Citrus Heights council members will meet Thursday night for a closed session threat training followed by a regular meeting at 7 p.m. to consider agenda items related to affordable housing, sports betting and changing the regular council meeting start times.
The June 9 meeting will be held at City Hall, located at 6360 Fountain Square Drive. A summary of the agenda packet is included below:
Threat training. The council will meet at 6 p.m. for a closed-door meeting described as “routine training conducted annually with the City Council in the event a threatening situation occurs at a Council Meeting.” No further information is included in the agenda packet, other than a statement that the meeting will include the city attorney and representatives from the Police Department.
Remote meetings. The meeting will begin with slated approval of a resolution to allow the council to continue to conduct remote meetings, which are authorized during the pandemic. For more, see story: Citrus Heights council continues with remote meeting option during pandemic
Election. The council will consider formally requesting that the county consolidate the upcoming Nov. 8 General Election with the City Council’s municipal election, to allow for significant cost savings. Three council seats, for Districts 2, 4, and 5, will be up for election this year. The filing period for candidates will be July 18 through Aug. 12, 2022.
Affordable housing. The council will consider approving the inclusion of Citrus Heights in a proposed November ballot measure that seeks to authorize development and acquisition of low-income housing in the amount of up to 1% of the total existing housing units in the city per year. The city currently has about 35,000 housing units, meaning the measure would authorize up to 352 units of new low-income housing per year.
Public hearing. A public hearing will be held prior to the council’s consideration to update its General Plan to include language relating to a regional multi-jurisdiction plan for mitigating hazards. The plan is required to be updated every five years in order to remain eligible for federal funding, and specific wording is required to be included in the General Plan.
Time change. The council will consider adopting a proposed change to start council meetings at an earlier time. Council members will consider shifting meetings from a standard 7 p.m. start time, to 6 p.m. or 6:30 p.m., according to a staff report. The report lists the reason for the change being to encourage public participation, by hosting the meeting at an earlier time.
Sports betting. The council will consider a recommendation from the city manager’s office to formally oppose a November ballot initiative, known as the “California Legalize Sports Betting on American Lands” initiative. Reasons for the recommendation include a potential negative impact to cardrooms like Stones Gambling Hall, which would result in “lower revenues to the city.”
Public comments for the council meeting can be submitted to cityclerk@citrusheights.net, with up to 250 words, or emailed directly to the city council as a whole at citycouncil@citrusheights.net. Comments sent to the clerk will be read aloud during the meeting.
The council’s June 9 meeting agenda packet can be viewed in full online, with links for the Zoom meeting included in the packet. (click here)
