City Hall & Politics
City Council · October 14 Meeting
Council Adopts 25% Yearly Water Rate Hikes Over Packed-Room Protest
375 protests filed, short of the 638 needed to block · Rates take effect January 1 · The vote was 5 to 0
The City Council adopted Resolution 2026-33 on October 14, raising water rates 25 percent a year for five years and wastewater rates 12 percent, after a Proposition 218 protest hearing that filled the room at City Hall. Deputy City Clerk Amber Wright tabulated 375 protest letters against the 638 water parcels (of 1,225) and 757 sewer parcels (of 1,512) required for a majority protest. The increases begin January 1, with the first bills going out in March.
More than a dozen residents spoke against the increases, nearly all to applause: retirees on fixed incomes, a realtor with five low-income tenants on Zion Street, a gallery owner warning of shuttered storefronts, and neighbors urging bonds, longer amortization, grants, or delay. Speakers repeatedly cited the town's age profile, with more than 40 percent of residents over 60. Former council member Reinette Senum blamed budget choices, naming new stipends and an assistant city manager position. One longtime business owner, Harry Bennett, thanked the council and noted the issue had been aired at public meetings for the past year.
From the council's side of the table: Vice Mayor Gary Petersen said the city's emergency reserve for a broken line is $20,000, "That is no reserve fund at all," atop 100-year-old water and sewer lines. City Manager Carrie Wright said the adopted schedule is a ceiling, the council can pull rates back in any year's budget but cannot raise them above it, a full review is due the first quarter of 2029, and she proposed a ratepayer hardship fund to be weighed at the mid-year budget review. Council Member Doug Fleming called it "the hardest, ugliest vote I've ever had to make in six years" and asked staff to analyze whether a dedicated sales tax for water is possible. Staff noted the general fund has been subsidizing both systems, which ran a combined deficit this year.
Built from the full official meeting recording (Nevada City Public Meetings, YouTube) and the posted agenda (City of Nevada City). Quotes are from the recording's auto-generated captions.
Also From The October 14 Meeting
Landscape Ordinance 33 Years Late; $1M Cannabis Grant; Parents' Night Out
Water-efficient landscaping. The council introduced an ordinance adopting the state's Model Water Efficient Landscape Ordinance, which City Planner Jessica Hankins said the city was supposed to adopt back in 1993; an August state letter warned of corrective action and loss of state funding. It applies mainly to new construction with over 500 square feet of landscaping. Introduced 5 to 0; second reading and adoption October 28.
$1M cannabis enforcement grant. The council accepted a $1,000,000 Proposition 64 grant (Resolution 2026-34, 5 to 0) funding an existing NCPD detective, to be stationed part-time at the new Family Justice Center on Searls Avenue, with $250,000 passed through to the Nevada County Cannabis Alliance for education campaigns including Keep It 21+ and DUI awareness.
Cannabis business tax cleanup. Ordinance 2026-06 was introduced (5 to 0), adding doctor's-note language for the medical rate and a permit path for non-storefront retail; Sanctuary Farms has already applied. Second reading October 28.
Parents' Night Out. The council directed staff to develop and run a one-night December pilot for children ages 6 to 12, likely at the Miners Foundry with Parks and Recreation, proposed by Mayor Fernández so caregivers can rest or spend an evening downtown.
Also heard: a resident's audit of city credit-card spending in public comment; no reportable action from the closed session on Christakes v. Nevada City; and a reminder that Code Red is retired, sign up instead at Nevada County Alerts.
Source: the official meeting recording and agenda, City of Nevada City.
City To Thin 174 Acres In Deer Creek Canyon; Town Hall Called For Monday Night
Mechanical work on the canyon's south side to run through February · Funded through County OES and the U.S. Forest Service
The City of Nevada City hosts a town hall Monday, October 26 at 6:00 PM at the Miners Foundry (325 Spring St.) on the Deer Creek Hazardous Fuels Reduction Project, now moving from planning into on-the-ground work. The current phase covers roughly 174 acres of mechanical treatment, mostly mastication, on the south side of Deer Creek Canyon, the area the 2025 Community Wildfire Protection Plans flagged as among the most hazardous in the county.
Funding comes through a partnership with Nevada County OES and the U.S. Forest Service, Tahoe National Forest, building on a $111,665 Sierra Nevada Conservancy planning grant. The remainder of the roughly 350-acre project falls to the city fuels crew funded by Measure C (2024). Work is expected to run October 2026 through February 2027. Staff will cover treatment areas, methods, timelines, and what nearby residents and businesses should expect.
Source: City of Nevada City via YubaNet, Oct 21
City Council · Wednesday
Council Meets Wednesday; Agenda Yet To Post
The City Council meets Wednesday, October 28 at 6:30 PM at City Hall, 317 Broad St. The agenda packet had not posted as of this evening; it typically goes up at nevadacityca.gov in the days before the meeting. Already known for the night: second readings and adoption of the water-efficient landscape ordinance and the cannabis business tax ordinance, both introduced October 14. The full agenda will be digested in The Docket once it posts, and Thursday morning's edition will carry a complete meeting summary.
Standing schedule: Council 2nd and 4th Wednesdays, 6:30 PM. Planning Commission 3rd Thursday, 1:30 PM.
Election · Saturday
Voting Opens Saturday At The Rood Center
Early in-person voting for the November 3 election begins Saturday, October 24 at the Nevada County Government Center on Maidu Avenue. Vote-by-mail ballots are already out; the Elections Office has drop box locations and ballot tracking at nevadacountyca.gov.
Source: Nevada County via YubaNet
