Planning commission approves optometry clinic at Old Bowl Center with parking exception, requires local site manager and 10AM start

Cheryl Johnson, CEO of Sonoma Valley Community Health Center, told the Planning Commission the clinic will bring optometry services to patients who otherwise must travel outside the valley and that the proposal reflects the center’s mission to serve underserved and Medi-Cal patients.

The commission unanimously approved a use-permit amendment and a six-space parking exception to allow the conversion of vacant space in Building 2 of the Old Bowl Center (19312 Sonoma Highway) to an optometry clinic and related administrative space. Commissioners attached conditions that the clinic’s daily patient hours begin at 10 a.m. (applicant may extend hours later in the day) and that the property owner maintain a local site manager in Sonoma to respond to on-site parking and tenant issues.

Why it matters: Commission staff found that Building 2 and the site generally functioned with the current parking layout, but the proposed new uses trigger the city’s parking standards and require an exception. The clinic’s proponents argued on public-health grounds that providing optometry care locally will increase access for people with diabetes,…