Planning and Design Commission Meeting - July 22, 2021
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Planning and Design Commission Meeting - July 22, 2021
The Sacramento Planning and Design Commission held a regular meeting on July 22, 2021, at 5:30 p.m. via Zoom. The commission reviewed and voted on the 2021-2029 Housing Element, received a briefing on cannabis licensing, and elected new leadership for the upcoming year. Key actions included a motion to recommend approval of the Housing Element with amendments, and the appointment of Commissioner Messias Reed as Chair and Commissioner Hernandez as Vice Chair.
Consent Calendar
- Approval of Meeting Minutes of June 24, 2021: Approved with Commissioner Ogilvy and Young abstaining.
- Director’s Report: Received and filed (no items).
Public Comments & Testimony
- Daphne Harris: Asked about equity in zoning, HCD's relationship with the city council, and requested more focus on homeownership and older property improvements. Called for guardrails on development ratios.
- Nancy Kitts: Expressed concern that housing element outreach favored stakeholders (developers, realtors) and urged careful consideration of the greater housing types policy before neighborhood-level input is complete.
- Jeff Slodovitz (Newton Booth Neighborhood Association member and realtor): Opposed lot splitting and infill development that disrupts neighborhood character, citing dangerous alleys, inadequate infrastructure, and loss of historic homes.
Discussion Items
- 2021-2029 Housing Element (Item 3): Staff presented the 8-year housing strategy, which aims to accommodate a Regional Housing Needs Allocation (RHNA) of 45,580 units. Key changes included a mixed-income approach on large sites, lowered ADU projections (from 700 to 600), and 49 implementation programs. Commissioners raised questions about parking minimums (H8), timeline prioritization, environmental review (negative declaration vs. CEQA concerns), and the role of the upzoning policy (affirmatively furthering fair housing per AB 686, but not used to meet RHNA). Commissioner Ogilvy proposed friendly amendments to include infill development in all zones (policy H1.4), rename and accelerate the affordable housing education campaign (H19 to 2022), accelerate movable tiny homes (H23 to 2022), and the fair chance ordinance (H27 to 2022-23). Staff accepted the changes, and the motion to recommend approval to City Council with those amendments passed 11-1-2 (Boyd no, Ogilvy abstain, Wallace absent).
- Office of Cannabis Management Presentation (Item 4): Christian Svensk (Senior Planner) and Davina Smith (Office of Cannabis Management) explained the dual land-use and business licensing process for cannabis dispensaries and production facilities. Details included conditional use permit requirements, sensitive use distances (600 feet from schools), and the Business Operating Permit (BOP) process. Commissioners received the presentation and noted improvements in operator behavior over time. No vote required.
- Nomination and Appointment of Chair and Vice Chair (Item 5): Commissioner Messias Reed was nominated by Vice Chair Pluckebaum and elected Chair. Commissioner Hernandez was nominated by Chair Coville and elected Vice Chair. Both motions passed unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- The commission voted 11-1-2 to recommend approval of the 2021-2029 Housing Element to the City Council, including amendments to policy H1.4, program H19 (renamed and timeline moved to 2022), program H23 (timeline moved to 2022), and program H27 (timeline moved to 2022-23).
- The commission received and filed the cannabis management presentation.
- Commissioner Messias Reed and Commissioner Hernandez were elected Chair and Vice Chair, respectively, for the 2021-2022 term.
Meeting Transcript
Efren, we can't hear commissioners. Can you hear me? One, two, three, four. Yeah, we can hear you. Great. Hello. Go ahead. 30 seconds on the clock and then we can get started. Thank you. Okay, Chair, you can go ahead and start when you'd like. Thank you. Well, good evening, everyone. Welcome to the July 22nd, 2021 City of Sacramento Planning and Design Commission hearing. For city staff, commissioners, applicants that are logged into the meeting, please remember to keep your microphones muted until you are speaking. Members of the public participating via Zoom. If you would like to speak on an agenda item, please use the Zoom raise your hand feature when the item begins in order to provide public comment. The clerk will call on you and allow you to speak. You will have three minutes to address the commission. If you go over your allotted time, you will be asked to make your final comments and then be muted. Tonight's agenda also has more detailed written instructions to help you use the raise your hand feature. If you like to speak on a subsequent agenda items, you will need to raise your hand again when that next item begins. Okay, at this point we don't have any changes to the agenda. Um so commissioners, if you would unmute your mics and we'll do a roll call. Commissioner Boyd. Commissioner Buckley. Commissioner Chase. Commissioner Chase. I see him indicating he's here. Commissioner Hernandez. Here Commissioner Lenzi. Here Commissioner Messias Reed. Here. Commissioner Ogilvy. Here. Commissioner Wallace. Commissioner Wonconnelly. Here. Commissioner Yee. Here. Commissioner Young. Vice Chair Plucky Bond. Chair Coville. Here. You have a quorum. Excellent. Thank you. I'm sorry, Stacia. Excuse me, share. I was having difficulty that one sure Station if I came through or not on my audio. Oh, I will note you as being here.
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