Commission agrees to continuance for proposed Walmart gas station amid concerns about traffic saturation
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Summary
The Planning Commission continued consideration of a conditional use permit and commercial design review for a proposed Walmart gasoline station and convenience store, citing oversaturation and severe local traffic concerns; staff and the applicant will return with additional information.
City staff presented a conditional use permit (CUP) and commercial design review application from Walmart to establish a gasoline station and convenience store within the footprint of the existing Walmart Supercenter at 29260 Central Avenue. Sophia Tatlin, a contract planner with the Community Development Department, said the proposed fuel station would occupy roughly 1.1 acres of the 17.66‑acre retail center and include eight multi‑product dispensers providing 16 fueling positions beneath a 5,419‑square‑foot canopy and a single‑story convenience store (the transcript record reads "16 18 square foot").
Staff told commissioners the original certified environmental impact report (EIR) for the Supercenter (approved in 2015) had included an option that rejected a gasoline station at that time over concerns about oversaturation and traffic. The applicant's team and staff said they had worked together for several months on site layout, circulation and traffic mitigation measures and that the project's traffic impact analysis (TIA) and mitigation measures were included in the record.
Commissioners and members of the public raised repeated concerns about traffic congestion near Central Avenue and SR‑74, nearby new developments, and several existing and proposed fuel stations in the immediate area. Commissioners cited the number of nearby fueling options (Costco, 7‑Eleven, Arco, Chevron and others) and a projected increase in traffic because of nearby projects and housing. Several commissioners said the traffic‑flow analysis in the record included projected background improvements but that the practical, on‑the‑ground congestion at the Walmart shopping center and along Central remains severe.
The applicant's civil engineer, Ryan Alvarez of Kimley‑Horn Associates, described a two‑part mitigation approach: off‑site measures that could include signal‑timing changes, and an on‑site traffic management plan with directional signage and internal circulation adjustments. Staff supported two clarifying modifications to conditions recommended for approval — clarifying that the convenience store is not proposing off‑site alcohol sales at this time and clarifying the traffic management plan submittal timeline — but recommended the commission approve the CUP and design review after those clarifications.
Several commissioners expressed skepticism that standard mitigation alone would resolve the real‑world congestion in that corridor. One commissioner explicitly asked staff to seek "drastic and very aggressive" off‑site mitigation if the project were to move forward. Given those concerns, Commissioner Peters moved to continue the item to a later meeting so staff and the applicant could work further on on‑site and off‑site circulation options; Commissioner Carroll seconded. The motion to continue carried.
Why it matters: Commissioners identified the Central Avenue/SR‑74 corridor as heavily congested and said nearby and proposed developments could further strain circulation. The commission's continuance signals a request for more robust traffic‑mitigation proposals before any approval.
Next steps: Staff and the applicant will return at a later date with additional traffic mitigation analysis and potential design adjustments; the transcript records a continuance motion and vote but does not set a firm return date in the excerpt.
