The agenda for this week’s meeting of the Coronado City Council includes a request to discuss parking stipulations for counter-oriented restaurants, considering median landscaping along SR-75, the city’s 2026 legislative priorities, and more. Public comment will be heard.
The meeting is at 4 p.m. on Jan. 20, in the City Council Chamber at 1825 Strand Way, and will be broadcast here. The full agenda is here. A recording of the meeting will be posted here.
Brown Act Training
Ahead of its regular 4 p.m. meeting, the council at 3:30 p.m. will undergo a training session on the Ralph M. Brown Act, California’s open meetings law.
The Brown Act was enacted to guarantee the public’s right to attend and participate in meetings of local legislative bodies — including city councils. Under the law, local legislative bodies must hold all meetings in public, give timely notice of agenda items, and allow members of the public to directly address the body during meetings.
The Act also requires board members to avoid conducting business through backchannel communications like emails or social media threads — so-called serial meetings, which are violations of the Brown Act. Even attending a social event together can create risk if business is discussed. This is also why council members generally do not comment on non-agendized items raised during public comment: Deliberating on such matters without proper public notice would violate the law. It is permissible to ask clarifying questions, acknowledge the speaker, or direct a matter to city staff.
A presentation from Port Commissioner Frank Urtasun
Frank Urtasun, Coronado’s representative on the Port of San Diego Board of Port Commissioners, will give a presentation. In the past, he has updated the council and the public on matters related to Coronado.
NASCAR community preparedness
City Manager Tina Friend will present about the upcoming NASCAR race weekend to be held June 19-21 at Naval Base Coronado.
Future plans for TransNet funding
The council will also hold a public hearing on Coronado’s TransNet Local Street Improvement Program of Projects for fiscal years 2027 through 2031. TransNet is San Diego County’s half-cent sales tax for transportation, administered by the San Diego Association of Governments (SANDAG), and cities must submit a five-year project list every two years to remain eligible for funding. Coronado expects to receive about $4.4 million in TransNet funds over the five-year period. Projects on the list include routine street and alley maintenance, drainage improvements, and an electric vehicle charging infrastructure study and master plan.
Reauthorizing Tourism Improvement Districts I and II
The council will consider reauthorizing Coronado’s Tourism Improvement Districts I and II for fiscal year 2026-27. The districts levy assessments on four hotel businesses within Coronado to fund tourism promotion and related programs. The council will review the annual report and management plan from the CTID Advisory Board, then hold a formal protest hearing — a legal requirement that gives assessed businesses the opportunity to object. If no sufficient protest is filed, the council will adopt a resolution reauthorizing the assessments for another year. More coverage on this matter is here.
Changing public comment and meeting disruption policies
The council will consider a package of meeting policy updates required by Senate Bill 707 (SB 707), which signed into law in October 2025 and is described in the staff report as one of the most significant updates to the Brown Act in decades.
The law requires cities that are located in a county with more than 600,000 residents (like Coronado) to offer two-way, remote participation at council meetings beginning July 1. This means that remote speakers must receive the same speaking time as in-person attendees. The four policies up for adoption Tuesday formalize procedures for technology disruptions, establish a public posting board on the exterior of City Hall where residents may post translations of the agenda. Finally, if approved, this would update the city’s public comment policy for the first time since 1995 to address remote participation and electronic materials. It will not change the current alloted speaking time of three minutes per speaker, but does note that speakers may not yield time. The current policy does not have language about yielding time, although it has been done at past meetings.
Tweaking code enforcement procedures
The council will consider updating the city’s code enforcement procedures for the first time since 1991. The proposed ordinance streamlines the process by which the city can step in to fix code violations — like hazardous structures or fire dangers — when a property owner won’t cooperate. Currently, the city must complete a lengthy public notice process that can take more than two months before it can act, even in emergencies. The updated ordinance would simplify that notice process, allow the city to act immediately in cases posing an imminent public safety threat, and eliminate a public hearing currently required to determine the city’s abatement costs for recovery.
Annual work plan reviews
The council will also review annual work plans from three city commissions (the Civil Service Commission, the Parks and Recreation Commission, and the Cultural Arts Commission) for fiscal year 2026-27.
Consent Calendar at a Glance
The consent calendar bundles items that are considered routine into a single vote, unless a specific item is pulled for discussion. This week’s consent items include:
- Adoption of the fiscal year 2026-27 city budget
- Adoption of the fiscal year 2026-27 Personnel Authorization and Compensation Plan, including 5 percent base salary increases for most employee groups and two new positions in Public Services and Engineering.
- Approval of the Road Maintenance and Rehabilitation Account (RMRA) project list for fiscal year 2026-27, funded by approximately $659,000 in Senate Bill 1 (SB 1) funds.
- Amendment to an encroachment permit allowing Sharp Coronado Hospital to extend a new emergency room canopy and decorative screen wall into the Third Street public right-of-way.
