Fortuna planning commission recommends rezoning 703 Main Street to allow future ambulance base; public raises siren, CEQA and notice concerns

The Fortuna Planning Commission on Feb. 10 voted to recommend that the City Council rezone 703 Main Street (APN 040-172-009) from Retail Commercial to Commercial Thoroughfare, a change staff said aligns the parcel with the city’s commercial General Plan designation and does not in itself require environmental review.

Planning staff member Katie Schmidt told the commission the parcel is a 10,000-square-foot lot with a 1,500-square-foot primary structure and a 960-square-foot accessory structure, and said the commission’s action would be a zoning map amendment only; any future use-specific approvals, including a conditional use permit (CUP) for an ambulance base, would be considered later and undergo separate review. Schmidt said the project qualifies for the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) “common-sense” exemption under CEQA Guidelines §15061(b)(3) because the rezone alone is not expected to cause environmental effects.

Neighbors and business owners…