VISTA CITY COUNCIL (CC) BUENA SANITATION DISTRICT (BSD) COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT COMMISSION (CDC)
SUCCESSOR AGENCY TO THE VISTA REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY (SA) JOINT POWERS FINANCING AUTHORITY (JPFA)
CITY OF VISTA
CONSOLIDATED MEETING MINUTES
OCTOBER 14, 2025
The October 14, 2025, Regular Meeting of the City Council of the Chartered City of Vista, the Community Development Commission of the City of Vista, the Buena Sanitation District, Successor Agency to the Vista Redevelopment Agency, and Joint Powers Financing Authority was called to order by Mayor Franklin at 4:00 pm in the City Council Chambers, 200 Civic Center Drive, Vista, California.
COUNCIL MEMBERS PRESENT
Mayor John Franklin, Deputy Mayor Katie Melendez (left the Chambers at 6:48 p.m. and returned at 7:03 p.m.)
Corinna Contreras, Dan O’Donnell (arrived at 4:10 p.m.), Jeff Fox
CLOSED SESSION
Mayor Franklin called for a Closed Session at 4:00 p.m. for the following:
CS1. Conference with Real Property Negotiators, pursuant to Government Code Section 54956.8: (CC)
Property Address: 955 S. Santa Fe Ave., Vista, CA
2630 Business Park Dr., Vista, CA
380 Plymouth Dr., Vista, CA
138-140 Civic Center Dr., Vista, CA
1932 Victory Dr., Vista, CA
2022 Victory Dr., Vista, CA
320 Sycamore Ave., Vista, CA
Agency Negotiator: John Conley, City Manager, Imelda Huerta, Assistant City Manager Under Negotiation: Price and Terms
RECESS, OPEN SESSION, AND CALL TO ORDER
Mayor Franklin recessed the Closed Session at 5:29 p.m. and called the meeting to order in Open Session at 5:34 p.m.
DEPARTMENT REPRESENTATIVES PRESENT
John Conley City Manager
Walter Chung City Attorney
John Malan Sheriff’s Captain
Gerard Washington Fire Chief
Kathy Valdez City Clerk
Imelda Huerta Assistant City Manager
Joe Vacca Community Development Director
Larry Vaupel Economic Development Director
Greg Mayer Engineering Director
Mike Sylvia Finance Director
Natalie Jacobs Human Resources Director
Chris Mitchell Information Technology Director
Chris Arce Public Works Director
CONSOLIDATED MINUTES
OCTOBER 14, 2025
2 CLOSED SESSION
City Attorney Walter Chung stated there was no reportable action taken in tonight’s Closed Session.
PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE
Councilmember Contreras led the Pledge of Allegiance.
BROWN ACT NOTICE
City Clerk Kathy Valdez stated that, due to convening simultaneous meetings, the Buena Sanitation District Board Members will receive compensation of $147.75 for the District meeting.
APPROVAL OF AGENDA
City Manager John Conley stated there were no changes to the agenda.
PRESENTATIONS
P1. The Mayor and Councilmembers presented a proclamation to Clarence Rich, Code Enforcement Manager, declaring the second week in October 2025 as “Code Enforcement Office Appreciation Week” in the City of Vista.
P2. The Mayor and Councilmembers presented a Letter of Appreciation to Guerrer@s en Acción por un Vista Limpio volunteers Jovita Serafin, Mishelle Veloz, Obdulia Díaz, Ruben Diaz, Sebastián Díaz, Logan Flores, Maria Sierra de Martínez, Brandon Suárez, Herlinda Serafin, Magaly Sosa, Rosa Elvira Díaz, Marlene Zamora, Ramiro Díaz, Valeria López, Zahir Noé López, Beatriz Hidalgo Santiago, Jorge Lopez, Cataleya Perez Salinas, Kaitlyn Perez Salinas, and Santiago Sanchez.
P3. The Mayor and Councilmembers presented a proclamation to representatives of the Knights of Columbus and Downstown, Roger Roe, Kecia Stinnett, Javier Cruz, Amy Lorch, Brendan Ford, Larry Woodson, Donovan Booley, declaring October 17, 18, and 19, 2025 as “Knights of Columbus Tootsie Roll Drive Days” in the City of Vista.
ORAL COMMUNICATIONS
The following individuals addressed the City Council:
• Alejandro Sanchez spoke about the Community Safety and Due Process item that was on the September 23, 2025 City Council meeting agenda.
• Joe Houde asked for each agenda to be posted in both English and Spanish, and asked to change the order of items when a known lengthy discussion item is on the agenda. • Isiah White announced he is running for State Assembly District 76. • Barbara Gordon recognized October as Substance Use Prevention month. • Madison Rapp promoted Red Ribbon Week October 23-31, 2025. • Becky Rapp spoke about Assembly Bill 8 that was recently signed by Governor Newsom. • Peggy Walker spoke about the dangers of cannabis impaired driving. • Matthew Mahon spoke about health consequences of cheeseburgers.
CONSENT CALENDAR
MOTION BY FOX, SECOND BY FRANKLIN, TO APPROVE THE FOLLOWING CONSENT CALENDAR.
MOTION CARRIED: 5-0
CONSOLIDATED MINUTES
OCTOBER 14, 2025
3 C1. Received the August 2025 check register. (CC)
C2. Approved the following meeting minutes:
September 17, 2025 Special Meeting (CC)
September 23, 2025 Consolidated Meeting (CC/CDC/BSD/SA) October 2, 2025 Workshop Meeting (CC)
C3. Received and filed Treasurer’s Cash Report for the month ending July 31, 2025. (CC)
C4. Adopted City Council Resolution No. 2025-176, entitled “A Resolution of the City Council of the Chartered City of Vista, California, Approving a Contract with Mikhail Ogawa Engineering, Inc. for As-Needed Stormwater Program Technical Support Services”; and adopted City Council Resolution No. 2025-177, entitled “A Resolution of the City Council of the Chartered City of Vista, California, Approving a Contract with D-Max Engineering, Inc. for As-Needed Stormwater Program Technical Support Services.” (CC)
C5. This item was removed from the Consent Calendar for discussion. (CC)
C6. Received recommendations from the Senior Citizens Affairs Commission and Environmental Commission. (CC)
ITEMS REMOVED FROM THE CONSENT CALENDAR
C5. FIRST AMENDMENT TO SAN DIEGO RESCUE MISSION, INC. AGREEMENT FOR CITYWIDE
HOMELESS OUTREACH SERVICES (CC)
The following member of the public spoke on the item:
Jim Kelley
City Councilmembers and staff discussed the following:
• Mayor Franklin spoke on reporting requirements and stated his confidence in San Diego Rescue Mission to fulfil the terms of the contract.
MOTION BY FRANKLIN, SECOND BY FOX, TO ADOPT CITY COUNCIL CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 2025-178, ENTITLED “A RESOLUTION OF
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CHARTERED CITY OF VISTA, CALIFORNIA,
APPROVING A FIRST AMENDMENT TO THE AGREEMENT WITH SAN
DIEGO RESCUE MISSION, INC., TO PROVIDE CITYWIDE HOMELESS OUTREACH SERVICES.”
MOTION CARRIED: 5-0
PUBLIC HEARING
PH1. MAR VISTA SPECIFIC PLAN ADOPTION (P24-0354) (CC)
Joe Vacca, Director of Community Development, introduced the item and Patsy Chow, Assistant Director of Community Development, provided the staff report.
Assistant Director Chow noted that Hillcrest Drive was inadvertently left off the list of private roads on page 16 and requested that the City Council’s action include this correction.
The following members of the public spoke on the item:
Ted Cole Francis Dumler Jacob Aldridge
CONSOLIDATED MINUTES
OCTOBER 14, 2025
4 City Councilmembers thanked staff for their work on the project and expressed support of the Specific Plan that assures residents that the character of their neighborhood will stay the same.
MOTION BY O’DONNELL, SECOND BY FRANKLIN, TO CLOSE PUBLIC HEARING AND ADOPT CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 2025-179, ENTITLED “A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CHARTERED
CITY OF VISTA, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING A NEGATIVE DECLARATION FOR THE ADOPTION OF THE MAR VISTA SPECIFIC PLAN”; ADOPT CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 2025-180, ENTITLED “A RESOLUTION OF
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CHARTERED CITY OF VISTA, CALIFORNIA,
APPROVING A GENERAL PLAN AMENDMENT AMENDING GENERAL PLAN FIGURE LUCI-2 FOR THE MAR VISTA SPECIFIC PLAN AREA”; AND INTRODUCE AND ADOPT CITY COUNCIL ORDINANCE NO. 2025-09, ENTITLED “AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CHARTERED
CITY OF VISTA, CALIFORNIA, ADOPTING THE MAR VISTA SPECIFIC PLAN AND APPROVING A ZONE CHANGE FROM AGRICULTURAL (A-1) TO
SPECIFIC PLAN IMPLEMENTATION (SPI) FOR THE MAR VISTA SPECIFIC PLAN AREA” WITH STAFF CORRECTIONS.
MOTION CARRIED: 5-0
PH2. 2025 REGIONAL TRANSPORTATION PROGRAM AMENDMENT NO. 11 (CC) Mike Sylvia, Director of Finance, introduced the item and Sara Taylor, Finance Manager, provided the staff report.
MOTION BY FRANKLIN, SECOND BY FOX, TO ADOPT CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 2025-181, ENTITLED “A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CHARTERED CITY OF VISTA, CALIFORNIA, APPROVING
AN AMENDMENT TO THE TRANSNET LOCAL STREET IMPROVEMENT
PROGRAM OF PROJECTS FOR FISCAL YEARS 2025 THROUGH 2029”; AND ADOPT CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 2025-182, ENTITLED “A
RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CHARTERED CITY OF
VISTA, CALIFORNIA, AMENDING THE CAPITAL PROJECT BUDGET FOR FISCAL YEARS 2024/25 AND 2025/26.”
MOTION CARRIED: 4-0 (DEPUTY MAYOR ABSENT)
DISCUSSION
D1. PROPOSED RESOLUTION ENDORSING THE POLLUTERS PAY CLIMATE SUPERFUND ACT
AND CAMPAIGN (CC)
Councilmember Contreras introduced the item.
Sofia Carrasco gave a presentation from Youth v. Oil.
The following members of the public spoke in favor of the item:
Joe Houde Daryn Tarasewicz Aaron Arellano KC Gupta
Janis Jones Jacob Schneider Nanci Oechsle Ayad Hawa
City Councilmembers and staff discussed the following:
• All City Councilmembers commended the youth for their presentation and public comment. • Councilmember Contreras stated that the superfund could potentially be used to mitigate fire
CONSOLIDATED MINUTES
OCTOBER 14, 2025
5 hazards in fire zones or other climate related needs that don’t have a funding source. • Councilmember Fox stated his support for the item but ultimately believes that corrective action should originate from the State or Federal judicial level. • Mayor Franklin stated his opposition to the resolution due to potential increased costs of energy and gasoline, resulting in financial hardship for households.
MOTION BY CONTRERAS, SECOND BY O’DONNELL, TO ADOPT CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 2025-183, ENTITLED “A RESOLUTION OF
THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CHARTERED CITY OF VISTA, CALIFORNIA,
CALLING FOR AN ENDORSEMENT OF THE POLLUTERS PAY CLIMATE SUPERFUND ACT AND CAMPAIGN”; AND SUBMIT THE RESOLUTION TO THE STATE.
MOTION CARRIED: 4-1 (MAYOR FRANKLIN OPPOSED)
D2. PROPOSED RESOLUTION SUPPORTING ACTIONS TO FURTHER STRENGTHEN LOCAL
DEMOCRACY, AUTHORITY AND CONTROL AS RELATED TO LOCAL ZONING AND
HOUSING ISSUES (CC)
Mayor Franklin introduced the item.
The following members of the public spoke in favor of the item:
Ted Cole
City Councilmembers and staff discussed the following:
• City Councilmembers stated their support for the resolution to push back on State laws. • Current concerns with State regulations that take away local control of transit corridors, local zoning regulations, and housing requirements.
• Councilmember Contreras would like the resolution to be more specific.
MOTION BY O’DONNELL, SECOND BY FOX, TO ADOPT CITY COUNCIL RESOLUTION NO. 2025-184, ENTITLED “A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY
COUNCIL OF THE CHARTERED CITY OF VISTA, CALIFORNIA,
EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR ACTIONS TO FURTHER STRENGTHEN
LOCAL DEMOCRACY, AUTHORITY, AND CONTROL AS RELATED TO
LOCAL ZONING AND HOUSING ISSUES.”
MOTION CARRIED: 5-0
D3. SHORT-TERM RENTAL & TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX STATUS UPDATE (CC) Sara Taylor, Finance Manager, introduced the item and Lisa Hand, Management Analyst, provided staff’s report.
Nick Del Pego, Deckard Technologies, gave consultant’s presentation.
City Councilmembers and staff discussed the following:
• Fines administered to unlicensed operators that go unpaid are put on the property’s tax bill. If the unlicensed operator continues to operate the short-term rental, a civil litigation case may be filed.
• Short-term rental platforms, such as AirBnB and Vrbo, will not share listing data with cities due to privacy concerns.
• Consultant uses technology to determine long-term vs. short-term rental listing, minimum night stay, and listing that are within the City of Vista.
CONSOLIDATED MINUTES
OCTOBER 14, 2025
6 • Code Enforcement has recently filled two vacancies and adjusted staffing schedules to have two officers work nights and weekends.
• City Councilmembers are pleased with the program update and the additional revenues that it has brought to the City.
RECEIVED REPORT ON THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE SHORT-TERM
RENTAL REGULATIONS AND THE STATUS OF TRANSIENT OCCUPANCY TAX STATUS COLLECTION.
NO VOTE TAKEN.
D4. CITY LOGO REDESIGN AND BRANDING (CC)
Imelda Huerta, Assistant City Manager, introduced the item and Fred Tracey, Communications Officer, provided staff’s report.
Jaimie Muehlhausen, the graphic designer artist awarded the logo and rebranding contract, spoke to the City Council about his process and inspiration.
City Councilmembers and staff discussed the following:
• City Councilmembers thanked the artist, Jaimie Muehlhausen, for the work that he has done on the logo design.
• City Councilmembers discussed the color palate, design elements, and font of the proposed logo. They requested staff to continue working with Mr. Muehlhausen to come up with alternative designs to present to the City Council for consideration. • Mr. Muehlhausen explained that the logo redesign and branding will include a comprehensive branding package with different logo options for various platforms such as banners, business cards, badges and sub-logos for departments and divisions. • City Councilmembers discussed promoting the logo redesign as a City-wide competition. • Mr. Muehlhausen explained the imagery and symbols incorporated with the logo • Average cost for a logo redesign for a municipality is $80,000 to $100,000. • Mr. Muehlhausen will submit a logo package to the City Council and staff with multiple logo options.
DISCUSSED THE PROPOSED REDESIGN OF THE CITY LOGO AND
OVERALL BRANDING STRATEGY.
NO VOTE TAKEN.
REMARKS
Councilmember Jeff Fox reported from the recent CalCities conference.
Councilmember Dan O’Donnell announced a town hall meeting regarding community safety and due process on November 9 from 12:00 – 2:00 in the Morris B. Vance Community Room; and congratulated the Rancho Buena Vista marching band and color guard on their tournament win.
Councilmember Corinna Contreras announced that the NCTD+ program is very successful; reminded everyone that trash pickup is every Wednesday morning at Luz Duran Park; and there will be a community meeting regarding traffic safety measures at The Circle and E. Orange on October 21 at 6:00 pm.
CONSOLIDATED MINUTES
OCTOBER 14, 2025
7 Deputy Mayor Katie Melendez encouraged residents to attend the Festival of the Arts on October 18 from 10:00 to 4:00 pm on Main Street; and encouraged all seniors to visit the Senior Center and all of their events.
Mayor John Franklin paid tribute to Charlie Kirk.
ADJOURNMENT
Mayor Franklin adjourned the meeting at 9:25 p.m.
____________________________________
Kathy Valdez, City Clerk