Planning commission approves fueling station, convenience store and car wash at 8881 Calvine Road

The Sacramento County Planning Commission voted to recommend that the Board of Supervisors approve a zoning ordinance amendment, conditional use permit and design review for a commercial development at 8881 Calvine Road in the Vineyard community.

The project, presented by Christian Balthazar, associate planner with Planning, Environmental Review, would convert a vacant 2.5-acre parcel into a development with a fueling station (six double-sided dispensers), a 5,347-square-foot convenience store, a 1,713-square-foot car wash, and a 5,382-square-foot retail building. Staff said the environmental review concluded a mitigated negative declaration was appropriate and recommended adoption of a mitigation monitoring and reporting program.

The project package requests removal of a prior ordinance condition that required compliance with specific site and landscape exhibits from a 2007 approval so the applicant may pursue an alternative site design. Balthazar told commissioners the site is zoned Lyte Commercial (LC) and is adjacent to commercial and multifamily uses; staff found the proposal consistent with the general plan, the Vineyard Community Plan and the zoning code.

Balthazar said the applicant plans to remove all on-site trees except for one oak at the southeast corner and to plant 62 new trees, including street trees along Calvine Road and parking-lot shade trees to meet shading standards. He also said the development was reviewed under CEQA and that mitigation measures in the initial study/mitigated negative declaration would reduce impacts to less-than-significant levels with implementation.

During questions, a commissioner noted semi truck movements at the adjacent tire shop and asked whether that was addressed in the traffic analysis. Balthazar answered that Department of Transportation and the applicant discussed potentially extending the median and providing a half-turn signal; he said such changes could require the removal of two medians' oak trees and that mitigation measures were included to address tree removal. He added an agreement with the City of Elk Grove would be required if a half-turn signal and associated fees were needed.

Kurt Wagonak of K12 Architects, representing the applicant, told the commission he and the owner had reviewed staff conditions and were “in approval” of them. No public comments were submitted at the hearing.

Vice Chair Borja moved to support staff recommendations; the motion was seconded and passed on a roll call vote of four in favor (Member Borja: yes; Chair Conklin: yes; Member Corona Savignano: yes; Member Verga: yes).

The staff report and project plans, including elevations, the canopy design for the fueling area, and landscape exhibits, are included in the planning packet. Balthazar noted prior entitlements from 2007 had allowed a larger retail shopping center but that a tentative parcel map approved then was never recorded and expired. Planning staff also noted no active code enforcement cases exist for the parcel.