Law and Legislation Committee Meeting - March 7, 2023
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Law and Legislation Committee Meeting - March 7, 2023
The Law and Legislation Committee met on Tuesday, March 7, 2023, from 1:00 p.m. to 3:21 p.m. in the City Hall Council Chamber. The committee addressed four major discussion items: noise regulations related to amplified sound, a workshop on digital street-light pole banners, options to incentivize development of vacant parcels and buildings, and vacant lot enforcement. The committee provided direction on each item and approved the consent calendar unanimously.
Consent Calendar
- Item 1: Law and Legislation Log – Approved unanimously.
- Item 2: Meeting Minutes – Approved minutes from February 7, 2023, and February 21, 2023, unanimously.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Item 3 (Noise Regulations): Multiple speakers addressed the committee. Candelaria Vargas (Director of Public Affairs, Planned Parenthood Mar Monte) expressed urgent support for amendments to protect access to healthcare, citing increased protest activity at health centers. Maya De La Rosa (grassroots organizer, Planned Parenthood) described personal experiences of harassment and amplified sound targeting patients and staff. McKenzie Wilson (decarcerate Sacramento) opposed the language, warning it could be used against community organizers. A street performer (Jared) expressed concern that noise ordinances could be misapplied to performers.
- Item 4 (Digital Banners): Annie Keyes (Downtown Sacramento Partnership) strongly supported pursuing digital banners, highlighting innovation, real-time updates, and potential 5G/Wi-Fi capabilities. PJ raised cybersecurity and hacking concerns. Jeff Arrin (California Sign Association) stated that no known technology currently exists for this application but supported further investigation.
- Item 5 (Vacancy Taxes): Jack Blatner (Sacramento Metro Chamber) opposed a residential vacancy tax, citing a 4-6% healthy vacancy rate. Margo Ronaldo and Jared supported a vacancy tax, arguing it could address blight and fund needed programs. Daniel Savala (Del Paso Boulevard Partnership) supported a commercial vacancy tax with exemptions for cost-prohibitive rehabilitation. Jeff Short (North State Building Industry Association) opposed a residential vacancy tax, warning it would disincentivize housing investment. PJ supported a vacancy tax, noting properties held vacant for speculation. Louis Marante (affordable housing advocate) opposed a residential vacancy tax but supported non-tax incentives for development. Aaron Teague (Sacramento Association of Realtors) requested removal of residential vacancy tax from discussion, citing a healthy vacancy rate.
- Item 6 (Vacant Lot Enforcement): No public comments were made.
Discussion Items
- Item 3: Noise Regulations (Chapter 8.68) – Staff (Peter Lemos, Code and Housing Enforcement Chief) presented a proposal to amend noise regulations to improve enforcement, particularly for amplified sound interfering with healthcare facilities, schools, and churches. The committee discussed concerns about free speech, narrow tailoring, and enforcement roles. Councilmember Guerra moved to direct staff to draft an ordinance and bypass the Law and Legislation Committee, going directly to City Council. After discussion, Vice Chair Jennings requested the ordinance come back to the committee on March 21 for review before proceeding to council. The committee agreed to that amended approach.
- Item 4: Digital Street-Light Pole Banners – Staff (Kevin Colin) presented a workshop on amending city code to allow digital banners on light poles, highlighting concerns about untested technology, structural safety, electrical infrastructure, light pollution, and precedent. Councilmember Guerra supported moving forward with a pilot using revocable permits, working with the Downtown Partnership. Councilmember Kaplan and Chair Valenzuela expressed hesitation, citing staff priorities, safety concerns, and the need for a concrete proposal from the partnership before committing city resources. The committee agreed to not direct further staff action at this time but to wait for a more detailed proposal from the Downtown Partnership before proceeding.
- Item 5: Vacancy Taxes and Incentives – Staff (Greta Soos) presented research on vacancy taxes implemented in Oakland and Berkeley, including tax rates, exemptions, and revenues. The committee discussed objectives, focusing on blighted vacant lots and commercial buildings rather than residential units. Councilmember Guerra favored focusing on vacant lots, with exemptions for community gardens and family-held parcels. Councilmember Kaplan recommended prioritizing vacant parcel and building taxes and not spending staff time on a residential vacancy tax due to an ongoing lawsuit in San Francisco. Chair Valenzuela supported keeping the residential conversation on the table for future exploration, citing data on voucher holders and vacant units. The committee directed staff to focus research on vacant lot and commercial building taxes, including potential exemptions and impacts on investment, and to return with more data. The residential vacancy tax was set aside for now.
- Item 6: Vacant Lot Enforcement – Staff (Peter Lemos) reviewed the existing vacant lot program, noting that only 2,100 of 3,600 registrable lots are registered, and enforcement is complaint-driven due to lack of dedicated staff. The committee discussed increasing appeal fees, requiring uniform fencing on nuisance lots, raising maintenance standards (e.g., lower weed height), and ensuring full cost recovery for monitoring. The committee directed staff to bring back ordinance amendments within 60 days addressing: increased appeal fees (likely $500 or cost-based), uniform non-cyclone fencing to prevent dumping and improve aesthetics, higher cleanliness standards, full cost recovery for monitoring fees, and creation of a vacant building registration program.
Key Outcomes
- Consent Calendar: Approved unanimously.
- Noise Regulations: Staff directed to draft ordinance text and return to Law and Legislation Committee on March 21, 2023, before advancing to City Council.
- Digital Banners: No further staff action; committee will await a concrete proposal from the Downtown Partnership before pursuing code amendments.
- Vacancy Taxes: Staff directed to prioritize research on vacant lot and commercial building taxes and to set aside residential vacancy tax research until pending litigation is resolved. Staff to report back with more data on impacts and best practices.
- Vacant Lot Enforcement: Staff directed to return within 60 days with ordinance amendments to increase appeal fees, require uniform fencing for nuisance lots, raise maintenance standards, ensure full cost recovery for monitoring, and develop a vacant building registration program.
Meeting Transcript
Good afternoon. Welcome to the law and legislation committee. This meeting is now called to order. Will the clerk please call the role to establish a quorum? Thank you. Um Councilmember Kaplan. Here. Vice Mayor Gatta. Here. Councilmember Jennings. Here. And Chair Valence Wela. I am here, and that is Vice Mayor Jennings for us on the on the diocese here. But I will say for the members of the public and chambers, if you wish to speak on an agenda item and are not an applicant, please fill out a speaker slip in the back of the room. For members of the public joining us online that wish to speak, raise your hand to provide public comment when the chair confirms the public comment period speaking uh speaking period for your desired item. Sorry, I need to rewrite this a little. Um if you're online, you can just click the raise hand button, and there are telephone prompts as well. If you dial star nine, you will get in the queue and star six unmutes yourself. You'll have two minutes to speak once you're called on, and with that, we'll move on to the land acknowledgement. Um Councilmember Garrett, Vice Mayor Garrett, would you like to lead us? Yes. Well, thank you. Please rise for the opening acknowledgments in honor of Sacramento's indigenous people and tribal lands to the original people of this land, the Nissanon people, the Southern Maidu, Valley, Plains, Miwok, the Putwin Winton people, and the people of the Wilton Rancheria, Sacramento's only federally recognized tribe. May we acknowledge and honor the native people who came before us, stand and walk beside us today on these ancestral lands by choosing to gather together today in the act of practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's indigenous peoples' history's contribution and lives. Thank you, everyone. Let's uh uh face flag salute, pledge, I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God, indivisible with liberty and justice for all. Thank you. Excellent. Thank you, Vice Mayor. So we have a pretty full agenda today. I'm really looking forward to the discussions. I want to make a note that item three is actually on the discussion calendar, um, so it will not be on the consent calendar motion today. So to take up the consent first, that means we have items one and two, the law and legislation log and the law and legislation committee meeting minutes. Do I have any members with questions or comments on those items? I'll move consent. Excellent. Um we can do that by acclamation, I think. All those in favor say aye. Madam Chair, do we need to check if there's any public comments? Do we have any public comment? Thank you. For the record, I do have no public comment on this item. Thank you. Appreciate that. Awesome. Awesome. So we acclimated no objections, no abstentions. Awesome. So moving on to item three. Um, we'll call up uh I think Peter Limos um and Angel from the City Attorney's Office are here today.
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