Sunset City Council adopts IADU ordinance, approves car‑lot permit; overtime policy tabled

Sunset City Council on Nov. 19 approved ordinance 2024‑06 to add Chapter 12 (internal accessory dwelling units) to Title 10 (zoning regulations) and voted to grant a conditional use permit for Wise Auto Sales at 1689 North Main Street; council also tabled a personnel-policy amendment on overtime for further review.

The ordinance: Councilmember Wrigley moved to approve ordinance 2024‑06; Councilmember Carlson seconded. In the roll-call vote Councilmember Bartling voted yes, Wrigley yes, Smalling yes, Carlson yes and Thompson voted no, with Thompson saying he was unsure whether suggested wording changes had been made. The ordinance was approved 4–1.

Wise Auto Sales conditional use permit: The council considered a conditional use permit for a used-car dealership with 14 sales spaces, a minimum of three customer spaces and seven auxiliary spaces, and only "minimal maintenance" permitted on site. Owner Mr. Wise told the council maintenance would be limited and most repairs would be handled off-site. Councilmember Smalling moved to approve; Councilmember Thompson seconded. The motion carried with all in favor (no roll call recorded).

Resolution 2024‑28 (overtime policy): The mayor presented a resolution amending personnel policy section 7 to limit department heads' compensatory-time carryover to 40 hours and require quarterly use of any additional accrued time. Council members raised enforcement and operational concerns for understaffed departments. The mayor moved to table the resolution for further work; the motion to table carried and the item will return for future discussion.

Ending: Council asked staff to prepare follow-up materials on policy enforcement options, financial implications and any legal constraints so the items can be revisited in a future meeting.