OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Sacramento City Council Meeting - November 18, 2025: Airport South Annexation Continued

City Council — Tuesday, November 18, 2025
BodySacramento, California
SessionCity Council
DateTuesday, November 18, 2025
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 4:40:12
Transcript — Verbatim
0:00

Thank you.

0:30

Thank you. Welcome back to our 5 o'clock council meeting. Please call this being an order. Please call the roll.

0:38

Members of the audience, please take your seat.

0:41

Council Member Kaplan.

0:42

Council Member Dickinson.

0:44

Vice Mayor Talamantes.

0:46

Council Member Plekibom.

0:50

Thank you.

0:52

Council Member Maple.

0:53

Mayor Pro Tem Gada.

0:54

Council Member Jennings.

0:56

Council Member Vang.

0:58

And Mayor McCarty.

0:59

Here.

0:59

Mayor, you have a quorum.

1:00

Okay, first item.

1:02

So we're going to go to special presentations.

1:04

The first is International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women,

1:07

and Council Member Kaplan will be presenting that.

1:11

Thank you.

1:12

I really want to appreciate everyone being here for our special presentation,

1:17

which is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.

1:23

I think now more than ever, it is critically important

1:26

that we reaffirm our commitment to ending violence against women and girls,

1:32

that we redouble our efforts in the face of new challenges

1:36

to keep our community's women and girls safe.

1:41

With almost one in three women globally having experienced physical or sexual violence in their lives,

1:48

violence against women remains one of the most pervasive

1:52

and damaging forms of human right violations in the world today.

1:58

The disturbing continuity of these trends have expanded dangerously in the recent years

2:07

with an unprecedented backlash against women's rights,

2:12

dramatic restrictions of freedoms and liberties that have dehumanized

2:18

and further jeopardize the safety and well-being of women and girls around the world and even here locally.

2:26

Violence against women has also taken on a disturbing new trend with the forms that we find on the Internet,

2:35

where one in four American women have been made targets of online abuse ranging from bullying,

2:42

threats to sexual harassment, to a bunch of other horrific things that we can't even talk about.

2:50

I am a survivor of domestic violence. I am also the mother of two girls. I don't want them to

2:58

experience what I've had to experience. We have to, when we want a society where we dream about

3:06

where we want our children to grow up, it is a place that is equal for all women and girls to

3:12

live, grow and thrive in. And I'm thankful for my colleagues who feel the

3:17

same as I do. That is why we are recognizing November 25th as the

3:23

International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women. Specifically as

3:28

we go into this next year, it's really understanding what the violence looks

3:33

like online. How AI has taken it to new levels and the responsibility of

3:40

of every single person not only in this room but in our families our brothers our sisters our dads

3:46

our uncles our grandfathers of a responsibility to stand up and protect women because when women

3:52

are treated as equal and partners we have a society that thrives and i know that sacramento can do that

3:59

so i'd like to thank representatives from the sacramento county commission on the status of

4:03

of women and girls, the Sacramento Regional Family Justice

4:06

Center, WEAVE, Women's Empowerment,

4:10

the City of Refuge, and my sister's house,

4:13

who have come here today.

4:14

Thank you for the invaluable work you do every day

4:18

to uplift and stand in solidarity with our women

4:21

and girls, especially those who have faced violence,

4:25

trafficking, and every other form that should just not exist

4:31

and where we should all be treated equally.

4:33

So it is now my honor to invite Tamiza Walsh,

4:36

Chair of the Sacramento County Commission

4:38

on the Status of Women and Girls,

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Economic Development█████████████████████████████████33%
Community Engagement████████████████16%
Engineering And Infrastructure█████████████13%
Immigration Policy█████████████13%
Land Use Planning███████7%
Parks and Recreation████4%
Transportation Safety████4%
Procedural██2%
Code Enforcement██2%
Summary of Proceedings

Sacramento City Council Meeting - November 18, 2025

The Sacramento City Council met on Tuesday, November 18, 2025, at 5:34 p.m. to address a full agenda including three special presentations, a consent calendar of six items, four public hearings, and extensive public testimony. The most prominent item was the Airport South Industrial Annexation (Item 11), which generated over 50 public speakers and was continued to December 2, 2025, after council members requested additional analysis on buffers, land use restrictions, and economic need. The meeting adjourned at 10:13 p.m.

Special Presentations

  • International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women: Presented by Councilmember Kaplan. Speakers from the Sacramento County Commission on the Status of Women and Girls and the Sacramento Regional Family Justice Center highlighted statistics: 13,079 estimated victims of sex trafficking in Sacramento County (2015-2020), 65% of female homicide victims killed by acquaintances or intimate partners. Mayor McCarty and council members expressed strong support.
  • Sacramento Hmong New Year: Presented by Councilmembers Dickinson and Vang, celebrating 50 years of freedom and the 20th annual Hmong New Year festival at Cal Expo (November 28-30, 2025). Speakers noted the festival draws 40,000-50,000 people.
  • Sikh Awareness Month: Councilmember Maple postponed the resolution to allow for a concurrent ordinance on kirpans, which passed the Law and Legislation Committee unanimously.

Consent Calendar

All six items passed unanimously (9-0):

  1. Traffic Supplemental Agreement with Ardurra Group, Inc. ($210,816; total $952,343) and $550,000 budget transfer.
  2. Appointment of Dana Winterrowd and Jeff Townsend as Hearing Examiners for administrative penalty appeals.
  3. Sale of city property at 2260 Glen Ellen Circle for $475,000, with various fund allocations.
  4. Supplemental legal services agreement with Duggan McHugh Law Corporation ($500,000) for Susan Edmonson v. City of Sacramento litigation.
  5. Pass for publication an ordinance deleting Chapter 15.38 and amending Title 15 (Building Standards Code) for consideration on December 2, 2025.
  6. Supplemental agreement with Friends of Front Street Shelter for on-site veterinary services ($116,002; total $1,250,000) and ratification of prior agreements.

Public Hearings

  • Item 7 – Proposed Minor Text Amendments to the 2040 General Plan: Public hearing opened and closed with no comment. Adopted Resolution No. 2025-0307 unanimously.
  • Item 8 – Housing and Dangerous Buildings Case Fees: Staff reported an amended total of 162 properties with $150,749.15 in unpaid fees. Seven properties removed. Adopted Resolution No. 2025-0308 as amended unanimously.
  • Item 9 – Code Compliance Case Fees and Penalties: Staff reported an amended total of 393 properties with $1,126,834.75 in unpaid fees. Twelve properties removed. One public commenter (Justin Wilson) on behalf of his 93-year-old grandmother raised concerns about process and fairness; Councilmember Guerra directed staff to follow up. Adopted Resolution No. 2025-0309 as amended unanimously.
  • Item 10 – SMUD Substation J Transmission Facilities Permit: Planning and Design Commission recommended approval unanimously on October 9, 2025. One public commenter in favor (no show). Adopted Resolutions No. 2025-0310 and 2025-0311 unanimously.

Public Comments & Testimony – Item 11: Airport South Industrial Annexation

Over 50 speakers addressed the council. Positions were sharply divided:

  • Support (proponents): Labor union representatives (LiUNA, Carpenters, IBEW, Plumbers & Pipefitters, etc.) emphasized job creation (over 5,400 long-term jobs, 3,700 construction job years), $500 million investment, $120 million in fees, $14 million annual tax revenue, and strong labor agreements. North Point Development and project team highlighted community outreach, design changes (smaller buildings, 125-foot setback, 200-foot city buffer, Egret Park extension), and economic necessity.
  • Opposition (community and environmental groups): Residents of Westlake and North Natomas, ECOS, Sierra Club, 350 Sacramento, and Natomas Unified School District cited health risks from diesel pollution (9.5 excess cancer cases per million), inadequate community engagement, inconsistency with Natomas Basin Habitat Conservation Plan (NBHCP), loss of farmland and open space, potential for increased truck traffic, and concerns about parcel 8 (Scalora property) future development. Students from Natomas Charter School spoke about wildlife displacement and climate impacts. A petition with over 1,550 signatures was submitted.

Discussion Items – Item 11: Airport South Industrial Annexation (Continued to December 2, 2025)

Councilmembers Lisa Kaplan and Caity Maple recused themselves due to conflicts of interest. Mayor McCarty and Vice Mayor Talamantes led questioning of staff and applicant.

  • Key council inquiries:
    • Mayor McCarty: Clarified setbacks (125-foot building setback + 200-foot city buffer on eastern edge, total 325 feet; additional 125-foot open space buffer on parcel 8). Asked staff to explore restricting uses on eastern parcels (e.g., prohibiting logistics/warehouses, allowing only light manufacturing or R&D). Staff agreed to research and report back by December 2.
    • Vice Mayor Talamantes: Requested continued quarterly meetings with North Natomas Community Coalition; asked for city economic development staff to provide independent absorption analysis; questioned coordination with non-participating property owners; noted need for tax exchange agreement with county (goal: first quarter 2026).
    • Councilmember Dickinson: Examined parking within setbacks, asked for landscaping details; queried whether combined buffer/setback meets AB 98 standards; requested traffic impact analysis on I-5; asked about electrification and anti-idling measures; inquired about SACOG's Blueprint 2.0 consideration of this location.
    • Councilmember Guerra: Asked for AB 98 compliance details (even if the project is grandfathered) and electrification requirements for future parcel 8 development; raised utility rate concerns (staff from Department of Utilities affirmed no rate increase due to applicant paying impact fees).
  • Applicant response: North Point reiterated no consideration of larger setback (1,500 feet requested by school district), but committed to design changes and ongoing communication.

Key Outcomes

  • Item 11 continued to December 2, 2025, to allow staff to provide additional analysis on land use restrictions (potential prohibition of logistics/warehouse uses on eastern parcels), absorption data, AB 98 requirements, and further community engagement.
  • No vote taken on Airport South Industrial Annexation. Council will deliberate and potentially vote on December 2.
  • Consent Calendar and other public hearings all passed unanimously.

Council Comments – Ideas, Questions, AB1234 Reports

  • Vice Mayor Talamantes reported travel to National League of Cities conference in Salt Lake City.
  • Mayor Pro Tem Guerra reported travel to Morelia, Mexico for Sister City program discussions.
  • Councilmember Vang addressed concerns about ICE activities at the John Moss Federal Building, proposed updating the city's sanctuary resolution (last updated 2017) including prohibiting use of city property for immigration enforcement and affirming free speech zones. She indicated collaboration with Vice Mayor Talamantes and Mayor Pro Tem Guerra to bring an updated resolution to full council.
  • Councilmember Jennings announced a holiday toy drive on December 13, 2025, at the School of Engineering and Science.
  • Councilmember Dickinson announced a celebration ceremony for the new North Sacramento Hagginwood Library on December 4, 2025.

Public Comments – Matters Not on the Agenda

Approximately 18 speakers addressed the council regarding:

  • ICE protests and Sacramento Police Department actions: Multiple speakers alleged harassment, intimidation, and collaboration between SAC PD and ICE at the John Moss Federal Building. Demands included designating the area as a free speech zone, banning masked federal agents, and strengthening sanctuary policies.
  • Labor contract negotiations: Representatives from Plumbers & Pipefitters Local 447 and Local 39 criticized the city's contract proposals as insufficient, citing inflation and healthcare costs.
  • Rent control and affordability: A senior homeowner from Holiday Village submitted a petition with 15,000 signatures calling for rent control and affordable housing, expressing that the previous ballot measure was misleading.
  • LGBTQ+ safety: A resident reported increased hostility and a hate crime in Lavender Heights, urging city action.

Meeting Transcript

Thank you. Thank you. Welcome back to our 5 o'clock council meeting. Please call this being an order. Please call the roll. Members of the audience, please take your seat. Council Member Kaplan. Council Member Dickinson. Vice Mayor Talamantes. Council Member Plekibom. Thank you. Council Member Maple. Mayor Pro Tem Gada. Council Member Jennings. Council Member Vang. And Mayor McCarty. Here. Mayor, you have a quorum. Okay, first item. So we're going to go to special presentations. The first is International Day of Elimination of Violence Against Women, and Council Member Kaplan will be presenting that. Thank you. I really want to appreciate everyone being here for our special presentation, which is the International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women. I think now more than ever, it is critically important that we reaffirm our commitment to ending violence against women and girls, that we redouble our efforts in the face of new challenges to keep our community's women and girls safe. With almost one in three women globally having experienced physical or sexual violence in their lives, violence against women remains one of the most pervasive and damaging forms of human right violations in the world today. The disturbing continuity of these trends have expanded dangerously in the recent years with an unprecedented backlash against women's rights, dramatic restrictions of freedoms and liberties that have dehumanized and further jeopardize the safety and well-being of women and girls around the world and even here locally. Violence against women has also taken on a disturbing new trend with the forms that we find on the Internet, where one in four American women have been made targets of online abuse ranging from bullying, threats to sexual harassment, to a bunch of other horrific things that we can't even talk about. I am a survivor of domestic violence. I am also the mother of two girls. I don't want them to experience what I've had to experience. We have to, when we want a society where we dream about where we want our children to grow up, it is a place that is equal for all women and girls to live, grow and thrive in. And I'm thankful for my colleagues who feel the same as I do. That is why we are recognizing November 25th as the International Day for Elimination of Violence Against Women. Specifically as we go into this next year, it's really understanding what the violence looks like online. How AI has taken it to new levels and the responsibility of of every single person not only in this room but in our families our brothers our sisters our dads our uncles our grandfathers of a responsibility to stand up and protect women because when women are treated as equal and partners we have a society that thrives and i know that sacramento can do that so i'd like to thank representatives from the sacramento county commission on the status of of women and girls, the Sacramento Regional Family Justice Center, WEAVE, Women's Empowerment,

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