Planning commission backs rezoning to allow Sender's Market expansion in Mountain Ranch

The Calaveras County Planning Commission voted to recommend that the Board of Supervisors rezone assessor's parcel number 036-005-009 in Mountain Ranch from R-1 single-family residential to C-1 local commercial to allow an expansion of Sender's Market.

Staff planner Catherine Stephanie told commissioners the application (planning project 2023-028) proposes rezoning the 0.15-acre parcel at 8183 Garibaldi Street to match the adjacent C-1 parcel at 8151 Garibaldi Street, to accommodate a proposed expansion of Sender's Market. Stephanie said the application is being processed under the Calaveras County zoning code adopted Aug. 15, 2024, and that county staff prepared a negative declaration under CEQA after a public review period; no agency comments or responses from property owners within 300 feet were received during routing.

The plan would also allow a lot-line adjustment and reduce the C-1 setback that normally requires a 5-foot separation from adjacent R-1 parcels to a 0-foot setback for the expansion. Stephanie said the subject parcel presently contains an early-1900s barn used for storage; that barn is a preexisting nonconforming structure and no alterations to it are proposed at this time. “Permitted uses in the C-1 zone include retail and service businesses, offices, and accommodations,” Stephanie said.

Commissioners pressed staff about fire safety and property-line issues. Commissioner Lehi asked whether the property owner had joined the application; Stephanie confirmed the owner had signed the application and indemnification agreement. Lehi also asked how close the barn walls are to the existing property line; Stephanie said a survey showing exact distances was not requested for the rezoning and therefore those specifics were not in the staff report.

Doug, the county building official, described how building-code fire-resistance requirements apply when a new building is placed on a property line. “The building code is very clear on the fire resistance requirements of walls based on proximity to a property line,” Doug said. He said a new zero-lot-line wall would be constructed to a robust fire-resistance rating and would be a solid wall with no doors or windows; parapets and protected roof construction are typical parts of that treatment. Doug added that the new construction’s rated exterior wall could provide protection for the neighboring barn and that “you’re going to see a robust fire resistance on that wall by just by placing it on that property line.”

Applicant Polly Sender, speaking for the family that operates Sender's Market, told commissioners the lot-line adjustment and expansion are intended primarily to protect the store from the nearby barn and to provide additional refrigerated storage. “We applied to the people in town and tried to move it because we think it's a horrible fire hazard,” Sender said, describing a previous, decades-old fire that destroyed the family’s earlier store.

Staff recommended adoption of a planning commission resolution (Planning Commission Resolution 2025-1, as amended) and the negative declaration. A commissioner moved and a second was recorded; the commission voted to recommend the Board of Supervisors adopt the negative declaration and rezone APN 036-005-009 from single-family residential to general commercial as shown in the resolution’s exhibit. The motion passed with no opposing votes and one commissioner absent; staff will forward the commission’s recommendation to the Board of Supervisors for final action.

The planning record for the item includes the application materials, the negative declaration and staff report. If the Board of Supervisors approves the rezoning, subsequent lot-line adjustment and building permits will be subject to review by public works, planning and the building department and must meet all applicable codes and any cultural or historic-resources ordinances in effect at the time of permit review.