Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Calling in order of the planning commission for Monday, 12/08/2025. First, after the call of order is the oh, is it? Oh, I'm looking at the minutes. Here it is. Okay. 01/13/2026. That makes sense. And let's call order. Now we're gonna pledge allegiance led to us by Commissioner Miller.

You'll join me in the salute to our flag. I pledge allegiance to the flag of The United States Of America. Which it stands. One nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Next on the agenda is public comment. This is set aside for anyone who would like to address the commission on an item that is not on the agenda or to address the the consent calendar or have something removed from the consent calendar for discussion purposes. So anybody like to come forward and address the commission on a non agenda item? Seeing none, moving on to commissioner's reports and items of interest commissioners. Seeing none, move on to the consent calendar.

Commissioners?

I'll move to approve the consent calendar as presented. I'll second.

It's been moved and seconded. All in favor, say aye.

Aye.

Opposed? The yellow paper has been approved. Moving on. Public hearings. We have several. First, comments with item hearing items are limited to three minutes per speaker for maximum thirty minutes per item unless otherwise extended. First step, conditional use permit number 2025Dash25.

The item before you is request by Sam's Supermarkets to establish a food market. The application also includes a request to obtain ABC license. Type 20 off sale beer and wine for consumption off-site in conjunction with the food market. The project is located at 1043 East Barsley Avenue. The proposed site is on M 1 light industrial.

The drone plan designation is light industrial. A food market and an ABC license requires a CEP to be approved by the planning commission. The operating hours of the food market will be from 7AM to 7AM to 9PM, seven days per week. It it is estimated that the food market will employ 35 full time employees and additional 10 part time employees. There will be a total of a 118 parking stalls.

The previous business used to be another food market known as RNN Market and operated from 1978 to 2020. The proposed food market will be located within an existing commercial building that is approximately 35,000 square feet. This project is exempt pursuant to section one five three zero one existing facilities of the California Environmental Quality Act. Inclusion, staff recommends approval of conditional use permit application number 2025Dash25 subject to the recommended conditions of approval provided in your staff report. This concludes my presentation. Staff is available to answer any further questions.

Thank you. It's a public hearing item. Anyone who would like to come forward and speak, feel free to do so at this time. For or against? Seeing none, we close public hearing. Commissioners?

I'm glad to see that building is gonna be utilized. It's it was, it had a thriving business, and it will certainly be an addition a positive addition to the neighborhood in, you know, South Of Tulare Avenue. So I think that it's a it's a good thing, and it's nice to see an infill project going in there. Do we know is there an estimate of when it will be completed?

I'm not aware of any information on that.

Okay.

I will add we did receive plans, and the plans are currently in plan checks. So just ballpark, probably not too far off from them starting to work on the inside of the building.

Yes. Okay.

I move that the planning commission and the planning commission approve conditional conditional use permit application number 2025 for Sam's supermarket to obtain an ABC license license type 20 off sale beer and wine that will allow the applicant to sell beer and wine to establish a food market.

I'll second.

The item has been moved and seconded. Please pull the commission.

Vice chair Miller. Aye. Commissioner Limas. Aye. Commissioner Guerrero. Aye. Chair Miguel?

Aye. Item passes. Moving on to conditional use 6.2 conditional use permit number 2025Dash24.

The item before you is request by to allow the sale of fuel, permit a drive through that will not meet standards in section ten point sixty point zero nine zero of the zoning ordinance and to obtain an ABC license type 20 off sale beer and wine. That will allow the applicant to sell beer and wine that will be in conjunction with the proposed service station. The project is located at the Southeast corner of Hillman Street and Corvina Avenue. The prop the project proposes to establish a drive thru. Per the city's municipal code, a drive thru is permitted is a permitted use if it meets all standards established by chapter ten point sixty point zero nine zero.

If a proposed drive through does not meet one or more of the standards established, a conditional use permit is required prior to the establishment of the drive thru. The applicant is proposing a drive thru that does not meet the following standards. The drive thru is not being established fully outside a building setback area. The drive thru is not located a 100 feet away from residential use. The drive through will not provide stacking space for four vehicles before the ordering menu.

Please note that there are many drive throughs in the city that do not meet these standards and did not get a CEP approval. This is because these standards went to effect earlier last year when the zoning ordinance was updated. The proposed site is Zone C 3 retail commercial, and the general plan designation is community commercial. The sale of fuel permitting a drive through not meeting c city standards and obtaining ABC license all require approval of a conditional use permit. The hours operation will be determined at a later date.

The number of employees and shifts are also to be determined on a later date. The proposed convenience store will be approximately 6,435 square feet. The structure will be approximately 25 feet tall. The project will have 25 parking spots. There will be nine filling stations with 18 pumps.

The project will also include a drive through lane where all where the store will serve meals on go. The project is exempt pursuant to section one five three three two in infill development projects of the California Environmental Quality Act. In conclusion, staff recommends approval of conditional use permit application number 2025Dash24 subject to the recommended conditions of approval provided in your staff report. This concludes my presentation. Staff is available to answer any further questions.

Thank you. This is a public hearing item. Anyone who would like to come forward to speak in favor or against this project, feel free to do so at this time. It should be at the very base right there. There you go.

Set in? Oh, good. Thank you. Thank you. Evening, chairman and commissioners. My name is Alan Williams. I'm with AW Engineering and representing the applicant tonight, and we support the findings by staff and the recommendations. I did wanna clarify. We've been working with them on this project to try to comply with all the city standards. I am aware of the, drive through issues.

We went back and looked at this since the last meeting, and, we we are able to get the four queuing spaces that the city standard requires by just simply moving the ordering window over to the west. So we can comply with that requirement. But the way the property is, we're not able to comply with the setback with the residential use. The property boundaries are set. We tried to move the building to the north to get further separation from the residential use, but it complicates some of the traffic issues further if we do that to try to get the 100 foot separation.

It's just not feasible for us. So we are asking for us to include the block wall on the west side, a seven foot block wall, and to, heavy landscape that west side. It's it's gonna be very similar to when we were involved in the in and out on Prosperity. In and out had a drive through along their south borderline, but across the street was a residential zone, and it had a 50 foot separation. So we're asking for similar requirements here.

We understand it doesn't comply with the city standards today, but we are, recognizing that we've done everything that we can to try to mitigate that, including meeting the four queuing spaces from the ordering window pack. So we can comply with all the queuing. But, other than that, I can answer any questions, but, but that's that's

Thank you. We'll call you back if we have questions.

Okay. Thank you.

Let me turn this up.

Anyone else like to speak on this item? Not being any. Close the public hearing and move on to commissioners. Commissioners?

I'm I'm just curious if if we changed the requirements, and and this isn't going to meet them. What were the what were there any of the reasons why it was changed that would be a negative impact, in approving this?

I think staff's opinion for the purpose of the change was that if a drive through is proposed near residential properties and doesn't meet these requirements, we wanted the planning commission to have the opportunity to receive public comment, to respond to that comment, to be able to add conditions of approval, and to be able to have those conditions mitigate the potential impacts to the adjoining property owners. So for this project, I think, one, we've obviously, there's nobody here today. I do admit that there may be some limited number of residences of that have been sold nearby yet so far, but but that is one reason. But the secondly, we feel comfortable with what the conditions of approval have been added to the project to require them to do things that will hopefully mitigate impacts to those residences. In other words, the landscaping that was mentioned, the block wall that was mentioned, moving the ordering sign, and making sure that it points north and north away from the residences instead of towards, future residences.

So all of these things, it was our intent to change the ordinance to give your commission and staff more flexibility and more ability to put conditions of approval on projects to mitigate these impacts rather than just simply rubber stamping them and moving them along. Whereas before, this wouldn't have ever gotten a second thought or a second look. It just would have simply been approved. So here, instead, now we have the opportunity to look at it a little more closely and try to make sure that we're being aware and and lessening the potential to have an impact on this neighboring property.

Thank you. And so the the majority of this area is they still haven't built there. Am I correct in what I'm thinking the area is?

Yeah. The there's a single family subdivision that's gated in there. Mhmm. They are building in there. I don't know how many units have been built, but it is still largely, yet to be occupied.

Thank you.

I'm concerned that that this project is simply not the right project for that corner. There's a lot of and I know that engineers have worked a lot to make this work and, everything, but I'm just concerned that it is not the right project for this particular corner. And yet there have been numerous changes even before this piece of it got to us because at one point in time, the original project included, I believe, apartments or duplexes, and then that piece of land was sold or has gone to an a new owner or something along those lines. I think that and I'm also concerned with the fact that there are numerous gas stations or mini marts in the area already. And what there's one two on the corner of, Prosperity and three on the corner of Prosperity and Hillman.

So what within a half mile of if or that that that distance. And so I'm just concerned that it's gonna be a lot of gas station kinds of things into that into that area. It does not meet any most of the standards that we have used, and it just gets ever more, in my opinion, ever more cumbersome to approve this project. So for me, I just think it's not a good project for that area.

I have a couple questions. First, I wanted to say that, I I did see the condition about moving the ordering location to allow for more queuing. I assume does that make it meet the standard?

Our tech spoke to us before the meeting, and he had had the opportunity to model it out, and it does not he says that it will meet the queuing if it's moved.

Okay. My other question, this might be for, mister Williams. It looks like there's an easement to the west of the property. Can someone confirm whether or not that'll that's set up forever easement? Is that something that a future builder cannot build over the top of?

Yes. So there is an easement along the Western property line. It is a Tulare Irrigation District easement. It will not be able to be built upon. It was considered and mapped or shown on the site plan when adjacent development was approved.

Okay. And I assume city has received no comment from the adjacent developer in regards to this project?

No.

And then my last question is, do we have any sort of published standard about a minimum between gas station?

We do not. We previously had a limit to no more than two at major arterial intersections, but that was there was a request made to remove that limitation, so there are no limits at the moment.

Okay.

The the ordinance does give a a few criteria regarding you have to have at least a certain size parcel and and things like that. It's rather minimal, and many parcels would meet the requirement. This one obviously does. But there is some very minimal criteria for parcel sizing in order to qualify to to have a service station.

Thank you. And then just one final question. I'm assuming it's a gas station. This is not a high use drive through, like, and out, like you mentioned.

The owner of the property, I did get what he plans on servicing through the drive through, and he's indicated it's gonna be a coffee tea with light affairs, like sandwiches and danishes of pastries and things like that. So we'll have a window in the morning that'll be very active. He can't really nail down his hours. He really don't know how long he's gonna have to extend those or how long it go through the day and how many employees, but he does plan on doing a coffee and tea drive through. Okay.

And this particular owner also owns not only this parcel, but the other two or three to the south. So he has a master plan that we plan to develop other uses to the South. And, he sees a need for this gas station being here because he's aware of all the development happening to the West and to the North. So there's gonna demand it's gonna put that demand on this gas station being the location with the added value of a car and a copy kiosk. It's gonna help bring in different client base than some of the others have.

Got it. Thank you.

Okay.

Can I can I speak one second? Great Millie, 2590 Diamante. So I'm the original landowner of this property. I've sold all this off on this side. I think mister Singh was the one. I don't think he's here. But just to give you guys some history on this, we went through a couple of site interviews before I sold this. And the code the ordinance, there was no ordinance for a setback from for a city standard from a drive through to a residential neighborhood. So during the time this guy bought this and we went through our site interviews, used to have the gas station up on the other end, Mario, could verify this. And they've moved it to this side, and then that standard has changed.

So during that whole time of him going through the process, the city has changed that standard. So I don't know if that makes a difference or not, but that should. This guy invested, you know, 2 and a half million dollars in a piece of property and then another 5 or $6,000,000 to build a gas station. Hopefully, that city understands that they changed the rule.

I have a couple of of questions, and and I apologize for being late. I just lost track of time. But, has there been any negative feedback from the community around there? Have you guys heard any negative

We have this has been noticed same noticing requirements as any other conditional use permit. It's been noticed in the newspaper and then mailed in any property owner within 300 feet, and we have received no feedback whatsoever on the project.

And then it as I asked at our last meeting, this group has met every compliance, and they've done everything you've asked them to do.

Yes.

I just wanna reconfirm that.

Yes. So the the service station and the requested drive through as it's currently designed require a conditional use permit to be approved, and so they've gone through the proper steps to request those items and and gone through all the, site plan review and and things like that. And so they have met all of the they're working to meet all of the city requirements.

And and then some. Right? Because I I think in our last meeting, it was stated, you know, you've asked them to make the wall taller. You've asked them to put more shrubs. You've asked them to turn the drive through whatever that thing above or is called. So it doesn't everything doesn't aim toward the residential area, have they? And they have complied with that as well?

So we had a brief conversation about that before your commissioner was able to join us. And and, yes, from a staff perspective, that was the intent of changing the ordinance to give us the opportunity to look at these specific drive throughs and be able to place conditions upon them to where they are not hopefully not having an impact on neighboring properties. And so for staff's perspective, the applicant has been willing to meet all the conditions that we have thought of to try to lessen the potential impact. And so from our perspective, we're able to make a recommendation of approval of the project based on their willingness to meet those conditions and and mitigate those potential impacts.

Alright. Thank you.

I have a logistical question. Has to do with stacking. That drive through window, that will be for food service only. People will not be paying for gas through that drive through window? K. Good.

One more random question. Sorry. Were you done?

I'm done.

Okay. I don't maybe I'm

just

not remembering our format here, but I'm not used to seeing quite so many comments at the end from engineering and that sort of thing outside of what looked like conditions. I happen to see final map requirements. Is that that's separate, not really a part of this. Right?

Yeah. So what happens is the applicant came through site plan review and is showing more than one thing. Okay. Basically, showing map requirements and the site plan requirements. And, usually, we would work with engineering.

So site plan review, they produce comments that cover both or all of it together. Usually, we would work with engineering to adjust those prior to your commission and limit it to just what is being requested from planning commission. Because of staffing issues with the engineering department right now, it just couldn't get revised. So k. Those conditions will apply to the project when it wants to apply for a parcel map in order

No. I

I think the lots already exist. It's just some of those parcels will have once they're developed, we'll have different Different. Development requirements.

Okay. Thank you. I'm gonna move that we approve conditional use permit application number 2025Dash24 subject to the findings and conditions and resolution number 5535. I second.

The item has been moved and seconded. Please pull the commission.

Commissioner Limas? Aye. Commissioner Hanford? Aye. Commissioner Guerrero? Aye. Vice chair Miller? Aye. Chair Miguel?

Aye. Item passes. Moving on to 6.3, conditional use permit number 2025Dash22.

Good evening, chairman Miguel, members of the commission. I'm sorry for my voice this evening. Had the flu for a week, so getting hopefully getting over it. This is a request by Quest Equity to establish a residential development within a commercial zone district. The development is proposed to be located West Of Rutherford Street.

Sorry. That that the other COP. While she gets it up, the development is proposed to be located on the West Of Rutherford Street on the south side of core the Corvina Avenue alignment. The proposed location is Zone C 3, which is a retail commercial zone district and is designated community commercial within the general plan. Prior to the adoption of the comprehensive zoning ordinance update, the city of Tulare's municipal code stated that residential uses were permitted uses with, within commercial zones with the approval of a conditional use permit by the planning commission.

So this request was submitted prior to the implementation of the zoning ordinance and is taking advantage of the repair ordinance. There you go. The proposed project is a multifamily residential development consisting of 28 duplexes for a total of 56 residential units. Each duplex will include a two bed, two bath unit and a three bed, two bath unit. Each unit will have a two car garage, and the development will result in on-site infrastructure improvements such as park area, guest parking, connections to city water, sewer, storm drain systems, as well as landscaping.

As part of the project, the applicant will be required to extend Corvina Avenue from its current point of terminus across the parcel's full frontage. A single point of access will then be provided from Corvina Avenue and will provide access to the development. The project will be required to install furniture improvements, including installation of curb cutter sidewalk along Corvina Avenue. The proposed conditional use permit is exempt pursuant or sorry. It's exempt from further analysis required by the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to public resources code section two one zero eight zero point six six.

And so in conclusion, staff is recommending approval of conditional use permit application number 202522 subject to the recommended conditions of approval as provided in your staff report. Now that concludes my presentation. Happy to answer any questions you may have.

Thank you. This is a public comment period. So anyone who'd like to speak on this issue, feel free to do so at this time.

Chairman, commissioners. Greg Nunn, 2590 Diamante Drive. I wanna thank the staff for helping us work on this for so long. They did go through a couple of changes and got our application in. I'll be here to answer any questions if you guys have any. Thank you.

Thank you. Anyone else like to speak? Being none, I close public comment period and move on to commissioners.

Greg, are these low income, or are they just regular income? Anybody? Are they low income, or what kind of apartments are they going to be or just regular priced? No. Okay.

Yeah. It'll be market rate housing.

Okay.

So, if this is approved, how many housing different housing developments will be in that general area now?

Well, I I guess it depends on what the general area is. If you're just talking kind of the Rutherford

Yes.

Along that Rutherford Corridor

Yes.

Then this would be the third essentially. There's this. There is the villas at Sierra Ranch, which is the gated community. Right. And then there is an expansion of the Riviera Apartments, which has been approved. Right. The Riviera I guess Glass Avenue is under construction as well. Some duplexes along Glass Avenue.

K. Thank you.

Well, some history on that one. So I owned where the Riviera apartments are.

Mhmm.

That was some project I sold to Ginder. Ginder's also I sold him 18 acres from the backside of the New Rutherford. That's gonna be another 160 units. I sold John Moon's Glass Avenue, which he's building right now, was your duplexes. They're all garden style, really nice, kind of what these would be modeled after. There's a property just north of this project that is zoned for high density multifamily that used to be the old Bethel site. So there's there's four, five, six residential projects out there or coming out there. There's only one more to get built after this, and then it's all commercial. So what we're thinking is the city is doing their entertainment district and all that. I think that's getting all pushed out to the alarm show.

And you have just the history of this intersection of Apartment 199. You have three to 400 acres, probably, maybe 300 acres of commercial, regional, commercial, or commercial. There needs to be some mixed use in that. Otherwise, it's gonna be bare ground forever. So and I've been we've gotten a lot of feedback on people wanting to live there where they can walk to the LA Mall, and and it's a good mixture. So that's that's our opinion. So thank you.

It will be having increased densities, increased traffic. Is the city does it have any plans to put a frontage road from Cart Mill to the outlets so that we don't end up with a traffic issue?

Corbine Avenue will be ultimately extended and will turn to the north. You can kinda see it on the site plan on the west side there. It's starting to turn to the north. Then so Corvina will bend and ultimately extend to the north, and we'll connect where Acres is at Cartmelon Acres, just barely east of the freeway. So that'll kinda serve as your frontage road that you're referring to, and that'll help someday Corvina and Rutherford will end up being a singleized intersection probably as warrants require.

But until then, this will be an intersection that will be improved and and just extended for this parcel, and we'll continue to be extended as development occurs. Thank you.

How large will the how many do you know how many square feet the duplexes will be?

So, I would recommend that the planning commission adopt a resolution approving conditional use permit number 2025Dash22 to allow the development of a residential use within a c three retail commercial zone district.

I'll second.

The item has been moved and seconded. Please pull the commission.

Commissioner Guerrero. Aye. Vice chair Miller. Aye. Commissioner Limas. Aye. Commissioner Henard. Aye. Chair Miguel.

Aye. Item passes. Moving on to general business. Staff?

We have no general business on the agenda.

Staff updates?

Happy New Year, planning commission. We staff has remained planning staff has remained quite busy to finish out 2025. And as we continue into 2026, this agenda is just a short preview of some of the things we're seeing in the city. All very exciting things going on from a planning perspective. So as you saw, two of the items here, this actually yeah.

Two of these items included the further build out of almost like a mixed use area there that we've been discussing along Rutherford with the mix of residential uses of different densities and then commercial uses that will continue to develop. And then, you know, an old kind of the old guard of grocery stores we had with the RN. It was sad to see that place closed. It's good to see another market going in. So we're also seeing, which is in today's day and age, we don't take for granted when some of these large kinda anchor tenants or larger stores go empty like the old Walgreens here along J Street.

And then we have a new grocery store coming in to fill it in that is very good for our community, good for our tax base. And so we continue to see a mix of infill, repurposing old buildings, actually, to that effect. Congratulations to the twenty sixth hour, and I know you had the grand opening, and it's been very successful talking about rehabbing literally older build historic buildings, I might add. We also have a few historic cultural landmark nominations that your commission approved last month going to city council at the next meeting. So a lot of things going on both from the our existing developed parts of the city, and then we continue to see growth in new areas.

Progress at the new International Agri Center Way interchange continues. So a lot of exciting things, coming our way here into Larry. Just very fortunate to have that act activity, that churn, and, just thank your commission and lot look forward to some long range planning too. We're we're getting towards the end of, the approval cycle, hopefully, on our housing element as well as our active transportation plan. So a lot going on, Delaney. Thank you.

Thank you.

Can I ask you a quick question? Greg left. I was gonna ask him. But there's other things being built out there right now around that Save Mart Center Save Mart Center, where our Save Mart's gonna go. Do you know what some of that is? I'm constantly being asked by people, and I'm like, you know, I just don't really pay attention to that.

Yeah. We have a few uses that have been approved. In addition, you know, there's a big ceremony for the Save Mart, which is gonna be a longer term kind of construction. But around that, obviously, you'll see Chipotle going up nearing completion. There's a new car wash as well and a another gas station convenience store being developed.

Okay. Then I can I gotta ask the million dollar question? Is the building that is now framed, is it the Chick fil A? That's the only question I could ask.

Over on Cart Mill? Yes. That is correct. So that's Chick fil A going up. I think they're anticipating to open this summer, I believe. So, yeah, that's going up fast and furious. We're calling in for inspections as that construction continues. And next to that, you'll see the kinda do putting in probably underground tanks, but the Maverick Service Station too is is underway.

Thank you. I do wanna comment. I was at the twenty six hour ribbon cutting, and the just excitement for everything downtown right now is very extremely positive, and the energy is so good. And it's a it's a beautiful place. They've done a beautiful job with an old building. And so it was it was great to be there and celebrate with the owners of that business. And and then we went up and had dinner at the tap yard at some taco truck thing that had the best smash burger I've ever eaten. So I need something talk about. Yeah. It was it was pretty cool.

But just just to see that parking lot, there's no parking in that back parking lot. There's no parking on K Street. And and just to see all of the people intermingling, I mean, there are good things happening. And even right now and I apologize for being late. I just lost track of time. I came by Zoom, like, at 80 miles an hour down M Street, and there were people in the park this time of night with their kids playing. And so it's just super it's a great time to be living in our city. It's a great time to be here. I'm excited for it. So

Well, I think we were all, over the last couple of decades, disappointed in the direction that our downtown had gone in. And I think that the U-turn is welcome by pretty much everybody. And I know I I like what's going on downtown. The fair the Christmas parade, you know, is reflecting that. So at that, I will adjourn tonight's meeting.