Santa Maria planning commission backs former Sears remodel, allows bus-shelter in-lieu option

The Santa Maria Planning Commission voted unanimously April 16 to recommend that City Council approve a downtown permit to remodel the vacant former Sears building at 226 East Main Street into a grocery store with additional ground-floor and two second-floor tenant spaces, and to add an option allowing the developer to either install a transit shelter and concrete pad before opening or pay an in-lieu fee before building permits are issued. The motion carried on a 5-0 roll call.

The 114,000-square-foot, two-story building on a roughly 5.4-acre site has been vacant since 2020 and is located at the southwest corner of Main and Miller streets in the Santa Maria Town Center. Planning staff told the commission the project is in the town center district of the downtown specific plan and, because it exceeds 10,000 square feet, requires a downtown permit reviewed by the commission with a recommendation to City Council. Staff said the project was adequately covered by a previously certified environmental impact report for the downtown specific plan and no further review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is required.

Carol Zuzahini, planning staff, summarized changes made since an April 2 hearing after commissioners had raised concerns about blank second-floor walls on Miller Street, unbalanced second-floor doors and overly tall corner tower elements. Zuzahini said architects lowered the corner elements by about two feet, reduced cornice size, relocated a second-floor door and added large planters, benches and other promenade landscaping to activate the second-floor space. She also described enforceable plan elements — such as planter locations — that staff will require with the building permit.

“We saw this a couple weeks ago,” Zuzahini said, outlining the before-and-after elevations and the requirement that second-floor planters be installed as part of the building permit to address the blank wall on Miller Street.

Applicant representatives said they have been working with staff for years to redevelop the site and said timing for tenant build-outs is critical. Sarah Magana Withers, director of entitlement and development for the applicant, said the developer filed its application in December and is concerned that additional layers of review could delay tenant openings and risk losing deals.

“Timing is the absolute most critical point,” Magana Withers said. She later offered that the developer was “willing to donate $20,000” to help fund the bus-shelter work if that would prevent a delay tied to occupancy.

Public works and transportation staff defended the city’s request for a bus stop and explained the practical requirements. Public works staff said adding a bus stop at the site would complete access on Route 3 and that the shelter would serve people likely to use transit to reach the grocery store. Mark Mueller, public-works/transportation staff, told commissioners the work would not require a Caltrans encroachment permit for the bus stop location on Miller Street and that the shelter would require a prefabricated structure and a concrete pad in the roadway to withstand bus loading.

“The bus stop would be on Miller. The bus (stop) would not require a Caltrans encroachment permit. It would be issued at the public works department office,” Mueller said. He added that the city can accept an in-lieu payment for the shelter and pad if the commission and applicant prefer that approach.

Assistant City Attorney Heather Whittam clarified a separate issue on administrative incentives tied to the downtown specific plan. Whittam told the commission that a draft permit condition (previously numbered and discussed at earlier hearings) would allow the applicant an incentive: future second-floor tenants with floor area of 10,000 square feet or greater could be processed only to the planning commission and would not have to go to City Council. Whittam said the Planning Commission has discretion to approve the permit with that incentive in place and that City Council will have the final say when the commission’s recommendation goes to council.

“The permit, condition number 5, provides the applicant with an incentive that new tenants, a floor area of 10,000 or greater, will be processed only to the planning commission and not the council,” Whittam said.

Commissioners repeatedly praised the applicant’s revised elevations and landscape additions, but several said they preferred that City Council have the final decision on whether to retain the incentive allowing future large tenants to bypass council review. Commissioners urged the applicant to use a planning commission study session before hearings for future tenant approvals to streamline the formal hearing process.

On the specific bus-shelter requirement, commissioners and staff agreed to amend the permit condition so the applicant could either construct the shelter and pad prior to first occupancy or pay an in-lieu fee before building permits are issued so the city could build the shelter on the developer’s behalf. Public works staff agreed to supply design specifications and a preliminary cost estimate to the applicant in advance of the council hearing.

Commissioner remarks during the discussion included praise for the applicant’s responsiveness. “I’m really happy with the changes that have been made and I feel comfortable with this project at this point,” Commissioner Seifert said. Commissioners also noted circulation and loading arrangements would remain largely as designed; the applicant and its operations staff said separate loading facilities were necessary for functional circulation and to accommodate smaller delivery vehicles.

The commission’s action was to recommend City Council approve downtown permit DT2020312 as filed, modified to allow the in-lieu payment option for the bus shelter/pad (either install the shelter before occupancy or pay an in-lieu fee prior to building permits so the city can build it). The vote was unanimous: Seifert — Aye; Blanco — Aye; Lopez — Aye; Mohajer — Aye; Chair Dickerson — Aye.

Next steps: the commission’s recommendation, including the modified condition, will go to the Santa Maria City Council for final consideration. Planning staff and public works will provide the applicant with bus-shelter specifications and a cost estimate before the council hearing.