The Citrus Heights City Council honors local firefighters for Firefighter Appreciation Month. Photo courtesy of the City of Citrus Heights

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) – Citrus Heights Councilmember Porsche Middleton read a proclamation recognizing October as Firefighter Appreciation Month during the Sept. 24 Citrus Heights City Council meeting. 

“Firefighters play a vital role in the city by protecting the health and wellbeing of our community members, preventing and preparing for emergencies, and educating the public about fire safety,” Middleton read.

California firefighters respond to nearly three million incidents each year, providing fire protection, as well as emergency medical care, disaster response and rescues. Middleton said that Oct. 4 is observed as California Firefighters Memorial Day to “honor the brave firefighters who have lost their lives in the line of duty.” 

Sacramento Metro Fire Battalion 13 Chief Michael Slone said he appreciated the opportunity to accept this proclamation: “The badge we wear signifies much more than fire suppression. It symbolizes the commitment we have to our community, to serve and treat our public with the dignity and respect they deserve and be there for their most vulnerable points in time.”

Slone said that the proclamation calls them to “remember those who gave the ultimate sacrifice.”

 A memorial event will be held in Sacramento to honor California firefighters who lost their lives in the last year, two of which are from their department: Anthony Benelisha and Randy Gross.  

Next, the council considered a proposed amendment to the Parking Violation Fine Schedule to include a fine for parking too close to a crosswalk, referred to as daylighting. 

Lt. William Dunning with the Citrus Heights Police Department (CHPD) said the update would bring city code into alignment with the recent Assembly Bil1 413, which prohibits stopping or parking within 20 feet of a marked or unmarked crosswalk and within 15 feet of a crosswalk curb extension. 

The purpose is to enhance visibility at crosswalks, reduce preventable traffic collisions and improve overall safety for pedestrians, cyclists and drivers. Dunning said that the Citrus Heights Police Department would focus its enforcement on locations in residential neighborhoods and in school zones.

The proposed fee for violations is $62.50, which Dunning said is in line with the city’s other parking violation fees.

Citrus Heights Police Department plans to educate the public about the change through social media outreach, as well as presentations at local schools and community meetings. The department will also allow a 30-day grace period after adoption, and during that time, they will issue warnings prior to official enforcement action. 

To address confusion regarding what is considered a crosswalk, Dunning said a crosswalk is any limit line where a road intersects with another. 

Mayor Jayna Karpinski-Costa suggested that that this change would make it illegal for residents on corner lots to park on the street in front of their home and wondered if a tiered system could be put in place.

Vice Mayor MariJane Lopez-Taff said it is important to allow for visibility so drivers can make safe decisions about when to enter the flow of traffic. However, she does have some reservations regarding the new law.

“I’m a little torn, because this would affect lots of intersections in residential areas,” said Lopez-Taff, worrying that the fines will be “overly punitive.”

According to Karpinski-Costa, most cities are not enforcing this yet, so she suggested the city reassess how to best handle it before passing an amendment. 

Councilmember Middleton suggested that focus should be on enforcement within school zones to improve the safety of children walking or biking to schools. 

Councilmember Kelsey Nelson said it would be too difficult to define various sections of the city for a tiered system. She suggested leaving the amendment as written and allowing residents to appeal the violations if they feel the enforcement was not fair in their case.

 Middleton seconded the motion but it failed 2-3, with Councilman Tim Schaefer, Lopez-Taff and Karpinski-Costa dissenting. 

The council consensus was for staff to rework the proposal with a focus on school zones, parks and commercial areas with high pedestrian activity. The item will come back to the council for reconsideration at a future meeting. 

Also during the meeting, Economic Development and Community Engagement Director Meghan Huber updated the council about a draft ordinance addressing commercial vacancies in the city. 

Huber explained that code enforcement officers can respond to existing violations but under the current code cannot impose any preventive maintenance standards. But with long-term vacancies, the buildings fall into disrepair and vandalism, homeless encampments, blight and fire risks are frequent concerns. 

The proposed commercial vacancy ordinance would include registration of vacant commercial properties as well as fees to ensure properties meet basic standards for security and upkeep. Huber said maintaining these standards keeps the properties marketable so they can be more easily filled by new businesses.

The draft ordinance also supports partnerships with the property owners by providing them with grants and resources to help fill the vacancies. 

The city held a community workshop in August for the business community and feedback on the ordinance included requests for exemptions for owners with only a few vacancies, an extension to the proposed 30-day timeframe for registering a vacancy and tiered enforcement offering leniency to owners making a good-faith effort. 

The city surveyed residents about the ordinance through a FlashVote and received 422 responses, which Huber said is a statistically valid sample size for the city’s population. Most respondents agreed that long-term commercial vacancies are a problem that detracts from the city’s overall image or livability, with 79 percent either strongly or somewhat supporting an ordinance enforcing fees for owners who don’t meet basic maintenance and security standards. 

Vice Mayor Lopez-Taff suggested the city conduct a similar survey of property owners to compare the results.

“It would be grossly unfair for people who don’t own commercial properties to comment on commercial properties and fines and fees when they don’t truly understand what that means from a commercial owner point of view,” Lopez-Taff said.

Councilmember Schaefer said, “The challenge is that people who would be most affected by this are not responsive.”

According to Shaefer, some property owners don’t live in the area and are difficult to contact.

“If these property owners aren’t responsive and they’re the violators here, it doesn’t bring a ton of value to talk to the people who are responsive,” Shaefer said.

But, Shaefer said, he would still support a survey of the owners. 

Lopez-Taff said she would view a lack of response as a response.

Huber said that staff have already conducted outreach to the property owners but “the response rate is dismal.” Huber committed to making another attempt to receive feedback but she wanted to “manage some expectations around statistically valid data and response volumes.” 

The next steps in the process are continued outreach, including another public workshop this fall or winter. After further updates to include public and owner feedback, the ordinance will eventually come to the council for official consideration. 

“It’s a work in progress,” Karpinski-Costa said.

The current draft of the ordinance can be viewed online at CitrusHeights.net/CPR. 

City Manager Ashley Feeney announced that long-time Citrus Heights Police Department volunteer Charlotte Corothers passed away on Sept. 20.

“I really appreciated everything that she did for our police department and our community,” said Feeney. “She was a great community champion and she’s being missed by many right now.” 

Mayor Karpinski-Costa adjourned the meeting in Corothers’ memory, stating that she was a “cornerstone of our community. …her impact will be felt for generations as she leaves behind a legacy of service, friendship and dedication that embodies the very best of Citrus Heights.”

The Oct. 8 City Council meeting is canceled due to the members’ attendance at the League of California Cities Conference. The next meeting is scheduled for Oct. 22.