Lodi SPARC approves 44-unit ‘Sunset Housing’ senior townhomes after finding gutted Sunset Theater lacks historic integrity

A City of Lodi planning committee on Jan. 14 approved a 44-unit senior townhome project called Sunset Housing at 1100 West Lodi Avenue, finding the proposal eligible for a CEQA Class 32 infill exemption and clearing the way for demolition of the long-vacant Sunset Theater.

Deputy Director and city planner Cynthia Marsh presented the project and the environmental findings, telling the Site Plan and Architectural Review Committee that "the city has determined the project qualifies for class 32 infill exemption, and that a notice of exemption would be filed." Marsh said two consultant reports — a phase 1 cultural resources inventory and a historic assessment — documented extensive interior and exterior alterations and concluded the theater no longer retains the integrity required to be a historic resource under CEQA.

Why it matters: The committee’s determination that the theater has lost the physical features that would convey historical significance means the city is not required to perform an Environmental Impact Report for the development under CEQA; it also resolved a…