Board unanimously approves Penn Valley grocery project with traffic mitigations

The Nevada County Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Feb. 17 to approve a plan for a 30,711-square-foot grocery store at 18805–18807 Pine Shadows Lane in Penn Valley, adopting a mitigated negative declaration and required land‑use changes.

Staff senior planner Steve Geiger told the board the project requires a General Plan land‑use map amendment and a zoning map amendment to move the boundary between neighborhood commercial and light industrial on a roughly 5.5‑acre parcel, plus an Oak Resources Management Plan to address removal of several landmark oak trees. He said the project includes 158 parking stalls, a roughly 750‑square‑foot area for a Starbucks counter and landscaping that would meet county shade requirements.

Geiger said environmental review produced a mitigated negative declaration with 36 mitigation measures and an oak mitigation program that would require in‑lieu payments to a conservation fund administered by the Bear Yuba Land Trust (transcript: Bayouba Land Trust). The project will remove five of eight identified landmark trees on the site; the board’s conditions require mitigation payments and construction protections for biological resources.

Traffic and circulation were central topics in public and board comment. Geiger and the applicant’s traffic consultant analyzed five nearby intersections for AM and PM peak hours. The analysis found the Pleasant Valley Road/Commercial Avenue intersection could degrade to LOS E in the afternoon peak without mitigation; staff and the consultant identified lane‑configuration changes and turn‑lane scribing as mitigation. Additional required measures include payment of the county’s local transportation mitigation fee and striping/turn‑lane work at Pine Shadows Lane and Commercial Avenue.

Joseph Metzler, vice president of Lake Wildwood Association’s board, said the association supports the store but expressed concerns about traffic at Pleasant Valley Road and Route 20. He thanked county staff and the applicant for commitments to monitor traffic during the first year of operation and to use mitigation fees for larger corridor improvements.

Richie Morgan, executive chairman of North State Grocery (the applicant), explained the company’s local history and operations and said deliveries and truck traffic were expected to be similar to other neighborhood stores. “We think this store will get us another 40 years for that community,” Morgan said.

After public comment and applicant remarks, the board voted in separate motions to: adopt the mitigated negative declaration and mitigation monitoring program; adopt the General Plan amendment; introduce and waive further reading of the zoning ordinance amendment; and approve the development permit and Oak Resources Management Plan. Each motion passed by roll call with all supervisors voting yes.

Next steps include final engineering and permitting, annexation into the Nevada County Sanitation District through LAFCO for sewer service, and implementation of the mitigation monitoring and reporting program. The applicant must complete specified traffic improvements and pay required mitigation fees before or as a condition of the project’s construction approvals.