By Sara Beth Williams–
The Citrus Heights City Council this week is scheduled for a second time, to hear a discussion and recommendations surrounding local recycling center ordinances.
The upcoming discussion is a continuation of a discussion that was originally slated to be held back in September 2024. The item was pulled from the agenda, and postponed to be heard at a future date at the beginning of a Sept. 25 meeting.
According to a staff report released last Friday, while the city has made “significant efforts” in addressing blight around the city through the Beautification Crew and Shopping Cart Ordinance, “challenges persist” around small recycling centers.
“Despite operators’ efforts to maintain their spaces, observations show that areas surrounding these centers often experience littering, abandoned shopping carts, increased service calls, and other blight-related activities,” the city said.
Currently, Citrus Heights has four recycling centers: one on Zenith Drive, two on Greenback Lane, and one on Auburn Boulevard near Greenback Lane.
The ban on new recycling centers was previously proposed during an Aug. 13, 2024, Planning Commission meeting, which also included the proposal of several other ordinance amendments and updates.
A local recycling center owner who spoke during the public hearing portion of the Planning Commission meeting in August expressed concern that a future ban on new recycling centers would not allow for the addition of new, high-tech recycling centers to be established locally.
In a third round of voting, after significant confusion among the Commissioners, Chair Natalee Price and Commissioners Marchelle Flowers, Kelsey Nelson, and Andrew Van Duker voted in favor of passing the motion originally made by Flowers, which approved all other proposed amendments to the Zoning Code but excluded a proposed ban on new recycling centers.
Those wishing to make a public comment during the meeting can do so by attending the council meeting on Wednesday, Feb. 26, at City Hall at 6 p.m. or by submitting a written comment beforehand using the city’s website. The deadline to submit comments online is 4 p.m. on the day of the meeting. See the full agenda packet online.
City Hall is located at 6360 Fountain Square Drive.
