Sacramento County Planning Commission Meeting - September 11, 2024
STREAMING COPY IN PREPARATION — RECORDING AVAILABLE FROM THE ORIGINAL SOURCE
Sacramento County Planning Commission Meeting - September 11, 2024
Note: The transcript begins with "For September 9th, 2024," indicating a potential date discrepancy with the provided meeting date of September 11, 2024.
The meeting covered three main agenda items: a rezone and use permit for a truck storage yard at Bradshaw and Elder Creek, a car wash project at Werner and Garfield with multiple development standard deviations, and the introduction of the West Jackson Highway Master Plan with its draft environmental impact report. Public comment was received only on the master plan. All items were approved or advanced.
Consent Calendar
- There was no consent calendar; the meeting began with contested items.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Item 3 (West Jackson Highway Master Plan): Roxanne Fuentes spoke in opposition, citing loss of prime farmland, habitat for endangered species (e.g., golden eagle, tri-colored blackbird, burrowing owl, vernal pool shrimp), impacts to Mather Airport, and increased traffic and noise. She advocated for the "no project alternative."
- No public comments were made on Items 1 or 2.
Discussion Items
Item 1: Bradshaw Elder Creek Trucking Rezone Project
- Staff presented a proposal by Emma Carico to rezone 6.6 acres from Agricultural Urban Reserve/Industrial Reserve to General Commercial and approve a use permit for truck and large vehicle storage. The site is currently a heavy equipment storage yard with a prior use permit limited to construction-related storage. The project is within the pending West Jackson Highway Master Plan area but is not required to comply until the master plan is adopted.
- Commissioners asked about future flexibility: staff clarified that heavy equipment storage would not be allowed under GC zoning, but truck storage and some minor vehicle storage would be permitted. The applicant (Jim Gill) accepted conditions and noted community demand for legal truck parking to reduce illegal parking in neighborhoods.
- Motion to approve staff recommendation was made and seconded; the vote carried (no specific tally provided, but approved).
Item 2: Blue Oak Car Wash Project
- Staff presented a proposal by Kimber Gutierrez to rezone 0.5 acres from RD2 (low density residential) to LC (light commercial) and approve a drive-through car wash with seven special development permit deviations. The undeveloped site slopes; 20 protected oak trees are on site. The car wash would operate 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. The Carmichael CPAC recommended approval; the DRAC found substantial compliance with design guidelines.
- Written opposition from Werner Oaks Townhouse HOA cited traffic and rezoning concerns. The adjacent church (New Hope Christian Fellowship) did not comment.
- Commissioners discussed the number of deviations, potential noise impacts, and a large off-site oak tree (Tree 20/21) that may be impacted by grading for noise mitigation. The applicant said they will work with an arborist and comply with mitigation.
- Motion to approve staff recommendation passed 4-1, with Chair Rethel voting no.
Item 3: West Jackson Highway Master Plan
- Staff presented an overview by Emma Carico. The master plan covers ~5,913 acres, proposing 16,484 dwelling units, 11.5 million sq ft commercial, 2 million sq ft industrial, 2,100 acres parks/open space, and several schools. The draft EIR (DEIR) was published July 25, 2024, with a 45-day comment period ending that day. The DEIR found significant and unavoidable impacts to aesthetics, agriculture, air quality, cultural resources, noise, and transportation.
- Environmental coordinator Julie Newton explained that the plan area is within the South Sacramento Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP), which provides a regional mitigation strategy. Commissioner Borja asked about future policy changes and community engagement; staff confirmed CPAC and planning commission hearings will follow.
- Motion to acknowledge the end of the DEIR comment period and direct staff to prepare the final EIR passed unanimously.
Key Outcomes
- Item 1: Approved (motion carried, specifics not stated).
- Item 2: Approved with one dissenting vote (Chair Rethel).
- Item 3: Planning commission directed staff to prepare the final EIR; public comment period closed.
- Future meeting dates announced: September 23, October 7 & 21, November 4 & 18 (due to holidays).
- In the miscellaneous portion, staff discussed training opportunities and the procedural distinction between "contested" and "consent" items, noting that due process requires a public comment opportunity for land use hearings.
Meeting Transcript
For September 9th, 2024, if you'll please call the roll. Good evening, Member Borja. Here. Devlin and Rachel. Here. And you have a quorum. If you'll please stand with me for the Pledge of Allegiance. And to the report for which stands one. Under the repeat. And if you'll please make the announcements for this evening. The county fosters public engagement during the meeting and encourages public participation, civility, and use of courteous language. The commission does not condone the use of profanity, vulgar language, gestures, or other inappropriate behavior, including personal attacks or threats directed towards any meeting participant. To make an in-person public comment, please complete a and submit a speaker request form to the clerk staff. Each individual will be invited to the podium to make a comment. Members of the public may send written comments, which are distributed to the commission members and filed in the record. Please email comments to board clerk at SatCounty.gov or mill to 700 H Street Suite 2450 Sacramento, California. And that concludes the clerk's announcement. That moves us to the contested portion of our agenda. Please call item number one. Item number one. This is a general plan amendment, community plan amendment, rezone and conditional use permit. It is located at 6350 Bradshaw Road at the northeast corner of the intersection of Bradshaw Road and Elder Creek Road in the Vineyard Community, and the environmental document is a negative declaration. I think they were testing it earlier. All right. Good evening, Commissioners. Chair Rethel. My name is Emma Carico. I'm an associate planner and the project manager for the Bradshot Elder Creek Trucking Rezone Project. The project site is a 6.6 acre parcel located on the northwest corner of the intersection of Bradshaw and Elder Creek Roads in the Vineyard Community. The site is currently developed as a heavy equipment storage yard. The subject parcel is currently zoned interim agricultural reserve and surface mining. Surrounding land uses include a construction storage yard to the north, an undeveloped parcel to the south, agriculture, specifically a strawberry farm to the east, and single family residential to the west. Site is located within the pending West Jackson Highway Master Plan area, specifically within future planning area B, where acreages of each land use designation have been allocated but not geographically cited. We will discuss the West Jackson Highway Master Plan in greater detail later in our agenda tonight, actually, but I will note that the master plan remains in process and is not planned to go to hearing for consideration of adoption until sometime in 2025. Because this application was deemed complete prior to the final hearing for the master plan. This project is not required to comply with the policies of the master plan at this time. If the master plan is adopted, any future development on the subject parcel will be required to comply. A use permit and design review to allow the existing heavy equipment storage yard were approved on October 28th, 2019 by the planning commission. The use permit limited the operation of to storage of heavy equipment and tractor trailers used in conjunction with construction only. Not only is general storage of trucks and large vehicles not allowed under the existing use permit, it is also not a permitted use in the parcel's current agricultural urban reserve general plan land use designation and interim agricultural reserve community plan and zoning designations. As such, the applicant is requesting a general plan amendment to convert the parcel from the agricultural urban reserve and aggregate resource area land use designation to the commercial and offices land use designation as shown on this slide. The applicant is also requesting a community plan amendment from the industrial reserve slash surface mining designation to the general commercial designation and a rezone from the current interim agricultural reserve and surface mining zoning district to the general commercial zoning district. Additionally, a use permit is required in the general commercial zoning district to allow a truck and large vehicle storage facility. As previously mentioned, the subject parcel is already developed with improvements for the heavy equipment storage facility. No physical changes to the site are proposed or necessary to serve the proposed use with this application. Existing improvements include driveway access from Elder Creek Road here with a motorized gate, frontage improvements, screening fencing, and landscaping, which includes shrubbery and screening trees in front of the screening fencing as well as on the eastern property line to separate the adjacent single family residential use. Over here. At this time, staff recommends that the planning commission approve resolution one, which recommends the board approve the amendment to the general plan to change the land use designation from agricultural urban reserve aggregate resource area to commercial and offices. The final hearing authority for this project is the Board of Supervisors. So staff also recommends the planning commission make the following recommendations to the board.
openpublica.com