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Residents press National City council for probe after disputed gas-station review
Summary
Councilmember Jose Rodriguez asked the council to put a Policy 105 item on the agenda seeking an ad hoc review of the Sweetwater Road gas-station project after planning commissioners denied the application; supporters said records and process gaps justify review while defenders of the mayor called the request politically motivated. (Transcript-based)
Councilmember Jose Rodriguez on Tuesday asked the National City City Council to place a Policy 105 request on a future agenda to form an ad hoc committee to "investigate the facts and circumstances" surrounding the Sweetwater Road gas station project, a controversial proposal that planning commissioners denied in December.
Rodriguez said community members perceived "strong influence" by the mayor’s office and the mayor’s assistant during the project’s review, and that an ad hoc panel could examine whether the planning process and public-records handling were appropriate. "This ad hoc oversight committee would be working to investigate the accusations," Rodriguez said during his statement to the council.
The item prompted extensive public comment from residents, engineers and advocates on both sides. Several speakers urged an investigation and greater transparency, citing emails and allegedly incomplete public-records responses; traffic engineer Frank Rivera and others asked for answers about predicted traffic impacts, CEQA treatment and whether staff recommendations had changed during review. "There was a planning commission denial and then, in a very short time, the item appeared on council agendas," one neighbor said, calling for clarity on next steps.
Other speakers defended Mayor Ron Morrison and his staff. Jennifer Zunica, who said she had personal experience with the mayor’s offices, described Morrison and his executive assistant as "servant leaders" and urged council to resist what she called "hidden-agenda" tactics. Mayor Morrison told the council he had seen "no ounce of evidence" of wrongdoing and noted that planning commission decisions are transmitted to council for notice as required by state law.
City attorney and staff repeatedly advised that the council’s authority to directly investigate personnel issues is limited; the city’s HR director said personnel investigations are the purview of the city manager and that council-led action probing staff could raise legal and procedural questions. Councilmembers split over the appropriate next step: some called for a public council-led probe, while others urged a narrower, staff-led review or a closed-session discussion to avoid exposing personnel to public accusations.
No motion to form the ad hoc investigative committee passed at the meeting; the initial Policy 105 request failed for lack of a second. Council did approve, later in the meeting, a separate item to agendize a revision of Policy 105 at a future date so the council can consider changes to that process.
What happens next: Councilmembers and staff said they would continue to pursue public-records and process clarifications. The city attorney reported that a Public Records Act (PRA) lawsuit had been filed before staff completed a 60-day production window; staff said documents had been produced and that mediation was underway. Several council members asked staff to return with options for a closed-session review of any personnel or legal issues, and some urged creating an independent review mechanism rather than a council-led investigatory panel.
The discussion was notable for the volume of public input — dozens of residents spoke for and against the request — and for council members’ divergence about tools for oversight, legal risk and the proper forum for reviewing complaints about staff or elected-official conduct.
