The Richmond Planning Commission voted 3-0 on July 17 to approve PLN24-139, a conditional-use permit for a proposed nursing college and trade school at 1414 Harbor Way.

The permit was approved on a motion from a commissioner with a second; the roll-call vote recorded the chair, the vice chair and the secretary voting in favor. The commission announced a 10-day appeal period for the decision and said appeals must reach the City Council by about July 27 or, as noted by staff, July 28 at 5 p.m.

The permit drew a public comment urging the commission to require labor standards on the project. Ruben Galvan, a representative of Norco Union Local 152, told commissioners that “every phase of development…should uphold fair wages, quality health benefits, and real career pathways through state accredited apprenticeship programs.” He said projects that lack those standards can lead to “lower wages, no benefits, and workers brought in with little or no training,” and warned that such conditions can enable wage theft, worker misclassification and other violations.

Commission discussion before the vote focused on routine consent-calendar procedures; commissioners moved the item off consent to allow a member of the public to speak and then voted to approve the permit. The commission did not specify additional labor or prevailing-wage conditions on the permit record during the meeting.

The commission recorded the motion as carrying 3-0. The secretary announced the appeal timeline and that anyone wishing to challenge the commission’s approval must file an appeal with the City Council within the published period.

The approval allows the project to proceed to permit review and any applicable building- or site-level checks; construction would remain subject to standard building-permit, zoning and inspection processes.