Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

All right. All right, folks.

I call to order this meeting of the Planning Commission for May 20th, 2026. I now ask for a moment of silence. Commissioner Ochoa, would you please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? We now move on to roll call. Kayla.

Commissioner Smith.

Here.

Few.

Present.

Swigert, absent, excused. Ochoa.

Present.

Greggins.

Present.

And Chairperson Gonzalez.

Present. Thank you, Kayla. We have a quorum. Kayla will now 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 Chamber. 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. Material may be emailed to planningweb at cityofmerced.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 an item number. Your comments will be presented to the Planning Commission at the appropriate time. Any correspondence received after 1 p.m. will be distributed to the Planning Commission and retained for the official record. TV, video, or listen to Planning the Commission meeting live, go to the city's website, www.cityofmerced.gov, YouTube, or Comcast Public Access Channel 96.

Thank you, Kayla. We now move on to item C, 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 a matter that is listed on the agenda will be called upon to speak during the discussion of that item. Kayla, do we have any requests to speak?

No.

Is there anyone in the house that would wish to speak? Hearing and seeing none, we now move on to item D, which is public hearings. Members of the public who wish to speak on public hearings listed on the agenda will be heard when the public hearing is open. except on public hearing items previously heard and closed to public comment. After the public has commented, the item is closed to further public comment and brought to the Commission for discussion and action. Further comment will not be received unless requested by the Commission. We do have an item on public hearings, which is item D1, 26-440. Minor modification. Question.

Are there any consent items? There are no consent items or meeting minutes. The meeting we had last time didn't take place.

So yes, the meeting last time did take place. However, it doesn't necessarily mean that the meeting minutes have to follow, especially they can come to add in at a later time. And so that's, what's going to be happening with that.

Okay. Thank you. Thank you. Commissioner Greggans for outlining that for our folks listening.

Item D1, minor modification number 26-0008 and environmental review number 26-0061. So this is my item. We are recommending that this item be continued to the Planning Commission meeting of June 3rd, 2026 to allow us additional time to conduct research and

Thank you, Kayla. In order for us to adopt this motion to... Is there any public comment regarding this item 26-440, which is subject minor modification 26-008, environmental review 26-0061? Hearing and seeing none, we now bring it back to the commission for discussion or for a vote to have this moved to June 3rd, 2026. Do we have a motion to move?

I'll make a motion to approve.

Thank you, Jeremiah.

I'll second that motion. To continue to the June 6th planning commission meeting. Sorry, I moved on the agenda.

I'll second that motion. We now move it to a vote. And we are moving it. Thank you, folks. Let me clear these. We now move on to item E, which is action items.

Just for the audience and the commissioners, E1 is going to be pulled at this time.

We now move on to item E2.

Good evening, Commissioners. So this item that's being brought before you is to propose a temporary moratorium and zoning ordinance amendment to the Merced Municipal Code Chapter 20-44020, also more commonly known as food trucks in fixed locations. This purpose is for us to be able to assess whether the ordinance as it stands is serving the community and addressing the operational practices such as land use compatibility, public safety, equitable distribution, and if really the way that we intended this ordinance and that the way that this distribution of food trucks are going and keeping in mind the future of Merced's growth is being executed in a manner that we would like for it to be done in. So we did start a quick analysis on what the food truck distribution does look like. So one of the things that we wanna know or maybe look at is determine if we want to allow food trucks to continue downtown in the commercial and industrial zoning districts the way that they are. So to give you a little bit of background with these food trucks, there has been 34 food truck entitlements approved since the creation of the municipal code. I will say just for complete transparency, coming I believe next week for site plan review will be another food truck. Right now, what we have is we have 26 single-use truck entitlements and eight multi-use entitlement locations that have been approved. When we did start the analysis, we did see that there is a high concentration in downtown and central city areas, which can raise concerns regarding land use compatibility and nuisance impacts such as traffic, foot traffic, and things of that nature. 18 of the 34 locations are concentrated within a 2.5 mile radius, and they're all near downtown. There are three permitted locations on 24th Street, and that's more north, and that's in a 10 mile radius. So the concentration changes considerably when you go from south to north of Merced. We want to see if that the current ordinance, if it sufficiently addresses the distribution and operational impacts of these food trucks. Again, like I said, potential concerns could be traffic, some of the new scents, sounds, noises, smells, all the things that happen when you're dealing with food. So if you look at this map right here, this one's the more focused on downtown. All those dots are the ones that are food truck orientated. So as you can see, A lot, a lot of heavy traffic there. One of the things that I would like for you guys to keep in mind is some of those dots do represent multi-food trucks. So it's not one dot for each truck, which that represents is each parcel has an entitlement for food truck and potential multiple food trucks. For CEQA, this proposed moratorium and ordinance update are not considered a part of a project under CEQA. But however, when we do move forward with If you guys do give us direction and city council give us direction to write the ordinance that we will ensure that those future amendments still maintain consistency with the general plan. So at this point, the recommendation, it would be to approve resolution, establish a temporary moratorium on new approvals under the municipal code direct staff to prepare comprehensive amendments, addressing concentration compatibility and community impacts. And so with that being said, are there any questions?

Not a question, but I want to make clear, your resolution tonight is to not actually establish the urgency ordinance, it's to elevate this to city council and ask the council to then establish the urgency ordinance because Only they have that authority to establish ordinances. Yes. Just wanted to make that very quick.

And to build on that. So yes, that's important that you guys understand that. And so when the ordinance does get created, it will be coming through Planning Commission. So you guys will have that opportunity to review what the proposed ordinance is as well.

Thank you. I had a follow-up question to that. I think she answered that really, or you answered that really well. But is there any, can you give us any direction on the specifics of what thought process is going to go into it? Is it going to be limiting specifically for downtown from this street to this street? Or is it going to be tied more towards?

Right. So I know that the commissioners here do intend on having some type of discussion when you bring it back. And I'm going to be listening intently. If you're asking for what my initial thoughts are, I do have some, but I haven't started digging into the research, so I would be kind of hesitant to start saying what I'm thinking at this moment because I haven't done the background to it.

Thank you. To follow up, if I may, one of the purposes of the urgency ordinance is to allow time for staff to study those very type of questions and get a sense of what we would recommend that the zoning look like. If the council adopts the urgency ordinance, it's because there's a threat to public health and safety and we need time to freeze everything so that we can study the issue and come forward in a thoughtful manner for consideration.

UNDERSTANDABLE. COMMISSIONER GRIGGINS.

IF WE DO SEND THIS UP FOR THE COUNCIL TO CONSIDER, WHAT IS THE TEMPORARY MORATORIUM TIMELINK GENERALLY? ARE WE LOOKING AT PUTTING A MORATORIUM FOR LIKE 3, 6, 9, 12, 20 YEARS, YOU KNOW?

I'LL DEFER TO COUNCIL.

If you were to proceed under this as an urgency ordinance, which is what's agendized, the initial time period is 45 days. With a public hearing, it can be extended for 10 months and 15 days. I want to be clear that the government code, it's section 65858. doesn't allow for up to. It is very specific language. So the initial moratorium is for 45 days. The extension is for 10 months and 15 days. There is an opportunity to extend it one more time for up to a year. Within that time frame, if we get that far out, we can, of course, any time we're ready to come forward and go through the process, we don't have to wait the full 10 months and 15 days, for example. those are the time limits that you are wedded to pursuant to the government code.

Thank you. That's good information.

Yeah, thank you. Understanding that you just mentioned that we have another food truck coming, what would that do for that applicant?

So typically, I mean, they're first fit through the door before this even happens. So we would still continue on processing it. And the way that the ordinance stands today is what they're going to be subject to through that analysis. Yeah, any applicant that comes in today, up until city council will be brought with that same respect. It's not until city council makes that recommendation. Then after that, any application that comes in would be put on hold. Thank you for clarifying that.

Sorry, one more procedural issue, just so you're aware. Typically, as I'm sure you recall, an ordinance under normal operating procedures, if you will, there's a period of time after council adopts before it goes into effect. Because this is an urgency ordinance, what you're considering, it goes into effect immediately. So there's not that grace period. Should council adopt it, it goes into effect that night and runs for 45 days unless we have a public hearing and extend it for 10 months and 15 days.

Are there any other questions for our planner on this item from the commission? Thank you. Then understanding that this is not like, you know, a typical, you know, action event where we have an applicant specific in the community that where we would have them bring up and things like that. The, what we do here now is just request a motion discussion.

You guys can discuss amongst yourselves whether or not you, um, The action in front of you is a resolution recommending that the council adopt the urgency ordinance, but it is within your discretion under this item if you want council to not adopt it as an urgency ordinance because you just want a direct staff, for example, to consider this and we continue processing food trucks in the interim. You can do that, you can tell us no. The full gamut of discretion is up to you guys and now's the opportunity for all of you to discuss it amongst yourselves and make a decision. This is an action item, so we can ask if there's any public comments. I don't see any, but certainly. Okay.

Well, since it's an action item, we usually have to go through this section here, which is do any of the members of public wishes speak in person have sent emails or letters prior to this meeting?

No. No.

At this time we'll close public comment and bring it back to our commission for discussion. All right, folks, I understand that over the last several months, we've had numerous conversations, particularly around our food trucks and just understanding the concentration that we currently have in downtown. It's been, you know, we brought it up many times for number one, for an outline of where they were, where they were located. And it seems like we definitely have some traction with our planning department on taking a look at that and understanding the concentration that we've seen in downtown. So my comment for the group is I welcome it, and I'd love for them to take a stab at it, to be honest with you. Are there any other comments or discussion that you folks would like to bring up? Go ahead, Commissioner Gregg.

The only thing I have to say is I kind of kicked this ball down the road at the last meeting, and that's where we're at today. So I'm definitely... on the same page as you are. Over the years, we've taken on a lot of this and we need to kind of take a kind of small pause and just kind of look to see where we're at in the direction, you know, if we align with general plan and with the community at large and figure out what's the best for this type. Once again, reiterating that I'm not against the taco trucks, the taco culture, anything like that. I frequent them probably more than I actually should, but we just need to look at it and for the city at large. So I'm in favor of moving this to the council.

COMMISSIONER OCHOA.

I ALSO WANT TO SAY I'M IN FAVOR OF THE MORATORIUM JUST TO PUT A TEMPORARY HOLD ON FOOD TRUCKS AND APPLICATIONS GOING FORWARD. I THINK THERE'S A HUGE CONCENTRATION ESPECIALLY TOWARDS OUR DOWNTOWN AREA WHICH DEFINITELY TAKES AWAY FROM DOWNTOWN BUSINESSES AND FOR ME THAT'S A PRIORITY FOR ME IS TO KEEP THOSE BUSINESSES RUNNING BECAUSE I THINK THAT'S THE HARD NUMBER SET AND SO LIKE YOU SAID WE'VE BEEN APPROVING A LOT OF TACO TRUCKS And I definitely think this needs to be looked at. I don't know if it's a zoning issue that necessarily this is, or if we make some modifications to the code, but I do have some ideas if I could share that. Awesome. Nice. So some of my ideas, I just jotted these down. It was kind of a use it or lose it. So like I've said in the past, you know, we approve all these projects and they don't get done. And so they'll stick with that property. And if you don't, I would say if you don't use the food truck application, if there's no truck there within six months, I think you should lose your application. Let's see. So I don't know if it's something where we want to limit the amount of food trucks in the downtown district, because I know those businesses have to pay a P bid and I don't think the food trucks have to pay a P bid necessarily for that. But if you're part of the downtown operations, I do think there's something that needs to go in there where you're paying your fair share. And then maybe for a single use truck to have the entitlement specific to that vendor and that vehicle. So if that vehicle was going to leave that parcel, then they would lose the food truck application there. That's the ideas I have.

Yeah, thank you, Commissioner Ochoa. And I understand that once we get all the data reviewed, that it'll be an open discussion for commissioners to be able to elaborate more on any direction and kind of how we want this to play out.

So, yeah, so kind of what I was saying earlier is when we take this to city council, if they do go ahead and press forward with the moratorium and revisiting, once we have that draft of the ordinance, we'll be bringing it back to planning commission and you guys will be able to have your comments there.

Thank you. Commissioner Greggins.

I'd like to go ahead and make a motion to recommend to the city council to adopt the urgency ordinance establishing a temporary moratorium on the food trucks in fixed locations pursuant to government code section 65858 to consider amending the Merced municipal code chapter 20.44.020, food truck and in fixed locations.

I'll second that motion. We have a motion by Commissioner Greggins. We have a second by Commissioner Ochoa. We now move it to a vote. And it has passed. Thank you, folks. And that concludes our action items for the evening. We now move on to item F. which is business, which is report by planning manager and upcoming agenda items.

So for June 3rd, we'll be having the CIP that's gonna be coming in. Kayla's project that was extended will be coming June 3rd as well. And then we're also gonna have a vacation here brought to us. That's all we have right now for the agenda. Oh, also, I would like to let everybody know here that Tuesday we have a study session with city council, planning commission, and city council for the general plan update on Tuesday. So please make sure you guys are here. And then just for FYI, CAFG meeting is going to be the following night at 6 p.m., which is the same time. So.

What time is Tuesday's meeting?

6 p.m. 6 p.m. Okay.

I don't think I've been notified of that either. Yeah, we're both on that.

That's what I just said. We'll make sure that when the time comes that you'll have that information and you'll be ready to go for the CAFG meeting. Okay. Thank you.

We now move on to Item G, which is adjournment, and I will need a motion to adjourn. I'll make a motion to adjourn. And I'll second that motion. We have a motion to adjourn by Commissioner Greggins and a second by Chairman Gonzalez. All those in favor, vote. And we are adjourned. 624.