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Corona mayor pulls back amortization from early talks, calls for immediate stakeholder engagement on 6th Street revitalization
Summary
After business and resident pushback, the mayor asked the council to start stakeholder engagement now and remove amortization from early discussions of downtown revitalization. Council members and business owners disagreed over timing and Brown Act procedure; staff was directed to return the item to a future agenda for clear direction.
Mayor opened a bid to "reset the process" for downtown revitalization of 6th Street, asking staff to begin immediate stakeholder engagement and to exclude amortization from early conversations because the topic creates uncertainty for business owners. "So tonight, I'm asking us to reset the process. I would like this item to be brought back at a future council meeting sooner rather than later ideally. ... direct staff to immediately begin stakeholder engagement process with 6 Street businesses, the chamber," the Mayor said.
Public commenters and several small-business advocates told the council they felt blindsided by conversations about amortization and criticized a lack of outreach. Joe Morgan, a longtime resident, said there had been “no outreach” and described prior city actions as creating uncertainty for downtown businesses. Business owners later said they had begun convening conversations with economic-development staff and property owners.
Council members debated procedure: one councilor raised Brown Act concerns about whether prior off-agenda discussions occurred; another council member said asking for clarification and convening stakeholders did not violate the Brown Act. Legal and city-manager guidance cited in the meeting said the matter needs a future agenda item to give formal direction to staff; the mayor and staff agreed to bring the item back with clarified guidance for stakeholder convening.
Next step: the council directed staff to place a clarified agenda item on a future meeting to begin stakeholder engagement without amortization on the table unless the community raises it.
