Only two items on the regular agenda, but one on the consent calendar (#7) is also worth looking at:

Item 15 concerns Short Term Rentals (STR). Currently, the Planning Commission makes all decisions concerning these rentals and any problems they cause. Unlike zoning decisions, any decision made by the Planning Commission is final and not appealable. City Council directed staff to modify the Fullerton Municipal Code (FMC) to include an appeal process. Staff did, the Commission endorsed this proposal, and now it is before the City Council. I do not know the background of this, but due process is not a bad thing.

Item 17 addresses revisions to the Mills Act Program guidelines applied locally. The Mills Act is a voluntary historic preservation program that encourages owners of some historic properties to rehabilitate, preserve, and maintain their properties in exchange for property tax savings. The Mills Act is a State law enacted in 1972 but has been in effect in Fullerton since April 2020. Applications are capped at 10 per year. So far, only two have been approved. Fullerton Heritage and others find the application guidelines too burdensome and have suggested revisions come before the Council.

On the consent calendar, item #7 proposes an “Early Morning Parking Pilot Program.” Since this potentially affects wide swaths of the city and proposes 16 changes to the existing policy, it is unclear why it is on the Consent Calendar. It is anticipated that someone will pull it. 

The city has restricted overnight parking in one form or another since 1924, and restrictions were approved by an advisory ballot vote in 1974 by 68% of voters. Since 2017, starting with an advisory committee, possible revisions have been bouncing around between the Traffic and Circulation Commission (T&CC), Council, and staff. In April, the Council asked staff to develop changes resulting in “a more streamlined, resident-friendly program that would reduce neighborhood conflicts.” Some residents like the current restrictions (note earlier 68% vote), some want fewer, and some may want more (e.g., restricting RVs). 

What is proposed is a two-year “pilot program” that seems to include the entire city rather than a neighborhood or two. The current proposal contains 16 changes, many of which would expand current exemptions and exceptions—too many to explain. They can be found here: https://fullerton.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx. Look under the links in Item #7. They contain the proposed changes as well as the history of the policy and process.