Commission approves gym at 905 South Rock Boulevard after removing midday restriction

The Sparks Planning Commission voted unanimously to approve a conditional use permit for a private training health and fitness club at 905 South Rock Boulevard and amended staff’s recommended condition to remove a proposed 10 a.m.–2 p.m. midday restriction.

City staff described the application for a fitness facility in an existing industrial building on a 1.84‑acre parcel. The site contains three buildings, including the vacant northern building proposed for the fitness club. Staff apologized for a typographical error in the staff report that misstated the parcel size in one place; they confirmed the correct parcel area is 1.84 acres. The site currently has 67 shared parking spaces; the applicant proposed adding 19 spaces for a total of 87, which staff said meets zoning parking rates for the mixture of uses on the parcel.

Staff recommended restricting group class hours to 5 a.m.–10 a.m. and 2 p.m.–10 p.m. Monday–Saturday (no restriction Sundays) and requiring appointment‑only signage to reduce walk‑ins and parking pressure. Staff estimated trip generation from the gym as 10 a.m. peak hour trips, 26 p.m. peak‑hour trips, and about 80 average daily trips based on an ITE trip generation letter provided by the applicant.

Applicant representative Josh Dwener told commissioners the business model includes one‑on‑one training, small group sessions (1 coach to up to five clients) and larger group sessions limited to 20 clients per coach. Dwener said the applicant planned to schedule larger groups outside the daytime peak of the adjacent tenant and keep smaller sessions during midday. Property owner Cindy Thomas, who owns Sparks Tile and Stone and the parcel, spoke in public comment and said she was not notified in advance about the proposed midday restriction. Thomas said, “I didn't know that you guys could dictate that,” and urged the commission not to "handcuff" the new small business, noting she has operated on the block for 17 years and helped clean up the area.

Commissioners asked staff and the applicant whether the hours condition could be modified administratively later. Staff and the city attorney advised that any change to hours after approval would require an amendment to the conditional use permit and return to the commission. Scott Carey, development services manager, suggested the commission could amend the hours condition now if it wished, and also noted staff’s recurring concerns about parking for similar uses in the industrial zone.

After public comment from the property owner and neighbors supporting the gym, Commissioner Kramer moved to approve the CUP subject to the staff findings and conditions but amend condition 6 to remove the 10 a.m.–2 p.m. restriction; Commissioner Rodriguez Elkins seconded. The commission voted to approve the permit and the amended hours condition. The adopted condition as amended allows operation between 5 a.m. and 10 p.m. without the midday restriction and leaves Sundays unrestricted as in the staff report.

The permit includes standard conditions on parking, landscaping (the site is not required to add South Rock Boulevard landscaping since no building expansion is proposed), and requiring repair/screening of existing outdoor storage areas. The applicant indicated larger group sessions would be limited to 20 clients and one coach; staff required appointment‑only signage and a limit on group sizes in the conditions as written in the staff report.