Pc Meeting - Regular Meeting

Wow, that is loud.

That's awesome. I love it.

All right. Thank you, everybody, for coming, first of all. There are some more chairs around the corner if you guys in the back need some. Feel free. Calling to order the Planning Commission meeting for the City of Plymouth on Thursday, August 20th, 2026 at 6.30 p.m. Members of the public attending in person may submit written public comment prior to the meeting by emailing your comment to the planning clerk at jsmith at cityofplymouth.org before 3.30 p.m. on the day of the meeting. Emailed public comments will be distributed to the commission and made part of the official record. This meeting ID for people zooming in is 947-6823-3069 with a passcode of 675989. I'm not going to read the Zoom link because it would make no sense. All right. This meeting will be recorded. Council chambers are wheelchair accessible. Special accommodations may be requested by contacting the planning clerk 72 hours in advance of the meeting. Please silence your cell phones or similar devices. And let's do a roll call, please.

Commissioner East, absent. Commissioner Klaproth, also absent. Commissioner Malcolm?

Present.

Vice Chair Mickelson?

Here.

Chair Sullivan?

Here.

Thank you. We have a quorum.

All right. Let's stand and salute the flag. All right, our first item on the agenda is the approval of the Planning Commission regular meeting agenda. That's the agenda for tonight, August 28, 2026. Was there any public comment just regarding this agenda? Anyone have anything? All right, were there any public comment on it? All right. Can I get a motion to approve the agenda as presented? Motion. Second.

Commissioner Malcolm? Aye. Vice Chair Mickelson? Aye. Chair Sullivan? Aye. Thank you. Motion passes.

All right. Next, we have public comment number three. Under provisions of the government code, citizens wishing to address the commission for any matter not on the agenda may do so at this time by completing and submitting a speaker submittal request form to the planning clerk or following the instructions noted on the agenda. Speakers will be called by the chair at the point on the agenda when the item would be heard. Speakers should keep comments to three minutes or less, state their name and community of residence. Also, you've got to push the little button when you go up there. Don't forget that. Under provisions of the California Government Code, the commission is prohibited from materially discussing or taking action on any item not on the agenda unless it can be demonstrated to be of an emergency nature or an urgent need to take immediate action of something that arose after the posting of the agenda. Is there anyone in City Hall that has any public comment on things that aren't on this agenda already? All right. We can move on then. Next are presentations and appointments, which we have none. Consent calendar items. All matters listed under the consent calendar are to be considered routine and will be enacted by one motion. If discussion is required, the particular item will be removed from the consent calendar and will be considered separately. So under that 5.1, we have approval of the Planning Commission regular meeting minutes of July 16, 2026, which was our last meeting. Do we have a, or is there anyone in City Hall that would like to make a public comment on those last minutes from the last meeting? All right. Any written comment on that? Okay, great. Can I get a motion to approve the consent calendar as presented?

Mike wasn't on. Let me repeat it. And I second that.

Mr. Malcolm?

Aye.

Vice Chair Mickelson?

Aye.

Chair Sullivan?

Aye.

Thank you. Motion passes.

All right, next is the main attraction for tonight, which is number six, public hearings. 6.1 is the Haunted Forest, 9424 Pacific Street, temporary use permit PA-202603. Madam Planner.

I'm so scared of all you.

Tonight is before you. It is a temporary use permit to host a Halloween attraction in the city of Plymouth. This is the second year that they will be in operation. If you recall last year, they came before you to seek permission. Typically, temporary use permits are reviewed by the planning director, but for the first year, we brought it to planning commission due to the nature of the request and the potential for impacts. And then again, as well for the second year, as now we've had one full year of operations, so we can gauge how it went. During the first year of operations, staff only received one complaint during the whole period, and Cameron went and spoke with our city manager, went and spoke with the operators and it was cleared up right away. And then we had no complaints after that. So only one was received by staff.

What was the nature of that complaint?

I believe, and now I can't 100% remember, but I think it was lights aiming at someone, but it was taken care of. So that was the only one we get. As you recall, we did have the, During the hearing, we moved the entrance going from Pacific onto 49, which I think reduced further impacts. And then it is set further back into their property, which is quite large. Oops again the project area, there are some single family homes around it, and then there is the large area that comprises this parcel, which was the former was used for a former industrial use, so there is existing parking lot and some some existing roadways out there. The attraction will operate Thursday through Saturday. There's the family-friendly portion for kids that are younger with no scares, and then the main attraction, which is the scary portion. For this year, the applicant has noted that they would like to have additional days for special events or field trips. And so staff has included a conditional of approval that asks that they give us one week notice before they do so, so that we're aware of it. And then for the most part, it shouldn't cause any impacts because they will be for a specific purpose. Same as last year, timed entry. They have to purchase the tickets in advance, and they'll use the existing parking areas. They have part-time seasonal employees. They do have a number of employees. They have the same security plan and emergency plan as the year before. Our fire prevention bureau has asked that they call them out for an inspection before they begin operations, and that's been included as a condition of approval. But it was reviewed by fire, and there were no concerns. Again, they'll have to have insurance and insurance policy and the conditions of approval indemnify the city if there's any occurrences out there. Circulation, again, we're going off the... Sorry, Pacific is on there, but ignore Pacific. Highway 49, they have set parking, they have on-site attendance, and really we had no complaints from anyone for traffic flow last year, so I can't say that there were any impacts. No one has... provided comment from last year or this year. And again, no permanent structures are part of this. Everything is temporary. We did notice this in accordance with state law. It appeared in the newspaper and was mailed to everyone within 300 feet of the property, of the property lines. And the city has received several comments, which are available for you up there in favor of the project. So no comments were received opposing the project. This project being temporary is exempt from requirements under CEQA, so CEQA review is not required. And tonight, the Planning Commission has your standard four options. Staff is recommending that you adopt a resolution approving the temporary use permit for this year. One thing staff is asking, and it's in your staff report, is if you would like to continue to require this to come before the Planning Commission, or if we can now bring it down to staff level unless we start to receive objections regarding the operations, that will save the applicant Bunny, as his applications are for this type of review, are time and materials, so he gets billed for staff time and the meeting, as well as noticing. So if you were medieval to that, you could let us know, and then there's a condition of approval that we would modify. And that concludes my presentation. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have.

So just list for me the changes that they're requesting over last year's permit.

They have, there's the change in the days. So now it's, well, I forget what I said now, Thursday through Saturday. There is a petting, like a petting zoo farm animal attraction. In their written statement, it discusses the potential for having 4-H, being able to show their animals, a petting zoo. And kind of like an interactive animal exhibit. So it would add, you know, another attraction to the site. Again, from where we were last year, the original where we came to you at the hearing was the Access Off Pacific, which we then changed to 49. And then it will still be at 49 for this year as well.

So the time, just to confirm, it was two hours later until midnight?

So it's until midnight on the weekend nights, and then there is the conditional approval that staff has included that says it's 10 on a weekday, so the Thursday.

And were we on weekends last time?

Midnight.

Midnight, so that's the same.

Okay.

And just to confirm that you only received 1 complaint regarding this, the same staff and that was.

And it was resolved to this resolve right away. Yes.

All right, and you weren't aware of any complaints, the sheriff's department, the sheriff's department.

I know Cameron was in our city manager was in contact with them to make sure that we didn't have any impacts.

Great. All right. Well, I do know that we received a number of written public comments, and I'm not going to read them into the record. They're in the packet if anybody wants to look at them. But they are all positive. And in fact, there was one signed by a number of people on Pacific Street, which I found really nice to read because our concern last time was Pacific Street, mainly from neighbors. So it was nice to see that the folks putting this on have been good neighbors to their neighbors um so folks can refer to their their packets if they want to read those um is there anyone in city hall that would like to do you have any comment forms all right is there anyone in city hall that would like to comment on this tonight come on up go up to the podium push the button and state your name where you're from and let us know what you'd like to say

I'm live. Okay. My name is Michelle, and I had the opportunity to work as an employee at the Haunted Forest last year. I have over more than 35 years of experience in the haunt industry and can honestly say that the Haunted Forest was one of the most organized and safely conscious operations I've experienced. What stood out to me most was how much the family generally cared, not only about providing a fun and memorable experience for their patrons, but also about the well-being of their employees and the surrounding neighbors. They made a sincere effort to operate responsibly, maintain a safe environment, and be respectful of the community around them. I would strongly recommend that the city council approve the haunted forest implement for operation this year. This event is more than just a Halloween attraction. It brings people into our community, encourages visitors to spend time and money at local businesses and help create a positive and lively atmosphere in Plymouth. Events like the Haunted Forest give families and visitors another reason to come to town, eat at local restaurants, shop at local businesses, and experience what our community has to offer. It also provides an opportunity for Plymouth to build on its reputation as a community that welcomes visitors and supports local events. I believe the Haunted Forest can be a positive economic and community asset while operating responsibly and safely. I respectfully encourage the council to approve It's operation for the year and support an event that benefits both our residents and our local businesses, business community.

Thank you. Thank you. Come on up. Let us know who you are and where you're from.

Elizabeth Pinotti, Plymouth. We are the property directly adjacent to where the Haunted Forest is on Pacific Street. We operate two Airbnbs on that property. And we were very concerned last year. until we spoke to the Maynards and the queue lines up right where our property is and it was the most without incident event that I've ever experienced. I think that I think it puts a burden on them to have to go through this every year. I mean, I understand last year and this year because you wanted to see how it was going to work out. But I have never met more respectful operators of a business and they genuinely reach out and they're caring and they want to do it correctly. I mean, nobody came to Plymouth with a problem because if you had a problem, which I don't think that there was, but if you went to the Maynards, it would immediately be taken care of. So I just think that it's costly for them and takes up time for the city. So I would ask that maybe the city just lets the staff take care of it from here on out. That's all. It's just a great event.

Great. Thank you. See some other chicken black folks over there. Anyone else come up? All good. All right. Come on up. You know, the routine. Yeah.

Rosemary Marino Moody, Plymouth resident. My family did attend last year. We had a great time. It was a wonderful experience. Everyone was so friendly and open, and it was a great experience for us. I spoke with many of the businesses downtown, and they had great sales with the people, extra people in town. So that's a wonderful thing for us. The only thing I want to say is on the weekday nights, if we can still leave them at 10 o'clock just because of kids going to school, that type of stuff. I have no problem with going to midnight on the weekends and whatnot. It was a great experience. That's my only concern if it goes to the staff in the future, that if they decide to change the dates, the times, that the public would still have input on that. Thank you.

Great. Thank you. Anybody else? All right, I'm going to close the public hearing portion of this and move on to planning commission discussion. As for me, I heard a lot of positive input from this last year, and I didn't hear any negative at all. Nobody reached out to me with anything other than positives. So it sounds like this is mostly the status quo, other than adding some animals and adding some different times for school groups and whatnot. So I don't have any opposition. How do you guys feel?

I feel the same way. And I think the letters that we've had and the number of people here speaking positive of this event speaks volumes. And I appreciate what you've done and what you've done for the city. It's a very good event.

I concur with that. That's what you brought to the community, the people that came, benefited everybody, all the other businesses. That's fantastic. I agree with Rosemary about, I think this should be set in stone, do what you want to do, but I think it should be noise ordinance midweek. So that's my only thought there. The weekends, do as you will.

All right. I'm going to make two motions. So the first motion I'd like to make is that we accept the plan as stated and enact the ordinance as stated in the agenda document. Do I have a second? Second.

Commissioner Malcolm. Aye. Vice Chair Mickelson. Aye. Chair Sullivan.

Aye.

Thank you.

Motion passes. All right. And on to my second one here. All right, onto my second one. I'd also like to make a motion that we allow city staff to authorize this temporary use permit in the future, unless there are substantial changes to dates, times, noise, lighting, or there's unresolved complaints to the city regarding any other facets of this. Can I get a second on that? Yeah, second.

Commissioner Malcolm? Aye. Vice Chair Mickelson. Aye. Chair Sullivan.

Aye.

Thank you. Motion passes.

All right. Thank you so much for everybody. I know I've said this before at these meetings, but it's tough for us. Sometimes we have an empty room in here, and we're having to make decisions in a vacuum, and having all you folks here to support Or give your opinions or give us information is so vital to to us trying to make decisions that are important to the city. So thank you everybody for showing up next on the agenda. We have unfinished business, which I believe we have none. New business none any reports from the commission. You guys have anything all right? That's the chairperson. I have no reports out of the planning director. Anything cooking. All right. Same old, same old on the other projects in town. Okay, great. City staff. All right. Thank you, city staff. You guys are awesome, as always. Number 10, we have adjournment. The next regular scheduled planning commission meeting is September 3rd, 2026. The meeting will begin at 6.30 p.m. Thank you all again.