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OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD

Record of Proceedings

Folsom City Council Regular Meeting - March 8, 2022

City Council — Tuesday, March 8, 2022

BodyFolsom, California

SessionCity Council

DateTuesday, March 8, 2022

StatusFILED

Video Record

0:00 / 3:21:29

Transcript — VerbatimClick a timed line to jump · ⧉ to share it

0:04

Okay, we will call to order the regular meeting of the Folsom City Council for Tuesday, March 8th, 2022.

0:11

If the clerk will call the roll, please.

0:14

Council Member Zakino.

0:16

Here, Chalem Chairla.

0:17

Here.

0:17

Kozlowski.

0:18

Here.

0:18

Rodriguez.

0:19

Here and how.

0:20

Here.

0:20

Madam Mayor, if I may just make an announcement, there's no reporting out for any of the items on the closed session agenda.

0:28

Okay.

0:29

Thank you.

0:30

You all join me in the Pledge of Allegiance.

0:35

Pledge of the agenda is a flag South America.

0:40

And to the public for which it stands.

0:51

Do we have any agenda update?

0:55

You have two agenda updates this evening.

0:58

Both items 10 and item 11 have revised an additional information.

1:03

This has been made available to the public at the back table and online and has been distributed to the city council members.

1:10

Okay.

1:10

With that, we will move to business from the floor, which is an opportunity for the members of the public to speak to the council on any items that are not on the agenda.

1:20

You have two requests to speak this evening under business from the floor.

1:24

First will be Michael Harris.

1:25

Michael will be followed by Sarah Norberg.

1:29

Come on down, Michael.

1:30

We'll start the three-minute timer.

1:34

And you will notice the little light there on the podium that'll give you an idea when you get your sum-up time.

1:38

Thank you.

1:39

Umor, city council.

1:42

Um first I'd be remiss if I didn't say it's International Women's Day.

1:48

You know, I got two mamas and four daughters, so you know I did what I was supposed to do.

1:52

They they still try to, I guess the word is to uh well, my mom is still trying to raise me, right?

1:59

I I I I was raised right, but I fight it a lot.

2:02

Uh today uh I come to uh ask for uh consideration for an agenda item in the future for Juneteenth.

2:11

Uh it's a federal holiday.

2:13

As you can imagine, uh, it wasn't easy to get it done at the federal level.

2:17

And um, well, I wasn't happy uh calling it uh independence day.

2:23

It should be freedom day, but you know, you you don't like fight the perfect when you got some good, so you know, we'll deal with it here in California uh as Freedom Day, which it is in the legislation.

2:38

Uh, but right at the turn of the century, we've been celebrating Juneteenth officially here in Folsom at Negro Bar, various places around town up uh at the Mormon Island Relocation Cemetery.

2:50

Uh some know about William Alexander Leitesdorf, 1844, Negro Bar the town, Granite City, the city of Folsom, all that history.

2:59

But Juneteenth is really uh an opportunity to learn about America.

3:04

It's not a black holiday, it's an American holiday.

3:07

Uh, I I took some of the governor's staff to task.

3:10

It's like it's not this ain't the red, black, green day.

3:12

We that that's later.

3:14

This is about red, white, and blue colored troops fighting in the civil war.

3:17

Red, white, and blue.

3:18

Those are the colors of Juneteenth.

3:20

The Juneteenth flag is red, white, and blue.

3:23

And uh, you know, as you could imagine, uh the black cox is kind of upset with me.

3:30

I don't mind people getting upset with me.

3:32

Deal with the history, and if I'm wrong, rescue me, because uh that's what I rest my case on is the primary source documentation as I've been trained.

3:45

Uh so the idea that uh it's a federal holiday, it's it's on the path to be in the state holiday, and uh as as God has made it happen the way the sun, blue stars were uh it's a Sunday this year, Juneteenth, so we have another year to play with, which is probably a good thing.

4:03

We need to pray about it, and then uh well, whoever you're God is in her faith, uh just live it.

4:08

I don't care what you do, just live it.

4:10

Um so the idea is again to have some future date uh to uh put it on agenda and have a discourse on how other cities are doing it, how other states have done it.

4:21

Uh ironically, Boston is leading the way, which is uh pretty interesting.

4:25

Uh was talking earlier with the railroad guy.

4:27

The first engine here, the first railroad West Mississippi came from Boston.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting

Public Safety█████████████████████21%

Zoning Code Update█████████████████17%

Gun Regulation█████████9%

Procedural████████8%

Home Occupations████████8%

Firearms Regulation████████8%

Community Engagement███████7%

Historic Preservation███████7%

Public Works██████6%

Summary of Proceedings

Folsom City Council Regular Meeting - March 8, 2022

This regular meeting of the Folsom City Council on March 8, 2022, addressed multiple items including district elections, a controversial home occupation ordinance amendment, public comments on a group home, and a proclamation. The meeting featured extensive public testimony, particularly on the home occupation ordinance, which involved firearm sales from residences.

Consent Calendar

Items 2 through 9 were approved en bloc except Item 3, which was pulled for discussion.
Item 3: Resolution No. 10804 designating a landmark tree was approved unanimously (5-0) after brief discussion and public comment from Bruce Klein in support.

Public Comments & Testimony

Business from the Floor:
- Michael Harris and Sarah Norberg urged the council to consider adding Juneteenth as a city recognized holiday, with Harris describing it as an American holiday tied to red, white, and blue.
- Hubbard Boose (resident on Prospector Court) expressed opposition to the placement of a group home for alcohol and drug abuse at 130 Prospector Court, citing traffic, safety, and lack of neighborhood notification. He criticized the planning department's approval process.
- Margie Donovan (online) requested postponement of the zoning agenda item due to inaccessible web materials, citing violations of Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act and ADA. She recommended hiring an accessibility specialist.
Public Hearing on Home Occupation Ordinance (Item 11):
- Over 30 speakers presented, with the vast majority opposing the allowance of firearm and ammunition sales as home occupations. Key points included safety concerns, proximity to schools and daycares, fire risks from ammunition manufacturing, and that no other nearby jurisdiction permits such sales. Several speakers urged grandfathering existing businesses and prohibiting future sales. Supporters argued that current businesses have operated without incident, are heavily regulated by federal and state agencies, and serve a legitimate market. A few speakers requested that the Historic District Commission (HDC) review the ordinance due to unique parking and density issues in the historic district.
Public Hearing on District Elections (Item 10):
- Cheryl Davis and other speakers argued that the proposed map (Preferred Map No. 2) violates the Fair Maps Act, gerrymanders districts to benefit incumbents, and does not create a strong influence district for Asian voters. Muriel Bronsteen and Scott Rafferty (attorney) urged the council to submit the map to a court for approval, citing the city's departure from the safe harbor deadline.

Discussion Items

Item 10: By-District Election Process (Ordinance 1324)
- City Attorney Stephen Wan introduced the ordinance formally establishing by-district elections under the California Voting Rights Act. The ordinance uses Preferred Map No. 2, with Districts 1, 3, 5 up for election in November 2022 and Districts 2, 4 in 2024. No councilmember terms are cut short.
- Public testimony raised concerns about gerrymandering and legal compliance. The council approved the first reading unanimously (5-0).
Item 11: Home Occupation Ordinance (Ordinance 1325)
- Principal Planner Desmond Parrington presented the proposed ordinance, which updates Chapter 17.61. Key changes include a prohibited uses list (initially including firearms, ammunition, tattoo parlors, manufacturing), but the Planning Commission removed several of these. The ordinance would allow up to four firearm sales per customer per day (down from no current limit), require alarm systems, and maintain two levels of appeal. The fire department raised concerns about ammunition reloading under fire code.
- Council discussed the need to add ammunition manufacture/reload to the prohibited list due to fire code violations. Councilmember Aquino moved to make that change and to send the ordinance to the Historic District Commission for feedback on potential district-specific provisions. The motion also clarified that appeals to the City Council should be preserved. The motion passed 5-0.
Item 12: Response to Brown Act Demand Letter
- The council approved a proposed reply letter to Scott Rafferty's alleged noncompliance with the Brown Act, without public comment and unanimously (5-0).

Key Outcomes

Consent Calendar (Items 2, 4-9): Approved unanimously (5-0).
Landmark Tree Resolution (Item 3): Approved unanimously (5-0). Councilmember Aquino requested proactive nominations for landmark trees on city and private property.
Ordinance 1324 (District Elections): Approved first reading 5-0. Second reading scheduled for March 22, 2022.
Ordinance 1325 (Home Occupations): Council voted 5-0 to (1) add ammunition manufacture and reload to the prohibited uses list, (2) modify appeal language to include the Historic District Commission where applicable, and (3) refer the proposed ordinance to the Historic District Commission for feedback before final action.
Ordinance 1325 – Firearm Sales: The council did not finalize the status of firearm sales at this meeting; the issue will return after HDC review.
Item 12 (Brown Act Response): Approved 5-0.

Meeting Transcript

Okay, we will call to order the regular meeting of the Folsom City Council for Tuesday, March 8th, 2022. If the clerk will call the roll, please. Council Member Zakino. Here, Chalem Chairla. Here. Kozlowski. Here. Rodriguez. Here and how. Here. Madam Mayor, if I may just make an announcement, there's no reporting out for any of the items on the closed session agenda. Okay. Thank you. You all join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Pledge of the agenda is a flag South America. And to the public for which it stands. Do we have any agenda update? You have two agenda updates this evening. Both items 10 and item 11 have revised an additional information. This has been made available to the public at the back table and online and has been distributed to the city council members. Okay. With that, we will move to business from the floor, which is an opportunity for the members of the public to speak to the council on any items that are not on the agenda. You have two requests to speak this evening under business from the floor. First will be Michael Harris. Michael will be followed by Sarah Norberg. Come on down, Michael. We'll start the three-minute timer. And you will notice the little light there on the podium that'll give you an idea when you get your sum-up time. Thank you. Umor, city council. Um first I'd be remiss if I didn't say it's International Women's Day. You know, I got two mamas and four daughters, so you know I did what I was supposed to do. They they still try to, I guess the word is to uh well, my mom is still trying to raise me, right? I I I I was raised right, but I fight it a lot. Uh today uh I come to uh ask for uh consideration for an agenda item in the future for Juneteenth. Uh it's a federal holiday. As you can imagine, uh, it wasn't easy to get it done at the federal level. And um, well, I wasn't happy uh calling it uh independence day. It should be freedom day, but you know, you you don't like fight the perfect when you got some good, so you know, we'll deal with it here in California uh as Freedom Day, which it is in the legislation. Uh, but right at the turn of the century, we've been celebrating Juneteenth officially here in Folsom at Negro Bar, various places around town up uh at the Mormon Island Relocation Cemetery. Uh some know about William Alexander Leitesdorf, 1844, Negro Bar the town, Granite City, the city of Folsom, all that history. But Juneteenth is really uh an opportunity to learn about America. It's not a black holiday, it's an American holiday. Uh, I I took some of the governor's staff to task. It's like it's not this ain't the red, black, green day. We that that's later. This is about red, white, and blue colored troops fighting in the civil war. Red, white, and blue. Those are the colors of Juneteenth. The Juneteenth flag is red, white, and blue.

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