September 27 City Council Recap
Estia Project Approved; City Investment Management
Estia at Rocklin Entitlements Approved
The Rocklin City Council approved development entitlements for the Estia at Rocklin residential project at their regularly scheduled meeting on Sept. 27. The approvals included general plan amendments, an ordinance for general development plan amendments and a rezone, environmental review, a tentative parcel map, and design review.
The residential project includes 181 single story apartment homes, with 19 set aside for renters in the “low income” category, on approximately 20-acres of land at University Ave. and Sunset Blvd. which had been planned for commercial development.
A proposal for a 30-acre residential project was originally contemplated by the project applicant. Staff requested and the applicant agreed to limit the proposed land use change for a 20-acre portion of the site and retain 10 acres with existing commercial zoning.
It was also requested that the applicant bring forward a high-level, unique and special commercial project to be approved and built concurrently with the residential project on the remaining commercially zoned property. The commercial project application was submitted to the City in March of 2022 but deemed incomplete. A second submittal for the commercial project was received in June 2022, is under review by staff and will need to go through a separate public review and entitlement process.
The environmental analysis approved Sept. 27 anticipated development of the entire 30-acre site and provided measures for impacts anticipated by both projects.
A second reading of the ordinance approving general development plan amendments and rezone entitlements is required before they are final, and will be held at an upcoming City Council meeting.
Learn more about the Estia project here.
City Investment Management Contract Awarded
Chandler Asset Management, Inc., was chosen to provide investment management and advisory services to the City of Rocklin at the Sept. 27 City Council meeting.
Staff believes working with the contractor will strengthen the City’s investment portfolio and increase earnings while adhering to the City investment policy of sound investment return with maximum security.
The City’s Investment Policy has three objectives:
- Protect principal
- Provide for liquidity needs
- Obtain the most reasonable rate of return possible within the first two objectives.
The contract for services will be for three years, with two optional one-year extensions in an amount not to exceed $388,000 over a five-year period. Staff believes that increased earnings through more active management of the City’s investments will be more than sufficient to offset the proposed investment management service fees.
Find more information on the agreement here.
City Service Fee Updates Planned
The City of Rocklin took the first formal step in the annual process to update fees charged for City services at the Sept. 27 City Council meeting.
An ordinance was introduced that establishes the services that the City provides for a fee to those personally benefitting. The list of 394 fees includes 16 new fees and the removal of five others.
The proposed amounts to charge for each fee were also presented for review but no action to City Council, and will be brought back with their requested modification for approval by resolution on October 25, 2022.
State law requires fees charged by a local agency may not exceed the estimated cost of providing the service. The city annually conducts a detailed fee study to determine the cost to provide each service based on the time spent by all City staff involved in providing the service. A “fully burdened hourly rate” is applied to every City position and the estimated time spent on each task by all staff, plus indirect overhead, determines each fee.