Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Site Plan Process topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Residents and council members press city to fix site-plan process after 'Nevada Flats' work proceeded without approvals
Summary
A resident and council members said a recent project built before a finalized site plan left neighbors and planning officials in a difficult position; city staff said code requires site plans first but will investigate why the process failed and report back.
Christine Heights, a member of the planning and zoning committee and a resident of 1325 6th Street, told the Nevada City Council during public forum that the city approved a site plan after construction on the Nevada Flats project was already complete.
"It was not right for the neighbors," Christine Heights said, urging the council to adopt policies and procedures so that "that does not happen again." She said the sequence left planning and building officials and neighbors in an "awkward position" and asked the council to prevent future occurrences.
The complaint reappeared during consideration of a separate planning-and-zoning site-plan recommendation for 636 36th Street. A council member criticized the process as "screwed up," asking who had authorized the project to proceed without following the usual order of approvals. City staff (Jordan) acknowledged the concern and said the municipal code requires site plans to come first but that the specific chain of decisions would require follow-up.
"After speaking with our attorney, Erin, she said we legally cannot require them to take out the parking," Jordan told the council, referring to right-of-way parking that had been left in place. Jordan said the city can pursue turning the area into green space but that would require a separate discussion and costs; staff agreed to check records, confirm who authorized the sequence, and provide a written explanation to the complaining council member and residents within about a week.
Council moved and approved the site plan recommendation for 636 36th Street (motion moved by Jason Sampson, second by Luke Spence). The motion carried and staff committed to a formal follow-up on the procedural questions and any code or enforcement gaps that allowed construction to proceed before full site-plan approval.
The council did not take additional immediate action beyond approving the site plan and promising a staff report. At the meeting end, staff said they would report back with the attorney's guidance and the factual record on sequence and authority.
