Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

ALL RIGHT, LET'S GET STARTED. ALL RIGHT, LET'S GET STARTED. ALL RIGHT, LET'S GET STARTED. I CALL TO ORDER THE MEETING I CALL TO ORDER THE MEETING I CALL TO ORDER THE MEETING OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION OF THE PLANNING COMMISSION FOR AUGUST 5th, 2026. FOR AUGUST 5th, 2026. FOR AUGUST 5th, 2026. I NOW ASK FOR A MOMENT I NOW ASK FOR A MOMENT I NOW ASK FOR A MOMENT OF SILENCE.

OF SILENCE. OF SILENCE.

COMMISSIONER GREGGENS, COMMISSIONER GREGGENS, COMMISSIONER GREGGENS, WILL YOU PLEASE LEAD US WILL YOU PLEASE LEAD US

CALL, PLEASE. COMMISSIONER SMITH, ABSENT, EXCUSED. COMMISSIONER VIEW. PRESENT. COMMISSIONER SWIGERT, ABSENT, EXCUSED. COMMISSIONER OCHOA. PRESENT. COMMISSIONER GREGGINS. PRESENT. AND CHAIRPERSON GONZALES.

PRESENT. THANK YOU, CAMERON. WE HAVE A QUORUM. CAMERON WILL READ INFORMATION ABOUT HOW THE PUBLIC MAY PARTICIPATE IN THE MEETING.

Members of the audience who wish to address the Planning Commission are requested to complete a speaker card available at the podium at the back of the council chambers. Please submit the completed card to the clerk before the item is called, preferably before the meeting begins. I would like to briefly go over the process of submitting comments to the Planning Commission. Please submit your public comment to the Planning Commission electronically no later than 1 p.m. on the day of the meeting. COMMENTS RECEIVED BEFORE THE DEADLINE WILL BE SENT TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND WILL BE PART OF THE RECORD AND MENTIONED AS PART OF THE PUBLIC COMMENT PORTION OF THE AGENDA. MATERIALS MAY BE EMAILED TO PLANNINGWEB AT CITY OF MERCED.GOV AND SHOULD BE LIMITED TO 300 WORDS OR LESS. PLEASE SPECIFY WHICH PORTION OF THE AGENDA YOU ARE COMMENTING ON. FOR EXAMPLE, ORAL COMMUNICATIONS OR THE ITEM NUMBER. PRESENTED TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION AT THE APPROPRIATE TIME. ANY CORRESPONDENTS RECEIVED AFTER 1 P.M. WILL BE DISTRIBUTED TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION AND RETAINED FOR OFFICIAL RECORD. TO VIEW VIDEO OR LISTEN TO THE PLANNING COMMISSION MEETING LIVE, GO TO THE CITY'S WEBSITE AT WWW.CITYOFMERCED.GOV, YOUTUBE OR COMCAST PUBLIC ACCESS CHANNEL 96.

THANK YOU, CAMERA. WE NOW MOVE ON TO ITEM C, WHICH IS PUBLIC COMMENT. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO WISH TO SPEAK ON ANY MATTER NOT LISTED ON THE AGENDA MAY SPEAK DURING THIS PORTION OF THE MEETING AND WILL BE ALLOTTED THREE MINUTES. STATE LAW PROHIBITS THE PLANNING COMMISSION FROM ACTING AT THIS MEETING ON ANY MATTER RAISED DURING THE PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD. MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC WHO WISH TO SPEAK ON THIS MATTER ON A MATTER THAT IS LISTED ON THE AGENDA WILL BE CALLED UPON TO SPEAK DURING DISCUSSION OF THAT ITEM. CAMERON, DO WE HAVE ANY REQUESTS TO SPEAK? NOT AT THIS TIME. IS THERE ANYONE IN THE AUDIENCE WHO WOULD WISH TO SPEAK DURING OUR PUBLIC COMMENT PERIOD? HEARING AND SEEING NONE, WE NOW MOVE ON TO ITEM D, WHICH IS CONSENT CALENDAR, INCLUDING MINUTES. WOULD THE COMMISSION LIKE TO REMOVE ANY ITEMS FOR SEPARATE CONSIDERATION? HEARING AND SEEING NONE, I'M OPEN TO A VOTE.

I'LL MAKE A MOTION TO APPROVE.

I'LL SECOND THAT. WE HAVE A MOTION TO APPROVE BY COMMISSIONER GREGGINS, A SECOND BY COMMISSIONER OCHOA. WE NOW MOVE TO A VOTE. AND IT HAS BEEN APPROVED. AND IT HAS BEEN APPROVED. AND IT HAS BEEN APPROVED. THANK YOU, GENTLEMEN. THANK YOU, GENTLEMEN. THANK YOU, GENTLEMEN.

WE NOW MOVE ON TO ITEM E, WE NOW MOVE ON TO ITEM E, WE NOW MOVE ON TO ITEM E, WHICH IS PUBLIC HEARINGS. WHICH IS PUBLIC HEARINGS. WHICH IS PUBLIC HEARINGS. ITEM E1. ITEM E1. ITEM E1. SUBJECT, ADOPT A RESOLUTION SUBJECT, ADOPT A RESOLUTION SUBJECT, ADOPT A RESOLUTION APPROVING MINOR MODIFICATION APPROVING MINOR MODIFICATION APPROVING MINOR MODIFICATION NUMBER 26-0008 AND ADOPTING NUMBER 26-

Good evening, Commissioners, members of the audience. My name is Kayla. I am the project planner for this application. Today we are going to be looking at minor modification number 26-0008 and environmental review number 26-0061. To give some background on this, the purpose of the application is to revise the previously approved 146 single family lots. In addition to that, there were conditions of approval that were within the original resolution from 2022 that discussed improvements that were required. We did do some modifications with the applicants and worked out some conditions of approval that worked for the lots. So to go into more history about the application, the location is a general plan designation low density residential. The zoning is plan development number 50. More history, the project site was originally approved by the city council on December 2nd, 2002 as part of the Ferens Creek North annexation. Then it came before Planning Commission August 17th, 2022. It was reviewed and approved as tentative subdivision map number 1321, authorizing the development of 146 single family lots. The map also received a time extension via site plan review committee on July 25th, 2024, and also on April 30th, 2026. This is to allow the validity of the entitlement and to give more time for the project. As you can see here, here are the maps. If you look to the north half, that is the map for the north portion of the subdivision. In the middle is the south portion of the subdivision. And on the right, you can see them overlaid on a map to see how the development will be to scale. So some of the proposed changes include increasing the number of the single family lots from 146 to 161. This was done through modifications to the lot layout, street alignments and infrastructure as well. There were also modifications to certain offsite roadway and infrastructure improvements that were previously approved and required under the resolution 4096 associated with the tentative subdivision map 1321. Here is a breakdown of the lot sizes in relation to the number of lots for this subdivision. So the project site does have frontage on Cardella Road, R Street, Monaco and Lehigh Drive. This table essentially breaks down some of the improvements that could be expected with the project on this specific road. So Cardella, there was a change in dedication and right-of-way and frontage improvements. R Street is to be constructed along the project frontage. Monaco and Lehigh Drive also, the dedication for right of way was changed to 74 feet for Monaco and 94 feet right of way for Lehigh. And again, improvements along project frontage for that. And all local roads within the subdivision to be constructed as such with all improvements. So for public notifications, we did send out notices. We did a 20-day notification for this application. For owners who were within 300 feet, we did not receive any comments. So as far as environmental, the proposed project is consistent with the general plan and zoning. A categorical exemption has been filed under CEQA section 15183. Section 15183 specifically states that if a project has had an adopted community plan, general plan, or zoning whose environmental impacts have already been analyzed, generally they do not require additional CEQA analysis. In addition to that, mitigation measures from the previous resolution are also to be applied to the site and the existing conditions of approval. So your recommendation tonight is to hold a public hearing. Afterwards, you can approve, disapprove, or modify environmental review number 26-0061, which is a categorical exemption. or in addition to minor modification number 26-0008. And that does conclude the presentation. Are there any questions for me?

Commissioner Ochoa.

Hi, Kayla. Thank you for the presentation. I just want to confirm that the developer is still going to be in charge of developing the roads that are around the housing project.

So there were just some of the roads stated here. Cardella, R Street, and Monaco were the main focuses in which the conditions of approval 18 through 34 address. Those were the conditions that we worked out with the applicant in order to ensure that they could provide proper right of way and also frontage improvements. So for example, specifically on R Street, it is expected to go all the way up north. However, there is a certain point at an intersection there at R Street and, is it R Street and Cardella?

I believe so, yes. Yeah, it goes up to Cardella.

OK, R Street and Cardella, that intersection there will basically be the endpoint of the subdivision and the frontage build out that the developer is required for. They are required to do right of way, though, for Cardella Road. So it's noted in the conditions as well.

Got it. And the additional units for the single-family residences, are those just coming from diminishing lot sizes?

Some of it is also from the improvements. So if I go back to the map... You can see the overlay there. What was done was that our street was essentially moved over from the east, and some of the lots were able to be expanded that way in addition to placement. So some of the lots were larger in some portions of the subdivision, some were smaller. On the maps that you're viewing right now, A LOT OF THOSE SIZES ARE MORE CONSISTENT, WHICH IS PROMPTING THE BREAKDOWN THERE.

AND THE APPLICANT IS HERE TO BE ABLE TO PROVIDE MORE DETAIL IF YOU WANT.

GOT IT. THANK YOU, KAYLA.

ANY OTHER QUESTIONS FOR THE PROJECT PLANNER? Thank you, Kayla. Thank you. This is a public hearing, and at this time, we'll open the hearing for public comment. I invite the applicant to speak. The applicant will have a total of 15 minutes, including rebuttal time. If you wish to reserve time for rebuttal, please conclude your remarks and give yourself time. YOU CAN SPEAK OR NOT SPEAK. I THINK FIRST, DO WE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS FOR THE APPLICANT?

AMY, DID WE WANT TO ASK SOME QUESTIONS FOR THE APPLICANT?

YEAH, IT WAS THE SAME QUESTION. SO IF YOU CAN PLEASE COME UP, THAT WOULD BE GREAT. AND I THINK WHAT ONE OF THE FOLLOW-UP QUESTIONS WAS, WHERE DID THE SPACE FOR THE EXTRA 15 COME FROM? IF YOU CAN OUTLINE THAT SPECIFIC FOR US AND IF IT'S TO

First of all, thank you, Commission, for being here this evening. I just want to let you know we have the project engineer, David Jacoby, with Precision Engineering. We have the broker, Walter Smith, not the commissioner, Walter Smith. And we have the property owners here as well. We're prepared to answer any of your questions. The engineer can get in all kinds of details. The one question I'm hearing is that how did we get from 141 lots to 161 lots, 146 lots to 161? It's because we realigned our street. The reason we're back here today is the offsite conditions from the original approval was such that the cost of developing the offsites could not be accommodated by 146 lots, so we needed to get more lots to offset the offsite improvements to R Street, Cardella, Monaco, and Lehigh. So we realigned R Street. Some of the lots were bigger, we shrunk those down, but we had to get more lots to offset the improvement costs for the offsites.

Yeah, the primary change is our street. And initially, it's not just the improvement cost, but the take of our street was like almost 20% of the total property because the right of way was so wide. So we shifted it as far east as we could to try and maximize the usable space for lots. That's where the extra space came from.

Thank you.

And the internal streets did not change. So none of the internal streets changed as far as the width and the improvements. And the southern collector streets didn't change. The only two streets that changed width-wise were our street and the northernmost street.

Are there any other questions for the applicant? No, we don't have any other questions. Thank you for your time. We appreciate the breakdown. And this is a public hearing. Was there any opposition, Cameron?

No, that's a negative.

Negative, thank you. Is there anyone from the public who'd wish to speak at this time? Hearing and seeing none. Now close and move back to session, right? Yeah. We now close the public hearing, move it back to discussion for the chair, for the planning commission. Yeah. It's been, what, we haven't been here for two months, so. What are your thoughts, guys?

Just a question for the city, the streets regulation size, fire trucks gonna fit through still all the same?

Yes, they're still going to meet the standards required for safety and access.

And I see engineering's here tonight. Do they have any concerns?

Thank you, Commissioner. Daryl Jordan, your city engineer. We worked with the applicant to make sure all the circulation patterns are usable and that all safety apparatus can use the perimeter street and the internal street. And so we're good.

Thank you. I JUST WANT TO MAKE A COMMENT. THANK THE APPLICANT FOR COMING AND MAKING ADJUSTMENTS AND WORKING WITH OUR CITY ON WHAT IS IT NEEDED TO GET THE PROJECT DONE, RIGHT? AGAIN, THE COST OF DEVELOPMENT HAS ONLY INCREASED, AND ESPECIALLY WITH IMPROVING THE COST AND THE WORK TO GET, YOU KNOW, WHAT IT TOOK TO WORK TOGETHER TO GET THIS DONE I THINK IS ESSENTIAL TO THE GROWTH PATTERN THAT WE REALLY WANT FOR THE CITY. SO THANK YOU, GUYS. WE APPRECIATE IT.

And then Cardella, where this specific project is going, it doesn't go all the way through, right? It's not fully developed that way to the left of this project? It is. Okay. I haven't been out there in a while. Thank you. Yeah.

If there is no other discussion on this item, I can't see any reason to modify or disapprove it, so I'd like to go ahead and make a motion to approve the minor modification 26-0008 and adopting the environmental rule 26-0061. Commissioner Vue? Oh, hold on.

No. Attorney Pitt?

Yeah, so you're adopting Planning Commission 4182, adopt the resolution 4182. Okay, that takes care of all of that. Perfect.

I'll amend my motion.

Commissioner Vue.

And I'll second.

All right, we have a motion by Commissioner Graikens. We have a second by Commissioner Vue. We now move to a vote. And it has been approved. Thank you. Yeah, thank you. We now move on to item F, which is study session items.

Subject study session draft vision statement of the comprehensive general plan update.

WELL, GOOD EVENING, PLANNING COMMISSIONERS, MEMBERS OF THE PUBLIC HERE AND THOSE LISTENING IN. IT'S AN ABSOLUTE PLEASURE TO BE HERE AND PROVIDE YOU AN UPDATE ON YOUR ONGOING GENERAL PLAN UPDATE PROJECT. I AM THE PROJECT MANAGER FOR THIS EXCITING PROJECT. ALONG WITH ME TONIGHT IS HANNAH WOOLSEY. SHE IS THE PROJECT PLANNER ON OUR TEAM. NOT HERE THIS EVENING IS BRENT GIBBONS, WHO IS THE OVERALL PROJECT DIRECTOR. COLLECTIVELY, WE WORK FOR MINTIER HARNISH. WE ARE THE LEAD LAND USE CONSULTING FIRM THAT WAS SELECTED TO ASSIST THE CITY IN THIS PROJECT. TOGETHER OUR TEAM ALONG WITH OUR SUBCONSULTANTS AND YOUR CITY STAFF REALLY COMPRISE THE PROJECT TEAM FOR BOTH THIS GENERAL PLAN UPDATE AND THE IMPENDING EIR THAT WILL ALSO FOLLOW FOR THIS PROJECT. Tonight will be facilitated as a study session. So while there will be no formal action on this item, this is an opportunity for the consultant team to provide you an update on the project and talk about our next phase in the project, which is the vision portion. So tonight, what I'll do is we'll provide you a brief update of how we got here. Then we'll dive into the real substantive portion of this evening, which is to review the draft vision statement. and then we'll open it up for Planning Commission public, public, sorry, Planning Commission comment, and we'll solicit feedback from you on any edits and adjustments to this vision. Ultimately, this will be forwarded to City Council for formal action, and this will really then set in the next phases of the project. So with any multifaceted multi-year project, we break it up into phases and this project is no different. This is a six phase project, which is pretty typical for a general plan project of this size being that it is a comprehensive update. meaning we are going through each and every one of your elements minus the housing element and updating it for compliance with state law at a minimum, and then really cracking open the book and creating an opportunity for the public and the elected and appointed officials to really craft the general plan and goals and policies that will guide this community for the next 20 to 25 years. So what we've already completed and what we've presented both the Planning Commission and City Council thus far is phases one through two. Phase one is essentially project initiation. And phase two is where we were just at, where we had an existing conditions and trends workbook. That was the first main deliverable of this project in which we were here presenting the findings from that report and refining that. That report really sets the foundation for this project moving forward and really propelled us into this next phase that we're in now, which is the visioning phase. And this is really an opportunity for city staff and the consultant team to conduct robust community engagement in a multitude of avenues. DISCUSS ITEMS WITH YOUR CITIZENS ADVISORY FOCUS GROUP, YOUR CAFG, AND ULTIMATELY IN THIS PHASE, WHAT WE'RE, THE END DELIVERABLE IS A VISION STATEMENT. A VISION STATEMENT THAT WILL BE INCLUDED IN YOUR GENERAL PLAN AND WILL REALLY BE THE GUIDE POST FOR THE EVENTUAL GOALS, POLICIES, AND ADOPTIONS THAT ARE INCLUDED IN EACH OF THE ELEMENTS. So this is a multi-month phase. We're at the kind of the near completion of it in which we are now in front of the planning commission soliciting direct feedback for incorporation into this vision statement before it inevitably goes to the city council. Now, upcoming after this initial phase is really where we get into the substantive portion of your general plan update, when we are actually going through with a fine-tooth comb the goals, policies, and programs in your general plan, going through the various elements, updating for state law, and performing new required analyses per the state of California. Now that will be the longest phase in this project in which we will have multitude of touch points with the community and the planning commission along the way. After we get through that phase and we have a public review draft general plan out, then we will actually go through the environmental review and analysis portion. So any project of this scale will require compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA, which we're all familiar with. And inevitably, what we all hope for is a successful adoption. But as you can see, this is very much a stepped approach. and a phased project where we have really teed it up to try to get as much community engagement and interaction with both the elected and appointed officials as possible. But tonight we are really focusing on the vision statement. And again, the vision statement really is the foundation for the rest of the general plan that we as the consultant team, along with your city staff and the public, will be crafting the eventual and revising the eventual elements included in your general plan. I'll hand it over to Hannah briefly, but as Hannah will explain, there's been a lot of work put into to get to this point and to the draft vision statement. A lot of community engagement and feedback on the item that will, or at least the vision statement that we have for your consideration this evening. And again, the intent of tonight is to have a free-flowing, candid conversation about what you would like to see changed, items that we may have missed in your vision statement, or simply wordsmithing. Really here to take your feedback, collect that, and then ultimately hand that on to City Council. So with that, I will hand over the mic to Hannah, and Hannah will walk us through the rest of the presentation and go over the vision statement that we have for your consideration this evening. Thank you so much.

Hello, everyone, planning commissioners, members of the public that are here. As Michael mentioned, we'll be covering just generally what a vision statement is and the purpose of a vision statement, as well as community outreach that's been done to this point and the actual vision statement itself as has been drafted thus far. So what is a vision statement? It provides a general foundation for the direction that the city would like the goals, policies, and programs in the general plan to go towards. It generally is a compilation of all the future aspirations that the community would like to work towards collectively. It's meant to be idealistic, positive, and visionary. So we really want it to look a long-term kind of forward approach as to where the city would like to see itself in 20 years. So this is definitely more of where the city is going, not where the city is currently. It generally identifies different important topics, most notably those that are in the general plan itself. But they're meant to be important topics to the community and what is of most importance to members of the community. It also is meant to be kind of a point of reference for both current and future decision makers and community members if they are reading the general plan and want to understand the direction that the general plan was going in when it was drafted, they can refer to this vision statement to understand where the community would like to see itself over the next 20 years. So over this phase, we've conducted a variety of different outreach methods. We had the second community open house for the project. We also launched an online survey and had two community advisory folks group meetings. And then since releasing the public review draft vision statement, we've also collected a number of community comments over that period. So I'll go over each of those over the next many slides. So the second community open house occurred on January 28th. It was very highly attended. There were over 50 attendees. We made sure that all workshop materials were available in English, Spanish, and Hmong. Just make sure everyone could participate if they so desired. And we wanted to cover a different variety of topics in the activities and exercises at this open house to make sure that we collected enough feedback that we could take back to our office and discuss with your planning staff about how to draft initial topics for the vision statement. So we looked at what are Merced's strengths that's currently, current issues, and then future opportunities where residents would like to see the city go in the future. We also asked attendees any lessons that they learned from the past. So the following slides show different pictures from the event. As you can see, we had a lot of feedback. We had a number of different posters that showed a map of the city, just for reference. And attendees could put sticky notes, different colors, just symbolize if it was an asset, an issue, or an opportunity. And we had a lot of really good discussions with attendees, a lot of interest in the community and hope for seeing where it goes within the next 20 years. Now, even though the community open house number two was very highly attended, we wanted to make sure that people who could not physically in person attend the open house could still provide their feedback. So we launched an online survey that essentially mirrored the activities and types of questions that we asked in the open house. Similarly, it was available in English, Spanish, and Hmong, just to make sure everyone could participate. And the survey closed on March 16. The third community advisory focus group meeting of the project happened on February 25th. At this meeting, we, again, posed the same types of discussion questions as we had posed in the community open house, just to get a different type of perspective from the community advisory focus group members. So we asked what could be improved, what are strengths, what are opportunities, and then what can we learn from the city's past. So what we did at that point was we took all the feedback, we drafted some initial options for vision statement direction, and we presented that at the fourth community advisory folks group meeting for the project. And that was on May 27th. So at that meeting, PRESENTED THESE DIFFERENT OPTIONS FOR THE VISION STATEMENT. WE ALSO FACILITATED A DISCUSSION OF THOSE DIFFERENT OPTIONS AND AT THAT MEETING THERE WERE DIFFERENT REVISIONS AND REFINEMENTS FROM COMMUNITY ADVISORY FOCUS GROUP MEMBERS ON THAT DRAFT OF THE VISION STATEMENT. SO OF THE REVISIONS AND REFINEMENTS FROM THAT MEETING, WE ADDED SOME TEXT TO MSI'S HEALTHY COMMUNITIES FOR ALL RESIDENTS AS WELL AS TO MSI'S DIVERSE HOUSING OPTIONS. for all households, regardless of income, regardless of household type, household size, and just different housing needs in general. We also added some text to prioritize a variety, a mixture of uses in neighborhoods just to ensure that there's very strong community connections both within neighborhoods and between different neighborhoods. And then there were some just minor word swaps, revisions, just for clarity and to make sure that the vision statement really was a good compilation of what the community was looking for. So as I was already kind of mentioning, we considered a lot of different feedback through the community open house, online survey, different other meetings during this phase of the project. And using all of that feedback that we heard, we drafted a vision statement for the general plan, a draft vision statement for the general plan. This draft vision statement, excuse me, SUMMARIZED ALL OF THE COMMUNITY'S SHARED ASPIRATIONS AND EXPECTATIONS FOR THE FUTURE OF THE CITY. WE HEARD A LOT OF DIFFERENT OPINIONS, BUT AMONGST ALL THOSE DIFFERENT OPINIONS, THERE WAS A LOT OF CONSENSUS FOR WHERE RESIDENTS WOULD LIKE THE CITY TO MOVE TOWARDS IN THE NEXT 20 YEARS. Throughout the open house, the online survey, different meetings, we heard a lot of really well phrased quotes of what people would like to see. Now granted these were individual comments, but a lot of these really were good summary of what we heard from many other community members, many other stakeholders in the community. There were a lot of quotes and phrases that we used directly from community comments, whether those were from sticky notes on the activities in the in-person workshop or things that we heard, feedback that we heard from the online survey. We used those directly in this vision statement for the general plan. And then finally, when we were drafting the vision statement, we wanted to make sure that it fulfills its purpose, that it's guiding the direction of all the future goals, policies, and programs that we're going to be crafting for the general plan update. So we released the draft vision statement to the public on July 1. We released it in English, Spanish, and Hmong. And you can see a very small version of the printout on the screen here. It's four paragraphs long. It's more narrative than some vision statements. I mean, a vision statement can be any length you want it to be. It can be on the shorter side. sentences, or it could be four paragraphs, as is the draft that we have before you today. So again, this incorporates a lot of community comments, community feedback, and sentiment. But following the release of the public review draft vision statement, we did receive some public comments. And in summary, we heard comments that kind of cover these different bullet points that are on the screen. So some public comments ask that we place greater emphasis on the downtown area as a cultural, civic, and economic heart of the community. Others would like to see UC Merced and Merced College emphasized and highlighted more strongly in the vision statement, just purely because of the educational anchor and opportunities that these institutions have for youth and just economic growth as a whole. Other public comments ask to emphasize active transportation and street design improvements. mainly for non-vehicle modes of transportation, so for pedestrians, for bicyclists, for public transportation even. There were also some public comments that wanted the vision statement to really acknowledge residents themselves as very important stakeholders in the community. And finally, there were a few public comments that requested that the draft vision statement be condensed from its current four paragraph format. And so with that, I'm actually going to read off the draft vision statement right now. And so again, this is the public review draft vision statement. Since it is four paragraphs long, we've divided it so it's one paragraph per slide. And I'm going to read that off for you now. Merced will stand at the forefront of a new era in central California. confident in its identity, ambitious in its vision, and deeply rooted in the people who will shape its future. The city's evolving skyline and welcoming gateways will stand as recognizable landmarks across the San Joaquin Valley, signaling opportunity, innovation, and a vibrant sense of place. Merced is a community for all, inclusive of unique neighborhoods, enhanced public spaces, an innovative arts district, and a downtown alive with energy throughout the day and evening. As a gateway to Yosemite and the Central Valley, Merced will attract visitors, celebrate its culture and heritage, and strengthen its role as a destination for tourism, recreation, and investment. Merced is well connected through a useful and safe pedestrian, transit, and bicycle network that promotes community activity, public health, and access to opportunity. Merced will push the boundaries of what is possible for a modern California city Anchored by Merced College and UC Merced, the city will build on its culturally diverse community, strong agricultural roots, and growing education, healthcare, and hospitality industries. Merced will attract new and emerging industries to maintain a diverse economy and serve as a premier destination for talent, entrepreneurship, innovation, and investment. The city will support pathways for youth and young adults to learn, create, lead, and succeed, ensuring future generations can build their future in Merced. The city will enhance the prosperity, tranquility, and healthy environment for the community by prioritizing housing opportunities for residents of all incomes, backgrounds, and lifestyles through diverse neighborhoods that foster belonging, stability, a sense of place, and the hometown feel residents cherish. Merced will invest in parks, trails, public gathering spaces, and community amenities that contribute to a superior quality of life for residents and visitors alike while supporting youth, families, and cultural opportunities through safe neighborhoods, educational enrichment, recreation, arts, and community programs. Neighborhoods will be places for living, not just staying, with a thoughtful blend of housing, commerce, and community spaces that strengthen neighborhood connections and support daily life. Merced will continue to recognize its tremendous untapped potential and boldly transform it into reality, becoming a statewide model for innovation, fiscal responsibility, sustainable growth, high quality transportation, strategic investment, and community centered planning. A city where people not only choose to live, but where they're inspired to learn, visit, invest, work, and build their future. So that concludes the presentation portion. I have spoken a lot at you. And so we'd love to hear your thoughts and discussion. We are both available for any questions you may have and any wordsmithing or edits that you think would be best to make to this vision statement.

Thank you, Hannah. Can you go back to the slide where it shows the public comment on kind of some So we've sent it out on the first and since then, right? So we had about a month, a little over a month. Is it still posted? Are we still getting feedback? Was there a time where we were gonna take it down or is it gonna stay up?

The public comment period has officially ended. That being said, we haven't received any comments on the website or from the website on this item since the public comment period ended.

Gotcha, gotcha. And then just real quick, our draft vision statement is, SPECIFIC FOR A GENERAL PLAN, SO, AND I'M JUST TRYING TO, LIKE, GO THROUGH THE PUBLIC COMMENTS, YOU KNOW, INDIVIDUALLY ON EVERYTHING THAT THEY'VE PUT AND JUST OUTLINING THE SPECIFICS OF IT. MOST OF THESE WE'VE ALREADY, YOU'VE ACTUALLY ACKNOWLEDGED MOST OF THESE WITHIN THE DRAFT VISION STATEMENT OUTSIDE OF THIS DOWNTOWN AS A CULTURAL, CIVIC, AND ECONOMIC HEART OF THE COMMUNITY. AND THEN, On the length of it, again, this is a vision statement that we're going to put in our general plan for the next 15 to 20 years, correct? So having a little bit of length to it can help us as a guide for when we want to look at this in 10 years, we still have things that we, you know, where are we at? How much of that have we taken care of and how much of that have we gotten to? So I appreciate the length of it. I think it's great. It is lengthy, but I think the public, you know, understanding that this is what we're going to be aspiring to over the next 20 years, I think it should be lengthy. It should have some bone to it, right? Or some substance to say. So, yeah. Any other comments or any questions for Hannah, guys? Did you hit your button to request to speak?

I did.

I'm not there, but yeah, there it is. Commissioner Greggins.

The only thing I see that is, it's not really a concern, but I just want to voice it, is where in the second paragraph, it's a city anchored by the Merced College and UC Merced. And then the last sentence, it will support pathways for youth, young adults, learning, create, lead, succeed, and on. The one thing I think is missing in that is those are the... the higher educational levels and maybe touch on a strong like, you know, high school education, you know, because there's CTE, there's all that's where the learning starts is that at lower levels and then transitions into the Merced College and then on to UC Merced and beyond from there. So maybe bring something like that because we got to get that kind of solidified as well.

That would touch to on the. well, they're not in a specific public comment, but as a parent, right, there are certain schools that are doing better than others from a parent's perspective. So how do we get everybody to that same level of that's where I want my kid to go, right? Yeah, many paths to get to the same place.

Absolutely.

Yeah. Yeah, that's absolutely something that we can add into the vision statement. Yeah.

But other than that, it's a good vision statement. A little wordy for me, but, you know, it is what it is.

COMMISSIONER OCHOA.

YEAH, SO STAYING ON THE SECOND PARAGRAPH, THE SECOND SENTENCE, WHERE ARE WE AT? CULTURALLY DIVERSE COMMUNITY, STRONG AGRICULTURAL ROOTS AND GROWING EDUCATION, HEALTHCARE AND HOSPITALITY INDUSTRIES. THIS MIGHT JUST BE ME. CAN WE TAKE OUT THE FIRST AND? BECAUSE THERE'S AND TWICE.

I DON'T KNOW. THAT KIND OF JUST DOESN'T READ RIGHT TO ME.

Oh, yeah. Yeah, we can remove that.

Thank you. Other than that, I really like it. Yeah, I think it encompasses a lot of what we have going on, where we're going in the future. I think I said this a couple times. It's a very exciting time to be part of the city in some small way and see how much we're growing in the next few years is very exciting.

Yeah, I need this to be nails because I have to convince my daughter to go to UC Merced. instead of going to UCLA. So we need your help, guys, right?

It's a lot of pressure.

Yeah. That wasn't on the scope of work.

And just one other thing, because we're in paragraph two. We're talking about, since we're here, we're looking at education, health care, hospitality, industries. But I think there's also room in there for the tech industry, ag tech, health care tech, things of that nature. So tech's going to be a huge thing in, in the workforce going forward, so maybe we can put something, a nod to that as well. And that's all I got, Chair.

Yeah, thank you. Let me clear these guys out. Commissioner Boo, you got anything? No? You like it?

Cool.

All right. We don't have anything else for you, Hannah. That was a great presentation.

Awesome. Yeah, thank you all.

Yeah, thank you for your time. You have some closing? Okay.

OK, sorry, thank you. Yeah, sorry, we just have a couple of next steps and critical upcoming dates just to quickly mention. So once we make the minor modifications that we've talked about tonight to the vision statement, we'll go to the city council and chat about this item with them. That will be occurring on September 21. And then following that, once the vision statement is adopted, we'll begin the actual policy document updates. That will be the bulk part of this project, right? And again, this will be directed by the vision statement that we craft as well as just the general community feedback we've heard so far. And we'll be having various community touch points throughout the remainder of the project as well, just to make sure that direction that we're going in matches both the vision statement, community intentions, and everything that has to go along with that. So policy document updates will occur in phase four of the project, and that'll mainly be running through early October 2026 through majority of 2027. So you can expect those to be coming in the future.

Thank you so much.

Thank you. ALL RIGHT, FOLKS, WE'RE NOW MOVING ON TO ITEM G, WHICH IS BUSINESS.

OKAY. FIRST, I'D LIKE TO BRING YOUR ATTENTION TO WE HAVE A NEW PLANNER TO THE TEAM, MR. CODY WHITNEY, SITTING TO YOUR GUYS' LEFT. SO WELCOME HIM TO THE CITY OF MERCED. IT'S A GREAT PICKUP. HE'S GOING TO BE A GREAT ADDITION.

WELCOME, CODY.

I didn't steal him from anybody. He came to us. He wanted to work for us. Awesome. Then coming up on the next commission, August 18th, we're going to be voting for chair and vice chair.

Is that the 18th or the 19th?

19th. Thank you. Yeah. That's the only item that we have right now. That's it.

So if we don't have any other items on the agenda, we're going to come in just for that. Does that sound? Yeah. Okay. You don't want to see us? I'm sure you don't want to add a taco truck to that.

Another food truck location? I'm sure there's three in the pipeline.

We're good. All right. We now move on to item H, which is adjournment. And I cannot adjourn without a motion. I'll make a motion to adjourn. All right, we have a motion to adjourn. We have a second by Commissioner Vu. Move to a vote. And we are adjourned. 645. Thanks, guys.