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Council upholds appeal, denies Whitmore Avenue 20-truck grub-hub and live-music permit
Summary
After neighbors and a prior developer raised concerns about parking, amplified noise and alcohol near a cannabis retailer, the council voted to uphold the appeal and deny the conditional-use permit for a proposed 20-truck grub-hub at 1379 East Whitmore Ave.
The Ceres City Council on Sept. 8 upheld an appeal and denied a conditional-use permit for a proposed truck-stop grub-hub and outdoor music venue at 1379 East Whitmore Avenue.
Planning staff described the project as a 2.94‑acre site intended to host up to 20 food trucks, a commissary area for truck servicing, and a request for limited live music. The staff report noted the project provided 68 parking stalls (50 required for trucks at 2.5 spaces per truck plus ADA and EV spaces) and that the applicant had submitted a noise study showing projected levels would not exceed existing roadway traffic in nearby measured locations.
Appellants and nearby residents told the council the site lacks sufficient customer parking, that staff and planning did not give them full notice in earlier rounds, and that allowing alcohol or live music next to a parcel used by a cannabis retailer would create land‑use conflicts. Appellants also said they had been told in past city conversations that only two grub‑hub-style facilities would be allowed in the city; staff said the current code has no numerical limit on grub hubs and that any prior verbal claims don't supersede written ordinances.
Council members raised safety and operational concerns: potential spillover parking on Whitmore Avenue, limited non‑employee parking given the number of trucks and employees, enforcement of noise or amplified‑sound limits, and possible alcohol-related public-safety effects. One councilor noted that the site's size and parking make it unsuitable to function as a larger concert venue while others worried about how cumulative effects — trucks, music and alcohol — would interact.
The motion to approve the appeal (which results in denial of the CUP) cited parking, music and alcohol/public-safety concerns and directed staff to prepare a resolution memorializing council's action for the next meeting. The vote was recorded as 4 in favor, 0 opposed, and 1 abstention (Vice Mayor Martinez recorded an abstention); Council Member Casey was recused from this item and had stepped away prior to the discussion.
