Folsom City Council Regular Meeting - August 27, 2024
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Folsom City Council Regular Meeting - August 27, 2024
The Folsom City Council met on Tuesday, August 27, 2024, at 6:30 PM in the City Council Chambers. The meeting included a consent calendar, a public hearing on the 2035 General Plan amendments for increased residential capacity, and new business on a citywide pay schedule. The council also heard public comments on traffic safety and tree removal, and discussed future agenda items.
Consent Calendar
- Items 1–16 were approved unanimously, with the exception of Item 12 (Resolution No. 11246), which was pulled for discussion.
- Item 12: Resolution authorizing a $4.7 million contract with Euro Style Management for the Tower Tank Rehabilitation Project. Councilmember Chalamcherla commented on the need for broader outreach to increase competition. Staff explained that the project was advertised on the Sacramento B and CIPlist.com, and that they will use additional platforms going forward. The item was approved unanimously.
- Items approved included approval of minutes, ordinances, resolutions related to speed limits, appropriations limit, fire engine purchase, professional services agreements, grant acceptance, and subdivision improvement agreements for affordable housing and development.
Public Comments & Testimony
- David Reed thanked the city for promptly removing dead trees near Caitlin Park, commending Urban Forester Amy Nunez and Parks staff.
- Gol Khan, president of the Turnstone HOA, raised concerns about the intersection of Iron Point Road (eastbound) and Willow Bridge Drive, citing multiple accidents, speeding, and a blind spot caused by trees and a curve. He requested a meeting with the traffic safety committee to discuss solutions.
- Joanne Brosh, a council-appointed member of the Traffic Safety Committee, spoke as an individual. She expressed concern about insufficient crosswalks and safety measures near new schools and parks south of Highway 50, urging more proactive collaboration between entities and that developers should fund safety improvements rather than the general fund.
Discussion Items
-
Public Hearing: City of Folsom 2035 General Plan Amendments for Increased Residential Capacity Project (Item 17)
- Planning Manager Desmond Perrington presented three resolutions: certification of the Subsequent EIR (Resolution 11250), General Plan amendment (11251), and Folsom Plan Area Specific Plan amendment (11252).
- The project adds approximately 6,000 units of residential capacity to key areas (East Bidwell Corridor, Glen Station, Iron Point Station, and Folsom Town Center) to comply with state housing element requirements and address potential no-net-loss of sites for affordable housing.
- Key details: minimum density of 30 dwelling units per acre; new transit-oriented development overlay; roundabout prioritization policies; and a reduction of 251,000 square feet of commercial space in the Folsom Plan Area, with landowners voluntarily deed-restricting sites for nearly 900 affordable units.
- Council discussion centered on the loss of commercial space, sewer capacity (staff noted the 27-inch sewer shed is at capacity and no CIP projects are currently planned), the need for objective design standards, and the city's progress on affordable housing (as of December 2023, the city has more than met its above-moderate target but still has a shortfall in very-low and low-income units).
- No public speakers testified. The Planning Commission had recommended approval unanimously on July 24, 2024.
- The council approved all three resolutions unanimously.
-
New Business: Resolution No. 11253 – Citywide Pay Schedule (Item 18)
- HR Director Alison Garcia presented the required CalPERS pay schedule adoption. The action has no financial impact and does not change salaries. She also provided an oral report on salary changes for local agency executives from 2020 to 2023, including the appointment of a new fire chief, library director, parks and rec director, and salary increases for most executives. The city manager declined a salary increase in FY 2022-23. The council approved the resolution unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar: Approved items 1–16 (with Item 12 pulled and approved separately) unanimously.
- Public Hearing: Approved all three resolutions (11250, 11251, 11252) unanimously, directing staff to complete objective design standards and zoning code amendments.
- New Business: Approved Resolution 11253 (citywide pay schedule) unanimously.
- Councilmember Rohrbough requested a future agenda item to discuss a council travel policy, including allocation, reporting, and restrictions for outgoing councilmembers. The mayor suggested a study session.
- City Manager reported on fall program registration, the library receiving a certificate from Congressman Kiley, and upcoming town hall meetings on the city's financial outlook (September 26, October 1, and October 10).
- Council comments included thanks to retiring City Manager Elaine Anderson, appreciation for staff responsiveness to safety concerns, and a report from Mayor Kozlowski on a trade mission to Korea with the Greater Sacramento Economic Council, highlighting meetings with Samsung and other chip manufacturers.
Meeting Transcript
Mr. City Attorney. Good evening, Mr. Mayor. No family action tonight. Okay, we will adjourn the special meeting, and I'm gonna call to order the regular meeting of the Folsom City Council for August 27th, 2024. Um, Madam Clerk, will you please call the roll? Yeah, Council members Rodriguez here, Roarba, Aquino, here, Chalem Chairla and Koslowski. Also here, and if everybody will please rise one more time and join me for the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. To the Republic for which it stands. One nation, under God, and divisible with liberty and justice for all. We're going to start the evening with business from the floor. Do we have any speaker requests? Yeah, you have two requests to speak this evening under business from the floor. Uh, first request will be from uh David Reed. Second is from Golcon. Okay, David, come on up, and this is for anybody else who may think they would like to comment. The uh business from the business from the floor is the opportunity to speak on items that are not already on the agenda. Small one, thank you. Good evening. Good evening. My name is uh David Reed. I'm a listener folks the mic's on. I want to come tonight. Oh, there we go. Do I repeat? Okay. I wanted to come tonight to thank the city for uh its prompt response uh to my outreach when I reached out regarding several dead trees uh that were in the city right away near Caitlin Park. In less than 24 hours, a city crew was there taking down the trees. Uh when Folsom is called distinctive by nature, I think that applies to the city staff as well. Uh special thank you to Urban Forester Amy Nunez with the community development department and Chris O'Keefe and Nick Coleman with the parks and recreation department. I appreciated their attention to that. Thank you. Thank you, Mr. Reed. Thank you very much. Okay, our next speaker will be Gol Khan. Good evening. My name is Gol Khan. Council members. Thank you. Um I'm here to represent today as uh the president of the Homeowner Association for Tunstone community. We would like to bring your attention to uh intersection of Iron Point, Eastbound, and Willow Bridge Drive. Over the past almost uh two years, we have seen number of accidents in that area. Some of them were really major accidents. And uh there are multiple reasons for that. Over speeding, people not obeying the law, running the red light as well. But there is one technical issue that we have over there. Uh that intersection is right next to the Folsom High School, and a lot of kids from Folsom High School as well, they come to that intersection and cross the road.
openpublica.com