Pico Rivera council approves zoning updates, purchasing code changes and housing plans; greenlights Purple Heart monument

The Pico Rivera City Council approved a slate of ordinances and agency items at its meeting, including two zoning code amendments, adoption of housing-agency plans, an amendment to municipal purchasing rules and installation of a Purple Heart monument at the Viet Veterans Memorial Plaza.

Council members voted unanimously on each recorded item. The actions included: adoption of Zone Code Amendment No. 197 (amenity chapter); adoption of Zone Code Amendment No. 199; approval of the Housing Assistance Agency five-year public housing agency plan; approval of updates to the Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) administrative plan; adoption of an ordinance amending Chapter 3.2 of the Pico Rivera Municipal Code (purchasing); and approval to install a Purple Heart monument at the Viet Veterans Memorial Plaza. The council also approved the consent calendar (items 5–11) without discussion.

Why this matters: the zoning amendments and purchasing-code changes update local rules that shape where and how developments and city purchases proceed. Housing-plan approvals guide how the city’s housing-assistance programs operate. The Purple Heart monument will alter the layout at an established veterans memorial and is scheduled for installation after procurement of the monument.

Most important votes and details

• Zone Code Amendment No. 197 (amenity chapter): Moved by Council Member Laura; seconded by Council Member Lutz. Roll call recorded five affirmative votes; the motion passed. (Transcript: council introduced the item, moved/seconded and the clerk announced “Motion passes 5 0.”)

• Zone Code Amendment No. 199: Moved by Council Member Laura; seconded by Council Member Lutz. Roll call recorded five affirmative votes; the motion passed. (Transcript: hearing closed, motion moved/seconded, clerk announced “Motion passes 5 0.”)

• Housing Assistance Agency — Five-Year Public Housing Agency Plan: Moved by Commissioner Laura; seconded by Commissioner Lutz. The hearing was closed with no written communications reported; roll call recorded affirmative votes and the motion passed. (Transcript indicates the hearing was closed and the motion passed.)

• Housing Choice Voucher (Section 8) Administrative Plan (Housing Agency item): Moved by Commissioner Laura; seconded by Commissioner Lutz. The hearing was closed with no written communications reported; the motion passed (tally not specified on the record used here).

• Ordinance amending Chapter 3.2 (municipal purchasing): Presented by staff as an amendment to purchasing and surplus property treatment, including change-order limits and a definition for subscriptions. Moved by Council Member Lahr; seconded by Dr. Sanchez. Roll call recorded five affirmative votes; the motion passed 5–0.

• Purple Heart Monument (installation at Viet Veterans Memorial Plaza): Staff presented design and location vetted by the Veterans Commission; Pam Ugart described the monument dimensions and placement. Council Member Laura moved approval; seconded by Mayor Pro Tem Camacho. The council voted 5–0 to approve the installation. Staff said granite procurement will take about 6–9 months after ordering, with installation targeted for Memorial Day 2026 if approved.

Consent calendar

• Items 5–11 (consent calendar) were approved on a single motion; the clerk announced the motion passed 5–0.

What the council did not do

• The agenda’s closed-session item referring to labor negotiations for “Ali Ricks” was removed before recessing to closed session; the council recessed to closed session on the remaining items.

Recording of motions and votes

All motions and roll-call results recorded in the official transcript were included above. Where the transcript explicitly recorded a numeric tally, that tally is reported. Where the transcript excerpt available to this report did not include a clear numeric tally for an item, the report states that the tally was not specified in the excerpt.