Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

City of Roseville Planning Commission meeting. Please put all electronic devices on silent at this time. Agendas are on a table, back table over there. If you plan to speak at tonight's meeting, please complete a blue speaker card and return it to a staff member. As a reminder, Planning Commission meetings are broadcast live, replayed on Comcast 14, and available on the city's YouTube channel. I will now call the meeting to order. Jess, may I have a roll call, please?

Yes, Commissioner Hagler. Commissioner Mache is absent excused. Commissioner Pryor?

Here.

Commissioner Unidad?

Here.

Vice Chair Brashears?

Here.

And Chair Hagan-Jose is absent excused.

Now I'll ask that you please join me in the Pledge of Allegiance. Jess, please begin staff introductions.

Good evening, Jessica Sawyer, Recording Secretary.

Good evening, Commissioners, Joe Speaker, Assistant City Attorney. Good evening, Chair Beshears and Commissioners, Greg Bitter, Assistant Development Services Director. Congratulations.

I got it. I remembered. Good evening, Chair Beshears and Commissioners, Derek Ogden, Senior Planner.

Good evening. Now it's time for public comments. The public comment period is a time for anyone who would like to address the commission on any item not on tonight's agenda. When addressing the commission, please state your name for the record and limit your comments to three minutes. Is there anyone who would like to address the commission on any item that is not on tonight's agenda? Hearing none, I will close the public comment period. Next on our agenda is the consent calendar. which consists of routine items that may be approved under one motion as recommended in the staff reports. However, each item may be considered separately upon a request by the audience, the planning commission, or staff. Tonight's consent calendar consists of two items. Item 5.1, minutes from the October 23rd, 2025 meeting. Item 5.2 Douglas sunrise corridor specific plan parcel DS for two is Molly Center expansion one eight three six Sierra Gardens Drive for the record file number PL 2 5-0 564 Is there anyone on the Commission or in the audience who would like to pull an item off the consent calendar for separate discussion? Hearing none may I have a motion to approve the consent calendar as listed I

I'll make a motion to approve the consent calendar as listed.

I second.

Commissioner Pryor has made the motion, and Commissioner Unidad has seconded the motion. There is a 10-day appeal period for item 5.2. And roll call.

Commissioner Hagler?

Yes. I mean, just to clarify, you made the motion, you seconded the motion, and then a vote on the motion. Everyone approved the motion. I didn't hear the actual vote on the motion. That was the roll call vote on. Did I miss that? I just said roll call. Oh, okay. Yeah. Okay.

So we did Commissioner Hagler, Commissioner Unidad.

Yes.

Commissioner Pryor.

Yes.

Vice Chair Brashears.

Okay. Yes. Perfect. The motion is approved. Next on the agenda is requests and presentations. Before we begin, I want to review the meeting procedures. First, we will hear the staff presentation. Then I will take questions from the commission. Then I will open the public hearing. The applicant will have an opportunity to make a presentation. Then I will open the public comment and the public will have an opportunity to speak. Then I will close public comment. If needed, the applicant will be given the opportunity to provide a rebuttal. And then I will close the public hearing. The commission may ask questions of staff. And finally, the commission will consider this item and make a decision based on the information provided in the report from staff and the testimony presented during tonight's meeting. Item 6.1 is a request to approve a conditional use permit for 13 Sierra Gate Plaza. For the record, file number PL25-0627. Greg?

Yeah, just, excuse me, one quick clarification. The agenda was recently modified. The file number is 0627. Did I not say that? No. Maybe it may be, well, it's on the, uh, the printed agenda has 0, 2, 6, 7. Yeah. Yeah. No on here.

So for the record, I just want to make sure it was correct. 0, 6, 2, 7. Okay. Yeah. And for the first time in my history as a planning commissioner, I'm gonna ask Greg to make a presentation.

All right. Thank you. Uh, chair Beshears. Um, the project before you tonight, uh, is, um, uh, the John Adams Academy expansion project. infill parcel 241 in the Sierra Gate Plaza development. We can go to the next slide. So the project site is located at 13 Sierra Gate Plaza, as shown on the screen. You can see the small building encircled in red. The site's bordered by Lead Hill Boulevard to the south, Harding Boulevard to the west, and Interstate 80 to the east. The entire Sierra Gate Plaza complex has both a general plan land use designation and a zoning designation of business professional. As discussed in the staff report, Public and private elementary and secondary schools are not permitted uses in the business professional zoning district. However, John Adams Academy was established within the Seargate Plaza prior to this restriction being adopted in the zoning ordinance and is therefore considered a legal nonconforming use. So pursuant to the zoning ordinance, a legal nonconforming use can be expanded through the approval of a conditional use permit. Again, as you can see on the slide, the John Adams campus has been the subject of several entitlement approvals over the last 14 years. The most recent entitlement was a conditional use permit to expand their nonconforming use, which was approved by the Planning Commission on June 28th of this year. That entitlement allowed John Adams to expand into the ground floor of 5 Sierra Gate Plaza, which is also shown on the slide there at the bottom of the campus. At the time, they were going to expand classroom activities into a certain portion of the ground floor. Since June, since that action by the Planning Commission, John Adams has been presented the opportunity to purchase the current project site, which is at 13 Sierra Gate. In May of 2022, the property at 13 Sierra Gate was approved by city staff for the conversion of a 6,800 square foot office building into a daycare facility, which also had an ancillary outdoor play area. So John Adams, now that they're looking at purchasing this property, is seeking approval of a conditional use permit modification to modify their June 28th conditional use permit to utilize the building and property at 13 Sierra Gate for transitional kindergarten, and lower elementary grade levels. They'll also use that building for before school and after school programming that's recently been mandated by the state. So there's going to be quite a lot of activity in that building. And John Adams, with the use of 13 Sierra Gate, will no longer be looking to use the facilities at 5 Sierra Gate for classroom purposes. So if we go to the next slide. You can see in this image that ingress and egress to and from the campus will be as it is today. The driveway from Harding Boulevard onto Sierra Gate Plaza will be the sole point of access for drop off and pick up of students. And you can see the one way circular drive aisle for pick up and drop off and the pick up and drop off zones will also remain the same as they are on the campus. So that will not change with this project. Go to the next slide. So this is the newly proposed campus plan. This shows the inclusion of the 13th Sierra Gate property and the exclusion of building five Sierra Gate. As I mentioned, the building at 13 Seargate will provide John Adams with approximately 6,800 square feet of additional indoor classrooms and play area space, as well as approximately 3,500 square feet of outdoor play area space. The new classroom and play area space will not increase the student capacity of the school, which will remain the same as analyzed in the 2017 traffic study and documented in the operation plan that is part of tonight's action. And that number, the student capacity of the school has been since 2017 and will remain at 1,650 students. The additional classroom and play area space will not affect the existing drop off and pick up procedures. So in addition to the physical drop off and pick up route on the campus, the physical drop off and pick up locations, the procedures on where parents ARE TO STOP AND DROP THEIR KIDS OFF, THE TIMING OF THE DROP OFF AND PICK UP, THOSE AREN'T CHANGING WITH THIS, AND THOSE ARE, AGAIN, DOCUMENTED IN THE OPERATION PLAN THAT IS PART OF THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT MODIFICATION BEFORE YOU TONIGHT. IN ADDITION, THERE ARE NO EXTERIOR MODIFICATIONS PROPOSED WITH THE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT MODIFICATION. THAT'S WHY YOU DON'T HAVE ANY DESIGN REVIEW ACTION BEFORE YOU TONIGHT. IT'S REALLY JUST THE USE THAT'S BEFORE YOU. SO WE CAN GO TO THE NEXT SLIDE. Because this has most recently been an expansion of their non-conforming use was recently approved in June, we've had pretty much continual public outreach on what John Adams has been doing. So for the legal purposes, a public hearing notice was mailed to all property owners and tenants within 300 feet radius of their property. It was posted on the ARCONA website. on November 21st and it was also published in the Press Tribune on November 28th. So far, no comments have been received on this proposal. Consistent with the California Environmental Quality Act, the proposed project is substantially consistent with the previously approved projects and the existing student capacity for the site. Therefore, no further environmental review is required. So to conclude, staff's found that the project is consistent with the goals, policies, and standards of the zoning ordinance and general plan. We believe all the required findings of approval for a conditional use permit modification can be made. And we are recommending that the Planning Commission tonight adopt the three findings of fact and approve the conditional use permit modification subject to the nine conditions of approval.

Thank you, Greg. Commissioners, are there any questions for staff at this time?

Is the applicant going to speak or? No. Yeah. Yeah. Okay.

I'll wait. With that, I'll now open the public hearing. I'd like to invite the project representative for this item to address the Commission.

Thank you, members of the Roseville Planning Commission and city officials. My name is Joseph Benson. I'm the Executive Director of John Adams Academies. It's my privilege to represent the school in support of our application for this conditional use permit for the proposed expansion at our Roseville campus. For more than a decade, John Adams Academy Roseville has proudly operated out of the Sierra Gate Plaza. As our campus has grown and matured, we have experienced increasing space constraints that limit our ability to fully serve our current student population and their families. Since opening our Roseville campus, John Adams Academy has faced a series of new state mandates including expanded before and after school programming requirements, universal breakfast, universal lunch for all students, as well as additional programmatic obligations. These requirements coupled with strong family demand for a broader high school elective offering and after school extracurricular enrichment opportunities like band and orchestra and school clubs These have all created a significant space conflict between our growing lunch program and our expanding extended care programs and our enrichment activities. As a result, our existing facilities are now overcrowded during key portions of the day, limiting our ability to serve current families fully. To maintain the comprehensive, high-quality classical education experience that our community expects and deserves without increasing improved enrollment, additional dedicated space has become essential. In collaboration with the city's planning manager, new title, and staff, we have diligently explored options that would address these needs without increasing our approved student enrollment capacity or altering existing traffic patterns. Our ability to offer additional before and after school programs will help us to reduce the number of cars on campus at high traffic times by allowing us to extend the academic day for more families. Initially, we pursued a similarly sized space at 5 Sierra Gate Plaza that has some tenant improvement challenges. In the meantime, the owner of 13 Sierra Gate Plaza approached us with an offer to buy the 13 Sierra Gate. This building was recently renovated specifically for preschool and early elementary educational uses. This building is exceptionally well suited to house our lower elementary program. The acquisition of 13th Stargate Plaza offers several important benefits. First, long-term stability and cost savings. Ownership eliminates ongoing lease expenses and provides a permanent solution to our space constraints. Purpose built for education. As I said, the facility has already been fully improved for preschool, early elementary use, minimizing required modifications. Three, no increase in enrollment or traffic impact. Our approved student attendance cap remains unchanged and all student pick up and drop off will continue to occur at the existing locations and in the same manner as it currently operates. Number four, enhanced program capacity. Additional space will allow us to expand our before and after school programming. our enrichment offerings. By enabling more families to utilize these extended care enrichment offerings, these programs will naturally distribute pickup times across broader window, further reducing peak hour congestion. And lastly, once we acquire this building, all of the buildings on that loop road that are directly accessed by that loop road will all now belong to the school. So there will be no neighbors needing to directly access their facilities using the same loop road we use for pickup and drop off. Finally, we are deeply grateful for the Planning Commission's time and consideration of this application. The proposed acquisition represents a responsible, low-impact solution that enables John Adams Academy to continue providing an outstanding educational experience for our students and our families, while remaining a good neighbor with the Sierra Gate Plaza and the broader Roseville community. And I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have. Thank you for your time and your support.

Commissioners, are there any questions for the project representative at this time?

So I have a question. Sure. So I'm a customer of blue Oak dental and I've seen the, uh, playground area there for, but the better part of this year, maybe late last year. So has the building not been used it it's vacant and you're just preparing for vacant, uh, for to get it filled tonight.

So the building is owned by a preschool operator. They have had some use of that building. I don't know how much use they have or how many clients they have for their preschool program, but it's currently owned by a preschool operator.

And you'll be transferring some of yours.

So once we buy the building, then we would be able to use that building for our lower elementary, which would free up some space, and we would also use it for our before and after school program. So we offer a before and after school care program, and we need space for that, and right now that program conflicts with our lunchroom because it shares the same place with our lunchroom for our elementary, and our lunchroom program has expanded because we serve several hundred more students every day in that program. And so our lunchroom is now crowded. So this building would allow us to run our before and after school program in that building and free up our lunchroom for lunch.

Thanks for the clarification. Yep. Any other questions for the representative commissioners?

OK. You're welcome to be seated. Thank you. I will now open the public comment period. Is there anyone from the public who would like to come forward and address the commission on this item? Hearing none, I will now close the public comment period. Commissioners, are there any additional questions or comments for the applicant?

I do have a comment that's not for the applicant. Well, I suppose it could be for the applicant. My initial concern with this project was with the traffic and drop-offs. But since there's no change in the number of students, and there's no change in the areas that students are planned to be dropped off and picked up, and as the applicant said, they're extending the school day, So this, for pre-school and after-school programs, so I see that the traffic shouldn't be an issue in my mind, so I'm happy to go at this point. Any other questions or comments, commissioners? Okay.

I will now close the public hearing and ask if anyone would like to make a motion.

After five months, I think I'm ready.

Night of firsts.

Correct me if I'm wrong. In regards to item 6.1, I make a motion to adopt the three findings of fact and approve the conditional use permit subject to nine conditions of approval.

Do I have a second? A second. A second. Okay. Commissioner Hagler has made his first motion, and Commissioner Pryor's second. Roll call, please.

Commissioner Unidad?

Yes.

Commissioner Pryor?

Yes.

Commissioner Hagler? Yes. Vice Chair Brashears?

Yes. The motion is approved, and there is a 10-day appeal period for this item. Next on the agenda is commissioner and staff report. Item 7.1.

Yeah, Chair Beshears, I'd like to ask the commission to I defer to Joe if we need to actually vote on this, but I'd like to continue this item or pull this item from the agenda until we have a full planning commission. The intent was when we first put it on the agenda With Commissioner Jensen's resignation from the commission, we don't have a alternate to the design committee. Commissioner Hagan-Jose is the commission's representative on the design committee. Commissioner Jensen was his alternate, and so we need an alternate. But I think with just four of you here tonight, it wouldn't really be fair unless you wanted to pick somebody that wasn't here. And that would be limited to Commissioner Mache because Commissioner Higginjost is already on it. Right. Or you could, I guess, vote in whoever gets selected next week by the city council. Guess what? Yeah. So we'll bring this back at another meeting. Do we have design committee? We don't have a scheduled meeting for January, so we should be fine. And to be honest, since Commissioner Higginjost has been The design committee representative, he hasn't missed any of the meetings. So I think we're good for a month or two bumping this item.

So I don't know if we just can pull it or... Staff has the... You have the ability to do that. So we had a kind of brief to discuss what idea, but I think for the staff level, if staff's intending to pull the item for the next, you don't need to take a formal motion.

Especially with your new title, I'm sure you don't need a lot of things. Yeah, I don't know about that. And then my only other comment is... I hope you all have a wonderful holiday. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. We will not see you in the first or the second week of January this year, but we will see you on the fourth Thursday on the 20th, I believe, or the third, excuse me, fourth, the 22nd. And I've got my dates really messed up this year. And as I mentioned in an email I sent to all the commissioners, our intent for the 22nd is to have a little bit of a planning commission overview workshop. I know in the past I tend to send commissioners the planning commissioner workbook or handbook that the Institute for Local Government puts out, which is a huge, exhaustive resource for planning commissioners and staff. I have been quite honestly stealing from that very liberally and putting together a little program. So we're gonna have about probably an hour to an hour and a half I thought it would be great since we're going to have, by January, three commissioners who have been on six months or less. And one, it'll be their first time. So it's basically taking a little of the orientation, a little one-hour orientation we provide you and providing a lot more context and a lot better overview. And hopefully having it in a commission meeting. It'll be recorded so that we can, in July, when one of our other, when When Commissioner Brashears turns out and we have another new commissioner, we can have that as a resource at that time. So that will be what we'll be doing in January. And then in February, I think we'll be back to having more development items, because I think we have a few things that are finally getting ready to ripe for bringing before you again. OK. Yeah. And that's all I have for tonight.

OK. Any other questions or comments from my fellow commissioners? Well, I'd like to just take a quick moment to publicly congratulate Greg. It's nine years that I've sat on this commission, almost nine years. It'll be nine and a half, I think, by the time I turn him off, maybe the longest running commissioner of all time. uh and i've gotten to work very closely with you and i think this is a well-deserved uh promotion and we're happy to have you sticking around and um and continuing to oversee uh the the magic that happens here so uh congratulations merry christmas to everyone in the room and a happy new year and we look forward to seeing you in january yep sounds great so uh if there's nothing else um may i ask for a motion to adjourn i make a motion to adjourn Commissioner Hagler has not only made his first motion on an agenda item, but also a motion to adjourn. And we've got Commissioner Unidad seconding. All those in favor?

Aye.

We are adjourned.

He's on a roll. That's the best one to make.

That's the one.

The adjournment?

Yeah.