Logo courtesy of City of Citrus Heights

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) – During public comments at the Jan. 28 meeting of the Citrus Heights City Council, resident Bethany Brown urged the council to “pass or reaffirm legislation that would ensure community safety and uphold the fundamental rights that are guaranteed by the United States Constitution.” 

Brown said every resident should feel safe in their community, and the actions of immigration enforcement agents across the country are “undermining that safety.” Any enforcement actions “must be conducted with the utmost respect for both human dignity and rule of law,” said Brown. Further, she asked the council to protect the rights of residents to peacefully protest, observe and record enforcement actions, and to require agents to clearly identify themselves. 

The council considered a potential Property Re-occupancy Program Ordinance, which would require the registration of any vacant commercial properties within the city to ensure they are secured and maintained. In addition, council considered establishing fees to support the administration of the program. 

Economic Development and Community Engagement Director Meghan Huber said the program aims to keep properties ready for re-occupancy and productive use by reducing property decline and blight. It would ensure accountability for property owners while also offering city support and resources to improve the properties.

The proposed fees are structured to offset the staff time and resources to operate and enforce the program. For commercial lots under an acre, there would be an annual registration fee of $1,092 and an annual monitoring fee of $1,128 for a total of $2,220. Larger lots would have a total annual fee of $6,660. 

Owners would have 60 days to register vacant properties. Those who proactively register before the 60-day deadline and comply with minimum aesthetic, safety and security standards would be eligible for fee waivers. Since the goal is compliance, the city does not expect to fully recover program costs. 

The city mailed more than 450 surveys to commercial property owners within the city and received just three responses, one in support of the program and two against. 

Councilmember Tim Schaefer said this is a step in the right direction, “but it’s not going to be a small amount of work.”  

The council voted unanimously to approve the program. 

The council then considered whether to support a Homeless and Housing Partnership Model with Sacramento County, and considered their position on Senate Bill 802, which would implement significant changes to the governance of housing and homelessness.

In Sacramento County, the Continuum of Care (CoC) Board oversees the award and monitoring of federal homeless funding at the local level, currently led by the nonprofit, Sacramento Steps Forward (SSF). Last year, the county proposed a new body, the Sacramento Homeless and Housing Board (SHHB), which would be comprised of community members and elected officials. However, the cities, including Citrus Heights, were concerned that this arrangement would threaten local control over land use and specific funding allocations and could impact tailored local responses to unique conditions within the cities. 

In response, the county updated their recommendation, with a new plan to reconstitute the Continuum of Care with a majority of elected officials, while still including some seats for community members. 

SB 802 was introduced last year by Senator Angelique Ashby, and if approved it would implement significant changes to the governance of housing and homelessness, by creating the Sacramento Area Housing and Homelessness Agency (SAHHA), with a board comprised of 11 elected officials: three members from the City of Sacramento, three from the County of Sacramento, two from the City of Elk Grove and one each from the cities of Citrus Heights, Folsom and Rancho Cordova.  

The bill would also centralize funding and programs across Sacramento County and the participating cities, with the goal of coordinating affordable housing development and homelessness services more effectively. But local cities objected to the plan to redistribute local affordable housing funds for oversight by the newly created board. 

Citrus Heights, along with the other smaller cities, submitted letters of opposition to the bill. Negotiations with Senator Ashby resulted in an updated version that maintains local control of housing related funding allocations. Now, Ashby is requesting that the cities remove their opposition, moving to either a supporting or neutral position, or she will remove those updates from the bill. 

Councilmember Schaefer said he still had concerns about SB 802, which he called a “gross overreach into local control.” While the current draft promises not to take local funding, he worried it was an “empty promise.” Schaefer said, “I think we spend our money well” by supporting infrastructure and local nonprofits, and he said this bill could hurt those efforts in the long run. 

Councilmember Kelsey Nelson said they were in an unfortunate position that could be creating “a duplicative effort.” She suggested “begrudgingly” taking a neutral position on SB 802. 

Vice Mayor Porsche Middleton said they need to move to a neutral position on SB 802 in order to protect the city’s funding, but she said as one of the smaller cities, they could easily be outvoted, which would “erode local control.” 

Councilmember Jayna Karpinski-Costa said Ashby is passionate about the homeless issue and was responsive to making concessions after hearing the cities’ concerns. She warned that if Citrus Heights opposes the bill and it ends up passing, they will lose that funding: “She’ll take all that funding, and she’ll just put it in a pot. So that’s the threat she’s given us – which I don’t like to be threatened – but on the other hand, clout is clout. We don’t have the clout she has.”

Karpinski-Costa added that she didn’t like the county model because it still included members who are not elected officials. But she acknowledged the need for improved regional cooperation. 

Mayor MariJane Lopez-Taff said the homeless issue is complicated, and Senator Ashby has good intentions in trying to compel significant actions. She said she doesn’t like the threat, but it is “pushing everyone out of stagnation.” Despite years of effort, there are still many people living on the streets, and she said these efforts could bring about changes. 

The council voted 4-1 to remain neutral on the county’s proposal, with Schaefer dissenting. They voted unanimously to move toward neutral on SB 802 by negotiating terms that favor preservation of city funds, voting equality, funded mandates, geographic equity to ensure homeless residents can stay within their communities, and language to ensure local funding is protected in perpetuity.

The next meeting of the Citrus Heights City Council is scheduled for Feb. 11.