Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Dealing with traffic backups at the stop sign located at Bullard And 5th. As such, vehicles are continually cutting through the designated alleyway or our driveway. The project will cause both the safety and a wear and tear issue for the increased traffic in the alleyway. And I I might add that Mountain View Investment Property is responsible for maintaining that city designated alleyway including painting of any directional signs. And there is no designated on-site parking with this plan that was submitted.

The existing adjoining buildings already take up the available street parking and we will have to constantly monitor and remove people from our properties, limited parking spaces, costing us both time and money, not to mention the additional maintenance and the personal stress on me having to play parking lot and trespassing attendant. The owner of the designated parking will require their vehicles to back up directly onto our office windows. And I know that for a fact. I looked at the plan. My office window would face exactly to that parking space.

So again, we'll have to monitor our lot for trespassing both after hours and during working hours for spillover. And there's also no ability for those cars, if you look at that plan, if he parks in straight, there's no ability for those cars to back out if our parking lot is full. We have a trash bin area and our parking spaces. It's just not a practical solution. The height of the building is also not compatible with the adjoining property or businesses.

That particular structure will block two thirds of our natural sunlight into our offices for the majority of the day. So we definitely see that as an issue. In addition, those parking spots, as he's backing up, is going to just push that air pollution right into our offices. So, in addition, with that three story structure, I'm a CPA and I'm an auditor, and I keep confidential information in my office. With the three story structure, that gentleman, and I don't care how secure I make those windows or those blinds, you can peer down through optical devices and see into those windows.

I'm an IT auditor, I'm a forensic auditor, I'm a physical security auditor. There's no way I can secure that building unless I totally black out all of my windows from that height. Customers of the business will also create an ongoing nuisance. There's no parking, there's no spaces, there's only place for them to loiter is either on the sidewalk or on our property. And it will cause both myself and those tenants ongoing stress and affect our ability to operate.

The construction, which from the experts I've spoken to, will take at least a year. So it's going to interfere with my ongoing business operations. I've already had a deal with him when he was doing his soil test. They pulled into my parking spaces. That construction was so loud, I had to disconnect from a call with the IRS in order to conduct a business and ask them to stop doing it, why, during business hours, which they refused.

So it's gonna impact my ability to earn a living, as well as my tenants have already told me, this project goes through, this construction gets approved, they're vacating the premises. So not only will I lose a tenant, my ability to gain a tenant is going to be significantly hampered with this structure. So also, Ms. Williams, when I had a conversation with her earlier, and I know she's had conversations with other property owners next to us, has stated that because there's no designated parking for this structure, the parking is actually, by the architect, is going to be at the corner of Woodworth And Bullard. Okay?

So as I mentioned, I own the property at Woodworth And Bullard. And for 14 years, I've dealt nothing but problems with the City Of Clovis overflow from their city parking lot, the rodeo car wash, the Elks Club, and the adjoining businesses across the street. Those parking spots are already taken up by the existing businesses. I've been sued by customers of those adjoining businesses, as has the city. It's an ongoing issue.

I've repeatedly brought it up to the city, and that issue gets ignored. So now you wanna put another building, create the same issue for me at my other property, and then you're gonna push this these vehicles down the street to where they're gonna go right into my parking lot and create the same issue for me. And I don't care how many signs I put up, they're ineffective. And I'm not a parking lot attendant. I'm not a traffic cop, but I'm tired of being the neighborhood watch for the downtown city of Clovis. It's unreasonable. It's unrealistic. This project, it's too big. The intensity is too large for that small lot. There's many other things he could do there, and we've I've discussed it with that property owner.

But for twenty three years, he's left that property as a derelict property. I know it for a fact because I'm the one that paid to clean it up because he has a refusal to do so, but with his permission. So now he's gonna tell me he's gonna be a responsible property owner by putting up a three story obstruction for the rest of us. So it's unrealistic, and it's unfair, and it's gonna cost me my livelihood. I'm a sole practitioner. You affect my ability of my clients to park in my parking spot or to access my business, you put me out of business. It's unfair. Those are my comments.

Thank you for that. Is there anyone else here wishing to speak on this item? Okay. Seeing none, we'll close the public portion and bring it back to the commission. Anybody got any comments, questions? Okay. Seeing none, I will make a motion to consider CUP twenty twenty five dash zero zero six to a date certain of 01/22/2026.

Second.

I have a motion from commissioner Hatcher and a second from commissioner Hebert to continue the item to date certain. Commissioner Hatcher? Yes. Commissioner Hebert? Yes. Commissioner Hinkle? Yes. Motion carries. Item is continued.

Okay. Moving back to item number two, consider approval of CUP twenty twenty five dash zero zero eight, adopting a class one categorical exemption from further environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act and approving a conditional use permit to allow an indoor entertainment center for children of all abilities located at 80 West Bullard Avenue, Suite

110, Cavaso Investments LLC owner, LRB architect applicant, and Christopher Reyes is the representative. Tiffany. Good evening again, commissioners. Tonight, I will be presenting item number two on the agenda CUP twenty twenty five dash zero zero eight. The proposed indoor entertainment center is located on 80 West Bullard Avenue, Suite 110.

It will be located on the Southwest corner of West Bullard Avenue and Minnewawa Avenue in the Crossroads Shopping Center. The surrounding uses are commercial to the north and the east. There is multi family residential to the South and there is single family residential to the West. The site is zoned c two community commercial. The general plan land use designation is general commercial.

Both the zone district and the land use designation allow the proposed use subject to an approved conditional use permit. The indoor entertainment center will be known as we rock the spectrum. It is designed for children of all abilities, offering open play to children without special needs ages 12 and under, and to children with special needs there is no age restriction. All children are required to be accompanied by parent or guardian at all times. The hours of operation will be seven days a week between the hours of eight a.

M. And seven p. M. There will be early closure days on Tuesdays, Fridays, and Sundays to align with the operations of the Bingo Hall to ensure that there's adequate parking. Here we have the site plan and the floor plan for the project.

I'll briefly discuss both. As shown on the site plan, there are four points of access, two driveways along West Bullard and two driveways along Minnewawa. The project is required to have 28 parking spaces which are accounted for in the existing approved parking plan. And to avoid any potential parking issues as mentioned previously, the applicant has proposed to close their facility early in order to align with the operations of the Bingle Hall which opens a little later and so that's to ensure adequate parking. To the right of the site plan is the floor plan and as is shown on the floor plan they are offering sensory friendly equipment such as the climbing wall and a rope bridge.

In addition to that, they have a calming room, a teen area, toddler area, arts and crafts, party room for birthdays and special events, multipurpose room for classroom classes that may be structured. The indoor entertainment center will not provide food or beverage however the customers can bring in their own food and non alcoholic beverages. If you notice in the yellow the highlighted section there is a therapy room that is proposed. It will be sublease to a licensed therapist. The therapy room will be separate from the indoor entertainment operations and that particular use is permitted into the in the C 2 Zone district.

Notice was mailed to surrounding property owners within a 300 foot within 300 feet of the project as well it was published in the business journal and staff have received no comments in support of or in opposition to this particular project. Based on the findings that are presented in the staff report, staff do recommend that the Planning Commission approve the class one categorical exemption and CUP twenty twenty five dash zero zero eight. That concludes the presentation. Staff is available for questions.

Thank you Tiffany. You're welcome. Any questions for staff? Seeing that? Okay. Is the applicant here to speak? If you wanna come up and do you have any comments? If you can state your name and address for the record.

Hello. Good evening. Christopher Reyes. 1812 North Proust Avenue, city of Clovis. Today is a very important day for us. We rock the Spectrum Clovis. We are part of a franchise, this is gonna be the first location here in the Central Valley. It is an important day, for the autism community of Clovis, and, we're happy to be here. Happy to, you know, bring the sensory play and a playground for children of all abilities, including those with autism, to play at here at Clovis. So thank you for

asking. Thank you. Are there any questions from the commissioners? No. Okay.

Are you with the applicant or are you here to speak in favor?

Speak in favor.

Okay. Go ahead. Hi.

My name is Shelly Barnett Cash from 302 Sierra Avenue in Clovis. I have lived in that neighborhood since 1974 and seen many businesses come and go from that center. And after speaking with teachers and family members that attend the local elementary school right there, Weldon, they are very excited about We Rock the Spectrum, and everyone's looking forward to it. And so I just wanted to share that with you. Thank you. Thank you. Anyone else here to speak in favor?

Hi there. My name is Madison Tillery. My preferred name is Micah. I live in 1201 Scott Avenue, Apartment 140. And basically, I want to be a part of this, and I think it's a really detrimental thing when it comes to our community as because it gives kids that are neurodivergent or autistic like me a chance to have fun and have a place, as his model says, a place where they don't have to say sorry. And I think that's really important.

Thank you. Anyone else here to speak in favor? Anyone to speak in opposition? Okay. Seeing none, will bring it back to the commission. Comments? Questions?

Well, actually, think it's pretty cool. I was reading through this and so I was thought it was a very, very worthwhile endeavor. I also thought it was very commendable that you guys adhere to the bingo people because dealing with bingo people, they can be quite vociferous. And so I actually thought that was a nice little touch to offering. So yeah, I thought that was nice.

Paul, anything?

I was gonna say the same thing to Mr. Reyes. Thank you for working with the other businesses within the shopping center to make a better environment for everyone.

Okay, does anybody wanna make a motion? Okay.

I'd like to make a motion to approve CUP twenty twenty five dash zero zero eight.

I'll second.

I have a motion from commissioner Hinkle and a second from commissioner Abert. Commissioner Hinkle? Yes. Commissioner Hebert? Yes. Commissioner Hatcher? Yes. K. Motion carries three zero with chair Antuna and commissioner Benson absent.

Moving on to item number three, consider approval CUP twenty twenty five dash zero zero five, adopt a class 32 categorical exemption from further environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act, and approving a conditional use permit to allow a twenty four hour quick service restaurant with a drive through located at 3761 Shaw Avenue. Dave Burke LLC owner, Bottom Line Group applicant representative, Marissa associate planner.

Thank you. Good evening, commission. So this item, CUP 2025Dash005, is a request for a new 6,000 square foot building, with about 2,800 square feet of retail space and a 3,500 square foot quick service restaurant with a drive through that is proposed on a approximately one acre site located at the Northwest area of Shaw And Leonard Avenues over in the Loma Vista area of the city of Clovis. This is part of planning area four of the Loma Vista Community Center's north and south master plan, which is better known as the El Mercado Planned Commercial Center that was established back in 2015. And since it is a PCC, it has some unique uses that are allowed there.

Drive throughs, however, were not always allowed in the El Mercado PCC, but a couple years back in 2017, there was an amendment that allowed them. So getting into some more about the overall area. On the screen, you will see a conceptual of the entire planning area four. This is about 16 acres. So far, you'll see in green, that is kind of the current boundaries right now of the El Mercado area.

Phase one includes Starbucks, a little gym, an Arco gas station, and a pizza factory, and that's been there for a little bit of time now. And then back in 2023, the commission approved a car wash that's highlighted in blue. It has not yet been developed, but it was approved. And then we are here tonight with this request for the new quick service restaurant and drive through. And the rest is all conceptual.

There are already two points of access into the center, one from Shaw, just west of the Starbucks, and one from Leonard, just behind or north of the gas station. Of course, as development proceeds, there will be more points of access. But zooming in a little bit to this project, on the screen, you will see the footprint of the entire building that's proposed, which part of it will be that quick service restaurant. The drive through for the restaurant does meet the city standards of 13 cars in the stacking. And then specifically access to this building is provided on-site, in two different areas where the arrows are.

Additionally, the center is a lot overparked by about 50 extra spaces right now, and, of course, that's calculated cumulatively for the entire center. Operationally, the user has not been disclosed at the time. But based on the applicant's submittal, they plan to be open seven days a week with indoor dining closing at 11PM, but the drive through will be open twenty four hours a day. They're proposing about 15 to 18 employees who will work in different shifts, and all the deliveries for this use, will be similar to other fast food restaurants that we have in the city. And they have been conditioned through the CUP to deliver during the morning, so when it's not a peak time.

So we did, route this project for comments and notice it. We did not receive any opposing comments, and the CUP was able to make each of the required findings. And with that, staff is, recommending that the Planning Commission approve CUP twenty twenty five zero zero five subject to the conditions listed as Attachment 1A. Thank you and I'm happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you. Questions?

Yeah, when do they plan on developing this site?

I do not know. Maybe that's a question for the applicant.

Any other questions for staff? Is the applicant here? Okay. If you can state your name and address for the record.

Hi. My name is Britney Delgado, and I reside in Fresno 11313 North Tresana Avenue. My name is Britney, and I am the operations manager on behalf of Bottomline and here to answer any questions. We are super excited about the further phased development of the El Mercado and here to answer anything. When

do you plan to start construction? As

soon as we receive permits. Right now, we are obviously through the the CUP site plan review process. And then we are currently working on our building documentation and all of the engineering aspect. We're gonna get that submitted and then as soon as we're approved, we'll break ground within thirty days of the approval. Goal would be about spring, hopefully, as long as everything in lines.

Any other questions? Okay. Thank you. Yes. Thank you. I'll now open up to the public. Is there anyone here wishing to speak in favor of this item? Okay. Seeing none. Anyone here to speak in opposition? Seeing none, I'll bring it back to the commission for any comments, questions, or motion? Okay. Seeing none, I will make a motion to approve CUP twenty twenty five dash zero zero five.

Guess I'll second.

I have a motion from commissioner Hatcher and a second from commissioner Hebert. Commissioner Hatcher?

Yes.

Commissioner Hebert? Yes. Commissioner Hinkle?

Yes.

Motion carries three zero with commissioner Bedstead and Sharon Tune absent.

Thank you. George? If I may, may I make one more comment? Yes. Before the commission adjourns the meeting because I wanted the commission and also the public here to hear this too is I forgot to mention that we have our second general plan advisory committee meeting next Thursday, October 30 at the Clovis Transit Center.

We it's open to the public, so the public is invited. This is a process. We're currently updating our general plan, and we'd love to hear the public's input as to your vision for the future of Clovis for the next, you know, twenty plus years. We would love to for you to stop by and provide your comments. And this is an invitation to the commission as well. If you're able to make it, we would love to see you there. Okay. And it starts at 6PM.

Thank you so much. And I will now adjourn the meeting at 06:29.

Real quick before we adjourn.

Hold

on. Did we open up for general public comment for items not on the agenda?

No. It's not even on the list, don't think. But I will now make a motion to open up for anything not on the agenda that anyone would like to speak about. K. Seeing none. I will now adjourn the meeting at 06:29. I don't think that's on our list. I know we talked about that before, though. Gotta talk to that guy.