Commission hears committee vacancies, general-plan check-in and development updates including Barrel Creek and Valley Fresh

Planning staff updated the Atascadero City Planning Commission on March 4 about internal committee vacancies, upcoming plan reviews and several active development projects.

Staff said the design review committee currently has two vacancies for planning-commission appointees, described the committee’s charge (architecture and neighborhood compatibility reviews) and asked commissioners to consider applying; meetings are typically on weekday afternoons. Staff also said the commission would receive a draft general-plan check-in at its April 1 meeting, including draft maps and policy documents for commissioner feedback.

On active developments, staff reported the Barrel Creek project has progressed through public-improvement plan submittals and some building-plan submittals; reviewers have returned comments and staff said it is possible construction could begin this year. Staff did not provide detailed parcel-level timelines or tenant lists. The Valley Fresh Center at Del Rio and El Camino is under way, with interior shelving and build-out activity reported for the grocery and a distillery tenant. Staff also said a medical-office expansion adjacent to the Taco Bell on Del Rio will be an extension of a UCLA medical office offering oncology services.

Commissioners pressed for specific amenities in new neighborhoods, including playgrounds and water-play features for the north side of the city; staff said lot patterns and basic road layouts for major projects are forming but that park and amenity details were not yet finalized. On recreational design, a commissioner noted prior comments urging splash pads or pocket play areas and asked staff to track that input as projects progress.

Staff also summarized topics from a recent council strategic-planning session: expanded public noticing for certain project types (such as rezones), a direction to revisit cannabis retail policy (the council soft-voted 3-2 to explore adding retail in town), and exploratory discussion about state legislation enabling temporary “entertainment zones” that allow controlled open-container consumption during events. Staff explained Atascadero already has an open-container policy with certain limits and that the newer state-level entertainment-zone law would impose additional conditions and liabilities; council decided to defer that discussion pending broader business input and further guidance from the state Alcoholic Beverage Control agency.

Commissioners asked about Brown Act training; staff said a special training session with the city attorney will be scheduled outside the commission’s normal Tuesday meeting night to accommodate counsel’s calendar. Staff encouraged commissioners to submit questions in advance and said a conflict-of-interest handbook and Brown Act materials would be circulated.

No formal commission action was taken on these business items at the meeting; staff identified follow-up tasks including recruiting planning-commission appointees to the design review committee and preparing the April 1 general-plan briefing.