Planning commission approves medical/dental clinic and urgent care at 4433–4437 Tweedy Boulevard

The South Gate Planning Commission on Tuesday approved Conditional Use Permit (CUP) 25-03 to establish a medical and dental office with urgent care and an on-site pharmacy at 4433 and 4437 Tweedy Boulevard.

Associate Planner Joshua Valdez presented the staff report and recommended adoption of Resolution No. 2025-11, saying the proposal meets the Tweedy Boulevard Specific Plan (TMU-2) development standards and is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under Class 1 (existing facilities, §15301) and Class 32 (infill development, §15332). Valdez described the site as an adaptive reuse of an existing building with a total lot size of 11,411 square feet (about 0.26 acres). The tenant composition described in the staff report includes approximately 2,655 square feet of dental space, a 531-square-foot pharmacy, and a 371-square-foot clinic/urgent care unit.

Commissioners heard written comments, including support from Mario Dominguez Jr., who asked whether the urgent care would accept LA Care insurance, and a three-page letter from the Los Angeles Unified School District noting Bryson Elementary School—across the street with 737 students—as a sensitive receptor and requesting that the project specifically address potential impacts to air quality, noise and pedestrian safety. Valdez summarized the district’s concerns and listed recommended measures included in the district’s letter.

During questioning, commissioners raised construction and operational concerns. One commissioner asked whether proposed landscaping or tenant improvements would require extensive grading; staff replied the project is a reuse with limited exterior modifications and no extensive excavation is proposed beyond localized plumbing or pavement work. On parking, staff explained that the Tweedy Mile zoning approach reduces minimum parking requirements to encourage shared parking and “park once” behavior and that within 0.15 miles of the site there are five public parking spaces; staff also noted Assembly Bill 2097 limits local minimum parking requirements for projects within a half mile of a high-quality transit stop.

Applicant and property owner Jack Azad told the commission the facility “is gonna be LA Care… CareFirst, Molina, HealthNet, all major plans” and said both medical and dental services would be offered for patients across age ranges.

A commissioner asked why the project references a traffic memo rather than a full traffic study; staff and public works staff said smaller infill projects commonly use a traffic memo unless trip generation exceeds thresholds that would trigger a full traffic impact analysis. On utilities, staff said water-meter sizing is determined by fixture counts in the building permit stage.

The commission approved the staff recommendation in a roll-call vote with three recorded yes votes and one recusal (Vice Chair Prieto recused). Commissioners recorded their votes as follows: Commissioner Rosaleta, yes; Commissioner Valenzuela, yes; Vice Chair Prieto, recused; Chair (unnamed), yes. Staff said they would put the applicant in touch with the LAUSD contact to coordinate construction timing and mitigation measures.

As conditions, staff included standard construction best-management practices to address air quality, noise and traffic during construction and a condition (condition No. 11) requiring that, if public art is provided in the form of a mural, the applicant submit an application to the Community Development Department and, if necessary, the piece be reviewed by the arts commission under South Gate Municipal Code chapter 11.32.

The planning commission’s action adopts Resolution No. 2025-11 approving CUP 25-03; the applicant may proceed with the building-permit and tenant-improvement process subject to the resolution’s conditions.

The commission took a brief break after the vote and resumed other business.