Planning commission approves deli permit, requires five-year bond for undergrounding on Betteravia Road

The Santa Maria Planning Commission on a unanimous vote approved Planned Development Permit PD2025-0005 for a 4,266-square-foot market and deli at 1500 West Betteravia Road, but attached a revised undergrounding requirement that the applicant may satisfy by posting a performance bond and completing the utility work within five years of issuance of the first grading or construction permit.

City planning staff described the site — a half-acre parcel at the southwest corner of West Betteravia Road and an intersecting local street — and said the project meets C-2 zoning setbacks and planting requirements. Daisy Miranda, planning staff, told commissioners that the project proposes 18 on-site parking spaces plus outdoor seating and staff determined that one required parking space may be reduced under the permit findings. Miranda also said the project is covered by a previously adopted initial study/negative declaration under CEQA Guidelines section 15162, and that municipal code section 12-28.06 requires utilities on the frontage to be undergrounded, an element carried in Condition 34 that staff revised to allow a performance bond.

The commission’s deliberations focused on the cost and feasibility of undergrounding three utility poles on the project frontage. Heather Gray, the project electrical engineer, said the location includes pole-mounted switching that requires pad-mounted switchgear and a full intersection redesign to place lines underground. "When we looked at all of this ... you're around about a $1,300,000 investment to accomplish that," Gray said, noting that the estimate is pre-utility-assessment and could escalate 20–30% if deferred several years. She added the work would depend on Pacific Gas & Electric’s schedule, which can add at least a year for coordination and design.

Applicant representative Brian (recorded in the hearing as both "Brian" and later referenced as Mr. Mueller) said the project is largely the same as one approved in 2016 and that he preferred deferral until a corridor-level undergrounding plan could spread costs. "We would prefer to defer that until other properties in the area develop," he said, though he added he was amenable to the revised staff approach allowing bonding for five years "but with reservation." Commissioners pressed staff and public works on mechanisms to spread costs, asking whether a district, reimbursement map or capital improvement program could subsidize or reimburse undergrounding costs for projects that benefit the corridor. Public Works staff (Mark) said some reimbursement mechanisms exist for water and sewer and that an electrical-district or other financing approach would require study and possibly council action.

Commissioner Seaford said the proposed requirement places a heavy burden on a single small-business operator and urged staff to explore cost-sharing. "This is a huge hardship for this particular business," Seaford said, adding he would raise the issue with the mayor and council. Several commissioners and staff acknowledged the code change that moved undergrounding requirements into Title 12 in July 2022 and said exceptions or programmatic approaches could be explored.

On a motion by Commissioner Seaford, seconded by Commissioner Lopez, the commission approved PD2025-0005, including the revised language for Condition 34 that starts the five-year period at issuance of the first grading or construction permit. The roll call recorded ayes for the motion and the permit passed. The parking modification (proposed 18 spaces vs. 19 required given outdoor seating) was included in the approval as a finding included with the permit.

Next steps: the applicant may submit for building and grading permits; if the applicant posts a performance bond instead of completing undergrounding before occupancy, the bond must cover the full cost estimate and the utility work must be completed within five years of the first grading or construction permit per the approved condition. Staff said the city could explore corridor-level approaches or code amendments in the future to address disproportionate costs for small projects.