OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Merced Citizens Advisory Focus Group Kickoff Meeting - August 29, 2025

City Council & Commissions — Friday, August 29, 2025
BodyMerced, California
SessionCity Council & Commissions
DateFriday, August 29, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 2:25:11

Transcript — Verbatim
0:11

Okay.

0:12

Members of the audience who wish to address the focus group are requested to complete a speaker card available at the podium against the back of the council chamber.

0:20

Please submit the completed card to the clerk before the item is called, preferably before the meeting begins.

0:26

Material may be emailed to planning web at city of Merced.org.gov.

0:31

Sorry, no later than 1 p.m.

0:33

on the day of the meeting.

0:34

Please specify which portion of the agenda you are commenting on.

0:37

For example, report item number or public comment.

0:41

Your comments will be presented to the focus group at the appropriate time.

0:44

Any correspondence received after 1 p.m.

0:47

will be distributed to the focus group and retained for the official record.

0:51

Okay, thank you, Leah.

0:53

We'll welcome everybody to the August 27th, 2025 meeting of our Citizens Advisory Focus Group.

1:00

This is our first meeting.

1:01

Want to welcome everybody here.

1:02

Looking forward to a series of really productive meetings.

1:05

We're going to begin with our Pledge of Allegiance, and I could ask uh Mayor Pro Tim Boyle.

1:10

She's a little nervous, but bear with her, she's gonna lead us in the pledge.

1:19

The United States of America.

1:25

Under God, this is for all.

1:32

Thank you, Mayor Pro Tim Boyle.

1:34

Roll call.

1:37

Okay.

1:38

Joseph Bauer.

1:40

Sarah Boyle.

1:42

Here.

1:43

Colton Dennis.

1:45

Here.

1:46

Keith Ensmiger.

1:48

Here.

1:49

Anthony Gonzalez.

1:50

Here.

1:51

Jeremiah Greggins.

1:55

Cheryl Hirsch.

1:58

April Holloway.

1:59

Present.

2:01

Tammy Johnson.

2:03

Cynthia Kelly?

2:04

Here.

2:05

Steve Maxie.

2:06

Here.

2:07

Matt Serrado?

2:08

Here.

2:09

Umberto Sandoval.

2:11

Present.

2:12

And Curtis Thomas.

2:14

Here.

2:15

Thank you.

2:19

And Mayor, we do have one request to speak.

2:22

Um Arturo Martinez, Jr.

2:25

Okay.

2:26

Thank you, Lee.

2:27

So we'll want to public comment.

2:28

We have one request to speak.

2:29

If anybody would like to speak, uh now's the time is for non-agendized items or agendized items essentially uh just our initial report.

2:38

So everybody's welcome to speak during that as well.

2:40

But now uh three minutes.

2:42

And uh we'll have Mr.

2:44

Arturo Martinez.

2:47

Listen to his voice here, but this is the uh one of the best voices of Merced, right?

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Urban Planning███████████████████████████████████████████43%
Public Engagement██████████████████████████26%
High Speed Rail█████████9%
Public Transportation███████7%
Community Engagement███3%
Procedural██2%
Affordable Housing██2%
Economic Development██2%
Engineering And Infrastructure█1%
Summary of Proceedings

Merced Citizens Advisory Focus Group Kickoff Meeting - August 29, 2025

The Citizens Advisory Focus Group (CAFG) held its inaugural meeting on August 29, 2025, to launch the comprehensive update of the Merced General Plan and the concurrent Downtown Station Area Plan (DSAP). The meeting covered the CAFG's advisory role, project team structure, timeline, and initial discussions on community engagement, challenges, and opportunities. One public comment was received, and members engaged in an open dialogue about expectations and key issues for Merced's future.

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Arturo Martinez Jr., speaking as a Merced resident, expressed strong support for making dense housing a cornerstone of the new general plan. He noted the state has assigned Merced over 10,000 new housing units and argued that single-family subdivisions cannot meet that need. He advocated for apartments, duplexes, and mixed-use projects to expand affordability, support local businesses, keep growth compact, protect farmland, and reduce commuting and pollution. He urged the CAFG to prioritize dense housing in the plan.

Discussion Items

  • Organizational Overview and Role of CAFG: Consultant Brent Gibbons (Mintier Harnish) presented the project team, including subconsultants for environmental (ESA), economic development (Natels and Dale Group), and mobility (DKS). The CAFG will act as an advisory body to city staff, the Planning Commission, and the City Council. Members will review deliverables, provide feedback, and serve as community ambassadors. Meeting dates were set: October 8, November 10 (Monday), January 28, and February 8 (2026), subject to change.
  • General Plan Update: Gibbons explained that a general plan is a state-mandated 20-30 year vision covering land use, circulation, housing, conservation, open space, safety, noise, environmental justice, and air quality (for Central Valley). This is a comprehensive update of the 2030 plan, with adoption targeted for end of 2027. Community engagement will include a project website (ImagineMerced.com), newsletters (English, Spanish, Hmong), social media, interactive mapping (Map Channel), and workshops. The logo "Imagine Merced" was unveiled.
  • Downtown Station Area Plan (DSAP): Deeksha from WRT presented the DSAP, which is on an accelerated timeline (completion by June 2026). The plan area boundary includes downtown, the future high-speed rail station site, and South Merced. Goals include creating a vibrant, walkable, mixed-use corridor and leveraging the station. Staff clarified that despite media reports of potential rail resequencing, the city is moving forward; the plan will revitalize downtown regardless of rail. The DSAP will analyze scenarios for land use, connectivity, parks, and infrastructure.
  • Open Dialogue on Expectations and Challenges: CAFG members shared indicators of success: meaningful and realistic outcomes, robust public outreach especially to underserved areas (South Merced, seniors), ambitious vision, clarity for developers, and collaboration. Key challenges identified included homelessness in downtown, parking oversupply, displacement and gentrification, housing affordability, infrastructure for emergency services (south Merced train crossings), pedestrian safety across major roads (Highways 99 and 59), quality of life for youth, healthcare support, and maintaining a balance between ambition and pragmatism.

Key Outcomes

  • The CAFG formally established its advisory role and process. No votes were taken; consensus-building will guide future decisions.
  • Next meeting: October 8, 2025, to review the existing conditions and trends report.
  • First community workshop: October 23, 2025, at the Sam Pipes Room, City Hall.
  • Members were encouraged to suggest additional outreach venues and community groups to city staff.
  • The date discrepancy between the transcript (August 27) and the given meeting date (August 29) was noted but the official date of August 29, 2025 is used per instructions.

Meeting Transcript

Okay. Members of the audience who wish to address the focus group are requested to complete a speaker card available at the podium against the back of the council chamber. Please submit the completed card to the clerk before the item is called, preferably before the meeting begins. Material may be emailed to planning web at city of Merced.org.gov. Sorry, no later than 1 p.m. on the day of the meeting. Please specify which portion of the agenda you are commenting on. For example, report item number or public comment. Your comments will be presented to the focus group at the appropriate time. Any correspondence received after 1 p.m. will be distributed to the focus group and retained for the official record. Okay, thank you, Leah. We'll welcome everybody to the August 27th, 2025 meeting of our Citizens Advisory Focus Group. This is our first meeting. Want to welcome everybody here. Looking forward to a series of really productive meetings. We're going to begin with our Pledge of Allegiance, and I could ask uh Mayor Pro Tim Boyle. She's a little nervous, but bear with her, she's gonna lead us in the pledge. The United States of America. Under God, this is for all. Thank you, Mayor Pro Tim Boyle. Roll call. Okay. Joseph Bauer. Sarah Boyle. Here. Colton Dennis. Here. Keith Ensmiger. Here. Anthony Gonzalez. Here. Jeremiah Greggins. Cheryl Hirsch. April Holloway. Present. Tammy Johnson. Cynthia Kelly? Here. Steve Maxie. Here. Matt Serrado? Here. Umberto Sandoval. Present. And Curtis Thomas. Here. Thank you. And Mayor, we do have one request to speak. Um Arturo Martinez, Jr.

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