After heated hearing, board approves Arco/AMPM at Ponderosa interchange with condition to delay ground disturbance until CIP work proceeds
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Summary
Following hours of testimony from neighbors, the applicant and county staff, the Board of Supervisors approved the Duroc Road AMPM conditional use permit but required that construction not commence until the county's US-50 Ponderosa Road interchange CIP begins or June 1, 2028 (whichever occurs first), directing coordination between applicant and DOT.
The Board of Supervisors heard a multi-hour appeal Feb. 3 of a Planning Commission approval for an Arco/AMPM facility at Duroc Road and South Shingle Road, near the Ponderosa Road interchange. The proposal includes a convenience store, vehicle fuel sales and a car wash; the car wash triggered a conditional-use permit because of local zoning.
The Shingle Springs Community Alliance contended the project would worsen an already-congested and high-collision area near the Ponderosa interchange, cited collision clustering and urged denial or postponement until the county's capital improvement project (CIP) to realign Duroc Road and add roundabouts is complete. "This is going to be a recipe for chaos," appellant volunteer Andy Nevis said, summarizing neighborhood concerns about queueing, blind turns on alternate routes and student-driver safety near the nearby high school.
The applicant's team and its traffic engineer, Mario Tambellini, defended the traffic analysis, saying typical gas-station trips are largely "pass-by" stops (studies commonly show about 60% pass-by) and that the study followed state, Caltrans and county thresholds for CEQA and traffic impacts. The applicant proposed design changes and added measures such as a left-turn pocket and flexible delineators to prohibit unsafe left egress under interim conditions.
Public comment was lengthy and heavily attended; many local residents told the board they experience long queues, near-misses and dangerous turning maneuvers at the interchange at many times of day. Others, including a set of business and chamber representatives and some residents, supported the project as a local-commercial investment and employer that had revised plans in response to community feedback.
Board members debated technical thresholds, local experience and timing of the county CIP. Supervisor Parlin and others emphasized the long-standing safety problems in the interchange and asked whether the county could delay approval until the CIP project was underway. DOT reported the county expects to begin the CIP construction phase in 2028 and that full mitigation of circulation issues depends on the CIP's completion.
After deliberation the board approved the conditional use permit but appended a new condition (a modification of the Planning Commission's condition) delaying commencement of ground-disturbing construction on the site until the county begins construction of CIP number 336104008 or until June 1, 2028, whichever occurs first. The board also directed staff and the applicant to coordinate construction timing with DOT. The motion passed unanimously.
