Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

All right, folks. I call to order the meeting of the Planning Commission for June 3rd, 2026. I now ask for a moment of silence. Commissioner Greggins, will you please lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance? ALL RIGHT, WE NOW MOVE ON TO ITEM B, WHICH IS ROLL CALL. CAMERON?

COMMISSIONER SMITH IS ABSENT, EXCUSED. COMMISSIONER VIEW? PRESENT. COMMISSIONER SWIGGARD?

PRESENT.

COMMISSIONER OCHOA? PRESENT. COMMISSIONER GREGGENS? PRESENT. CHAIRPERSON GONZALES?

PRESENT. THANK YOU, CAMERON. We have a quorum. Cameron 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 chambers. Please submit the completed card to the clerk before the item is called, preferably before the meeting begins. I'd 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, that is P-L-A-N-N-I-N-G-W-E-B 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 communication or 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. To view video or listen to the Planning Commission meeting live, go to the city's website, www.cityofmerced.gov. Also found on YouTube or Comcast Public Access Channel 96.

Thank you, Cameron. 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 a matter that is listed on the agenda will be called upon to speak during discussion of that item. Cameron, at this time, do we have any requests to speak? We do not. Thank you. We now move on to item D, which is consent calendar, including minutes. Would the commission like to remove any items for separate consideration?

My screen's not working.

Hearing and seeing none.

I'll make a motion to approve the consent calendar.

Second. We have a motion by Commissioner Ochoa, a second by Commissioner Greggins. We now move it to a vote. And we have it approved with Commissioner Swigert abstaining. Let me clear that. It should clear on its own, right? WE NOW MOVE ON TO ITEM E, WHICH IS PUBLIC HEARINGS. ITEM E1, CAMERON.

ITEM EWOOD, MINOR MODIFICATIONS NUMBER 26-0008 AND ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW NUMBER 26-0061.

Commission, Kayla Abarca, planner, we are requesting that you continue this item to the June 17th Planning Commission meeting to allow staff more time for research and preparation.

Do we need to...

Do we have any members of the public who wish to speak in person have sent emails or letters prior to this meeting regarding item E1?

No, we do not.

Is there anybody on the commission who would like to make any comments about this item? Hearing and seeing none. Is there anyone in the public who would wish to speak on this item? Hearing and seeing none. We now bring it back to the commission for a motion.

I'd like to make a motion to continue this item to June 17th, Planning Commission meeting.

And I'll second. We have a motion by Commissioner Greggans, a second by myself, Chairman Gonzales. We now move it to a vote. And we are approved to move. Thank you. We now move on to item E2. Cameron.

A correction would be item F1, a subject annual review of the five years, 2026 through 2031 capital improvement program, determination of whether the individual projects are consent with the general plan maps, policies, and principles, and recommendation to the city council regarding the consistency with the Merced Vision 2030 general plan.

Good evening, chair and commissioners, deputy city manager, thank you for attending tonight. Daryl Jordan, your city engineer. Tonight, I have a short presentation for you. Staff is presenting the proposed fiscal year capital improvement program and capital improvement budget for your review and consideration. The capital improvement program, or CIP, is one of the city's most important planning and implementation tools, translating the goals and policies of the general plan into tangible infrastructure investments that support our residents, businesses, and future growth. The city of Merced continues to experience significant growth and transformation, new residential neighborhoods, commercial development, industrial investment, and the ongoing expansion of the University of California Merced are reshaping our community and strengthening Merced's role as a regional center for education, innovation, employment, and commerce in the Central Valley. At the same time, the city is evaluating several potential annexation areas that could substantially increase Merced's geographic footprint population over the coming years. While these annexations represent important opportunities for economic development, housing, employment, and community investment, they also underscore the importance of thoughtful, long-range infrastructure planning. Today's decisions regarding transportation facilities, utility systems, public safety infrastructure, parks, and community amenities will help position a city to successfully accommodate future growth while maintaining service levels for existing residents. The proposed capital improvement program reflects both immediate infrastructure and needs and the city's long-term vision. The program includes investments that preserve and rehabilitate existing assets, improve public safety, expand transportation connectivity, increase utility capacity, enhance recreational opportunities, and support economic development initiatives throughout the community. As part of your role under California planning law, the planning commission is responsible for reviewing the capital improvement program for consistency with the city's general plan. This review is particularly important during periods of rapid growth, ensuring that public investments align with adopted land use policies, circulation objectives, housing goals, environmental stewardship principles, and the city's broader vision for sustainable development. This year's program also reflects a strategic focus on preparing for future demands associated with continued growth, including infrastructure needed to serve planned development areas, strengthen regional transportation connections, improve safety, resiliency, and support emerging opportunities throughout the city and its sphere of influence. The projects before you this evening represent more than individual infrastructure improvements. Collectively, they are investments in Merced's future, investments that will influence mobility, economic vitality, public safety, quality of life, and the city's ability to accommodate growth for decades to come. With that, staff is pleased to present the proposed capital improvement program to you tonight and answer any questions you may have after your review.

Thank you for your presentation. Commissioners, are there any questions for the presenter?

Commissioner Ochoa. Good evening, good evening. Just wanted to see, what do you see a major focus in this CIP for the future of the city?

As this group is probably more aware than most other groups, the potential annexations and growth of the city has, as Sam may have told you previously, is one of the highest demands we've ever had in the history of our city right now. What we're looking for as far as expanding the city's future, as far as utilities go, is almost doubling our size. So our emphasis right now is how are we gonna accommodate the demand on our infrastructure, our water, sewer, storm, and other utilities throughout our community. We're trying to grow very quickly in a mid-sized community. We're now about 100,000 population now. Can you imagine the demands on something closer to 200,000 people in a short period of time? That's gonna be a tremendous leap. So we have to be very well prepared to plan for that impact.

And then I see about seven and a half million dollars for Highway 59 alone, which I do think needs some major renovation. Do you know of any other major thoroughfares that will also have this type of renovations?

that may sound like a lot of money to you for 59. That's maybe about half of what we need. Um, as you may know, each year, the costs of building streets and facilities and infrastructure are increasing pretty dramatically. Um, so every major arterial that we're looking at right now needs some type of rehab work, whether it's our street or olive or what have you, those streets are getting old. Um, so we'll be presenting to council within this next year, uh, a new roads project and plans. And with that in itself, if we were to transform all the streets in the city, we're talking about hundreds of millions of dollars just to get the streets back up to where they need to be. So that's a very expensive cost within itself. So every major corridor arterial campus parkway, which is really not that old. I designed that with Frank back in 2010, I think it was Frank. It already needs some rehabilitation on that. And it's not that old. So every, As you can imagine, every major thoroughfare throughout the city is gonna need some type of treatment or upgrade within the next 10 years.

Great, thank you.

Are there any other questions from the commission for our presenter? No. Hearing and seeing none. Again, this is a public hearing. Cameron, do we have any members of the public who wish to speak in person have sent emails or letters prior to this meeting?

We do not at this time.

Is there anybody in the audience and the public who'd wish to speak on this item? Hearing and seeing none, at this time we close the public comment and bring it back to the commission for discussion. Any internal discussions, folks?

No?

I'll request a, Motion to adopt the resolution 4185 findings.

Commissioner Ochoa. Yes, sir, yes, sir. I do agree with your sentiments of the city expanding very rapidly. It's very exciting, very exciting time to be a planning commissioner in the city council level. I do think water and sewer are some of our biggest needs out here and some of our roadways. I hope roadway safety gets a little bit better. I see the red light cameras, which I hope is working. Might have caught me the other day. I don't know, but I'll find out. I'll find out. But with that, I'd like to make a motion that the capital improvement project is consistent with the general plan.

Second. All right. We have a motion by Commissioner Ochoa. We have a second by Commissioner Greggins. And we now move it to a vote. And we are good. It's been adopted. Thank you, Commissioners. Appreciate you. Thank you for your time today. We now move on to item G, which is business, but a report by planning manager and upcoming agenda items.

Good evening commissioners. Uh, thank you for attending tonight. Uh, the next, uh, planning commission meeting, uh, June 17th, please make sure you all can be here. We have the big item of the adoption of the housing element. So we'll be seeking your recommendation that day for adoption of the housing element. So that's going to be really a big item that we've been working on for quite some time. And then we're also going to have the minor modification. That one should be ready. Kayla has been working hand in hand with the applicant, which is why we've had to add up a couple of, extensions because we're trying to make sure that we're all on the same page as we move this forward to you on planning commission. But as of right now, those are the two items that are coming. So I would say when you do get the packet for the housing, please do not hesitate to reach out to me. Okay. This is a big item. It's very dense. So if you guys have questions, concerns, comments, please feel free to reach out to me. Thank you.

All right, thank you for that update. We now move on to item F, which is our adjournment. And I will need a motion to adjourn.

I make a motion to adjourn.

Second. All right, I have a motion to adjourn by Commissioner Swigger and a second by Commissioner Greggins. We now move it to a vote. And we are adjourned. 6-17.