Council approves Costco depot annexation, certifies EIR and pre-zones site M‑1

The Tracy City Council on March 4 voted to certify a final Environmental Impact Report (EIR), adopt a Mitigation Monitoring and Reporting Program (MMRP) and approve a development review permit for the “Tracy Costco Depot Annex” project, a proposal to annex about 104.46 acres at 1600 West Schulte Road and build two warehouse buildings totaling roughly 1,700,000 square feet.

Project planner Genevieve Federighi told the council the annexation area is “about 104 acres” and that the development review permit would allow two buildings, one about 544,000 square feet and the other roughly 1,200,000 square feet, with truck queuing designed to keep backups off Schulte Road. Federighi said the city will submit a petition to the San Joaquin Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCO) to add the property to city limits and that the proposed zoning for the site is light industrial (M‑1).

Nut graf: The council’s decisions clear the way for Costco Wholesale to expand its Tracy logistics campus, subject to LAFCO approval of annexation and the city’s implementation of mitigation measures spelled out in the final EIR. The EIR identified some significant and unavoidable impacts (including air quality and vehicle miles traveled) while the applicant agreed to additional…