Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

To the Wednesday, July 15, 2026 Planning Commission meeting, I will now call the meeting to order and lead you in the Pledge of Allegiance.

I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America.

Zoom webinar participation is available for members of the public. The Zoom webinar ID and link are available on the posted agenda on the city website. May we please have a roll call vote?

Commissioner Rocamora?

Here.

Commissioner Rock? Here. Commissioner Mora?

Here.

Commissioner Gutierrez?

Here.

Commissioner Flores? Commissioner Pernell? Chairperson McAvey-Dade? Present.

And may we now have introduction of staff?

Administrative aid. Lisa Printing, Community Development Director.

Courtney Grossman, Planning Manager.

Jonathan Moore, Senior Planner.

Grant Leonard, Planning Manager.

Oscar Resendiz, Senior Planner.

All right, thank you. And we just have a quick announcement that item ID number 26-341 will be continued to August 5th.

Now for general public comments.

Public comments are generally limited to two minutes per speaker. The chair may further limit the time for public comments depending on the agenda schedule. Are there any comments from the public regarding items not on today's agenda? Since there's no one present in person, do we have any on Zoom? Any Zoom participants, you can use the raise hand feature. All right, so we'll close public comment. Consent ID number 26-342, approval of minutes from June 17th, 2026 meeting. Are there any questions or comments from the commissioners? Commissioner Racamora?

No questions or comments.

Commissioner Ruck?

No questions or comments.

Commissioner Mora?

Just a procedural question. Since I missed the last one, do I have to abstain? For the approval of minutes?

Typically the rule on that is if you were to watch the video online, you could vote. If you didn't do that and you weren't here, I'd probably suggest abstaining. Thank you.

Commissioner Gutierrez?

No questions or comments.

Okay, is there a motion and a second?

I motion we approve the minutes from meeting of June 17th. And I'll second.

All right, with a motion from Commissioner Gutierrez and a second from Commissioner Rocamora, we'll have a roll call vote.

Commissioner Rocamora?

Yes.

Commissioner Ruck? Yes. Commissioner Mora?

Abstain.

Commissioner Gutierrez?

Yes.

Chairperson McAvoy-Day? Yes. Motion passes.

Okay, moving on to considerations. Annual election of planning commission chairperson and vice chairperson. Are there any nominations from the commissioners for chairperson? Actually, can I ask real quick if the commissioners are not present, do we clarify if they can be nominated?

I'm sorry, I didn't hear you, Madam Chair.

If the commissioners that are not present, can they be nominated or they need to be present to accept the nomination? That was my question.

I did not receive a clear answer on that, but I did receive an answer from Commissioner Flores that he said that he would rather have more experience in the commission before accepting an election.

OK. All right, back to are there any nomination commissioners for chairperson?

Madam Chair, I'd like to be vice chair, thank you.

How about for chairperson? We have to nominate the first position. Yes.

Well, then I'm going to nominate Larissa McKelvey to continue to be the chair.

Okay, is there a second?

I'll second that.

All right, with a motion from Commissioner Ruck and a second from Commissioner Racamora, we will have a roll call vote.

Commissioner Racamora? Yes.

Yes.

Commissioner Ruck? Yes. Commissioner Mora?

Yes.

Commissioner Gutierrez?

Yes.

Commissioner and Chairperson Lacabede?

Yes, I'll accept.

Motion passes.

All right, now are there any nominations for commissioners for vice chairperson?

Moi. I would like to nominate myself as vice chair. Can she nominate herself?

Thank you.

Well, if she can, I'd like to nominate Commissioner Rupp.

Okay. Thank you.

And I'll second that.

Okay, let's do it that way. So with a motion to nominate Commissioner Ruck for vice chairperson with a first from, I had Ruck written down, first from Commissioner Gutierrez and a second from Commissioner Rocamora, we'll have a roll call vote.

Commissioner Rocamora?

Yes.

Commissioner Ruck? Yes. Commissioner Mora?

Yes.

Commissioner Gutierrez? Yes. Chairperson McEvoy? Yes. Motion passes.

OK, moving along, we have public hearings ID number 26-338 zoning code Amendment 2026-001 phase one and ordinance amending Chapter 17 housing and 37 zoning of the Salinas Municipal Code to align with state law related to housing and cottage food operations. Federal law related to religious uses, amend requirements for driveway with expansions and address sorry and accessory office space and industrial districts. Jonathan Moore, Senior Planner, will present this item.

And I'm sorry to interrupt, but can everyone really speak into the mic? With the AC, it's a little bit hard to hear on this end.

Okay, I'll do my best. And at any point you need me to refocus and speak up, just let me know. All right. Well, I am excited. Last year, we started this multi-year, multi-phase update of the zoning code, and we're excited to bring the amendment package for the first phase of that effort for you tonight. That's zoning code amendment 2026-001. As we've discussed at past sessions, Phase one is really about bringing the code mostly into legal compliance and addressing some items that don't have to wait for the general plan. And phases two and three in the coming year plus will bring the zoning code into consistency with the general plan update once that's completed. And will also involve the creation of a new zoning code that will hopefully be more flexible and easier to use for all while implementing the community's vision. just the paperwork. All right, and this presentation will be going through what's probably in this draft ordinance and the next steps for adoption. And most of this ordinance is in response to The housing affordability crisis, according to data in the housing element, just over 3% of our housing units are vacant, while nearly 20% are overcrowded. Over 40% of renters in Salinas are cost burdened, meaning they spend more than 30% of their income on housing. And the average home price this year in Salinas was around $750,000, depending on the source. Nationally, home prices, I think, also hit an all-time high. And so the state has passed numerous pieces of legislation to try to address the underlying causes of this crisis, with common themes of streamlining review processes, reducing associated costs, promoting accessory dwelling units and other forms of housing to increase supply, And all these new state laws have made it harder for local cities and counties to keep their ordinances up to date, while at the same time they've reduced some aspects of local control. The 2023 Housing Element of the General Plan identified areas of the city's municipal code. that require updates for compliance with these changes in state law. And these are listed as some of the actions in programs four, six, seven, and 14 of the housing element. This includes new accessory dwelling unit and junior ADU sections. You might remember earlier this year, the city repealed previous regulations related to those topics per state direction, but we'd already been deferring to the state handbook and directing applicants to use that. Recent changes include allowing detached and other ADUs in the front yard, up the under square feet, and allowing ADUs with multifamily development. Another big point of emphasis from the state is increasing objectivity in housing decisions. And one thing this requires is removing potentially subjective finding requirements from the conditional use permit section of the zoning code and from the reasonable accommodations for persons with disabilities section of chapter 17 housing. And this means removing language from these sections on impacts not related to health and safety. Some changes seek to reduce constraints, costs to new housing, such as removing requirements for covered parking, not necessarily for parking spaces, just their covered garage. Some definitions are added or updated to remove potentially discriminatory language or to Align with new sections like those for Senate Bill 9. SB 9 is another recent state law. Align for two-unit developments in low-density residential districts. In our case, RL 5.5. When combined with ADU laws, it can get a little tricky, but the maximum number of units per lot would be four or two on each lot, or each parcel in the case of a lot split. One non-housing related legal compliance change is the removal of restrictions on ground floor religious assembly and similar uses facing Main Street in the Central City Overlay District. The intent of this regulation was to encourage active storefronts such as retail and dining to help make a vibrant downtown. This was challenged in court and While the city prevailed on other parts of the case, this restriction was found to violate federal law that requires treating religious uses the same as other similar uses within the district. And we have multiple live theaters and a movie theater downtown. So these are assembly uses with somewhat limited hours. So on the ground floor, so we have to allow religious uses on the ground floor in the same district. The last set of legal compliance changes related to phase one is to add cottage food court and micro home enterprise kitchen operations to the home occupation section of the zoning code. State law was updated in 2013 to allow cottage food production under the California retail code, meaning people could produce certain low risk food products at home for sale off site. UNDER LIMITED CONDITIONS, AND IN 2018 THE STATE PASSED A LAW TO ADD MICRO ENTERPRISE HOME KITCHEN OPERATIONS WHICH ARE FACILITIES WHERE FOOD MAY BE SERVED TO PEOPLE AT YOUR HOME, CUSTOMERS ON SITE, IF YOUR LOCAL COUNTY OPS IN, AND MONTEREY COUNTY OPTED INTO THAT PROGRAM IN 2023. YOU CAN'T OPERATE BOTH A COTTAGE FOOD OPERATION AND A MICRO HOME ENTERPRISE KITCHEN OPERATION IN THE SAME RESIDENCE. This update to the zoning code, it's clear that these are allowed in Salinas per state law, but they're further defined by the state and licensed by the Monterey County Health Department, while it's adding specific standards for home-based businesses of these kind. And as discussed at our May 20th study session, there are a couple items not related to legal compliance in Phase 1. That includes... Driveway width increase for single-family homes and accessory office space in industrial districts. As noted then, Salinas, like a lot of California communities, has its share of residential parking challenges. The combination of high housing costs, limited supply, noted earlier, when combined with state preemptions on new parking for developments like ADUs and also limited transportation alternatives can lead to a struggle to find parking and lead to unpermitted parking and paving in the front yard, which causes challenges such as blocking the entry-exit to a resident in case of an emergency, creates additional stormwater flooding challenges by increasing the amount of impervious surface in our neighbourhoods, and it kind of reduces the natural space and can harm aesthetics in the neighbourhood as well. These issues are symptoms of larger housing and transportation challenges, but to specifically allow a legal path towards adding more parking. In 2019, the city added the ability to increase driveway widths in single-family homes by up to 10 feet. So the opposite side of the driveway is the front door with a minor conditional use permit. In the six plus years since, there have been no challenges for any of these projects as they come forward. So because of the COSTS AND PERMIT PROCESSING TIME IN THIS AMENDMENT, WE'RE MOVING THAT CONDITION FOR MINOR CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, THE REQUIREMENT FOR MINOR CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT, AND ADDING SOME OF THE STANDARD CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL THAT USUALLY GET PUT ON WITH THESE PERMITS AS JUST REGULATIONS IN THE CODE. SO THE CONVERSATION ON THE APPROPRIATE FRONT YARD SPACE, Standards and parking will continue in phase two But this makes it a little easier for now for people to legally increase their driveway width if they have the space Also discuss at that last study session in our two most intense industrial districts industrial general commercial And industrial general there are limits on office space as an accessory or secondary use to the main industrial project currently accessory office space is is allowed up to 2,500 square feet, or 30% of the total building square footage, whichever is less, before needing a CUP. We've had multiple industrial projects where this can take a, will be an administrative thing or site plan review, turn it into a discretionary project, and we've had applicants not move forward, or people have said they have chosen not to move forward projects because of this barrier. So the proposed draft amendment removes the 2,500 square foot floor, raises the limit to 40% of the building square footage before requiring a CUP. This would increase the flexibility of the code for projects to respond to marketing conditions and different building conditions while still encouraging industrial principal uses. And we had a last minute request come in this morning. Basically, the combination of Thanksgiving falling earlier on earlier days recently and with the overall market trend towards Christmas advertising and celebration getting started earlier has led to a request from the city manager to amend the duration of Christmas tree sales as a temporary requirement. use of land, increasing that time from between Thanksgiving Day and December 31st to November 1st and December 31st. And I will defer to Lisa and Corda on how that works with the motion to the resolution, but some of that was a HUD item. So we believe that This amendment can be considered exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act as a common sense exemption, as there's reasonable certainty that there's no possibility the ordinance would have a significant impact on the environment. This is because it's focused mostly on legal compliance. This draft does not grant additional development rights, doesn't increase density. It doesn't grant much more beyond what is allowed under current code or higher levels of law either the state law or federal law and the proposed Ordinance doesn't include site specific designs or proposals for any specific projects as such the proposed ordinance in of itself Will not result in direct physical changes to the environment And the recommended motion is for a motion to approve a resolution affirming the findings recommending that City Council 1 to find Zoning Code Amendment 2026.001 exempt as a common sense exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act, CEQA, pursuant to CEQA Guidelines 15061B3 and 2, adopt an ordinance to comply amending chapter seventeen article four of the salinas municipal code housing and amending various provisions of chapter thirty seven of the salinas municipal code zoning code and that concludes my presentation thank you for your presentation are there any questions from the commissioners commissioner rocamore i just have one question about the

driveway extension of 10 feet. You're saying it's going to be code? It's implemented in code that you go 10 feet wider?

Yeah, it's still 10 feet, which it is now. It's just you don't have to do a minor conditional use permit for it.

OK, so you don't need to get a permit. They could do it.

Yeah, it's kind of like a residential fence or something.

Yeah, so a resident could go hire somebody, go 10 feet, and it's within code.

Yeah, if they follow the standards in the code.

Yeah, so that's what it was. Okay, thank you.

Commissioner Rook? Yes, thank you. Cottage food industry, restaurant and food at home, they get a health department permit, but also a business license from the city, I would assume? Yes.

I believe so courting is that correct thing a business license.

Yeah, whatever is embedded in the finance code here at the city would apply unless exempted by the state, which there are a few have been exempted already, such as daycare and whatnot.

Okay, thank you. And I noticed back in 19 wait no back in 2023. There was a law that was signed, state law, that says ADUs can be separated from the house, the lot that it's built on, essentially a condo, allowing people to get in, buy that condo or that ADU separate from the house, you know, ground floor, allowing for much cheaper housing. Is that also been incorporated in your updates?

Because that's an optional item right now that communities have to opt in, and we haven't done, I think, a broader engagement or push on that, that's not in this one. But definitely we can include that in phase two, and we can bring that forward. But this was primarily just to set the baseline. on compliance with state law, but agreed and to see the story recently, I think ADU sold for 500 something thousand up there, which is great considering the median home price is north of a million dollars, so.

Right, it's an excellent way for people who can't otherwise afford a house around here to get in. And it should kind of go forward as quickly as it can because if you need to, because There's a lot of ADUs being built and a lot of people who could potentially afford one if it's for sale. That's all. I just, you know, was reading about that today. And ADUs can be in the front yard setback now?

Correct. There's provision of state law that you can't, you can have certain setback requirements, but they can't preclude an ADU of up to 800 square feet in the front yard.

Okay, okay, thank you. That's the end of my questions, thank you. Any questions, Commissioner Mora?

No, not really. I mean, it was pretty clear. I'll second Commissioner Ruck's comments about the ADUs. I think it is really important, right, to make that an option for people. And I'll just say that I've also really enjoyed the increase in the microenterprises in town, right? Well, actually, no, this isn't so bad. There's a fun idea that basically they bake from home and then they sell it at the farmer's market. And, you know, it's like it's so wonderful to see entrepreneurship thriving in our communities because of these laws.

Any questions, Commissioner Gutierrez?

Yeah, quick question. Just on the cottage food and micro, is there, being that obviously they're in a residential zone and all, is there like hours of operation or days of operation or how does that work? Because I mean, and I second what my fellow commissioner is saying. I like seeing this, but it's just a question as far as what are the regulations for them when it comes to that? Because they are in a residential area.

I don't believe this is particularly established hours of operation. I don't know if there's one on existing. I think it was more on items like yours. No hours of operation in this edition, but it's... Staying, for example, shall be conducted in a manner that does not materially or significantly affect residential use of the property, shall not generate automobile or truck traffic at volume inconsistent with normal traffic levels in the vicinity, create demand for additional parking, no more than one truck or motor vehicle shall be parked or stored at the location... Maintenance for that vehicle shall not occur on the premises. So the added regulations are a little more on the traffic side of things than the hours of operation side.

I think would it be maybe a good idea to think about because the way the restrictions right now are pretty open to interpretation and so And again, I'm not trying to make it hard or anything It's just clarifying some some, you know time frames in which they can operate and whatnot it would probably be helpful for to avoid future problems because I'm pretty sure at some point someone somewhere is going to complain about their neighbors selling foot out of their house or whatever. And if there's something in, you know, in reading that says, okay, these are the times that they can operate, then there's nothing they can do about it, you know? But otherwise, I mean, just about. And then I guess my other comment is on the Christmas tree lot thing. It's just another example of how fast we're living, right? We haven't even... got to a certain holiday yet and then we're already shopping for the next one and so it's kind of like flying through thanksgiving to get ready for christmas it's just an observation how fast things are you go to the store right now and i mean you're God, I was looking at stuff back to school sale back in like in April, not April, but like, you know, early June. And, you know, we still haven't got through the summer and these guys are already selling us back to school stuff. So with the Christmas tree being sold a month earlier, I think we're just going to kind of fly to the Thanksgiving again. But again, that's just, you know, the day and age we're living in right now. But kind of sad to see it, but it's where we're at.

Well, I think our planning manager pointed out that Target started Halloween advertising July 1st. So, yeah, the times.

Okay, and I have one to piggyback on two things that Commissioner Gutierrez said, and that was about the operating hours. I think that's a really good point because we haven't been enduring a lot of that yet. But, I mean, for example, someone can have a, Late night bar after the bar, you know eating you're only serving food what they normally do but it's 2 o'clock in the morning I mean, so I think some of the other I don't know where I've seen it But I thought I saw something about 10 a.m Or maybe it's just I'm thinking of the ones when we get a permit, you know for alcohol sales It's like 10 a.m. Or sorry 10 p.m or there's certain guidelines so I mean, I would just imagine we would say nothing after 10 p.m. for sure. You know, but what would be what are other cities doing? You know, they've already been following this and maybe we can get some good ways to firm that up. And then the other thing was about, you know, the Christmas tree thing. Well, I started getting concerned then. I mean, who who you said this is a last minute ad. Where did it come from? REQUEST FROM PUBLIC?

IT WAS BASED ON SITUATIONS WE HAD LAST YEAR WITH THANKSGIVING FALLING LATE IN THE MONTH AND REALLY SHORTENING THE SEASON FOR SALES BEFORE CHRISTMAS. AND SO IT WAS DRIVEN BY PRIVATE REQUESTS THROUGH THE CITY MANAGER'S OFFICE.

Okay, so that was just the public requesting, only because then I'm looking at pumpkin patches. Are they going to feel left out? You know, they're starting October 31st. That's only 30 days of sales. I mean, where do we end this?

That's a good question.

I do think it's, I mean, I can see the wording was Thanksgiving Day. I mean, I don't know if we need to be open the first. I don't buy Christmas trees, so I don't really know the dilemmas. I know some people like to decorate theirs at Thanksgiving or while the family's all there, but I just... It's like, where do we end this?

So I think I would just suggest that in the planning commission's consideration, keep in mind, this is a phase one. This is making a tweak. We will be coming back with phase two, phase three, where these sections can be further drilled down. This would allow this change for this upcoming year and season. but there can be definitely further discussion, community outreach, as we go into phase two and three that would then further clarify, amend, and address those situations.

Yeah, and you're pretty much answering my other question, which was I had in my mind zoning code update, and then when I'm seeing... uh... resolution i was wondering are these things being moved forward today so that i was wanting clarity on So when you're saying there's going to be additional changes, how does that work then? Because I'm not understanding.

So what the Planning Commission is being asked to do at this time is make a recommendation on the zoning code, the state law compliance, all the modifications that are being presented to you to date for state compliance as well as a few additional extra. That recommendation would then be considered by the City Council and then after 30 days then if it's if adopted then it would take into effect. That's phase one. Once the general plan is adopted early next year spring of 2027 we will need to within six months have a bridge document to ensure that zoning code land use, zoning code districts are in line with the new place types and that there is consistency between the zoning code and the general plan. That's another opportunity to also bring forward other refinements. And then, so those would be considered at that point in time. And then over a month, over throughout this whole process, we will be engaging the community and looking at the broader, more comprehensive zoning code in terms of design and development center. So there really be like three opportunities to continue to update our zoning code.

OK, so when we have this resolution here, just in theory, within about 160 days, it may be in effect. Like the stuff that's with the state and all these updates, ADUs and the driveways.

Yes, it will go to the council for consideration on August 18th, provided that's unanimous, then it would go into effect 30 days after.

Okay, thank you. That answers my questions. All right.

Madam Chair, I have another question.

Okay.

That came up as you were speaking, it came up with this.

Go ahead.

Okay, the problem that I see is that, okay, there's three attempts to get what we want. But what happens is all of this just goes away. We don't think about it. And unless somebody brings it to our attention that there's an issue, it's never thought of again until there's an issue. And when there's an issue, it's usually not a good issue. I kind of would like us to be able to vet this a little bit more. But, you know, I don't know how limited we are on time, but it seems like we should vet this more because I'm seeing here a farmer's market, Christmas Seed Trail. It's, yeah, I think that other people need to see this and vet this a little more.

All right, thank you. So we're gonna be opening to public comment. Are there any comments from the public regarding this item? Anyone in person? Anybody on Zoom? You can use the raise hand feature if you'd like to speak. Okay, seeing none, we'll close for public comment. Are there any additional questions or comments from the commissioners for Mr. Moore or city staff? Commissioner Racamora?

No additional questions or comments?

Commissioner Ruck?

No.

Commissioner Mora?

No.

Commissioner Gutierrez?

No questions and just thank you for your presentation.

And then I had, yeah, I just had a couple comments, so I saved them for last, but I did want to say thank you so much for providing the documentation earlier. That did give us, because I was thinking, somebody mentioned 70-something pages, and I go, I don't think mine was that thick. Well, it's because I was double-sided when I printed, but it was a lot of information, but it gave me time to kind of read through it, digest it, kind of think of questions. realizing like I had commented that it seemed like deja vu because thankfully you also had presented a couple of the major items in a previous meeting. So I felt that that was very helpful to kind of dissect it a little bit. So it didn't feel like we're being bombarded by a ton of information and just really hard to sift through. So I wanted to thank you for that. And then also I really appreciated your explanation when you were talking about the permitting CPU process when you were saying we realized you know, we had this many and there was really no issues with them. Do we really need to go through that process anymore? And I think that, you know, the more it sounds like you're already your minds are turning in that direction. And I think that's in the right direction. So I just want to say I appreciate that. And, you know, thank you. And then last, I don't know if there's room for changing any of it, but I kind of feel like if we, instead of specific dates even, if we do, let's say it's 30 days. And I think some of these other ones do say 30 days prior to... The holiday or something of that effect, because I think you do need to think of. You're going to get everybody saying, we'll do it this way, do it that way. But if you do one thing, then it's pretty standard through all the different. Holidays, it may help make it clearer and help people remember. Because you're going to get people that say, well, I'm going to get. I'm gonna start selling mine on this date and everybody's gonna keep pushing the envelope and think they can compete sooner. And like I said, looking at pumpkin patches, because it was just somebody was a little more aggressive to speak up, we're allowing it for tree cells, but we didn't do the same for pumpkin patches. I'm just trying to be fair here for the community. So anyway, that's the last of my comments. All right, are there any, sorry, would any of the commissioners like to make a motion?

You know, I don't want to adopt this motion that is here, this resolution. I really do want the Christmas tree, number five, number six, and number seven to be modified. I'm having a hard time with all of them.

So just to clarify, are we able to make a, motion for the resolution with amendments or additions, changes? Can you be clearer about what you're looking for?

So you have a couple of options. You can adopt the resolution as is. You can adopt the resolution with modifications excluding this section, or you could make recommendations that would then be folded into a revised packet to the council, in that you would still be adopting changes to this section, but you would be recommending what those recommendations, what those changes should be. So you're kind of a three pass. You can either keep it, take it out, or modify.

Okay. So does that help you with your motion, Commissioner Ruck?

Lisa, may I clarify, does as is mean with the Christmas tree amendments or without Christmas tree amendments?

Correct, as presented. So they can either move forward as presented, they can remove that highlighted section, you know, modifying this resolution, or they can keep those sections in there AS MODIFIED, BUT PROVIDE ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE THAT YOU WOULD LIKE TO HAVE INCLUDED AS PART OF THE CHANGE.

IT TOOK ME A SECOND TO THINK THROUGH THIS. Number five needs to be modified. I think November 1st is too early. Number six, farmers markets. Farmers markets are much more than vegetables, fruits, grains, meat, fish, and poultry. Farmers markets are for much more than a maximum of three continuous days, no more than twice during each calendar year. Farmers markets are in other places in the downtown core. Farmers markets are where people go to get organic produce and other things that they can't get at the store. And I think it's very important. They're also business incubators. I know the downtown farmers market has had nine different vendors go commercial. And I think given that, limiting it to fruits, grains, and vegetables, when beef jerky now has gone commercial and is at every store in California, I think we've got to think about that differently. Number seven, religious assemblies conducted on site that's not permanently occupied by religious assembly use for a maximum of five calendar days. I disagree with that. I think that... Maybe you can call me a religious racist or something, but they need to be in their buildings and not the downtown buildings between Christmas and New Year's. I just think that there's too much flux here, okay? Way too much flux. And frankly, I want it boxed in. And the other way, I want the boxes opened a bit. But those are my thoughts.

Okay, then, particularly... Christmas tree sales thing is the only new change and the other items are the existing code The only reason this we provided More of this was for context because we were interesting it today. You didn't have a chance to look at the existing code And the changes side by side But the rest of it outside of five is just what's in there at the moment I

Well, I was going to mention, I noticed here, no, Maria, when you were mentioning that, it says, or as allowed in the central city overlay, downtown core district area. So that doesn't apply to the farmers, more of the main farmers market we have. Right.

And the downtown farmers market just really doesn't apply to it. They have a use permit and all that. It's just other farmers markets, you know. And farmers markets are very important as business incubators. If you get nine entities that can go into bricks and mortar and sell their goods, that is really good for a farmer's market, that is great for those individuals and entities, and it's really good for the business people who have buildings that are empty. So there's so much more to a farmer's market, and I would like to see the box expand.

okay so for what we have on the resolution the only addition was the tree sales extension of sales time the rest of it doesn't have to do with these other items like he's saying this is already our current zoning code but we can look at to making those changes to that in future meetings, right? Yeah, so I mean, these are good points, so maybe you want to put that in our study sessions of some sort, you know, to identify some of these things. I think she has got a good point because if we're encouraging these micro businesses and then we don't have a place for them to churn it out, you know, we could be hindering some of that process as well. Did you have a comment, Ms. Brayton?

No, I was saying right, thank you.

Just to clarify, I heard beef jerky. That would fall under meat, so it's already in the definition.

That was just a sample, but there have been many others, and I wish I could bring them to mind right this second, but nine individuals or entities have been able to go into bricks and mortar from a farmer's market that is downtown. This is why I know this. I don't know of other ones. But I think it's very important that those are business incubators, and that's one reason why. The Chamber of Commerce wants to get in on the farmer's market because they see it as a business incubator. They don't see it as a community event, but a business incubator. And even if it's not food per se, someone else could take that leap and not be food. So I'd like to just see that box be opened wider.

Also, keep in mind that when the farmers market is in a public roadway, it's not a temporary land permit. It falls under a different classification. Correct. Special event. Correct. And then the other part, and it may not be entirely clear here, number 10 and number 6 are often at odds to each other. So there was some effort in creating a distinction between a swap meet and a farmers market. So I do like the recommendation and the suggestion that we talk about this at another meeting and not get too far into the weeds on this because there are some other unintended consequences depending on outcomes.

Right, and I see what you're saying. Right, and I see what you're saying. Thank you.

And I just want to mention as a comment for the Christmas tree sales, I believe We probably won't make another, we won't have another meeting to adjust this. So I think timing wise, it's just something for us to consider that for okay with this, you know, that we say how we want it. If it's not November 1st, what we recommend in the motion, but more than likely, we're not gonna come, it's not gonna come in front of us or the council to change that before this upcoming season. So just a comment I wanna make. All right, so back to a motion. Do any commissioners have a motion?

I'll make a motion to, sorry, to accept the recommendation. Can I just make a quick comment, though? Sure. I hear a lot of passion on that side of the, by fellow commissioners, and I appreciate it, and I never want to stifle passion and interest and perspective, because it's extremely valuable. I, too, was like, wait, isn't beef jerky meat? I've been fed all these years. But I sometimes do get a little bit concerned with the limiting of the sales of anything. I just don't see why November 1 is prohibitive of these things, or how maybe a farmer's market can... In my eyes, a farmer's market is community building and a business incubator, and those two things are not at odds with one another in my eyes. Sure, some people go for the community, some people go for the with the business incubation. And I know plenty of success stories, right, of people who started off at the farmer's market and then moved on to brick and mortar stores, right? And sometimes I just, maybe some of the nuance is lost on me, but I'm like, I just feel like the sales of the Christmas trees, that if people felt like it was excessive, then they just wouldn't buy them early enough, and then people would then, you know, kind of auto-correct their sales time. Like, oh, we started ourselves too early and the trees dried up. I don't know. I don't know anything about Christmas tree sales. But I just don't see how allowing people to start earlier could be this controversial. I feel like the people who are in the market of selling trees would know when to, and if they wanted to, this came out of industry requests, correct? Through the city manager's office?

To be able to sell earlier, the date was not specifically brought forward by the parties.

Yeah, that it's like if people want to buy a Christmas, if our neighbors want to buy a Christmas tree on November 1st, go for it. We need the sales tax. I don't know. I just I hear a lot of passion and I do worry when we get into the weeds. I do want this to be somewhat expansive, you know.

Do we know what the county is, what their rule is? Only because I'm thinking, well, if you're right outside city limits, that's your competition, right? Because if you don't open the same time, then they're all going there and they've already bought their tree before you had an opportunity, which I could see happening.

And that wouldn't be competitive for our residents. Right, yeah. The guy next door can't sell while the other guy is selling. And I can see that happening. I can also see dead trees out on the streets long before we're ready to pick them up.

Well, I know in other countries, so if they're from another country, they come here, I think, you know, Europe, they don't buy their tree till Christmas. So you have a, you know, they only go to December 31st probably for a reason because by then they've pretty much sold them all. Are you looking that up? We could pause for a second here just to see. Maybe they're saying September 1st. No, no, no.

Do we hear June?

Well, I mean, the commercial stores don't have a limitation, you know, but there has to be a reason why they came up with a limitation in the first place.

So if I may, Chair. So when I'm just looking this up online, it requires a temporary use permit. It's considered a special event or temporary use. And the zoning designation must allow for those retail sales and may require specific design approval in terms of layout. If it's temporary and you have employees, there's Environmental Health Bureau requirements for restrooms, etc. You have to have a seller's permit and file returns. It has you follow safety and building codes. There are additional rules if you are a choose and cut farm versus a pre-cut. and I do not see any dictation of timing. That is another approach is to just say that Christmas tree sales require a temporary use of land permit and not dictate time. We will do some more research because that is a very good recommendation in terms of alignment with the county. So if you want to continue discussion, I could even step out and see if I can call them.

Well, do we want to say, can we put that comment in there that we, let's just say, we're saying we want to do a motion to approve with this new Christmas tree addition added in, in line with the county's dates, if any... So by the time it goes to council, that's our recommendation?

Correct. So recommended dates should align with the county if they have dates. So I guess I would just ask the question, if it is confirmed that they do not have any parameters in terms of dates, is that the commission's recommendation, to have no date versus to move forward with the dates that we have put forward? No date. So just follow the county? Yes. Okay.

Can we say if it's more expansive? So what if like the county has actually like a nearer?

Yeah, would you like to make your motion and word it how you like? Yes.

I'll make a motion to, I'm sorry, let me pull up, where did my agenda go? I'll make a motion to approve a resolution affirming the findings corresponding to that the city council Do I get to read the whole thing?

For the record, yes.

yeah make a motion to approve a resolution affirming the findings uh recommending that the city council one fine zoning code amendment uh 20 26 zero zero one exempt as a common sense exemption from the sequel from the california environmental equality act sequa pursuant to sequa guidelines one five zero six one b three and two adopt an ordinance to comply amending chapter 17 article of the Salinas Municipal Code Housing and amending various provisions of Chapter 37 of the Salinas Municipal Code Zoning Code.

All right, with the addition?

With the addition of the, oh my God, of the Christmas tree sales to align with the County of Monterey's language regulation. Second.

we okay with that wording anybody okay so we have a first is there a second i'll second okay with the first from commissioner mora and a second from commissioner uh rockamora may we please have a roll call vote commissioner yes commissioner ruck yes commissioner

Yes.

Commissioner Gutierrez? Yes. Chairperson McAlevey? Yes. Motion passes.

The Planning Commission's action on this item is a recommendation to the City Council in support of Zoning Code Amendment 2026-001, Phase 1, and Ordinance Amending Chapter 17, Housing, and 37 Zoning Code of the Salinas Municipal Code to align with state law related to housing and cottage food operations, federal law related to religious uses, amend requirements for driveway width expansions, and amend requirements for accessory office space in industrial districts. And in addition, adding the Christmas tree date change in alignment with the county. Or what did you want? Is that proper? Okay. And then staff will schedule the matter for the city council's consideration at which time a final decision will be made. OK, moving on, we had ID number 26-341 was continued. And then we now are moving on to Commissioner comments and reports. Anything to report, Commissioner Racamora?

Yes. The Filipino community of Salinas Valley, they'll be hosting the Philippine Consulate of San Francisco outreach. and that's August 1st from 8 to 4, and August 2nd from 8 to 11, and that'll be upstairs of the Filipino community. They will be doing passport renewals and passports and also dual citizenships. So that's at Filipino community of Salinas Valley, 250 Cay Sabu.

Anything to report, Commissioner Ruck?

I'm curious about something, and if it can come back here, it can, and if not, it can't. I'm curious about the two parking lots that Taylor Farms wanted the approval to sniff around, and I'm sort of wondering where that's at, if that's appropriate.

I'm not sure I'm fully understanding your question.

Okay, about six to eight months ago, Taylor Farms came in and they wanted approval of legal documents that allowed them to look at the two parking lots out here to see if they wanted to buy the parking lots. The land and disposition agreement.

Yes. and so the so they are continuing to move through uh just due diligence as well as they have submitted application for lot 12 as a administrative approval through site plan review Okay, thank you. That's great. But there has been no final transfer of property.

Okay, thank you. I'm sure we would have heard about it, but I appreciate the update. I'd like to see, you know, come to fruition. Thank you.

All right, anything to report? Commissioner Mora?

Just an apology for my absences in June. I had a work-related one in the first meeting in June, and the second one I was at an ICMA conference. I won a scholarship to visit Seattle for a day with ICMA. I had an opportunity to talk to a lot of the city managers from the greater Seattle area. It was a really wonderful experience, but unfortunately that meant I had to miss the second June Planning Commission meeting.

All right, anything to report, Commissioner Gutierrez?

Just on a personal level, I want to thank the building department. Our company just completed a pretty large job here in Salinas with the corporation of the planning and building department. And again, I can't sing enough praises about our building department. You guys killed it, right?

Thank you. And I just had District 3 has a more Salinas cleanup. It will be Saturday, July 25, 9 to noon. And you meet in the Recreation Center, 320 Lincoln Avenue, complimentary lunch, if that gets you out. It looks like they'll be picking up trash downtown. And if you're maybe a student, it looks like you can receive volunteer hours. So if you have any questions, go to the city website. And of course, if you would like to receive it how I received it, which is by email, be sure to sign up for the email notifications. And that's all I have. Future agenda items?

Yes, we have one of those on August 5. That would be the PUD at Northridge Mall. That's all.

OK, so the next regular planning commission meeting is scheduled for August 5, 2026. Who will be able to attend by raise of hands? Okay, so at least we think we'll have quorum. And with that, this meeting is adjourned.