What Now?: July

Community Comments

Wanted: Thick Skins; Contrary to Popular Belief; and You Can Teach a Liberal New Tricks

By Melinda Eppler

Sacramento County’s Municipal Services Agency recently hired a director for its Department of Neighborhood Services. Victor Morrison-Vega brought his experience in community development and design to Sacramento from Phoenix. Morrison-Vega’s charge is to effectively manage multiple neighborhood service areas within the County of Sacramento, and more importantly, to maintain oversight of a new two-year pilot project involving the development of four localized community councils.
    Community Council members will be selected this summer by the Sacramento County Board of Supervisors, and come October, will take on a host of responsibilities previously delegated to various county departments. For example, council members will make use-permit decisions related to accessory dwellings (granny flats/guest houses) fast-food drive-through windows and the addition of private schools. It is likely that decisions regarding zoning, parking and stop sign changes will fall under the councils’ purview as well.
    Residents of Arden Arcade, Carmichael, Fair Oaks and Rio Linda/Elverta have been solicited to apply for council seats. Councils in Arden Arcade and Carmichael will have nine seats each, Fair Oaks will have seven seats and Rio Linda/Elverta will have five.
    The selection process will be balanced as follows: Carmichael and Fair Oaks will be divided into districts, with members appointed from specific areas. Members in Arden Arcade and Rio Linda/Elverta will be appointed at large.
    These new local government leaders will be well served if they are “thick-skinned, judicial and even-tempered,” says Sacramento County Supervisor Susan Peters commenting at a community meeting in Carmichael. 
    Council members must be a resident of the community in which they serve, and submission of a financial disclosure statement is required. Members will serve a maximum of three two-year terms. At the end of each two-year term, incumbents must apply, and be appointed again.
Continued...

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