By Zara Flores
Following months of having to submit comments for city council meetings over email, the public will soon be allowed to make in-person comments at the upcoming meeting held at the local community center on Apr. 20.
At the previous city council meeting on April 6, interim City Manager Erik Sund reminded the council that members of the community will soon be allowed to provide their three minutes of comments.
According to Sund, citizens will no longer have the option to submit their public comments via email, as was previously allowed while the council met via Zoom.
“You will now have the option of coming in person, but the email option will no longer be available since we’ll allow people to come and provide their three minutes of comments,” Sund said.
The city attempted to reintroduce in-person meetings with the public present last August, but it ultimately was not pushed through after some councilmembers expressed concerns to Sund.
At the same city council meeting last week, Sund also mentioned that residents will now be able schedule Zoom appointments with city staff from the Engineering, Planning and Building Divisions to obtain building and planning permits.
Residents will have access to all the stakeholders in the planning department and public works for help, the city said.
“It’s a great step forward to add additional customer service to the city as we begin to reopen,” Sund had said last week. “I’m already proud to say we have our first appointment.”
Cecilia Gallardo-Daly, community development director, mentioned in a press release that these virtual meetings are similar to visiting the city’s customer service department for information.
“This is just one of the ways the city is increasing access to information for our permit customers, and we think the customers will find this service useful,” Gallardo-Daly said.
For more information, visit the city’s website, san-clemente.org.
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