can I, start yeah? Our senior center staff that We have supervisor Jose Carrillo, coordinator two, Moy Morales, and coordinator one, Andrea Gajeda.

I can take a picture for you.

Yoko makes the best chow mein around. Yes, make some for us again and we'll see if I lie. It's the best, just to let you know. Alright. Now we have National Military Appreciation Month. We're gonna I would like to call up the deputy director of community services, Kylie Torres.

So good evening once again, mayor, members of the city council, members of our community. Tonight, as we recognize the National Military Appreciation Month, the city of Santa Fe Springs proudly honors the brave men and women who have served and continue to serve the United States Armed Forces. Their courage, sacrifice, and unwavering commitment to protecting our freedoms are the foundation of the nation that we cherish. Santa Fe Springs has long demonstrated its deep respect and gratitude for our military community. Through our military brown banner program, we proudly displayed banners on the path of honor along Bioneer Boulevard, recognizing active local service and veteran members.

Each year, we pay tribute to those who serve during our Veterans Day and Memorial Day ceremonies, ensuring their sacrifices are remembered and honored. The city has also taken meaningful steps to recognize our veterans in everyday ways. We've included designated veterans parking here at City Hall and the Gus Velasco neighborhood center. But one of our most significant tributes is to the Paul t Nakamura Aquatic Center named in honor of army sergeant Paul t Nakamura, a Santa Fe Springs resident, and city of Santa Fe Springs employee who gave his life while serving during operation Iraqi freedom. His legacy serves as a lasting reminder of the extraordinary sacrifice made by members of our own community.

During military appreciation month and throughout the year, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all active duty personnel, veterans, and military families. Your service and sacrifice will never be forgotten. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you, guys. And, of course, thank you to the Nakamoras. And you guys are always a true testament having you here and just and, you know, I know having John, you know, knowing your son very well and teaching him how to swim and be a lifeguard and everything else that John is capable of teaching. I mean, it's just it's awesome to recognize your son's name, especially at our at our aquatic center.

Thank you. Now we want a proclamation of National Police Week. I would like to call upon, we have Whittier PD, captain David Elisa Elisarares, and to accept the proclamation, and Melissa Hammond, CHP captain. Does it matter who gets which one?

Thank you.

Thank you. You very much, my

have question. Yeah. Alright.

Let me just read a little bit. Let me just hold on to one real quick. So it says, in 1962, president John f Kennedy signed the first proclamation recognizing May 15 as peace officer Memorial Day and the week in which it falls as National Police Week. So thank you guys for your service, and may God always bless you guys. Alright.

Now we're on presentation number seven. Right? Introduction of new Santa Fe Springs police chief. I would like to call upon assistant city manager, mister Nicholas Raso.

Thank you, mayor. Well, definitely excited for this presentation, chief. This is a big deal. Mayor, mayor Pro Tem, members of city council, city staff, and members of the Santa Fe Springs community. Tonight marks a truly historic moment for the city of Santa Fe Springs as we take another significant step toward establishing the Santa Fe Springs Police Department and strengthening our commitment to providing the highest level of public safety service to our residents, businesses, and visitors.

Before introduce Yeah. Please clap. Before introducing our new police chief, I would like to take a moment to recognize and express our sincere gratitude to the city of Whittier and the Whittier Police Department. For more than thirty years, the Whittier Police Department has provided outstanding law enforcement services to the Santa Fe Springs community. Their officers and professional staff have served our city with dedication, professionalism, and integrity.

They have built strong relationships throughout our community and have played an essential role in keeping Santa Fe Springs safe. We are deeply appreciative of their partnership and look forward to working closely with them over the coming months to ensure a seamless transition as we prepare to launch our own police department on 03/01/2028. This evening, it is my distinct honor to introduce the individual who will lead this historic effort. The City of Santa Fe Springs is proud to announce the appointment of chief Paul Espinosa as the first ever Chief of Police for the Santa Fe Springs Police Department. Now before you speak, Chief, I've to go through some of your resume here because it's quite impressive.

Hold on real quick. If you broke, that microphone's coming out of your first paycheck.

Oh, no. Mayor, he hasn't even received a check first. So what? I owe you. I owe you, chief.

Chief Espinosa brings more than three decades of distinguished law enforcement experience. He began his career with the Los Angeles Police Department in 1994, where he served in a wide variety of assignments, including patrol, narcotics, vice, investigations, and executive leadership. Over the course of his career, he rose through every rank from police officer to captain and led several major divisions and community police stations throughout the city of Los Angeles. Chief Espinosa later served as chief of police for the city of Montebello, where he successfully led the department with a strong focus on community trust, accountability, officer development, and modern policing strategies. Chief Espinosa is widely respected for his collaborative leadership style, his commitment to constitutional policing, and his ability to build strong partnerships with residents, businesses, and community organizations.

His experience, vision, and dedication to public service make him exceptionally qualified to build a police department rooted in professionalism, transparency, accountability, and service. Chief Espinosa will lead the planning, organization, and development of the Santa Fe Springs Police helping to establish a strong foundation that reflects the values and expectations of this community. Be your expectations, chief. We are confident that under his leadership, the Santa Fe Springs Police Department will become an organization our community can be proud of for generations to come. Now, on a personal note, I've had the privilege of working directly with Chief Espinosa before.

And I could say that the professional accomplishments that we spoke of tonight is what truly sets him apart. But, I could tell you even with all the accomplishments and his resume, he's a better person. And I think everyone here in the community will, as they get to know the Chief, will see that just like we saw that in Chief Espinosa. Our city is not only gaining a chief with an extraordinary experience, but a person of remarkable character, integrity, and heart. The other thing that you'll see the chief do is probably run through the community because he's quite the runner.

I tried to keep up with him at the last five ks and it was tough. I think I ran faster than I ever have and I didn't realize it because we were talking business. So thanks Chief, I got a personal best because of you. So much appreciated. But Chief Espinosa is definitely a community guy. And I think rather than speak to it, which I can all night long, I think you'll all just feel it and you'll see it as you get to know Chief Espinosa. And with that, please welcome I'm sorry. Please join me in welcoming and congratulating the first Chief of Police for the City Of Santa Fe Springs, Chief Paul Espinosa.

I'm not gonna touch it. No. But thank you, mister mayor. Council members, definitely much gratitude, many thanks for your trust and confidence into the city manager and assistant city manager for the same to be given the opportunity to do this for you in a profession and a career I love. I've been dedicated to public safety my entire life.

And I plan to bring the same here to the city of Santa Fe Springs, which is, and I've worked as the assistant city manager all over LA City as well as Montebello. So I've worked so many different communities. But much like the city that I grew in, similar demographics, very, very historical city, a city with a lot of pride. Just talking here in the last week to both the council and the community members that I've met in the last week and a half. So much pride and so much rich history here.

And so I, again, it's not about me, it's about the department and the officers that are gonna be here to come here to serve you to build on some of that pride in history and to provide you the best police service possible. And with that, you've been given some police service from the city of Whittier and I'd like to thank as the assistant city manager to the city of Whittier and Whittier PD for carrying that torch this long. And I know they've done some good work here and I'm here and the department will be here to build up, to build on some of that. And part of that, I mean, this is not just a historic moment, but to create a historic moment with any leadership, whether it be a council or a city or community, it's a bold move, right? You don't you don't see, I don't remember the last time in over thirty two years of police service that LA County has done this.

But under your leadership on behalf of the community and when I address you as council members, I address the council, I'm addressing the whole city because that's who you represent. But that takes a bold move and it is a bold council. And again, I think because you're building on that pride in history and you want the best for your city. And that's what I want to as the assistant city manager said, you'll see me here not just at community meetings, but I'll be out in the city where there'd be running in the morning or whatever I do trying to get to know and to ingrain myself. Because as I mentioned to many of you on the council and of the council members, we're gonna customize this department to your specific needs, right?

You'll have my ear directly basically 20 fourseven. And with that in the next coming weeks and coming months, we'll be getting out to, I'll be getting out to various meetings and we'll try to get feedback both just by word-of-mouth, but also through some community surveys to see what that looks like. Because I've already asked each of the council that. And it's pretty consistent as to what your needs are. So I'm here to deliver on that and to provide that department for you. And again, thank you for the opportunity and I am here to serve to serve this community and then make it richer in history and richer in pride as we move forward. So thank you again, councilmembers.

Yes, Mayor. That concludes the presentation.

Thank you, guys. Moving on to public comments are now open. Oh, wait up. Changes to the agenda. Mister mister Raso,

do you

have any changes? We do not, mayor. Alright. Public comments are now open. The public may address the city council on any nonpublic hearing items on the agenda or any other matters within the council's jurisdiction. You will have an opportunity to speak for three minutes once the city clerk announces your name. City clerk, do we have any members that wish to speak?

Mayor, we did receive an email from Julian earlier today. A copy has been provided for you. And for anyone in the public that is interested in viewing it, it will be in the City Clerk's office.

Thank you. I will now close public comments and move on to the next item. Staff communications on the items of community interest. Mister Raso, do we have any staff communications?

We do, mayor. We have one, Memorial Day, and Gus Hernandez, our parks and rec director, will present that today.

Thank you, sir.

Thank you again. Good evening, mister mayor and members of the city council and our Santa Fe Springs community. I'm here to invite our community to come together to honor and remember the brave men and women who made the ultimate sacrifice in service to our country during our annual Memorial Day program. This ceremony will take place beginning, at 8AM at Town Center Hall with beginning with a breakfast and some entertainment. At, 10AM, our ceremony will begin with a flyover.

And this year's keynote speaker for the Memorial Day program is Javier Torres, who is a former employee of the city, former lifeguard, who also served alongside Paul Nakamura, and he's a former, marine as well. So we're really looking forward to having him be our keynote speaker. Once again, that's Monday, May 26 here at Town Center Plaza. Thank you.

Thank you very much. Alright. So public hearing item number eight.

Mister city attorney, can you read the public hearing? Thank you, mister mayor. Item eight is a public hearing to consider the proposed zoning code amendment to amend section one fifty five point one eight one, which is principal permitted uses within title 15, chapter one fifty five of the Santa Fe Springs Municipal Code and the determination that the project is exempt from CEQA. Thank you.

I would like to call upon mister Raso.

Thank you, mayor. From item number eight, public hearing item is for a proposed zoning code amendment to expand where barbershops and beauty shops may operate within the city. Currently, it's limited to commercial and mixed use zones only. The amendment would allow these personal care services in the limited manufacturing zone as well and all manufacturing zones citywide. This amendment is intended to approve access to everyday services for residents and employees in Santa Fe Springs' predominantly industrial environment.

To know this one before the planning commission on April 13 and was unanimously recommended to city council approval with no public comments received. Before you mayor, is this item for council consideration and staff is here to answer any questions if needed.

The public hearing is now open. Anyone wishing to be heard, please approach the podium and state your name. City Clerk, do we have any speakers?

Mayor, we do not.

I would like to close the public hearing. Is there any discussion or motion for the approval of item number eight? All set. Go ahead. Okay. We have a motion by Martin, second by Rodriguez. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed? Hearing none, so ordered. Public hearing item number nine.

Number nine is a public hearing to consider the proposed general plan amendment to amend table LU one land use categories and related pages pertaining to floor area ratios within chapter two of the Santa Fe Springs general plan. Thank you.

Thank you. I would like to call upon Mr. Raso.

Yes. Thank you, mayor. Item number nine is a proposed general plan amendment to clarify floor area ratio standards within the land use element of the Santa Fe Springs 2040 general plan. The amendment would revise certain floor area racial references from maximum to typical for commercial and industrial land use categories, providing greater flexibility for modern industrial and load trip generating uses such as multi storey mini warehouse facilities and automated operations. The proposed changes are intended to reduce barriers to development, streamline permitting and accommodate evolving business needs while continuing to rely on existing zoning code development standards to ensure compatibility with surrounding uses.

Again to note, the Planning Commission also reviewed this proposed general plan amendment at a public hearing in April 2026 and unanimously recommended City Council approval. Before you, mayor, is this item for council consideration, and staff is here to answer any questions if need be. Thank you.

Thank you. The public the public hearing is now open. Any wishing anyone wishing to be heard, please approach the podium and state your name. City Clerk, do we have any speakers?

Mayor, we do not.

I thought Isabelle was approaching the podium. I would like to close the the public hearing. Is there any discussion or motion for the approval of item number nine?

I'll make a motion.

Second. Moved by Rodriguez, seconded by mister Mora. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Those opposed? So ordered. Consent calendar. Public Finance Authority, Water Utility Authority, Housing Successor Successor Agency, and City Council Consent Calendar. We have a total of nine consent items, numbers 10 through 18. Is there a motion for the approval of consent calendar? I'll move. Second. Moved by Rounds, second by Mora. All those in favor say aye. Aye.

Those opposed? So ordered. Appointments to boards, committees, and commissions. Council Member Martin? Council Member Mora? None tonight, sir. Council Member Rounds? None tonight, mayor. Mayor Pro Tem Rodriguez?

None tonight.

Thank you.

And I also have none. Council comments, a b one two three four. Council conference reporting. Council mayor Martin?

No conference to

report on comments. I'll make it short and sweet. Thank you, Witter PD. You guys have been here so long, guys, you know, been part of us. We're always just gonna be next door to each other. I know this is not the beginning of the end, but just thank you for everything you guys have done for us. The five k race in the eighties party was awesome. It was all day event, but it was so good. If you guys got to go there, I love all the different the clubs and stuff that was everything. Everything you could think of, you there was there, and, it was great. It was a really good time. New police chief, welcome aboard. Welcome to the family. Jump on. I mean, we've heard a lot of stuff. We get a lot of it's not gonna work. It's not gonna work, but we know we have faith in you. It's gonna work. We're Santa Fe Springs, and we'll make sure it works. So, we're backing you up.

Military appreciation, always, Nakamura's. You guys have a special place in our heart. Paul will never be forgotten here ever. You know that. But also, we thank Nick Nick for your service. You're present. You're still there. You're still doing it, and you're still holding it down for us. So I thank you. I applaud you for what you do every time you're out there in that uniform. Thank you so much for what you do for our country. Thank you. That that makes it short and sweet, and that's it. And thank you for coming in today. Thank you. That's it.

Thank you. Council member Amora?

Councilmember Martin said half of what I was gonna say, but but I got a few more things. But, yeah, we're a PD. I cannot thank you enough. I know that even, as we're we transition, we're gonna still be great partners because we may need each other at some point in time. But thanks for all you guys did for us the past thirty years. And, also, to our military, you know, past and also present, like she mentioned, thank you for your service so much. Mother's Day was a lot of fun at the GVNC. I got there at the tail end. I missed breakfast, but I got there just in time for dessert. And, again, our staff did a wonderful job with that, so, you know, honoring the mothers and all the mother figures in our community.

The fun run eighties fest was fun, but maybe next time, Gus, maybe a metal fest or something. Maybe not. I'm pushing it too much. But no. But, you know, they had a great turnout. Any number on the runners?

167.

Okay. That was about 500 more than last year.

So Well, 2,166. Yeah. I didn't run.

Oh, okay. Yeah. Okay.

And you gotta say it was 1,500 last year. Right?

Fifteen fifty eight. Yeah.

Okay. And it's gonna get better because there's so many comments of how much the runners enjoyed the new course. And they're talking to the friends, so they're making plans to come back. So we'll probably hit a record number next year as well. Lakeview students were here this morning. We had the opportunity to see some of them, watch a cartoon, and those kids are awesome. Lakeview's been a great school here in our city. All my kids went there, and the teachers are great there. But that's about it. So hope to see you all in a couple weeks at Memorial Day service. So we got on our veterans and continue our stride towards getting that Paul T. Nakamura Aquatic Center opened up. Have a good night.

Thank you, sir. Councilmember Rounds?

Thank you, mayor. I'm gonna pretty much say the same thing everybody else has said. But, you know, I always love it when we see our youth here, and that includes the high school kids and all that. You know, to see four sports teams here and the cheerleaders and the wrestlers, and I didn't even know they had a a girls wrestling team. And I'd like to see I bet you the girls could beat the boys, but they're they'd be scrappy out there doing that. The five k run walk was amazing. Amazing. I was at the beginning of the starting line waiting to see my family go by, and there were so many people. I'd missed them. They were already halfway done by the time I caught up with them, but it was amazing, a great event.

Eighty's Fest, for those that did attend, I know you had fun. For those who didn't, you have to attend next year. It's it it a lot of fun. Right, Isabelle? It was a lot of fun. Congratulations, Chief. I'm looking forward to it. Seeing our own department, I've lived here for a long time and I know that we've always had a fire department. Now we're going to be in house with a police too. So and with your PD, it's no disrespect to you guys.

I think the timing was just right for this transition to happen. I've made a lot of friends over the years with you guys being here, and thank you for your service for those thirty years. Really appreciate it. Memorial Day, we'll see everybody there on the twenty sixth, right? Everybody bright and early. It's going to it's always a great event, always a great event. And one last thing, our next council meeting is June 2. Correct? So I have a granddaughter who's no. It's been changed. It was changed. Right? It's June 2. I have a granddaughter who will be graduating. So I think you can all give me an excuse to not be at the next council meeting. Okay?

Unless you want us to change the meeting, you know, and let us know.

No. We've changed it. We changed it back, and I don't wanna change it again. So but thank you. Have a great weekend. Stay safe, and God bless you guys.

Thank you, sir. Mayor Pro Tem Rodriguez.

Thank you. Thank you, mayor. I would like to first off thank the Whittier police for all your hard work and efforts making us safe. You guys did an amazing job and you are still doing an amazing job. So thank you very much. And our chief, Paul Espinoza, congratulations. You have got a big, big job ahead of you, but I have no doubt that you are going to do a great job. I am excited to see it happen. You know, so we are all there to support you. Whatever you need, we are going to be right there to help.

So, again, thank you for accepting this big, mighty position and you are just going to do a great job. Thank you. Our chief Michael how do you say your last name? Koziki? It is Koziki.

Koziki. I want to say thank you. Thank you so much for you and all your firefighters for helping our seniors when we need help and making sure that the codes are up to date and going and making sure that our seniors are away from unsafe environment. You guys are great, and it really made me feel good when you stepped up. And, you know, you always have, always taking care of our seniors.

They went to one of our homes and made sure that the electrical was safe for our seniors. So thank you so much. And the Nakamura's, I

want

to say thank you. I'm so proud that you're Paul Nakamura, his name is up there where it should be. And all your volunteer work that you do for us, thank you. It's so important for all of us to do volunteer work in. You are the models of volunteer. Your service and sacrifice, I want to thank you for that. I wanted to say the ArtFest, Gus, thank you with all the staff and everybody that does the ArtFest. It was beautiful. It gets better every year. All of our staff does an amazing job.

Thank you so much for everything. I want to thank our veterans for everything that they do. They fought for us and we couldn't thank them enough. And I just want to say, Jose, thank you and Moy for putting on everything. Arlene, Mother's Day breakfast was beautiful, just so beautiful. So I just want to say thank you to everybody. And I can't wait to see you as well on the Memorial Day celebration on the twenty fifth. Is it the twenty fifth?

'20.

Okay. Twenty sixth.

Twenty sixth? Twenty sixth.

Monday.

Thank you, and have a great evening.

Alright. Thank you everyone. Priscilla, Adriana, do you have anything to say or report out on? No? Are you sure? Not today? Alright. I'll be calling you guys again just to let you know. Arlene, you good? Alright. Just in case, I wanna give you guys a chance and opportunity to speak, especially because you guys are wonderful mothers. Happy Mother's Day to all the moms, and I hope you guys enjoyed yourselves. I do have to report out on SCAG. SCAG is a regional meeting which gets one representative from from every city. And I don't know how big SCAG is, but it's, you know, it's throughout the state.

And two of the biggest topics is transportation and and energy. The our new president is actually his name is Ray from the city of Chino Hills. He's a council member. He's a former firefighter for for the city of Santa Fe Springs, and he was a part of the, what is it, firefighter association also? Thank you. For about ten years. Right? Something like that? Yeah. Ten years. So, he's our new he actually asked me too if I wanted to join any of those two committees, because we're talking about a good amount of money, billions of billions of dollars. So he said, hey. You know, he asked me if I can join one of them or join both of them. So I said, hey. Let me think about it, and then we'll go from there.

So other than that, five k eighties Freestyle Fest. I know it was a huge success. There's a lot of people who enjoyed it. It was something different. So I do wanna thank Gus. You know, I I know I talked to Gus and talked to Renee, and I asked him, hey. Can we do an eighties freestyle? You know, something that I know that we all loved during that time. And and and it was it was funny because Gus is like, hey. You gotta tell Renee. And I'm like, okay. So I asked Renee. Hey, Renee. What he think about an eighties freestyle fest? And I think I don't know if Arlene was there, and Renee's right away.

Yeah. Then we can incorporate peppers, the hop. So he started the red onion. I was like, damn, bro. Like, somebody partied a lot. You know? So he started naming all these a safari bar. So that's it just went from there. And these guys, Gus and his team, everybody who had an input did an amazing job. I was asked if next year, if we do the same theme, if we could actually have people from the the community where they would like to hook up, you know, if you guys need help.

I got like, you know, just setting up or doing something to incorporate. So I know that, you know, that's something that we could look at later on, but, you know also, of course, Saint Paul cheer winning their championship. It was great to see the young ladies here representing Santa Fe Boys and Girls Wrestling. You know? Yeah.

If they if we had battle of the of the two, I mean, even though those ladies were smiling, but we know that, you know, they can put you in a choke hold very easily or get so but other than that, I know that their coach actually he's done MMA, and he he's just amazing. His daughter, when she wrestles, I mean, she's amazing. Public works girls soccer, also for their championship. Public works week, you know, it's it's always a blessing to have our own. We got our own little goodie bag.

I don't know what's inside of it, but I I know my little brother is gonna probably enjoy it because he ends up with all my stuff because because everybody keeps telling him he's the mayor. So he pretty much takes all my stuff, so I can't say anything about it. I just gave it to him. Older adults month, I mean, of course, you know, the wisdom of our older adults, we just can't thank you enough. And we can't thank you enough for you guys even volunteering. You know? You make it easier for Arlene just to to know and see you guys smile and just to be a part of it and being productive in our community. I mean, we just can't thank you enough. It's it's a true blessing. National Military Appreciation Month.

I know when it comes to our military, they should be appreciated every day of the you know, throughout the year, so just can't thank thank them enough. I know that mister Morris said it, you know, past and present, and they're you know, without them, I mean, we couldn't live in this free country that we live in today. So thank you. National Police Week with your PD. Can't thank you enough, you know, for your service. You know, like Juanita said, you know, it's it's, you know, it's not the not the beginning. Or what did you say? Something like that? It's not the beginning of the end. Maybe I wasn't paying attention to her that well.

So as you can see, but the beginning of the end. But it is something that the city has been looking to embark on. So it just gives us the opportunity to build the house and actually be able to do the things that we would like to see. One thing that I would ask of you, chief, is, you know, get the input from our fire department. What would they like to see when there's a call so you guys can always work together and see who can spearhead what and and, you know, and and get together with with Buckwalter also and, you know, just to see what everybody else can input to see what you guys expect out of a police department or what type of people that you can you can help us out with.

Thank you enough. Then CHP, you know, captain Hammond and everyone, you for just always the participation that we have. It's not my summit speaker. Maybe next meeting we'll fix that speaker. New or police chief, welcome. I know that we've had a chance to communicate. Lakeview Elementary walk through, it didn't show up on time because I had something else to do with work. And but I did have an opportunity to meet up with them at the at the station. I had a chance to talk to them actually outside here. So it was great to see Lakeview Elementary School, the two teachers that brought their kids.

And, of course, they're a little squirrely because they were just running around. And, I mean, I know it's more difficult for the guys just to keep them in line, so we were just asking the parents to help out, you know, just to make sure the kids are okay, but they did enjoy themselves. Memorial Day, everybody said it. You know, please show up that day, and it's just one of those things that we give honor to those that we dearly miss and for those that played a huge role in our lives today. We can't say anything more than that.

I mean, God has a plan for everybody, and and and we it's just I mean, I I can't think of anything else but to celebrate them as you know, during that day and as any any other day that we can celebrate them. Nicolas, you did an amazing job while Renee is is out. You know? So thank you for stepping up and doing your part, not only as a military personnel, but also as an assistant city manager. Thank you, sir, for always doing a great job, and we appreciate the the efforts that you that you commit to our city, our wonderful city.

So, also, I do want to talk about our we had a golf tournament for LEAF on Little Lake. Thank you to the city. It was one of those things where it was a huge success. We had every spot covered, and it was just great to see everybody. Here and there, we needed more spots because people were calling in constant.

It was a good thing, a good problem to have. What the Leaf Foundation does is they give grants back to our teachers in the classroom for our kids. So, you know, so being able to always contribute to that in the city of Santa Fe Springs. Here, we have our our council members rounds, Mara, mayor Pro Tem Rodriguez, and council member Martin. You know, every plays a huge role in in participating and contributing back to our youth. So thank you for just your participation. Lloyd, thank you for being up here and just keeping us in line. You know? And thank you for allowing us to call you Lloyd. You know, it makes a big deal.

Other than that, for those of you, just remember, we can keep miss Gary your thoughts and your prayers. We'd greatly appreciate it. She's a remarkable person, and we really miss her as we would anybody else who plays a vital role in our community. So with that being said, I do wanna adjourn this meeting today in honor of Alex Chris Anguiano, 89 years young. And, you know, may God rest his soul. And so meeting adjourned today at 07:05PM in his honor. Thank you.