Stockton Planning Commission Meeting – April 24, 2025: CIP & Development Agreements Reviewed
Stockton Planning Commission Meeting – April 24, 2025
At its meeting on April 24, 2025, the Stockton Planning Commission reviewed the Fiscal Year 2025-2030 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for conformity to the Envision Stockton 2040 General Plan and conducted the 2024 annual compliance review of 10 active development agreements. Both items passed unanimously (6-0) with an amendment to one non‑compliant agreement.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Mary Elizabeth (fourth‑generation Stocktonian) expressed deep concern that the Commission repeatedly allows developers to avoid commitments, get extensions, and leave blight. She criticized the lack of public notice for EIRs and asked Commissioners to ask hard questions rather than accept “business as usual.”
- Pat Barrett spoke twice: first on the CIP item, requesting more transparency and criticizing the roundabout near her home for hindering emergency vehicles and buses; later on the development agreement item, she asked whether any of the housing agreements include mixed‑income affordable units (the Chair clarified that housing element compliance is not part of this review).
Discussion Items
Item 6.1 – FY 2025-2030 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) Conformity Determination
- Assistant Director Mike McDowell presented the staff recommendation that the CIP conforms to the General Plan, highlighting policies on well‑maintained public facilities and multimodal roadways. Staff noted that new projects were highlighted in the report; no conformity challenges were identified.
- Commissioner Hull requested that future CIP reports include a list of completed projects from the prior year so the public can see what was accomplished.
- Several commissioners raised concerns about roundabout safety (Commissioner Amen, Vice Chair Muetzenberg). Public Works representatives noted that roundabouts are designed to slow traffic and that education materials could be developed. Commissioner Graves asked for accident data before/after roundabout installation; staff acknowledged that such data is not routinely tracked.
- Commissioner Gurney questioned whether truck paths were adequately depicted in roadway improvement designs; staff noted that is a development code issue, not part of this CIP review.
- No projects were found to present conformity challenges. The resolution (2025-04-24-0601) was adopted 6-0.
Item 6.2 – 2024 Annual Compliance Review for Development Agreements
- Senior Planner Anson Lahasett reviewed 10 development agreements (DAs). Of these, nine were found compliant. The tenth, Mariposa Lakes (approx. 3,800 acres), was found non‑compliant because the applicant had not entered into a required annexation agreement with the City.
- Staff initially recommended requiring the applicant to apply for a new annexation agreement by April 2026 (12 months).
- Chair Sanguinetti proposed a six‑month timeline, arguing that an annexation agreement is a simple memorandum of understanding, not a LAFCO action. The developer’s representative, Jerry Camillas, initially asked for nine months but agreed to six after discussion.
- Other developers provided brief updates: Spanos Park West is built out; Westlake Villages is nearly complete; St. Joseph’s Hospital is beginning design for campus expansion; Port of Stockton remains compliant and growing.
- Assistant Director McDowell gave an overview of development agreements as voluntary contracts that provide certainty to both developers and the City, often including community benefits (e.g., a fire station CFD in South Stockton).
- The motion to accept the annual review with the amendment changing the Mariposa Lakes annexation deadline to six months passed 6-0.
Reports & Commissioner Comments
- Mike McDowell reported that the ad hoc committee has nearly completed a draft code amendment (part of the comprehensive Shape Stockton update) to be presented to the Commission on May 8, 2025. Another item on that agenda will be a use permit for a food truck park on Telstar near Hammer Lane.
- Commissioner Boparai noted he is tracking 11 state bills. He highlighted AB 379 (reversing decriminalization of human trafficking), SB 764 (healthy children’s meal options at chain restaurants), and AB 573 (increased tobacco enforcement fines). He also stated that an illegitimate, forged letter of his resignation was submitted and rejected by the City Clerk; he remains an active commissioner. Vice Chair Muetzenberg expressed concern and asked about protective measures; McDowell noted City policies were effective in this case.
Key Outcomes
- Resolution 2025-04-24-0601 approved the CIP as conforming to the General Plan (6-0).
- Motion 2025-04-24-0602 approved the 2024 annual development agreement compliance review (6-0), with the amendment requiring Mariposa Lakes to submit an annexation agreement within six months (by approximately October 24, 2025) instead of the originally proposed 12 months.
- Staff was directed to notify all applicants of their compliance or non‑compliance determinations.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, it's uh a little bit after 5 30. Actually, it's 5 30 exactly, so tonight is the April 24th, 2025, City of Stock and Planning Commission meeting. Roll call, please. Chair Sangranetti. Present. By Chair Mutzenberg. Present. Commissioner Graves. Commissioner Hall. Present. Commissioner Bopra is absent. Commissioner Aman? Present. We have a quorum. Thank you. Um Commissioner Amen. Can you lead us in the Pledge of Allegiance, please? Thank you. Okay. So get myself orientated here. Some glasses to read. We'll be ready to go. Okay, there is no consent items on tonight's agenda. Um we're gonna go to a public comment. I understand there's one blue card. If there's uh now's the time for any other blue cards, otherwise we'll just take the one and we'll move forward. We'll begin with Mary Elizabeth. Mary Elizabeth, um fourth generation Stocktonian and uh proud graduate of uh University of the Pacific. And um having lived other places and come back home, I recognize that the city of Stockton has had a um some lengthy issues related to uh giving up our resources to uh the development community, leaving behind pollution and areas of our town that are highly blighted. And those decisions that have been made are consistently made and sometimes at staff recommendation and there's no timer here going, so I'm gonna make it uh I'm gonna put my own timer on. You're gonna have three minutes that I believe you our timer is not working. Not working, so I've got it here. Okay, I'm gonna go with two, okay? I've got it here. Okay, so I just wanted to say uh that you know the decisions that you make and what you allow uh the development community to continue to get away with by making commitments and then not following through, getting extension upon extension, you know, the whole business that the city council did, and I made testimony, you know, back in 2023 when they renewed that agreement with Spanos for uh $2,000 for a housing unit. And you know, that a housing unit has some permanent uh basis in our community and is so needed by many members of our community. So it's um it's a shame, and I just wanted to say that you know the decisions that you make every time you let a uh developer you know not do what they're supposed to do. Like here we have uh the staff is now gonna go back out and have to find out whether or not you know uh that 200,000 was actually transferred appropriately. That's unacceptable. You're gonna be looking at uh another development where you have mitigation measure numbered and that the staff is gonna later investigate whether or not those mitigations were taken care of. When the only time that uh the people of Stockton have any uh any ability to view what's going on with these development agreements is once a year right now, and you know it's just unacceptable. The last thing that I wanted to speak to, and I appreciate you know that you started that ad hoc to look at those development standards, and I wish that it was open for everybody in the community to learn uh what you all, whoever's on that committee is going to be learning about, but we need to have notices put out, and you need to be noticed when an EIR comes out. So the only notice that you all get if you're if you're not reading the newspaper, is uh when uh final EIR comes before you and you have maybe a week to review it, you know, and not really, you know, to like dive into you know all of the comments that people submitted. And so I just want you to understand that you know our community cannot tolerate any more findings of overriding significance. And you know, the port does it uh frequently, you know, did it uh and we're still waiting for some uh money, you know, that uh uh developer pledged for the community. And I just I just want to let you know that you you make a difference, and uh whether or not you allow you know business as usual to continue, is up to you to make those hard um questions, ask those hard questions, and you know, not uh not just uh go along with the flow because this is our flow is not going in the right direction. And I'm going to take care of my 91-year-old mom right now that is in need of uh my assistance, and I I give thanks and all the glory to our creator. Amen. Thank you. That's all we have, Chair.
openpublica.com