Visalia City Council Work Session and Regular Meeting - October 19, 2026

The Visalia City Council met Monday, October 19, 2026, for a work session scheduled at 4:00 p.m. and a regular session at 7:00 p.m. Mayor Brett Taylor presided; Vice Mayor Liz Wynn and Council Members Steve Nelsen, Emmanuel Hernandez Soto, and Brian Poochigian were present. The work session covered employee introductions, the tourism marketing district annual report, reserve area planning, temporary parking lot regulations, and the General Fund surplus policy. The regular session included the Haunt the Home awards, general public comment, consent calendar approval, and a public hearing on extending the data center urgency ordinance.

Work Session: New Employee Introductions

• Public Works Director Nick Barch and staff introduced Manuel Ceja-Lopez, Wastewater Treatment Plant Operator III, and Alberto Carrillo-Hernandez, Solid Waste Operator, who started May 8, 2026.
• The agenda also listed Rafael Gaitan, Solid Waste Operator, but no introduction for him was captured in the transcript.

Work Session: Visalia Tourism Marketing District (TMD) Annual Report

• David Ahern, general manager of the Darling Hotel and TMD board chair, and Carrie Groover, general manager of the Visalia Marriott and TMD treasurer, presented the 2025 annual report.
• 2025 hotel assessment revenue was $862,000; with $42,000 in retained earnings and reserves, total available funds were $1.4 million. The TMD spent $1.2 million and carried $200,000 into 2026.
• Four-year trends: Sequoia and Kings Canyon National Parks visitation increased 17%, hotel transient occupancy tax increased 7.5%, short-term rental TOT increased 33%, and hotel occupancy declined 2.5%. CoStar data showed year-to-date occupancy at 62%, average daily rate at $134, and declining RevPAR.
• The TMD assessment is a 2% monthly charge on room revenue from hotels with 20 or more rooms. Short-term rentals pay TOT but do not pay into the TMD; Mayor Taylor asked staff about adding short-term rentals to the TMD assessment, and staff said that would need to be a TMD-initiated request.
• Council members asked about park fees and the World Cup. Ahern said national park price increases were not a major deterrent for international visitors, and the World Cup produced the opposite of the hoped-for spillover, with soft July and August business.
• The Council accepted the report on a 5-0 vote.

Work Session: Reserve Area Planning

• Planning Director Paul Bernell, QK consultant Steve Brant, and planner Jared Olson presented the proposed Industrial Specific Plan for the roughly 900-acre Reserve Area. The Planning Commission had recommended the land use plan, circulation plan, and development tier boundaries.
• Land use: Area A would be the industrial specific plan; Area B would be a neighborhood north of Caldwell with mixed-use and high-density designations; Area C would be the Sequoia Gateway Business Park specific plan; Area D south of Caldwell would be mostly residential because of airport land use restrictions; Area F would include associated park and school site changes.
• Airport compatibility: the proposed high-density area along Caldwell is in airport zone six, which has no density limit but identifies multifamily as not compatible. The Council can override the airport land use plan with a four-fifths vote. Council discussed retaining the high-density designation for environmental review while preserving the option to reduce it later.
• Mayor Taylor raised concern about awkward triangular parcels created by airport boundaries; staff said they would work to soften edges so development can occur in logical layouts.
• Circulation: the plan follows Visalia's one-mile arterial and half-mile collector pattern; Caldwell, Shirk, and Walnut remain arterials; Whitendale would be extended west to the Highway 99 frontage road; the Clancy alignment would be a half-mile collector.
• Growth tiers: Tier 2 would use existing sewer capacity along the Walnut trunk line; Tier 3 would require a new trunk line crossing Highway 99 and the railroad. Council supported the tier boundaries.
• Design standards: staff presented options for enhanced standards along exterior corridors only, everywhere in the specific plan, or at entrances plus corridors. The Planning Commission recommended enhanced standards for the entire area. Councilmembers Nelsen, Poochigian, Hernandez Soto, and Wynn supported that approach, with direction to allow creativity and avoid excessive cost; the Mayor expressed preference for a more limited option but joined consensus for standards that are flexible and cost-effective.
• The Council voted 5-0 to direct staff to proceed with the staff and Planning Commission recommendations.

Work Session: Temporary Parking Lot Requirements

• Jason Huppleray, Director of Engineering and Building, and Paul Bernell presented a discussion item. Municipal Code Section 17.34 generally requires paved parking, with a minimum of 2 inches of asphalt over 4 inches of base rock, plus setbacks, screening, and accessible parking. Temporary conditional use permits allow up to 180 days of unpaved parking with base rock or asphalt grindings, defined ingress and egress, dust control, and accessible paths.
• City-owned unpaved lots discussed included Riverway Sports Park, Valley Strong Ballpark on Giddings Avenue, Seven Oaks Dog Park, Valley Oaks Golf Course overflow, and Plaza Park Raceway. Staff noted maintenance, accessibility, and new state EV charging requirements for newly improved parking lots.
• Council consensus favored a phased, citywide approach rather than a church-only exemption, with special-event or occasional-use permits for limited overflow parking. Council asked staff to stop issuing code enforcement citations while the policy is developed and to return early next year with an update.
• Public comments: Grant Smith, a local business owner, asked the city to create a consistent overflow parking policy for special events and community-serving properties, citing examples from Pasadena, Morgan Hill, and Tigard, Oregon. Neil Zerlang, a licensed land surveyor representing Grace Bible Church, said the church is acquiring and merging parcels, faces projected parking stall costs of roughly $3,500 to $4,000 each, received a notice of violation in May, and wants to work with staff.

Work Session: General Fund Surplus Policy

• Finance and Technology Director Renee Magel and Budget Analyst Amy Swering reviewed the surplus policy. Surplus funds first maintain the emergency reserve at up to 30% of operating expenditures; remaining surplus is deposited into the Civic Center Public Safety Reserve for future buildings.
• For fiscal year 2025-26, the emergency reserve began at $24 million, earned about $800,000, and needed a $3.1 million transfer to reach approximately 27.9%. Estimated surplus after that transfer is $3 million to $5 million, but audit adjustments remain. Changes for FY 2025-26 would need to be made by November 9, 2026.
• Staff recommended keeping the policy unchanged to keep Civic Center Phase 3 debt manageable. Phase 3 design was awarded to Darden Architects for $5.4 million on June 1, 2026; total project cost is estimated at $82 million. Available funds for the project total about $19.1 million.
• Debt scenarios for a $48 million, 30-year issuance were about $2.9 million annually at 4.5% interest and $3.1 million at 5%. Higher borrowing amounts would increase annual debt service. The city's existing debt is scheduled to end in fiscal year 2029-30.
• Council members supported retaining the current surplus policy to finish the Civic Center. Councilmember Hernandez Soto suggested considering a small percentage for the arts in future surplus allocations; Vice Mayor Wynn asked for a future work session on long-term project priorities.
• Public comments: Mary Miller Gast, interim director of the Arts Consortium of Tulare County, thanked the city and highlighted the 16th annual Taste the Arts Festival with about 100 artist booths. Tracy Polkonicko, executive director of Arts Visalia Visual Arts Center, noted the organization's 30th year and 25th year at its location and urged continued arts support.
• The Council voted 5-0 to continue the current surplus policy after funding emergency reserves.

Consent Calendar

• The consent calendar was approved 5-0 with no items pulled. It included: ordinance reading by title only; V-LINE transit allocation requests totaling $489,061 to the Low Carbon Transit Operations Program; traffic signal improvements at Ferguson and Mooney with a $610,660 contract plus $30,000 in Measure R funds; the Plaza Park pedestrian bridge contract with Cen-Cal Construction for $283,382; Corporation Yard security cameras for $84,530.75 with a $92,990 appropriation; the Corporation Yard Master Plan agreement with Griffin Structures for $275,000 plus $152,500; the 2026 pecan processing agreement with HNH Nut Company; the Clark Pest Control annual contract not to exceed $33,418; the Horizon Distribution irrigation controllers contract not to exceed $95,700; the Interwest Consulting building safety services extension not to exceed $300,000 through April 7, 2027; the Prop. 4 grant application for Eastside Regional Park improvements; and recording of final parcel map for Tentative Parcel Map No. 2026-01.

Regular Session: 2026 Haunt the Home Winners

• The Council recognized the 2026 Haunt the Home winners: third place, Victor and the Brito family, with 9,156 votes; second place, Vicky and family, with 9,853 votes; and first place, Joseph and the Howard family, with 24,794 votes. Council members thanked all participants and the event coordinator.

Public Comments & Testimony (Regular Session)

• Sam Shaka of Visalia reported that a 140-year-old property at 1401 South Burke Street is being converted to residential use, his mother's house is being moved next door, and he asked to serve on a committee addressing downtown sidewalk damage from walnut tree roots, mentioning a solution used in San Luis Obispo.
• A later speaker offered sharp criticism of federal policies, including ICE raids, tariffs said to have cost California $63 billion, federal funding cuts, public lands, and other national issues, and expressed opposition to those policies.
• Another public commenter described Visalia Pride's 10th event, the paid-off mortgage on its campus, and plans to bring buildings up to code and ADA standards and expand medical services.
• Matthew Stoll, a Visalia business owner and arborist, requested that the city verify state, county, or professional licenses before issuing business tax certificates, or rename the certificate so it does not imply city approval. He also asked for coordination with state licensing agencies and a report to the Council within 90 days.

Regular Item: Urgency Ordinance Extension

• Planning Director Paul Bernell presented Ordinance No. 2026-12, which would extend Ordinance No. 2026-10 for 10 months and 15 days. The interim urgency ordinance imposes a temporary moratorium on accepting, processing, approving, or issuing permits and entitlements for new data center developments and communications equipment buildings. Passage required a four-fifths vote.
• Staff noted that no data center applications have been submitted, that the state recently enacted seven new bills affecting data centers, and that the moratorium provides time to study energy, water, noise, and climate impacts.
• Maria Guien spoke in support of the extension and said many residents would prefer a permanent ban, citing concerns about air, water, and the agricultural community.
• Sheree Cabral, on behalf of the Western Steel Council and the California Construction Labor Management Trust, opposed the extension, arguing data centers have operated in California for decades, provide jobs and tax revenue, and that the moratorium findings may not meet the Government Code Section 65858 standard of a definitive, current, and immediate threat. She cited recent litigation and offered peer-reviewed studies.
• The Council adopted Ordinance No. 2026-12 on a 5-0 vote.

Postponed Item: Cal Water Presentation

• The Cal Water presentation on water conservation, AB 2572, and the Urban Water Management Plan was postponed by Cal Water. No staff report was attached; staff anticipated it would appear on the next agenda.

Closed Session and Next Meetings

• No closed session report was provided. The next regular City Council meetings are scheduled for November 2, 2026, and November 16, 2026, at 7:00 p.m.

Key Outcomes

• Accepted the TMD annual report 5-0.
• Directed staff 5-0 on the Reserve Area Industrial Specific Plan land use, circulation, growth tiers, and design standards.
• Gave direction on temporary parking: phased citywide approach, occasional-use permits, stop code enforcement citations, and return with an update in early 2026.
• Retained the existing General Fund surplus policy 5-0.
• Approved the consent calendar 5-0.
• Adopted Ordinance No. 2026-12 extending the data center urgency ordinance by 10 months and 15 days on a 5-0 vote.
• Noted that the Cal Water presentation is postponed.