Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

All right. Well, seeing as it just struck six o'clock on the dot, I call the September 16th, 2026 City of Lincoln Planning Commission meeting to order. Roll call, please. Secretary, may we have a roll call?

Commissioner Gilbert. Commissioner Hutchinson. Vice Chair Manning.

Here.

And Chairman Eric Johnson.

Here.

And Commissioner Jackson and Commissioner Jerry Johnson is absent with notification.

Excellent. And I guess with that, we still have a quorum. So I'll make note of that. Perfect. And next item, Pledge of Allegiance. We'll have Commissioner Manning will please lead us in the pledge tonight.

Pledge of Allegiance.

All right. Thank you. Item number four, agenda modifications. Do we have any agenda modifications this evening? Done. All right. Item number five, informational items and disclosures. Do any of my fellow commissioners have any information items to share? And I'll start to my right with commissioner Gilbert.

Done.

Commissioner Manning.

I don't have any.

Okay. And then I do have two items that I wanted to just bring up. And I've already let the city know ahead of time I was going to plan to bring these up. So the first one for my fellow commissioners is regarding In-N-Out. I'm a big fan of In-N-Out. And I know they're very popular here in Lincoln and all over the place. One of the things I've been noticing as I frequent there is sometimes the queuing and the line gets pretty long and extensive sometimes you know snaking through the parking lot and i've noticed it's kind of challenging for people getting in and out you know there's Unintended. There's also businesses in that area that sometimes it seems like it impacted. So I just wanted to, I guess, bring that to the city's attention. I know that just with drive-thrus, there's conditional use permits. So just wanted to, I guess, make that known and just, I guess, some direction to see if there's any concerns anything to look into with a conditional use permit that they've had, you know, if they're following what the conditional use permit is, or if there's opportunity to, I guess, steer it back, you know, pun intended again, to how the queuing is supposed to be, or if, you know, now that it's been going for a while, I believe it was in 2017, if there's opportunity to maybe adjust it somehow or revisit, so. I don't know if city wants to comment on any of that or if it's just information at this point.

Well, fortunately, our traffic engineer is here. He wants to make a comment.

Sure. Vin K, city engineer. As part of our normal process, when engineering works with planning on any of these applications, in these discretionary approval, one of the technical things that we typically ask for is a traffic study if it's warranted, meaning if we believe that the business operations may affect the public circulation. Now, that being said, one of the things that we try not to overreach is that dictate to businesses how they operate on site. I personally patronize that in and out probably at least once a week. It's probably one of the most popular ones. I'm sure they're doing really, really well. I mean, from my observation, I think it works fairly well. Keeping in mind most of the drive aisles that access that huge shopping center are private property. So one of the things that we try to prevent is that stacking or queuing of vehicles that go through drive-thrus. During our review, we typically would ask the applicant to do a traffic study and analysis to make sure that it does not back up into a public street. One of the most recent approvals and construction completion is Dutch Brothers. That was a huge concern of ours a couple years ago. And then it turned out to work fairly well. And one of the ways that they accommodated that in terms of the traffic management plan was having employees come out and take orders at the vehicles. And that really helps them move things along. Now, I am aware that with the in and out, there is that gap across a driveway. And there could be what they call queue jumping, a.k.a. cutting in line. But when that happens, it's really up to the business to control that, right? If someone were to cut the queue and cut in line, they can just ask them to drive around and go back to the end of the line. And from the operations of the In-N-Out, it is not affecting the city streets, meaning Joyner Parkway or Prairie Ranch Road or any of the adjacent public streets. And that's what we try to do. The 12 Bridges Retail Center is another one that we took a close look at. So any of these type of commercial businesses that come into the city, that's something that we are keeping a watchful eye on. So I want planning commissioners and the public to rest assured that staff is on top of it. But we do not really get into the weeds in terms of dictating to the business how they operate on their private properties.

OK, yeah, thanks. And I realize we're not in discussions at all at this point. Do you have a comment? Oh, please.

Thank you, Mr. Chair. I have a recent experience with that place because I had dinner there tonight about an hour ago. My wife was so happy she could make me dinner. I'm going after the meeting. So that's where I was for dinner. Going back to 17 when I was on the city council and we approved that, first of all, all done very discreetly. Staff came to us and said, a company wants to put a sign up. We can't tell you who it is, but you're going to have to approve the sign because they will not come to Lincoln unless they can get the sign. We figured out who it was. And in any case, we've proved the sign and the Planning Commission approved it. And then, of course, they came in and occupied the space there. And when it was first opened, it was a real fiasco. Then they started having employees working out there. And that seemed to solve the problem, but it seemed to mitigate it to a great degree. My suggestion would be we could ask the staff to just remind them that Maybe they should take a look at it, and maybe there should be a little bit of signage that as you come in the way I came in, you understand that there's a queuing of cars over there, and so you can't turn in ahead of them. And if there was some kind of simple signage that said drive through in and out over there, I think that might solve a lot of the problems. So that's my suggestion.

Okay. Yeah, I appreciate that. So I guess we'll just leave that direction with the city to possibly just kind of look at it with them.

Chair Johnson, let me make a comment. I think they're fortunate, too, that the neighbor that they're next to is unoccupied. I think when that building gets occupied, maybe that has something to do with it, but when that building gets occupied, I can see it being a little bit more of a problem because that parking lot's pretty much unoccupied.

I agree. Yeah, I guess that's kind of my concern. So great suggestions. Let's see, the next item I have is, so just to bring to remember, so in February 2025, before this commission, there was a conditional use permit that came for one of those clothing and shoe bins. And Planning Commission decided to deny that CUP Uh, subsequently, um, I've been noticing and perhaps some of you have been noticing there's been some popping up around the city. Um, and to my knowledge, those haven't come to us for conditional use permits. So, um, you know, to apply the ordinances and, uh, everything, you know, equally, um, you know, to everybody and businesses. Um, I wanted to bring that to the attention tonight and, um, I also gave the city a heads up that I was gonna bring that up tonight. So I took the liberty, recently to just do a quick scavenger hunt myself throughout the city, and just to see how many I could find. And I ended up finding one very large one with solar panels and lights and cameras over near Taco Bell in the parking lot there. And then I also found five other locations, I believe, of some more standard just army green metal boxes. And they're all occupying parking parking spots. And so I did a little research on some of them, and it's kind of questionable, you know, what kind of business they are. But I prepared a little analysis of the ones I found and provided to the city to look into those, you know, for possible, I don't know if they're properly permitted or not, or, you know, if following the ordinances. So just wanted to bring that to the city's attention as well. And like I mentioned, I did provide a little analysis I did myself. So just wanted to, I guess, bring that to the city's attention. And if there's any, I guess, comments around that.

Yeah, I'd be happy to provide an update. So fortunately our code enforcement team has just doubled in size. We now have two code enforcement officers instead of one. And they were actually out yesterday before you made your comment, just perusing those similar clothes bins. And so they have noted all those locations and they are moving forward with contacting the property owners.

Okay. Thank you. And then just from my education and others. So when they contact those business or the property owners, I guess it's the property owners that need to remedy those, I guess, if they're not in compliance. Is that correct? Yeah.

The property owners are responsible regardless of whether they know about the bins or not. They're responsible for their property, and so they would be responsible to have them removed. But it's likely a lot of those bins are not nonprofit organizations, that they're for profit organizations. So there could be some sort of a business deal behind it. We just don't know. It doesn't matter to us. Our code enforcement philosophy has been of we'll say gentle but firm where we seek to build relationships and collaborations and to try to find remedies that have are the least impactful to the end to the person and also to the city while bringing them into compliance okay

sure johnson yeah um i i missed my cue i thought you're asking about oh no problem disclosures and that's where you i caught that look you gave me because i did tell you i was going to bring something up and i'm not looking for a discussion on it but i'm going to kind of add on to your thing i had something i wanted to bring up too and um something that i've been noticing throughout the city and nothing's ever come in front of the Planning Commission is that I feel like there's a more and more of a numbers of like fruit stands and just home taco stands popping up on street corners in our city all over. They're happening on weekends. They're in the same exact spot. And these are sophisticated operations. I noticed over the weekend, like a full Sprinter van pulled up, opened up with a staff and unloaded stuff out to one of these sites. And I know we've got great businesses in Lincoln that follow the rules and have to spend money and resources in making sure they meet the health and human services guidelines that we have both in the state and our city. And these things are all over, mostly on the weekends. I think our code enforcement's gone on the weekends, but they're everywhere. And I'm seeing more and more of them. And like I said, I think they're sophisticated operations. These aren't lemonade stands. So I'd like to see the city.

The city is aware of them, and we have been pursuing them to the extent that we have personnel available and that we're able to.

All right. Thanks for that. Bringing up that item, saying nothing else. We'll move on to item number six. Public comment on non-agenda items within the subject matter jurisdiction of the commission. Citizens may address the planning commission on any item on the agenda when the item is considered. Citizens wishing to speak may request to speak by raising your hand when requested to do so. This is an opportunity to speak on non-agenda items. Please limit your comment to three minutes. Secretary, do we have any one in the chambers or online that wishes to speak?

I did not receive any cards. Would anybody in the room like to speak? I see no hands raised. Moving on to online Zoom. Would anyone like to speak? Please raise your hand online. I do not see any hands raised.

Okay, thank you. Item number seven is a consent agenda. There is only one item on the consent agenda, which is a routine business item. There will be no separate discussion on this item unless a request to remove it for discussion is received. Do any of my colleagues wish to remove this item for discussion?

Approval. Second.

Okay, well, before I take a motion. Secretary, any public comments on the item?

I did not receive any cards. Would anybody in the room like to make a comment? I see no hands raised. Would anyone online like to make a comment? I see no hands raised.

Okay, thanks. And I believe we already have a motion and a second. So with that, I guess we'll do a voice call. All those in favor, say aye. Any opposed? Abstentions? None. All right, so we got four yes, zero no, zero abstentions, and two absent. Okay, item number eight, public hearings. Let's see. So the first one is item number 8A, Home Depot Conditional Use Permit Modification. And we have Michaela, Associate Planner, will be giving the staff report tonight. Please, Michaela.

Good evening commissioners Michaela noble associate planner with the Community development department, the project we have before you is the home depot project. This summer this presentation is a summary of the staff report more detailed information was provided with you all on the agenda. The applicant wd partners is requesting approval of a conditional use permit modification for the existing home depot in 2006 the city approved a conditional use permit for home depot to allow outdoor storage. The applicant requests to expand the areas permitted to display merchandise outdoors on a permanent and temporary basis, as well as dedicate 28 parking stalls for rental and vehicle equipment in association with a tool rental center that they want to open up within the existing building. No exterior modifications or building expansions are being proposed with this request. For context, the proposed project, if you're not aware already, is located at 1000 Groveland Lane in the Lincoln Crossing marketplace. The project site is bounded by existing commercial development to the north, existing residential to the east, Union Pacific Railway to the south, and State Route 65 to the west. The property is owned commercial and is subject to the standards of the Lincoln Crossing Specific Plan and General Development Plan. As previously mentioned, Home Depot is an existing building and operation. The project is not proposing to expand the building footprint whatsoever. The applicant will do some interior modifications to the site to accommodate that tool rental center. But again, that footprint is not expanding. The areas in green on this site plan were previously approved for outdoor storage in 2006. The areas in purple are the proposed areas for seasonal or temporary use. So think of, you know, soil or mulch bags of the spring right before planting season begins. And then the areas in pink are the proposed areas for permanent storage along the Western property line. There we go, right here. The applicant is proposing to restripe those parking stalls from perpendicular to diagonal stalls to allow for easy parking of vehicle and equipment rentals and to install chargers for those stalls. In total, 28 stalls would be reserved for rental vehicles associated with Home Depot. The table shown on screen is a summary of the parking availability for the existing conditions as well as the proposed conditions. The table was also included in your staff report. A parking memorandum was provided with your staff report using SOAR data to determine whether the proposal would negatively impact parking availability for customers. And the memo concluded that there would be sufficient parking available for customers and employee if the outdoor storage expansion was allowed. The Planning Commission must find the use with conditions to not be detrimental to nearby residents, businesses, property, or the general welfare of the city. Staff reviewed surrounding land uses and found the request compatible with the commercial character of the area. Outdoor storage requests are common in commercial districts, and we do have similar uses for other home improvement establishments as well. With conditions of approval, staff found that the project would not create any health, safety, or welfare impacts. Therefore, the project is consistent with the general plan, the Lincoln Crossing General Development Plan, and the Lincoln Municipal Code. Staff has determined that the project is exempt from further environmental review pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act Guidelines Section 15301, existing facilities. Because the project does not, excuse me, the project involves minor alterations to an existing building and parking lot and does not expand the building footprint. Therefore, staff recommends the Planning Commission determine the project is exempt from CEQA and adopt a resolution approving the amendment to the existing Home Depot conditional use permit for outdoor storage. At this point in time, I haven't received any public comments for this project, and I do have a member of the applicant team available on Zoom if you have any questions. Thank you.

All right. Thanks, Michaela, for that presentation. I'll bring it to my colleagues if there's any questions or comments at this time. All right, so I will now open the public hearing. Citizens wishing to speak on this item may request to speak by raising their hand when requested to do so. Please limit your comments to three minutes. Secretary, do we have anyone in the chambers or online that wishes to speak?

I did not receive any comment cards. Does anybody in the room would like to make a comment? I see no hands raised. Moving to Zoom, would anyone like to make a public comment? Please raise your hand. There were no hands raised.

Okay. Thank you. So with that, I'll now close the public hearing and bring it back to my colleagues. Does anyone have any additional comments? And if none, would anyone like to make a motion?

I'll make a motion that we approve the request. I'll second it.

Okay, we have a motion and a second. We'll do a voice call again. All those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposition, abstentions? All right. So that passes 4-0-0-2, two absent. Thank you. Item 8B, Parkwood Development Agreement. Looks like we have Michaela again, associate planner.

who has our staff report good evening again uh the project i have before you tonight is the parkwood development agreement like i previously mentioned this is a summary of the staff report more detailed information was provided in the staff report Just a little context for you to bring back some fun times with the Parkwood Project. In October of 2025, the City Council certified an addendum to the Village 1 Specific Plan Environmental Impact Report and approved a small lot tentative subdivision map for the Parkwood Project. This project was brought forward to this body in September of 2025, and you all recommended approval to City Council. A little bit more context the project location consists of approximately 21 acres within the village one specific plan area the project site is located in the southwestern portion of the village one plan area immediately north of oak tree lane and east of the regional park site it's outlined in red on the screen. And the actual map that was approved consists of 122 village medium density residential lots and two park lots. The Village One specific plan requires adoption of a development agreement for each project, which delineates the obligations of the city and the developer. Items outlined in the development agreement include construction of roadways, water lines, drainage, other utilities, parks, and so forth. The development agreement also relies on the Village One infrastructure financing plan to implement infrastructure development. The development agreement vests the right of the developer to develop the project and subsequent entitlements as approved and runs with the property even if property ownership is transferred. The term of the development agreement is 20 years after the effective date, which would be after this is approved and adopted by council. The Planning Commission is responsible for reviewing the draft development agreement and providing a recommendation to City Council. As I previously mentioned, an addendum to the Village 1 specific plan EIR was already adopted in association with the project. It also includes the development agreement in that review at that time, and therefore no further environmental review is required at this time. And therefore staff recommends that the planning commission determined that an addendum to the village one specific plan EIR for the Parkwood project was previously adopted by council and therefore no further environmental reviews required and adopt a resolution recommending city council approve a development agreement between the city of Lincoln and Jen, California, 28 LLC for the Parkwood project. This point in time, I did not receive any public comments for this item. If you have any questions, let me know. Thank you.

Thanks, Michaela. Do any of my colleagues have any questions or comments?

It came before the board already, and I know we all supported it. I don't have any questions or comments.

Okay. Perfect. So with that, I'll now open the public hearing. Citizens wishing to speak on this item may request to speak by raising their hand when requested to do so. Please limit your comments to three minutes. Secretary, do we have anyone in the chambers or online that wishes to speak?

I did not receive any cards. Would anyone in the room like to speak? There are no hands raised. Moving on to online. Would anyone online like to speak on this matter? Actually, nobody's online anymore. So there are none. No comment.

All right. I guess not a popular night, huh? I'll now close the public hearing and bring it back to my colleagues. Does anyone have any additional comments? And if none, would anyone like to make a motion?

There's no further comments, Mr. Chair. I'll make a motion to approve.

All right, we got a motion and a second. Perfect. So we'll do a voice call again. All those in favor say aye. Aye.

Aye.

Any opposition? Abstentions? All right, so that passes 4-0-0-2. Thanks, Michaela. Okay, moving on to item number 8C, 19-05 Aviation Boulevard Project. And we have Mr. Tom Kruschenk, Associate Planner, who will please give us our staff report. All right.

Good evening, planning commissioners. The project before you is 1905 Aviation Boulevard. The presentation is obviously a summary of the project. There's much more detailed information and attachments involved in the staff report. Lastly, as of this meeting, I have not received any public comments on this project. The project site is located just east of the Lincoln Airport here. It's within the Lincoln Air Center general development plan area. The project includes an existing developed industrial building with parking and then an undeveloped parcel to the south that will be developed into a paved storage lot with fencing. It's approximately 2.9 acres total with the both lots. So the existing warehouse, this is the site plan here. Sorry, my button wasn't working. We'll have a new roll-up door installed. So the idea is to manufacture the items within the building, roll them out on pallets to the southern storage yard here, load them on the truck, and then ship them off to the job site. Street frontage improvements will be made along Lincoln Airpark Drive. This portion of the site is along a city street, so there will be a sidewalk and landscaping along here. The requested entitlements tonight are specific development plan, development permit, and conditional use permits are required for outdoor storage and the perimeter fencing at the site. So the GDP for the Lincoln air center requires submitting a plan development for a specific development plan. And when you're developing raw land on a, which includes going to design review board on July 23rd, 2026, the DRB conducted its review of the project. The board expressed overall approval of the design and the fencing and the landscaping and following review and discussion, the board recommended approval to the planning commission. The other entitlements are I skipped one for the project is conditional use permit pursuant to the Lincoln air center GDP for outdoor storage use and a separate CP for perimeter fencing. So the 1905 Aviation Boulevard project with conditions has been found to be consistent with the City of Lincoln General Plan, the Lincoln Air Center General Development Plan, and the Lincoln Municipal Code Title 18 zoning. Analysis has determined the project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to section 15183, projects consistent with a general plan, community plan, or zoning. The project has been found to be consistent with the development intensity and land use assumptions that were evaluated for the Lincoln air center. GDP will not result any new or more severe environmental impacts than those previously considered. So staff recommends that the Planning Commission conduct a public hearing, consider the information contained in the staff report, testimony of the public, and take the following actions. Adopt resolutions determining the project qualifies for exemption under CEQA, approve the specific development plan development permit, and approve the conditional use permits for outdoor fencing and perimeter, sorry, outdoor storage and perimeter fencing. This concludes my presentation. I do have members of the project team and the owner here of Walters and Wolf. If you guys have any questions for us.

Thank you, Tom. All right. I'll bring it back to my colleagues. Any questions or comments at this time? I don't have any either. Um, So with that, I'll now open the public hearing. Citizens wishing to speak on this item may request to speak by raising their hand. When requested to do so, please limit your comments to three minutes. Secretary, do we have anyone in the chambers or online that wishes to speak?

I did not receive any cards. Would anybody in the room like to speak? There were no hands raised and online there are no attendees.

okay all right so with that i'll now close the public hearing and uh bring it back to my colleagues does anyone have any additional comments or if none would anyone like to make a motion i could make a motion we approve it i'd like to make the comments separate from the motion that i want to thank the staff for the excellent work they did that made our job

I'll second.

All right. So we have a motion and a second. So all those in favor say aye. Aye. Any opposed? Abstentions? All right. It passes 4-0-0-2. And congratulations and welcome to Lincoln. We're glad to have you investing in our city. All right, we'll go on to item number nine general business and looks like there's no general business so item number 10 informational items from the staff or director reports, do we have any informational items.

associate planner Michaela Nova has one informational item from staff.

There we go. Now it's on. Different mic. Yes. We had received some reports of beaver activity in the 12 Bridges open space area. So I went out and did a little investigating and Let me preface this. It's great to see beavers out there. From an ecological standpoint, it kind of means that the open space is a success. And, you know, with all the residential development around there, that is a positive thing to see. However, we do acknowledge the potential impacts that it does have on the residential areas. So I went out there, kind of found where the dam was. It's between the South Creek Trail access and the Oak Valley Roadway. And there is a dam out there and there is a lot of tree chewing done by the beavers. Some of them, you know, there's a big chunk taken out of them. Others kind of look more like an hourglass to where I'm not quite sure how that tree is still standing, but it must be a strong connection at that point. So our planning department can't physically do anything about, you know, removing the beavers, but we have forwarded the information over to our public works department who manages all of our open space areas that are public. And they are looking into it and kind of mitigating the damage and protecting the homes in the area with the upcoming wet season and windy season. So just wanted to give you all a heads up on that.

Yes, please.

We have had the 22 years I've lived in Lincoln Hills. It's been a very serious problem. And our staff with working with several agencies has, challenging there's lots of laws and regulations um they've developed some real expertise so if we for any reason need to have those people you know work with us and maybe advise us on some of the things they've been able to develop over the last well actually it goes back 27 years i moved in 22 years ago so uh i'll be glad to put you in touch with them

Something else that in Sun City that we're testing, they're called beaver deceivers. And don't expect me to explain them, but apparently they work. And so I'm not quite sure how it works, but they are deceived with their dams. And there are ways of keeping the water flowing, which is the whole concept. And so just to tap onto what... Mr. Gilbert says, yes, please reach out to our staff at Sun City because there is a lot of information.

We'll be sure to pass that along to the public works personnel. They're actually the ones that are in charge of that, being responsible for the open space and the streets and such. We did connect with them to make them aware. They had already been aware of the issue and It's a bit more challenging for a government agency. We have to work with the state and the feds in order to do anything with the beavers as they are protected species. But they do look for methods to convince them to go someplace else.

Yes, thank you. I just want to thank Michaela for going out there to research that. know i live in the 12 bridges area and run through there often and it's pretty amazing to see how those trees are still standing and kind of a little concerning so thanks for looking into that and your report do we have any other informational items

There are no other staff updates. The only other thing we have available for you this evening is our entitlement tracker document that's attached to your agenda regarding the projects that are coming down the pipe. I would want to also make note for this commission that the Ferrari Pavilion project has started turning dirt this week. If you hadn't taken note of that already. And also, I'm sure some of you may have noticed that there's a bit of dirt work occurring next to Walgreens for those commercial pads that are coming online, which I believe is a quick serve restaurant as well as a brewery. And so we'll start to see those come up soon.

That's exciting. Do that.

Please. I had a lot of inquisitive minds and Lincoln Hills, the moment they see dirt moving they come running to me because they knew I was on the council. And what's going on? And of course, I don't always have it in my hip pocket. So I inquired with staff and they gave me a list of the tenants that are signed on solid. So if you hear just that, they have the list now called Gina. She's got it. I'm sure other people in our staff have it, so.

Thank you. Yeah. And I just wanted to also compliment, you know, the staff for having the, oh, do you have a comment too? Oh, okay. For maintaining the planning entitlement tracker, you know, that kind of has the status of everything that's helpful to refer people to as well, you know, for inquisitive minds and also the interactive map that you can actually kind of explore the city and see what's going on. So, um i guess we don't really have people online at the moment but anyone else watching this later you know that's just a reminder that those tools are out there on the city website that's maintained and our helpful tools and resources to keep up to speed with all the wonderful projects going on here do we have any other informational items no those are the all the items we have for you this evening okay well thank you for those So we'll move on to item number 11, commissioner comments. Do any of my colleagues have any comments? And I'll start to my right. All right. And I have none. So with that, we'll go to number 12. We're now adjourned.