Commission approves Sacramento Street retail with accessory medical services for Skin Spirit

The Planning Commission on Feb. 4 approved a conditional use authorization allowing Skin Spirit to convert a 2,400‑square‑foot vacant storefront at 3325 Sacramento Street into a combined retail and personal service business, with medical services allowed only as an accessory use limited to less than one‑third of the tenant area.

Staff (Colin Clark) said the Sacramento Street NCD requires conditional use for personal service uses on the ground floor, and that the zoning administrator had determined medical services would be allowed as an accessory function provided they remain under one‑third of floor area. The applicant presented designs to restore historic clerestory windows, provide an accessible entry, add bicycle parking and a street tree, and activate the front 25 feet as retail.

Public comment was mixed. Supporters, including nearby property owners and the Sacramento Street Merchant Association, said activation of a long‑vacant storefront would help foot traffic; some existing small business owners warned that a medically oriented use could erode retail character and increase parking pressure. Owner Lynn Hublin said approximately 80% of transactions include a retail component and that the retail area will be emphasized in the front of the space.

Commissioners emphasized the retail requirement at the front of the store, the accessory limit for medical uses, and added standard conditions about signage, accessibility, and monitoring of operations. The motion to approve, as amended by staff to add findings and conditions, passed unanimously 6–0.

Outcome: conditional use authorization approved with conditions to preserve retail frontage, limit accessory medical services to under one‑third of gross floor area, and require accessibility improvements and neighborhood coordination.