Lodi City Council Agenda - July 15, 2026

Lodi

Jul 10

Lodi City Council Agenda — July 15, 2026

Summary

The July 15, 2026 Lodi City Council meeting opens with a lengthy closed session covering the City Attorney and City Clerk recruitments plus two active lawsuits filed by former City Manager Scott R. Carney — a whistleblower/wrongful termination action and a companion Public Records Act suit. The open session moves through a Junior Giants proclamation, a certificate of appreciation for outgoing City Clerk Olivia Nashed, and a consent calendar dominated by two substantial items: TANC Project Agreement No. 3 Amendment No. 1, which zeroes out Lodi's scheduling rights on the California-Oregon Transmission Project, and a three-year $694,600 professional services agreement with West Yost & Associates for wastewater regulatory compliance at White Slough. No public hearings are scheduled.

The regular calendar features an informational presentation on Opportunity Zones 2.0 and a staff recommendation to nominate Census Tract 45.02 in place of the underperforming Tract 44.03, an ad hoc committee to advise on a Government Relations RFP, and appointment of Walfred Solorzano as Interim City Clerk at $70.41/hour. The meeting closes with the second reading and adoption of Ordinance No. 2048, which replaces Lodi's 2022 mobile food-vending framework with an operator-permit model but keeps the controversial food-truck caps.

Council Roster on This Agenda

Ramón Yepez — Mayor
Mikey Hothi — Mayor Pro Tempore
Cameron Bregman — Council Member
Lisa Craig-Hensley — Council Member
Alan Nakanishi — Council Member

Interim officers of note: Aaron M. Busch, Interim City Manager · John M. Luebberke, Interim City Attorney · Sean Nathan, Interim Public Works Director · Cynthia M. Marsh, Interim Community Development Director.

Executive Overview

Closed session dominated by Carney litigation: Two Carney v. City of Lodi cases plus the City Attorney and City Clerk recruitments. See Lodi 411's Carney backgrounder for full context.
Utility housekeeping with real consequences: C.2 formally zeroes out Lodi's COTP scheduling rights (savings flow through the NCPA All Resources Bill). C.3 locks in three years of West Yost wastewater-regulatory work, spanning the Ammonia Final Compliance Report (Jan 2028), Local Limits Evaluation (Apr 2027), Organics Loading Study Update (Jul 2028) and NOI package (Mar 2029).
Opportunity Zone reset: G.1 proposes moving Lodi's OZ from Tract 44.03 (zero investments since 2017) to Tract 45.02 (Downtown Specific Plan Area + Cherokee Lane + industrial zone, 35.4% poverty, 29 Housing Element sites). Nomination due to the Governor by July 20, 2026 — five days after this meeting.
Interim Clerk appointment: Walfred Solorzano ($70.41/hr, ~20 years public-sector experience) starts July 28, 2026, one week before Olivia Nashed's August 3 vacancy date.
Ordinance 2048 second reading: Replaces §5.42 with an operator-permit regime, adds a $250 permit fee and a "no shared cart" cap for pushcart operators, but retains the twelve-truck cap the Planning Commission voted to repeal.

C-1 through C-4 — Closed Session (5:30 p.m.)

The pre-meeting closed session takes up four items under Government Code §54957(b) and §54956.9(d)(1). Two involve senior recruitments; two are active litigation.

C-2(a) Public Employment — City Attorney Recruitment (Gov. Code §54957(b))

Ongoing recruitment for a permanent City Attorney, currently handled on an interim basis by John M. Luebberke. The City is being represented by Mosaic Public Partners in the search.

C-2(b) Public Employment/Appointment — City Clerk Recruitment and Interim City Clerk Appointment (Gov. Code §54957(b))

Closed-session companion to open-session item G.3 (Walfred Solorzano appointment). Discussion of the concurrent permanent-Clerk recruitment triggered by Olivia Nashed's departure.

C-2(c) Existing Litigation — Scott R. Carney v. City of Lodi (STK-CV-UWM-2026-0003828)

Whistleblower / wrongful-termination action filed June 4, 2026 by former City Manager Scott Carney. Discussed under Gov. Code §54956.9(d)(1). See Stocktonia — "Why he sued Lodi".

C-2(d) Existing Litigation — Scott R. Carney v. City of Lodi (STK-CV-UOE-2026-0044713)

Companion Public Records Act action by Carney, seeking documents the City declined to produce. Also under Gov. Code §54956.9(d)(1).

C-3 / C-4 — Announcement of Actions and Reconvene to Open Session

Standard Brown Act procedural items. Any reportable action from closed session is announced when the meeting reconvenes at 7:00 p.m.

B — Presentations (7:00 p.m., after invocation)

B.1 — Proclamation Recognizing Lodi Junior Giants (PRCS)

Prepared by: Parks, Recreation and Cultural Services Department.

Formal recognition of the Junior Giants free youth baseball and softball program operated locally by the City of Lodi in partnership with the Giants Community Fund. The proclamation acknowledges the program's role in developing character-based youth values (Confidence, Integrity, Leadership, Teamwork) for children ages 5–13 across Lodi.

B.2 — Certificate of Appreciation to Outgoing City Clerk Olivia Nashed (CM)

Prepared by: Office of the City Manager.

Recognition of City Clerk Olivia Nashed, whose position becomes vacant effective August 3, 2026. Nashed's departure follows the same period during which the City Manager and City Attorney positions also turned over — a significant senior-staff transition window for Lodi.

C — Consent Calendar

Consent items are enacted by a single roll-call vote unless a Council Member or member of the public pulls an item for separate discussion.

C.1 — Approve Minutes (26 meeting sets)

Approval of minutes for a broad backlog of prior meetings, including the March 4, 18 and April 1, 15 special / regular / adjourned sessions, plus assorted board and commission minutes from earlier in 2026. The size of this backlog reflects the workload compression during the recent clerk and manager transitions.

C.2 — Resolution: TANC Project Agreement No. 3, Amendment No. 1 (EU)

Prepared by: Jiayo Chiang, Senior Electric Utility Resources Analyst.

Authorizes the City Manager to execute Amendment No. 1 to Project Agreement No. 3 among the Transmission Agency of Northern California (TANC) and its member utilities. TANC — a joint powers agency formed in 1984 that owns and operates the California-Oregon Transmission Project (COTP) — has thirteen members including Lodi, Alameda, Healdsburg, Lompoc, Palo Alto, Redding, Roseville, Santa Clara, Ukiah, Modesto Irrigation District, SMUD, Turlock Irrigation District, and Plumas-Sierra Rural Electric Cooperative.

What the Amendment Does

Clarifies changes to transfer capability resulting from Lodi and other CAISO Balancing Authority members' scheduling-rights layoff to the Western Area Power Administration (WAPA). Lodi laid off its original 26 MW COTP share for 25 years in 2014 after economic benefits eroded.
Non-substantive administrative updates.
Adds and updates appendices to clarify project entitlements.

Lodi-Specific Impact

Because Lodi's power-exchange contract with Seattle City Light expired several years ago, Lodi Electric Utility no longer schedules energy through TANC. Under Amendment No. 1, Lodi's share of scheduling rights is reduced to 0%. Cost savings flow through TANC's annual budget process into the monthly All Resources Bill from the Northern California Power Agency (NCPA).

Recommended by: Risk Oversight Committee on May 28, 2026. Funding: Account 50060500 – Power Supply. No General Fund impact.

Deep dive — Amendment No. 1 exhibit text (OCR from packet pp. 135–142)

The 22-numbered-item amendment substantially restructures Project Agreement No. 3 (the operating agreement for the COTP). Changes fall into four buckets:

(a) Structural / governance cleanup.

Deletes the definition of "Executive Committee" (§1.8), replaced with "[Intentionally omitted]." TANC has been operating without this body for years.
Changes the Fiscal Year definition (§1.9) from starting in September to June — aligning TANC with most California municipal utilities and NCPA.
Deletes reference to the California Department of Water Resources from §4.1.1 (DWR is no longer a COTP participant).
Modernizes §12.1 notice provisions to allow written notice "by electronic media" within 24 hours.

(b) The core operational change — no more agreement amendment for capacity shifts (§2.3.2, rewritten). Previously, any change to member Participation Percentages required a formal amendment of the underlying agreement. Under the new §2.3.2:

Percentage revisions require only an affirmative Commission vote using JPA voting procedures, not a full agreement amendment.
Members can privately swap Participation Percentages with written consent of every member whose share changes.
Members can acquire outside Transfer Capability and roll it into TANC via Commission vote.
All revisions must (a) net to 100% aggregate and (b) be recorded via administrative amendment to Appendix C and C-1.
Related conforming changes: §2.3.1, §2.3.3, §5.3, §7.4, §16.1, and §19 all get cross-references updated.

(c) Definitional cleanup that matters.

§1.4 "Betterment": deletes "or sixteen hundred (1600) megawatts, whichever is less" — removing an old MW ceiling on what counts as a project betterment.
§1.30 (CEQA reference): replaces "Section 15060" with "Part 101, Definition 34" — a technical citation update.

(d) The new appendices — where Lodi's zero-out lives. Appendix C is replaced with the current North-to-South Participation Percentages table below; Appendix C-1 (new) documents South-to-North percentages; Appendix C-2 (new) documents the "Return of Layoff" percentages that lock in each zero-share city's re-entry point.

Appendix C — North-to-South Participation Percentages (after Amendment No. 1)

Member	Member %	MW Entitlement N→S	MW Scheduling Rights N→S	Sched Rights %
SMUD	37.8074%	569.21	558	37.78%
MID	23.0546%	347.10	341	23.09%
TID	17.1458%	258.14	253	17.13%
Redding	10.0398%	151.16	148	10.02%
Santa Clara	9.8108%	147.71	145	9.82%
Roseville	2.1416%	32.24	32	2.17%
Alameda, Healdsburg, Lodi, Lompoc, Palo Alto, Plumas, Ukiah	0.0000%	—	—	0.00%
TANC total	100%	1,505.56	1,477	100%

The 29 MW gap between TANC's 1,505 MW entitlement and 1,477 MW of scheduling rights is the 29 MW layoff to WAPA. At the full-COTP level, TANC holds 88.5625% (1,505 MW), Western holds 9.375% (188 MW scheduled) and PG&E holds 2.0625% (35 MW).

Appendix C-2 — the "undo" table (new). Documents the original pre-layoff percentages for each of the seven zero-share cities. If any of them ever wants to return to active scheduling, the mechanical share allocation is pre-agreed. This locks in Lodi's original 2.6104% (26 MW) COTP share as its rightful return point if power-supply economics ever flip back. The table also documents the 2014 layoff (TANC Resolution 14-03), the 2009 layoff (TANC Resolution 09-01), and the TANC/WAPA layoff.

Bottom line for Lodi: Amendment No. 1 (1) codifies the zero-share position that reflects post–Seattle City Light reality; (2) preserves the right to return via Appendix C-2; and (3) via the new §2.3.2, makes any future change (re-entry, another layoff, a partial pickup) achievable by Commission vote rather than a 13-signatory agreement amendment.

C.3 — Resolution: Professional Services Agreement with West Yost & Associates ($694,600) (PW)

Prepared by: Sean Nathan, Interim Public Works Director.

Three-year contract (FY 2026/27 – FY 2028/29) with West Yost & Associates, Inc. of Davis for regulatory compliance and permitting services at the White Slough Water Pollution Control Facility (WPCF) and the Recycled Water Land Application Program, not to exceed $694,600, with two optional one-year extensions subject to future budget appropriations.

Selection process: RFQ issued; seven statements of qualifications received; West Yost selected on technical expertise, staffing, references, and 25+ years of Central Valley wastewater regulatory work.

Permits and Orders the Consultant Will Support

General Permit Order R5-2023-0025 and NOA R5-2023-0025-010 (surface-water discharge to Dredger Cut under the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board).
Time Schedule Order (TSO) R5-2025-0091 — provides additional compliance time under the NOA's new, lower ammonia effluent limits.
Waste Discharge Requirements Order R5-2025-0046 (recycled water uses and biosolids land application).
State Water Board Order WQ 2016-0068-DDW (General Recycled Water Requirements) and site-specific NOA WQ-2016-0068-DDW-R5007.
U.S. EPA biosolids regulations.

Funding: Wastewater Operating Fund (53053003); FY 26/27 already budgeted. No General Fund impact.

Deep dive — the PSA and West Yost's June 3, 2026 proposal

Contract structure (Articles 1–4).

Term (§2.6): effective upon execution through June 30, 2029, whichever occurs first — covering FY 26/27, 27/28, and 28/29.
Extension (§2.7): two optional one-year extensions (FY 29/30 and FY 30/31), each contingent on future budget appropriation.
Compensation (§3.1–3.2): hourly, time-and-materials, invoiced monthly with hours and rate per person. Not to exceed $694,600 for the three-year base term.
Indemnification (§4.3): classic California municipal indemnity — West Yost indemnifies the City for damages caused by West Yost's negligent acts, errors, or omissions, but expressly carves out the City's active negligence, sole negligence, or sole willful misconduct.
Insurance (§4.6 + Exhibit C): required through the City's PINS Advantage online portal.
Notices (§4.8): City contact Lance Roberts (Wastewater); West Yost contact Greg Chung, 2020 Research Park Drive, Suite 100, Davis, CA 95618.
Records retention: three years after final payment.

The Six-Task Fee Estimate — FY 26/27 through FY 28/29

Task	FY 26/27	FY 27/28	FY 28/29	Total
1 — Project Management	$16,600	$10,500	$11,000	$38,100
2 — Regulatory Program Management (incl. $7,700/yr SSD legal subconsultant)	$24,200	$25,000	$25,900	$75,100
3 — Land Application Coordination & Quarterly Reports	$69,100	$72,500	$76,000	$217,600
4 — Annual Reporting Support	$43,700	$45,900	$47,400	$137,000
5 — Special Studies and Reports	$62,000	$64,600	$30,200	$156,800
6 — As-Needed WPCF Support	$22,300	$23,300	$24,400	$70,000
Annual total	$237,900	$241,800	$214,900	$694,600

Fee Distribution by Task (Three-Year Total)

Optional two-year extension budget (5%/yr rate escalation): FY 29/30 ≈ $194,000; FY 30/31 ≈ $204,000. Total potential five-year commitment up to ~$1.09 million.

Special Studies (Task 5) — The Compliance Deliverables Driving the FY 26/27 – 27/28 Spike

TSO letter reports (per Order R5-2025-0091): annual progress report due Jan 31, 2027; electrical/control improvements completion report by April 2027; testing completion report by October 2027; Ammonia Final Compliance Report due January 2028 — the milestone deliverable of the entire TSO.
Local Limits Evaluation & Report (due April 2027) — recalculates pollutant-of-concern removal efficiencies, Allowable Headworks Loadings (AHLs), Maximum AHLs, and Maximum Allowable Industrial Loadings (MAILs). Direct implications for Pacific Coast Producers' industrial discharge.
Organics Loading Study Update (due July 1, 2028, per WDR Provision N.5) — desktop reassessment of whether the current 200 lb/ac-day cycle-average BOD loading limit remains protective. Specifically evaluates elevated manganese concentrations at groundwater monitoring wells.
NOI package for continued General Permit coverage (due March 31, 2029) — renews Lodi's authorization to discharge disinfected tertiary effluent to Dredger Cut.

Key Technical Background

The site-specific NOA R5-2023-0025-010 went effective April 1, 2025; next NOI due March 31, 2029; next NOA reissuance expected early 2030.
Well WSM-17R was recently installed as a potential replacement background monitoring well; 1–2 years of parallel monitoring before deciding whether to destroy WSM-17.
The 2020 Groundwater Limitations Compliance Report concluded Lodi is in compliance "with the exception of impacts that occurred due to past activities near the City's compliance well WSM-2."
Recycled water flows to the Northern California Power Agency and the San Joaquin County Mosquito and Vector Control District under a separate Recycled Water NOA.

2026 Hourly Billing Rates (Attachment A)

Principal / Vice President: $392/hr; Engineer Manager I/II: $370/$387; Principal Engineer I/II: $333/$355; Senior Engineer I/II: $297/$312; Associate Engineer I/II: $246/$265; Engineer I/II/III: $191/$221/$231; Field Monitoring $145/hr; Administrative I–IV $107–$176/hr; GIS Analyst $277; Senior GIS Analyst $292. Rates escalate an assumed 5%/year. Expert witness 150–200% of standard. Late payment 1.5%/month (18% APR) after 45 days. Subconsultants at cost + 10%; outside services at cost + 15%. Key personnel: Charles Hardy, PE (RCE #71015) and Nate Cullen, Business Sector Leader–Treatment.

Why this contract matters beyond the number: The TSO ammonia-compliance track and the Organics Loading Study Update are the two documents that will drive Lodi Electric Utility's future decisions about (a) capital investment at White Slough (potentially tens of millions of dollars in secondary/tertiary treatment upgrades if the Regional Board's next ammonia limits are tighter than expected) and (b) whether the current arrangement with Pacific Coast Producers — who send high-strength industrial waste to White Slough — remains sustainable.

D & E — Public Comment / Council Comments on Non-Agenda Items

Standard sections. Public speakers are limited to five minutes per non-agenda item and one appearance during this segment. The Council may only refer such items to staff or a future agenda per Gov. Code §54954.3 and Council Protocol Manual §6.3l.

F — Public Hearings

None scheduled for the July 15, 2026 meeting.

G — Regular Calendar

G.1 — Presentation on Opportunity Zones 2.0 Program (ED) — Information item, no formal action

Prepared by: Luis Aguilar, Economic Development Director.

Background — original OZ program: Created by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act to encourage reinvestment of capital gains into low-income census tracts. Lodi's existing OZ is Census Tract 44.03 (GEOID 06077004403) — a 0.4-square-mile area bounded by E. Lodi Ave, E. Kettleman Ln, Central Ave and the railroad tracks. The packet states the tract "has seen no opportunity zone investments since the program was established" — a direct acknowledgment that first-generation OZ produced zero investor uptake in Lodi.

The Change — Opportunity Zones 2.0

The One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), signed July 4, 2025, permanently extended the OZ program beyond its original December 31, 2026 sunset. New provisions include no sunset, decennial redesignation (10-year cycles), tighter MFI eligibility, a rural 30% enhanced tax benefit, restart of the holding-period clock on any "inclusion event," and new QOF/QOZB reporting requirements with penalties.

OBBBA vs. the 2017 Program — Side-by-Side

Provision	Original OZ (2017 TCJA)	OZ 2.0 (OBBBA, effective Jan 1, 2027)
Program duration	Sunset Dec 31, 2026	Permanent; refreshed every 10 years
MFI test	≤80% of area MFI	≤70% of area MFI (tighter)
Poverty test	≥20% poverty OR MFI test	≥20% poverty plus MFI cap of 125% of area median
Contiguous tracts	Allowed	No longer allowed — must qualify on the merits
Rural benefit	Same as urban	30% enhanced tax benefit; substantial-improvement threshold 100% → 50%
Holding-period step-up	15% basis step-up after 7 years	Clock restarts on any "inclusion event"
Reporting	Minimal	New QOF/QOZB reporting with financial penalties

California Allocation and Timeline

California allocation: 2,469 eligible census tracts statewide; the Governor may nominate up to 25% = 618 tracts. The tract-selection process is now competitive.

July 1 – July 20, 2026: Local government nomination window.
Aug 1 – Aug 15, 2026: Public comment period on Governor's proposed designations.
Aug 16 – Aug 30, 2026: Governor's final selection submitted to U.S. Treasury.
Jan 1, 2027: OZ 2.0 takes effect for a 10-year period (using 2020 census boundaries).

Lodi's Proposed Nomination — Census Tract 45.02 (GEOID 06077004502)

Bounded by E. Lockeford St. (N), E. Lodi Ave (S), Guild Ave (E), and the railroad tracks (W).
Poverty rate: 35.4%
Resident population: 4,311
Disadvantaged-community credential score: 94.7%
Encompasses the Downtown Specific Plan Area, Cherokee Lane Corridor, and industrial area.
29 Housing Element sites aligning with RHNA goals.
Aligns with the Lodi Economic Development Strategic Plan and the CA Jobs First North San Joaquin Valley Regional Plan.

Deep dive — the 45.02 vs 44.03 decision and what fits inside Tract 45.02

The 44.03 failure — why the city is moving. Tract 44.03 has been Lodi's designated OZ since 2018, with zero OZ investments in eight years. The tract encompasses a mix of established single-family neighborhoods, Lodi Memorial Hospital, and some strip commercial along Kettleman and Central — but relatively little developable vacant or underutilized land. The absence of Housing Element sites, industrial parcels, and shovel-ready "Business Ready Sites" is the mechanical reason it produced no OZ investment despite the incentive.

What Census Tract 45.02 actually contains. The footprint captures three critical Lodi economic-development geographies simultaneously:

The Downtown Specific Plan Area — currently in mid-adoption (Planning Commission hearing March 25, 2026; City Council public review April 15, 2026). The plan restructures downtown zoning to allow mixed-use residential above ground-floor retail — exactly the kind of adaptive-reuse construction OZ capital is well-suited to fund. See Plan Lodi Housing Element page.
The Cherokee Lane Corridor — identified in the June 2025 Economic Development Strategic Plan community workshops as a redevelopment gateway targeting Highway 99 traveler/visitor businesses (see Lodi 411 coverage). Zoned MCO (Mixed Use Corridor) with 1.2 FAR — highly OZ-compatible.
The Eastside Industrial Area — Guild Ave. runs along the eastern flank of Lodi's principal industrial district, targeted for annexation and Business Ready Sites designation.

The 29 Housing Element sites. Lodi's 6th-cycle RHNA allocation (June 2023 – December 2031) is 3,909 total units across all income categories: 941 very-low, 591 low, 706 moderate, 1,671 above-moderate. The 2024 rezoning program created about 3,140 units of zoning capacity. Placing 29 of those sites inside the nominated OZ tract means every affordable-housing project built there is potentially eligible for OZ equity investment on top of LIHTC and state HCD funds — substantially improving the yield stack for developers.

State Criteria for Nominations — How 45.02 Scores

State criterion	45.02 score
Housing Element sites	Strong — 29 sites
RHNA support	Strong — supports Downtown Specific Plan and multifamily rezones
Business Ready / shovel-ready sites	Moderate — industrial parcels along Guild Ave.
TIF district	Moderate — overlaps Central City Revitalization Assessment District No. 95-1 legacy area
CA Jobs First strategic sectors (North San Joaquin Valley plan)	Strong — tourism, manufacturing, housing, workforce all mapped

The competitive picture. California has 2,469 eligible tracts; the Governor may nominate 618. Lodi is one nomination in a queue that will include dense urban tracts in Oakland, Los Angeles, and Fresno with higher poverty rates and larger investment appetite. Lodi's differentiation: a Downtown Specific Plan going to adoption in mid-2026, a Housing Element with clean HCD substantial-compliance certification, and North San Joaquin Valley Jobs First alignment. The letters of support the ED Director will collect during the Aug 1–15 public review window are competitively material.

Downside risk. Governor's office has full discretion. If 45.02 is rejected — or if the Governor picks 44.03 instead — Lodi loses OZ eligibility for the entire 2027–2037 designation cycle.

Next steps (packet slide 9): No Council action required. Submit nomination form to the Governor by July 20, 2026; gather letters of support during the August 1–15 public comment window. This meeting is essentially the last public airing before the nomination goes to Sacramento.

G.2 — Resolution Establishing Ad Hoc Committee on Federal/State Government Relations RFP (CM)

Prepared by: Kara Reddig, City Manager.

Creates a limited-term, limited-scope ad hoc committee of fewer than three councilmembers (Brown Act–compliant informal advisory body — no formal public noticing required, no independent decision-making authority) to advise the City Manager on the upcoming RFP for Federal and State Government Relations Services (legislative advocacy / lobbying firms that monitor bills affecting Lodi and pursue state and federal funding).

Rationale from staff: Councilmembers work closely with advocacy firms when Lodi lobbies for or against legislation, so upfront Council input is unusually valuable in this procurement.

Proposed Committee Scope (subject to change)

Review/affirm the RFP document and its scoring criteria before release.
Advise on review-panel structure.
Participate in top-scorer interview panels (or throughout).
Recommend final firms to the full City Council.
Any additional items during the RFP process.

Alternative (not recommended): Skip the ad hoc committee and run a standard staff-only RFP with final Council decision at the end. Final firm selection remains subject to full Council approval. Fiscal impact: none.

G.3 — Resolution Appointing Walfred Solorzano as Interim City Clerk at $70.41/hour (IS–HR)

Prepared by: James Peavey, Human Resources Manager.

Appoints Walfred Solorzano as Interim City Clerk while the City recruits a permanent replacement for Olivia Nashed (whose position becomes vacant effective August 3, 2026).

Qualifications: ~20 years of public-sector experience, ~9 years serving in a City Clerk's Office as City Clerk, Assistant City Clerk, or Deputy City Clerk.

Compensation and Terms

$70.41 per hour (no other cash compensation).
Sick leave accrual: 1 hour per 30 hours worked.
CalPERS: City pays employer share; Solorzano pays employee share.
No medical, dental, vision, or other benefits.
Start date: July 28, 2026 — deliberately timed for brief overlap with Nashed for knowledge transfer.

Procedural history: At the July 1, 2026 regular Council meeting, Council directed staff to place this appointment on today's agenda. Because Solorzano is still in the pre-employment background-check process, the packet includes a draft Interim City Clerk Employment Agreement (Attachment 1). The appointment is conditioned on successful completion of background check and any remaining pre-employment procedures. See Lodi 411 coverage of the July 1 meeting.

H — Ordinances

H.1 — Second Reading and Adoption of Ordinance No. 2048 — Mobile Food Vending (CD)

Prepared by: Olivia Nashed, City Clerk. CEQA: Exempt under §15061(b)(3) (General Rule) and §15378 (not a project).

Second reading of the mobile food-vending ordinance introduced at the July 1, 2026 meeting. Ordinance 2048 repeals and replaces Chapter 5.42 (Mobile Food Vending) of the Lodi Municipal Code — Lodi's second full rewrite of this framework since the 2019 baseline.

Regulatory Trail

Ordinance No. 1800 (2019): First comprehensive mobile food-vending framework — created §5.42 and initial food-truck definitions.
Ordinance No. 1999 (May 4, 2022): Restructured food-truck rules, established caps and location restrictions in §9.18.045.
Ordinance No. 2048 (July 15, 2026, second reading): Full repeal-and-replace of §5.42, restructures around operator permits, retains the §9.18.045 caps despite Planning Commission recommending repeal.

Ordinance 2048 vs. Ordinance 1999 — What Actually Changes

Origin and process trail. Ord 1999 (adopted May 4, 2022) has been in force for ~4 years. It set the current framework of location restrictions in §9.18.045, a per-truck permit model, and enforcement through Community Development. Community Development returned to Planning Commission on May 27, 2026 with a proposed rewrite, which passed Commission unanimously. The Commission recommendation was to repeal the caps in §9.18.045 (the twelve-truck citywide cap and site-based restrictions), but the Council introduction on July 1 kept the caps — see Lodi 411's "Food-truck cap hits the end of the road" for that story.

Topic	Ordinance 1999 (2022)	Ordinance 2048 (2026)
Structural approach	Per-vehicle permit; each truck applies separately	Operator permit; operator applies once and adds vehicles under one permit
Permit fee	No dedicated §5.42 fee (rolled into business license)	$250 permit application fee established explicitly
Pushcart operators	Not separately regulated	New "no shared cart" cap — one operator = one cart, blocking pushcart consolidation
Twelve-truck citywide cap (§9.18.045)	In force	Retained (Planning Commission recommended repeal, Council kept it)
200-foot buffer from brick-and-mortar restaurants	In force	Retained
Sonora Street special zone	Established as exception	Retained
Insurance minimum	$1M general liability	Retained at $1M
Hours of operation	Standard hours, event exceptions	Restated with clearer event-permit workflow
Complaint / enforcement	Code Enforcement + Community Development	Consolidated to Community Development with clearer escalation

The Five Substantive Changes, Plain-English

Operator model. Applicants now register as operators once and add trucks under one file, rather than repeat filings per vehicle. Reduces friction for multi-truck operators.
Explicit $250 fee. Fixed cost added to entry — small in absolute terms but material for a new operator running one or two trucks.
Pushcart "no shared" rule. Closes a workaround where multiple vendors shared a cart to skirt individual permitting. This tightens the market rather than opening it.
Twelve-truck cap retained despite Planning Commission repeal recommendation. This is the politically contested piece. Planning Commission voted 6-0 on May 27 to repeal the cap; Council kept it.
Enforcement consolidation. Community Development becomes the primary enforcement path.

What Ord. 2048 Does NOT Change

The twelve-truck citywide cap in §9.18.045.
The 200-foot buffer from brick-and-mortar restaurants.
The Sonora Street exception zone.
The $1M general liability insurance floor.
Health-permit requirements (governed by San Joaquin County Environmental Health).

Net effect. Ord. 2048 rewrites the plumbing but leaves the load-bearing walls in place. Multi-truck operators will find compliance easier; single-truck and pushcart entrants face slightly higher fixed costs. The Planning Commission's core recommendation — repealing the cap — was overridden by the Council introduction on July 1 and stays overridden through this second reading.

I — Adjournment

Meeting adjourns. Next regular Lodi City Council meeting is anticipated in early August 2026 (specific date to be confirmed by the City Clerk's office).

Cross-Cutting Themes to Watch

Senior-staff continuity risk: Interim City Manager, Interim City Attorney, Interim City Clerk, Interim Public Works Director, and Interim Community Development Director — five interim leaders concurrent with an active lawsuit from the previous City Manager. The July 15 meeting formalizes another interim (Clerk).
Litigation exposure: The two Carney cases will likely generate closed-session items for the remainder of 2026.
Regulatory-compliance calendar for utilities: The West Yost contract locks in a specific deliverable schedule (TSO Ammonia Final Compliance Report Jan 2028, Local Limits Report Apr 2027, Organics Loading Study Jul 2028, NOI Mar 2029) with material downstream implications for rate-setting and capital planning.
Economic-development window: July 20 OZ nomination deadline; Downtown Specific Plan adoption mid-2026; Cherokee Lane redevelopment strategy competing with Galt's 45-acre Highway 99 commercial site.
Council–Planning Commission divergence: Food-truck cap decision shows Council overriding a 6-0 Commission recommendation. Similar dynamics may recur on other §9.18 matters.

References

Contact the City Clerk's Office: cityclerk@lodi.gov · 221 West Pine Street, P.O. Box 3006, Lodi, CA 95241-1910.

City CouncilMeeting Summary

Don Bradford