Sacramento City Council Meeting – March 24, 2026: Housing Report & Flag Football Recognition
Sacramento City Council Meeting – March 24, 2026: Housing Element Annual Progress Report and McClatchy Flag Football Team Recognition
The regular City Council meeting was called to order at 5:42 PM on Tuesday, March 24, 2026, at Sacramento City Hall Council Chamber. All council members were present, with Roger Dickinson, Eric Guerra, and Caity Maple arriving shortly after. The meeting began with a land acknowledgement led by Councilmember Pluckebaum and the Pledge of Allegiance. The agenda included a special presentation, one discussion item, council comments, and public comments on matters not on the agenda.
Special Presentation/General Communications
- McClatchy Flag Football Team Recognition – Mayor Kevin McCarty and Councilmember Rick Jennings honored the McClatchy girls' flag football team for winning the CIF San Joaquin Section Division One championship. Quarterback Daisy Throckmorton was recognized as the 2025 California Player of the Year (Max Preps) and for throwing a touchdown pass to Jerry Rice during NFL Pro Bowl week. The team finished the season with a 24–5 record, defeating West Park 33–25. Councilmember Jennings, a former Oakland Raider (Super Bowl XI), congratulated the team and coaching staff.
Discussion Items
- 2025 Housing Element Annual Progress Report (File ID: 2026-00714) – Senior Planner Greta Soos and City Housing Manager Ya Yin Ei presented. Key data: In 2025, the city produced 2,737 housing units (a 15% increase from 2024), including 930 deed-restricted affordable units (34% of total). The eight-year RHNA target is 45,580 units (about 5,700/year); 2025 production met 48% of the annual target. To date, 62% through the planning period, the city has built 29% of the total goal. ADU permits surged to 390 in 2025, exceeding the planning-period target of 600. Average rent in Sacramento is $1,900; average home sale price is $470,000—both below state averages. Implementation program status: 37% complete, 37% ongoing, 16% in progress, 10% not started. Upcoming initiatives include an ordinance for cottages on wheels, ADU condo sales (AB 1033), condo conversion reform, and a small developer incubator. Councilmembers discussed the need to accelerate production, the importance of a diverse housing stock, rental assistance and homelessness prevention, condominium conversions, and opportunities for roommate matching for seniors and college students. A city council workshop on missing middle housing and SB 79 is scheduled for April 14, 2026. Public comment on this item was provided by former city planner Celia Iniguez, who praised staff efforts and noted the long timeline for affordable housing projects.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Matters Not on the Agenda – Nine speakers addressed the council. Multiple speakers (Rosalie Lair, Lionel Barrigan, Tyranny Bates, Annabelle Gonzalez) opposed the proposed homeless micro-community at 3511 Arena Boulevard, citing safety concerns for nearby schools and families, lack of on-site services, and potential negative impacts on local businesses. Others (John Jew, Celia Yenez, Rita Odin) called for greater transparency, healthier community initiatives, and enforcement of code violations. Annabelle Gonzalez, a single mother and daycare provider, asked the council to reconsider the Arena Boulevard location as it would be visible from her daughter’s bedroom and endanger children in her care.
Key Outcomes
- The City Council reviewed and commented on the 2025 Housing Element Annual Progress Report (no formal vote taken).
- Councilmember Roger Dickinson requested follow-up on the rental assistance program and the high number of returned rental packets (7,500 sent, 5,200 returned). Staff agreed to investigate.
- Councilmember Lisa Kaplan inquired about affordable housing projects without city subsidy (e.g., Ascent in North Natomas) and emphasized learning from lower-cost models.
- Vice Mayor Karina Talamantes directed staff to explore a roommate matching program for seniors and college students, connecting with AARP, Sacramento State, and UC Davis.
- Councilmember Eric Guerra highlighted the importance of commercial corridor revitalization to support housing.
- Mayor Kevin McCarty noted the city’s leadership in pro-housing policies but acknowledged the gap toward RHNA goals; he referenced an upcoming April 14 workshop on missing middle housing.
- The meeting adjourned at 7:29 PM.
Councilmember Announcements
- Councilmember Dickinson promoted the NCAA Women’s Basketball Sweet 16 and Elite Eight games at Golden 1 Center (March 28–31).
- Councilmember Jennings announced a free Easter egg hunt on March 28 at Rivers Edge Church (District 7).
- Councilmember Mai Vang reported on her district community conversation and upcoming Earth Day cleanup (April 11).
- Vice Mayor Talamantes encouraged attendance at a March 26 event supporting the FUEL Network (immigrant and refugee resources).
Meeting Transcript
Thank you, Mayor. This meeting, the 5 p.m. council meeting is called to order. Councilmember Kaplan. Here. Councilmember Dickinson is expected momentarily. Vice Mayor Talamantes. Councilmember Plucky Baum. Councilmember Maple is expected momentarily. And Vice Mayor Pro Tem Getta is expected momentarily. Councilmember Jennings. I'm here. Councilmember Vang. Here. And Mayor McCarty. You have a quorum. Thank you. Councilmember Pluckybump. Can you lead us in the land acknowledgement and pledge? The original people of this land, the Decenton people of the Southern Right Valley and claims B Walk, one two people. Sacramento's only federally recognized tribe. May we acknowledge and honor native people who came before us and still walk beside us today on these ancestral lands by choosing to gather together today in the active practice of acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's indigenous peoples history contribution and lives. Pledge. Okay. So Mayor, you have the first presentation with Councilmember Jennings regards to the McClatchy flag football team recognition. I do. Yes, it's with uh great excitement that we bring the uh Lady Lions here once again. Uh they were here last year, a different sport, but uh two of the players on the football team are here last year when we acknowledge the the girls' basketball team for winning the section championship. And this year uh we wanted to invite them and acknowledge their outstanding um teamwork and um leadership and basically success in girls' women's flag football. So for those of you that don't know, it's now an official high school sport in California. So it's been an official high school sport for three years, and McClatchy uh girls have been doing it for two years and just dominating every year. So in their second year doing flag football here, they were the best team uh in the city claiming the CIF San Joaquin Section Division One championship. Congratulations. And just really putting flag football on the map. Um some of you may know that's now an Olympic sport. We'll be in this in the summer Olympics this year, and really uh gives uh young people a chance to play tackle football or flag, but more importantly, another um varsity sport for our outstanding female athletes in high schools throughout California. So we're really proud of um the uh the lions from District Um Seven, right, Mr. Jenny? Oh, yes, district seven, the heart of land park, and you know they are a team, and um it's sometimes it's difficult to talk about a team and pointing one person out, but as I told the team just when I walked down there a second ago, I said, look, you're an amazing team, you won the section championships, but only one of you I saw in Sports Center, and that was um uh Daisy right here, Daisy Throckmorton was able to go. She was able to represent female flag football players from across the country in the NFL Super Bowl week right down the street in Santa Clara, and they had flag football, as you know, is now the Pro Bowl uh game for the week, and they had a scrimmage beforehand where they had some high school girls scrimmaging with the best of the best, and she was able to show off her skills and throw I believe a touchdown pass to Jerry Wright. So that's kind of a big deal, Daisy. Yes, yeah, and Daisy. I I saw a few months ago, uh, was recognized as the 2025 California, not just San Joaquin, not Sacramento, not Sack City School District, the 2025 California Player of the Year for Girls Flag Football by Max Preps. Congratulations. And we asked where she's gonna go next, and she's she's also a really good basketball player, and they went to the uh sections this year in basketball. Uh but she doesn't have an answer for us, uh Coach Jennings, but maybe we can get it by the end of the night. But more importantly, uh, Daisy and and the entire Lady Lions from McClatchy helped put Sacramento on the map, uh, represented as well. We are very proud of you, and congratulations. So, so Daisy may have thrown a touchdown pass to Jerry Rice, and that's something she she'll remember forever, right? But she's gonna also remember forever the five touchdown passes that she threw in the championship game, and all the the wide receivers, Savannah Hill, where are you?
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