Residents urge restraint on forced rezoning and press town on utility-billing practices

Public comment covered two recurring themes: opposition to 'forced rezoning' or reduced lot-usage rights, and concerns about utility billing and add-on services. Multiple residents told council that converting existing zoning to a 20-acre baseline would significantly reduce their ability to use or subdivide land; one resident said the change amounted to "a taking of the use of my property" and warned of large valuation impacts. The mayor and staff responded that the rezoning applies to undeveloped parcels over 20 acres and that existing uses would remain until owners seek a change.

On utilities, Vijay Jitkara raised questions about an automatic opt-in to an ambulance/coverage service (described in utility mailings) and why some enrolled residents still received paper bills; he said the billing increases have raised residential summer bills by more than 200% compared with earlier years and urged staff to explore regional options for wastewater treatment to reduce costs. Staff apologized for initial opt-out issues related to the enrollment process and said billing would not be applied until at least the 15th of the month while they resolved problems. "We did have some initial issues with people unrolling from Masa. I believe everything has been cleared up on that, so I apologize for that," the mayor said. Council agreed to take comments under advisement and directed staff to follow up on billing questions and outreach.