City of Gonzales
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT
ACTIVITY REPORT
TO: Honorable Mayor Rios and City Council
DATE: January 16, 2024
FROM: Taven Kinison Brown, Community Development Director THROUGH: Carmen Gil, City Manager
SUBJECT: Activity Report Nov. - Dec. 2023
ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Gloria Road Cooler Project. The project was approved by the LAFCo Commission on Monday, September 28, 2023. Staff understands that the applicant is presently working to perfect the agricultural mitigation requirement to the satisfaction of LAFCo, before LAFCo staff will advise the State Board of Equalization that incorporation can be granted. Additionally, the project may not be served by PG&E for a matter of time, potentially even two years or more. City staff and leadership are working to have PG&E engage productively in this matter.
Legacy Signs. In a separate report to this agenda, staff has presented the discussion points requested by the Council regarding safety and city liability. Should the Council appear receptive and comfortable with enabling such a sign, Legacy Sign company may then proceed with a proposal to change the text within the City’s sign code and propose a small lease area and access agreement with the City. Such processes and review will require a CEQA determination, Planning Commission review, and City Council action on the changes to the sign code and accepting a lease agreement.
HOUSING
Housing Element. The draft Housing Element for public review was delivered by 4-LEAF consultants during the holiday recess. Community Development staff is presently working to prepare a translated summary for wide distribution and public notice. The formal review period for staff to receive comments from the public will be for 30 days, then staff will make notes and revisions and forward them to the State Department of Housing and Community Development. The State then has 90 days to review and return comments to the City, should additional issues need to be addressed or clarified. After receiving initial AGENDA
ITEM
6 comments, the City can move to adopt and resubmit to HCD for another 60-day review. HCD then either finds the element in compliance or provides further comment followed by subsequent 60-day review(s) until certification. From that point with a certified housing element, we will work to implement the Housing Element through zoning actions, program creations, and other mechanisms.
ADUs. Four architectural plan types in four floor-plan sets may be purchased over the counter at City Hall. Plans are available for a low administrative fee of $405, representing a significant saving for homeowners who may not have to hire an architect and/or civil engineer. Unique site plans will still need to be completed and submitted along with solar plans and fire sprinkler information, if required. Staff intends to update and activate the City’s website, bilingual handout materials, and instructions for submittal.
Vista Lucia Specific Plan. On December 28, 2024, during the holiday closure, staff received the Administrative Draft Environmental Impact Report from EMC Planning Group. Community Development Director, Taven Kinison Brown, and consultant Brent Slama are reviewing this 350+ page document to assure its veracity after all these years of efforts. Staff will then direct EMC to make any adjustments quickly, if necessary, and then distribute a public-release copy for an initial 45-day period.
The Final EIR will need to be completed by addressing the comments received during public review, and the project and its many components then brought to the Planning Commission for recommendation and to City Council for action in the Spring of 2024.
Puente Del Monte Specific Plan. Dormant.
The D’Arrigo Property. Dormant.
D’Arrigo H2A Proposal. While a Reimbursement Agreement was authorized by the City Council on October 2, 2023, to cover the expense of staff’s time to the matter, no application, fee deposit, or formal submittal has been made to the City as of the writing of this report, January 8, 2024.
CODE ENFORCEMENT
The City Manager, Community Development Director, and City Building Official, along with other staff are taking a more aggressive approach to non-permitted structures and unsafe living situations. Twenty code enforcement cases were opened in 2023. Cases ranged from waste and recycling bins blocking ADA access at curb corners, equipment, furniture and junk strewn in yards, a commercial building in disrepair with front exterior wall and plaster separating, accessory structures being used as illegal living structures (not to code or permitted for such use), reports of overcrowding and unpermitted interior construction, extensive weeds and inoperable vehicles in front yards, and construction/ building modification without permits. The City continues to meet with property owners, inspect potential violations, and start documentation to progress to remedies.
BUILDING DIVISION ACTIVITY
From November 3, 2023, to December 8, 2023 (36 reporting days), the City issued 12 permits from the Building Division for furnace and water heater changeouts, solar systems, exterior stucco and four reroofs. The estimated valuation of all improvements was $113,800.00.