Planning Commission denies Walmart gas station, citing traffic and station saturation

The Lake Elsinore Planning Commission unanimously denied a conditional use permit and related commercial design review for a proposed Walmart gasoline station and convenience store at 29260 Central Avenue after hearing staff reports, applicant testimony and resident objections.

Staff consulting senior planner Sophia Tatian summarized the proposal: an approximately 1.1-acre footprint within the Walmart supercenter would host 8 multi-product dispensers (16 fueling positions) beneath a roughly 5,419-square-foot canopy and a ~1,618-square-foot convenience store. Staff noted the grocery center’s certified EIR from 2015 evaluated two development scenarios; the approved 2015 scenario (Option B) did not include a gas station. To address prior traffic and circulation concerns, the applicant provided a trip-generation memorandum (11/14/2025) and a two-day photo-based parking survey showing weekday and weekend transaction peaks; staff concluded the materials were suitable to assist the commission in decision-making and noted short-term mitigation such as traffic-signal timing and long-term roadway improvements expected from an I-15/Central Avenue interchange project.

Applicant Ryan Alvarez said the proposed fueling area occupies an underused portion of the Walmart parking lot, argued internal trip capture would reduce net external trips, and noted Walmart’s market research and Walmart Plus membership counts suggested community demand; he also pointed to planned city interchange improvements and interim signal-timing mitigations.

Several members of the public and the commissioners disagreed. Resident Lamar Salazar said chain-link closures at the store had already reduced parking availability, made curbside pickup difficult, and that adding a fuel station in an area with at least five nearby stations (including Costco) would worsen traffic and parking for shoppers. Commissioners said they had reviewed community comments posted online and concluded the site would contribute to an overconcentration of fuel stations in that area. One commissioner said the site might be suitable elsewhere in Lake Elsinore but not at this location until surrounding road and interchange improvements (SR-74 area) were completed.

After procedural clarification about who made the motion and how 'yes' votes would be recorded, the commission voted 3–0 to deny the conditional use permit and design review; the denial was recorded as unanimous among the three commissioners present with one absence noted. Staff said a draft resolution reflecting the commission’s action would be prepared for the next available meeting.