Council adopts Planning Commission work plan; adds night-sky ordinance to priorities

The council voted unanimously to adopt the Planning Commission’s 2026 annual work plan after a presentation by the community development director. The plan carries forward prior-year priorities — including the general-plan update and housing-element implementation — and adds a new item to develop a night-sky ordinance to address outdated lighting regulations.

Community Development Director said the work plan is organized on a calendar-year basis and noted staff will identify funding needs during the budget cycle for items that require additional resources. "One of the things that we discussed is there is a lot of lighting that's not covered in our code," the director said, describing how new lighting types and measures (such as temperature and allowable light reflectance) will be evaluated and implemented for new permits rather than retroactively applied to all existing fixtures.

Council members asked about prioritization, staffing capacity, and how calendar-year goals align with the fiscal-year budget. The director said the general-plan update and related code updates are top priorities and that some items may require midyear budget requests. The motion to approve the work plan carried unanimously by roll call.