Sacramento Planning and Design Commission Meeting - October 26, 2023
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Sacramento Planning and Design Commission Meeting - October 26, 2023
The Sacramento Planning and Design Commission met on Thursday, October 26, 2023 at 5:30 PM at City Hall. Vice Chair Maya Wallace presided in the absence of Chair Hernandez. The commission approved two public hearing items (Joneck’s Wine Lounge and La Familia Opportunity Center), continued a third item, and had a contentious consent calendar where only one set of minutes was approved. The meeting adjourned at 6:22 PM.
Consent Calendar
The commission considered approval of minutes from four prior meetings. Each set was voted on separately due to differing attendance.
- August 24, 2023 minutes – Motion failed (6 ayes, 3 abstentions, 3 absent).
- September 14, 2023 minutes – Motion failed (6 ayes, 3 abstentions, 3 absent). Commissioner Macias Reed later corrected her vote to aye, but this did not change the outcome (still 6 ayes).
- September 28, 2023 minutes – Motion failed (6 ayes, 2 abstentions, 3 absent).
- October 12, 2023 minutes – Motion passed (7 ayes, 2 abstentions, 3 absent) to approve.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Item 2 – Joneck’s Wine Lounge: Two speakers (Ronica Anderson of Pine Cove Tavern and Brian Garza) expressed strong support for the applicants, describing them as welcoming and community-oriented.
- Item 4 – La Familia Opportunity Center: A neighboring homeowner spoke, requesting a solid wall (not see-through) for privacy and removal of a tree encroaching on her property. She stated she was neither opposed nor in favor of the project itself.
- No speakers addressed matters not on the agenda.
Discussion Items
Item 2 – Joneck’s Wine Lounge (P23-013) Staff recommended approval of a conditional use permit for a wine bar and bottle shop at 5619 H Street in an existing shopping center. The applicants, Renee Jones and Todd, described their vision of an inclusive, safe space and their desire to give back to the East Sacramento community. Commissioners asked about ADA accessibility and expressed enthusiasm. No concerns were raised regarding the project’s design or impact. The commission voted unanimously to approve.
Item 3 – The Market at The Mill (P23-012) This item was pulled by staff and continued to a future meeting. No discussion occurred.
Item 4 – La Familia Opportunity Center (P23-002) Staff presented a proposal for a 25,000-square-foot vocational training and community service center on a 2.2-acre vacant lot at 5900 Franklin Boulevard. The project includes a rezone of two small parcels, site plan review, and conditional use permits for meal service, food preparation, and food storage/distribution. The applicant, La Familia Counseling Center (50 years of service), described programs in healthcare, green jobs, youth development, and mental health. Commissioners questioned parking layout (front parking retained, rear used for circulation/access), the six-foot CMU wall required along the residential property line, and tree removal. Staff confirmed the wall meets code but could be increased via a deviation. The commission also asked about the future of La Familia’s existing Maple site; the board had not made a final decision. Commissioner Lamas suggested a possible grant for farm-to-school connections. The commission voted unanimously to recommend approval to the City Council.
Commissioner Comments Commissioners shared community events (e.g., Dia de los Muertos celebration, Meadow Boo trunk-or-treat). Commissioner Boyd inquired about City of Sacramento polo shirts worn by YIPSY commissioners; staff clarified those were specific to that commission and not offered by the City Clerk’s office.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1 (Consent Calendar): Only the October 12, 2023 minutes were approved. The other three sets of minutes will be reconsidered at a future meeting.
- Item 2 (Joneck’s Wine Lounge): Approved 9-0. The commission adopted the CEQA exemption (Section 15301) and granted the conditional use permit.
- Item 3 (The Market at The Mill): Continued to a future meeting; no action taken.
- Item 4 (La Familia Opportunity Center): Recommended for approval to the City Council by a vote of 10-0. The recommendation includes the CEQA exemption (Sections 15332 and 15061(b)(3)), rezone of ±0.2 acres from R-1 to C-1, and approval of conditional use permits and site plan/design review subject to conditions.
- The meeting adjourned at 6:22 PM.
Meeting Transcript
30 seconds has begun chair staff is ready when you are thank you clerk all right uh good evening and welcome to the Thursday October 26 2023 5 30 p.m. meeting of the planning and design commission the meeting is now called to order will the clerk please call the roll to establish a quorum thank you chair members if you could please unmute your microphones commissioner Zhong here commissioner chase here commissioner lamas here commissioner buckley here commissioner caden here commissioner massius reed here commissioner young here commissioner boyd is absent commissioner andrade here and commissioner thompson is absent um uh chair hernandez is absent did i miss you sir no oh and uh vice chair wallace here thank you we have quorum thank you clerk uh uh would like to remind folks uh remembers of the public and chambers that if you would like to speak on an agenda item please turn in a speaker slip when the item begins you'll have two three minutes to speak once you are called on after the first speaker we will no longer accept speaker slips we will now proceed with today's agenda please rise for the opening acknowledgement of in honor of Sacramento's indigenous peaceful in tribal lands to the original people of this land the Nissan people the Southern Maidu Valley and Plains Miwok Patwinwinton peoples 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 and still walk beside us today on these ancestral lands by choosing to gather today together in the active practice of an acknowledgement and appreciation for Sacramento's indigenous peoples history contributions and lives thank you and then stay standing for the pledge a pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands one nation under God and divisible with liberty and justice for all and our first order of business is the director's report thank you vice chair just one item for the director's report this evening if anyone is here for item number three the market at the mill ABC license that item is being pulled by staff so it won't be heard on tonight's agenda it will be rescheduled renoticed for a future agenda thank you thank you stacia all right next we have the consent calendar uh we're actually gonna take these um although they're all in one pack one item in the packet we're gonna take these one by one because we had different attendance at each meeting uh so we will start I guess we'll start with the August 24th meeting do we want to call the roll for each one uh we will still need we'll still need a um someone to make the motion and second motion all right so we need a motion and a second for each one so we'll start with the August 24th meeting do I have a motion to approve the minutes anybody oh okay great uh commissioner buckley thanks chair uh move approval second call the rule thank you commissioner zhong abstain commissioner chase aye commissioner lamas aye commissioner buckley aye commissioner caden aye commissioner macius reed aye commissioner young abstain commissioner boyd is absent commissioner andrade abstain commissioner thompson is absent chair hernandez is absent and vice chair wallace aye the motion does not pass all right try that one again next time okay next we have um I need a motion for the minutes of the September 14th meeting uh commissioner reed no okay commissioner buckley um thank you chair i just noticed an error on the august twenty fourth uh a potential error on the august twenty fourth uh minutes that I wanted to lift up but maybe we lift it up later when we retake it up I believe that would be the appropriate time yes I've taken note though thank you okay Commissioner Reed. No? Okay. Commissioner Buckley. Um Thank you, Chair. I just noticed an error on the August 24th, a potential error on the August 24th minutes that I wanted to lift up, but maybe we lift it up later when we retake it up. I believe that would be the appropriate time. Yes. I've taken note though. Thank you. Okay. So we're on the September 14th minutes. Any motion? Commissioner Zhang. I'll make a motion to approve. Second. Commissioner Caden. Second. All right. I'll now take the roll call vote. Commissioner Zhang. Aye. Commissioner Chase. Abstain. Commissioner Lamas. Abstain. Commissioner Buckley? Aye. Commissioner Caden. Aye. Commissioner Macius Reed. Abstain. Commissioner Young. Aye. Commissioner Boyd is absent. No. Commissioner Andrade? Abstain. Commissioner Thompson is absent. Chair Hernandez is absent. And Vice Chair Wallace. Aye. The motion fails. Okay. Yes. We're going to move on to 28th. September 28th minutes. Commissioner, are you still open or no?
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