Planning commission approves Taco Bell drive-through at Rossmore Shopping Center with midnight closing

The Walnut Creek Planning Commission on July 10 approved conditional use permits and design review for a new Taco Bell with a drive-through at 1960 Tice Valley Boulevard in the Rossmore Shopping Center, voting 7–0 to adopt the draft resolution with a condition that the restaurant and the drive-up/takeout window close at midnight daily.

City staff presented the proposal as a 1,495-square-foot eating and drinking establishment with a drive-through on a 12.4-acre shopping-center parcel. The plan retains required parking for the center after removing 35 stalls (from 537 to 502 stalls), meeting the zoning parking ratio (about 4.2 spaces per 1,000 square feet). Staff said the project preserves two large London plane trees the Design Review Commission recommended keeping; a third London plane tree (labelled Tree 17 in the plans) was found by the city arborist to be in poor health and is proposed for removal and replacement with four new trees.

The proposal includes one internally illuminated wall sign (45 square feet) oriented away from nearby residences toward the Chevron station, four new light poles, new landscaping (more than 5,000 square feet of planting) and a new bioswale for stormwater treatment. Staff identified the project as categorically exempt under CEQA (Cal. Code Regs. tit. 14, §15303; staff also referenced Notice of Determination No. 216-135) and recommended adoption of the resolution approving the design review and conditional use permits, with findings documented in the staff packet.

Assistant planner Gerardo Victoria walked commissioners through the site layout and revisions made after the Design Review Commission study session, including preserving the two plane trees, changing the exterior colors to better match the shopping center (replacing a darker stucco with a “cyberspace” charcoal/neutral blue and cedar-gray siding) and removing one of three previously proposed signs. Victoria said the project will have one bicycle rack to meet the bicycle parking requirement and that the drive-through queuing was analyzed and can accommodate up to nine stacked vehicles, with a technical queuing study provided by the applicant.

Applicant Henry Grieve of Diversified Restaurant Group and Taco Bell described site constraints — a Safeway-protected tenant area, a sanitary sewer easement, and existing circulation — and said the team iterated through multiple site plans. Grieve said the drive-through stack accommodates nine vehicles and that the applicant does not expect continual heavy queuing: “We don't expect this to be, you know, a super busy Taco Bell to be completely frank. This is gonna be a smaller town Taco Bell with some feel to it.”

Several nearby residents and long-term neighborhood speakers urged denial, citing pedestrian safety, traffic circulation, late‑night noise and trash, effects on property values and the character of the Rossmore/Tice Valley neighborhood. Speakers included Jeff Shane (1930 Old Oak Drive), Jonathan Bates (1995 Honey Locust Court), Karen Bates (1995 Honey Locust Court), Terry McDonald (1928 Tortoise Place), Anne Hatanaka (1982 Sunan Court) and Bettina Uno (1984 Sunan Court). Concerns included cumulative congestion in the shopping center, the drive-through queuing backing into parking aisles, trash blown onto adjacent yards and the effect of a late‑night drive-through on nearby seniors and children.

Applicant representatives and employees responded to concerns with operational commitments: Yovanni Rodriguez, director of operations for Diversified Restaurant Group (DRG), said the company will do hourly lot cleaning, maintain employee training programs and operate community-support programs such as DRG Cares and scholarships. DRG representative Cody Fisher, director of construction, noted color and landscape revisions and said the team had worked to retain trees and add landscaping.

Commissioners pressed staff and the applicant on circulation details, the visibility of the east elevation from Rossmore Parkway, queuing analysis methodology, and whether Safeway truly operated until midnight (there was conflicting public testimony about Safeway’s hours). Because the resolution included references to hours that originally said the drive-through could be open until 2 a.m., the commission revised motions on the floor so the dining room closes at midnight daily and the drive-up/takeout window also closes at midnight. That condition was explicitly read into the motion before the vote. The roll-call vote was recorded as: Commissioner Kwok — Yes; Commissioner Strongman — Yes; Commissioner Moran — Yes; Commissioner Count — Yes; Commissioner Klopp — Yes; Vice Chair Knighting — Yes; Chair Anderson — Yes. Motion carried 7–0.

Conditions in the approval include compliance with the Rossmore Shopping Center master sign program, preservation/replacement consistent with the city arborist’s determination (removal allowed for Tree 17 in poor health with replacement trees required), conformance to the Design Review Commission recommendations that were incorporated, and that the applicant comply with applicable environmental determinations and the city's permit conditions. Staff said the applicant will provide a final landscaping plan, lighting details and any required public‑realm improvements and will need to coordinate with Safeway on tenant‑controlled areas.

The commission closed the public hearing and directed staff to finalize the resolution language to reflect the midnight closing condition and to ensure the final adopted packet matches the hours and conditions approved by the commission.