Zoning administrator approves Fruta Ice Cream mobile facility at 2970 Santa Rosa Avenue

The Santa Rosa zoning administrator approved a minor conditional use permit to allow Fruta Ice Cream to operate a mobile ice cream facility at 2970 Santa Rosa Avenue, with operating hours limited by conditions of approval and an outdoor seating area that must close nightly at 9 p.m., city planning staff said.

Planning staff presented the project as a temporary mobile food facility to operate in the front parking lot while the main building undergoes a remodel. Staff said the truck’s proposed hours are 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays, and that employees will use a restroom located inside the main building during operations. The staff report recommended approval, noting the project is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act as a minor, temporary land use.

Planner Sichnor Visva summarized site details for the zoning administrator, describing the location on Santa Rosa Avenue, the property’s CG (general commercial) zoning and a retail-and-business-services general-plan designation. Visva showed a site plan locating the truck, adjacent trash and recycling, and a purple-marked outdoor seating area that staff conditioned to close at 9 p.m. daily because of nearby single-family residences to the east. Visva told the administrator that staff had not received public comments and that findings could be met.

During the meeting the zoning administrator asked for confirmation that the applicant understood the permit conditions limiting late-weeknight hours and was told by staff that any operation beyond the conditioned hours would require a modification of the use permit. The applicant was present by Zoom; staff confirmed the applicant had accepted the conditions of approval.

The zoning administrator said approving the permit would allow the business to continue operations while the main building is remodeled and that the conditions should avoid incompatibility with neighboring residences. The administrator approved the permit and advised that the action is final unless an appeal is filed with the city clerk’s office within 10 calendar days. The transcript records the appeal deadline for this item as “Tuesday, 04/01/2024.”