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Council moves to align grocery-store definitions with state, industry standards in development code amendment
Summary
The council introduced ordinance MC1648 to amend Title 19 definitions for neighborhood grocery stores and supermarkets—aligning local size thresholds with state and industry standards—and set adoption for March 5, 2025; the motion passed unanimously.
The San Bernardino mayor and city council voted unanimously to introduce a city-initiated amendment to the development code that revises definitions for "neighborhood grocery store" and "supermarket" to align the city's zoning code with state law and industry standards.
Senior planner Mike Rosales told the council that the proposed Development Code Amendment 24-06 would amend Chapter 19.02.005 to update the size thresholds that distinguish neighborhood grocery stores and full-service supermarkets. Rosales said the city currently defines a neighborhood grocery store as 5,001 to 15,000 square feet and a supermarket as larger than 15,000 square feet, while state and industry standards more commonly treat 10,000 square feet as the threshold for a full-service grocery subject to certain state requirements. He cited Health and Safety Code provisions and Senate Bill 1383 in that context.
Rosales recommended the council introduce Ordinance No. MC1648 by title only, find the action statutorily exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under Public Resources Code § 21080.17, and schedule adoption for the council's March 5, 2025 meeting. Council member Sanchez moved to waive further reading and introduce the ordinance by title; the motion was seconded and passed unanimously on digital vote.
Supporters at the hearing urged the change as a means to allow smaller-format grocery operators to compete on equal footing and to attract viable businesses into vacant commercial properties. One speaker asked the council to avoid additional Dollar General-style outlets in certain neighborhoods; Rosales and council members discussed the city's notification radius for major projects and confirmed San Bernardino's practice of notifying property owners within a 1,000-foot radius, double the minimum 500-foot state requirement.
The ordinance introduced by title reads: "An ordinance of the mayor and city council of the City of San Bernardino approving Development Code Amendment 24-06, amending Chapter 19.02.005 to update definitions for neighborhood grocery stores and supermarkets to align with state and industry standards." The council scheduled the adoption vote for March 5, 2025.
The change is intended to reduce regulatory misalignment that staff said disadvantages operators of stores sized between the city's prior thresholds and the state's/industry's thresholds.
