Stockton Planning Commission Meeting - April 28, 2022
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Stockton Planning Commission Meeting - April 28, 2022
The Stockton Planning Commission met on Thursday, April 28, 2022, at 5:30 PM in the Council Chamber, City Hall, 425 N. El Dorado St. The meeting was adjourned at 6:12 PM. Commissioners Anne Mallett, Brenda Jones, Brando Villapudua, Jeff Sanguinetti, Gerardo Garcia, and Xavier Mountain were present; Commissioner Waqar Rizvi was absent. The primary action was a public hearing on a proposed cannabis retail and delivery business at 2521 West Lane, which resulted in a 3-3 tie vote on both approval and a continuance, effectively denying the project subject to appeal.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Mark Stebbins addressed the commission on two topics: (1) opposition to recent zoning and code changes in South Stockton, which he argued are restrictive and dampen enterprise, and (2) support for using a portion of the county fairgrounds for an agriculturally themed amusement park rather than housing, as proposed by the governor.
Discussion Items
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Public Hearing – Item 5.1: Cannabis Business at 2521 West Lane (Application No. P21-0602) – This was a continuation from the April 14 meeting. The applicant, Chris Vaughn, sought a Commission Use Permit for a retail storefront cannabis business, an Administrative Use Permit for delivery-only, and Design Review for building modifications in a 4,375 square foot commercial building. The proposed location is approximately 1,600 feet from Aspire Public Schools (more than twice the required 600-foot buffer). The applicant reported attempts to engage the school, including a scheduled call, and described security measures (ID scanning) to prevent underage access.
Staff recommended approval. Commissioner Garcia noted the applicant had met all requirements and performed due diligence. Commissioner Mountain expressed concern about school safety and the potential for increased crime near schools, referencing the recent stabbing death of a Stagg High School student. Commissioner Villapudua cited crime statistics for the area (March: 1 homicide, 13 rapes, 61 robberies, 106 burglaries) and stated opposition based on community calls. Commissioner Mallett supported the project, noting the delivery focus reduces foot traffic. Chair Sanguinetti found the business plan well-presented and security measures robust, but remained cautious about cannabis generally.
A motion to approve (by Garcia, seconded by Mallett) failed 3-3 (Yes: Mallett, Sanguinetti, Garcia; No: Jones, Villapudua, Mountain). A subsequent motion to continue the item to a meeting with all commissioners present (by Garcia, seconded by Mallett) also failed 3-3. As a result, the project cannot move forward without appeal. The applicant has 10 days to appeal to the City Council.
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Reports/Communications: Stephanie Ocasio, Director of Community Development, announced a Planning Commissioner training by the Institute for Local Government on May 20, 2022, in Stockton, at no cost to commissioners.
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Commissioner Comments: Commissioner Mountain requested a moment of silence for Alicia, a 15-year-old Stagg High School softball player stabbed on campus April 18. Commissioner Mallett supported the fairgrounds amusement park idea mentioned in public comment. Commissioner Villapudua welcomed new Police Chief McFadden (starting June 1) and promoted the Cinco de Mayo parade on Sunday, May 1.
Key Outcomes
- Item 5.1 – The cannabis business application was not approved due to a 3-3 tie vote on both the substantive motion and a motion to continue. The project is denied at the commission level; the applicant may appeal to the City Council within 10 days.
- No other formal actions were taken.
Meeting Transcript
City is stocked and City Council Chambers. Um roll call, please. Commissioner Jones. President. Commissioner Mellett. Present. Commissioner Mountain? Here. Commissioner Risby is absent. Commissioner Villapuda? Here. Vice Chair Garcia. Present. Chair Sanguinetti. Here. We have a quorum. Okay, thank you. We're gonna pledge allegiance to the flag. Will Commissioner Mountain lead us in that? I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America. And to republic for which it stands. One nation, one other individual with justice for all. Okay. Um our first item of business will be the consent calendar and seeing our agenda, there is none tonight, so we'll move to item four, which is public comment. If there's anybody in the audience that wants to make a public comment or if there's a blue card, please uh let's get on it, get at it. Yes, we have Mark Stevens. Please state your name for our record. Okay. All right, I have two items I wanted to bring to your attention uh today. The first item uh this uh commission passed to the city council a uh variety of uh staff oriented uh changes to the zoning and zoning code, particularly in that area of South Stockton. Um Fremont Street down to roughly down to uh Worth Street in that area. Is that the most recent one that you're talking about that we moved on to City Council? The most recent revision that we passed on to the city council. It was yeah, it was most recent recently. Okay, which is the city from the city council on a meeting before last okay. Those those code changes and those zoning changes are restrictive and tend to dampen enterprise and business and South Stockton exactly what we do not need. Uming in general, as you may well know, was instituted in Stockton in about 1920s. Um the idea was to make life better for people living so they had a better quality of life. Um it's been used since then to uh protect privilege and to restrict activity for people of color. There are within the not only zoning code in the past, but also within uh real estate uh restrictions on even people of color living in this in a house in many areas, and those still exist to this day, even though they're not lawful, but they're still there. Every time you pass a restrictive code or restrictive zone, you prevent people from naturally being able to engage in business activity, lawful business activity. So it's very important that if and when you do that, that the people who are affected have a chance to understand what is going to happen if the zone is changed to their business and to future businesses and to their land and future land, and it's also uh important that they have a uh voice to say no, we don't want this. Uh people who spoke before the city council, the there were seven businesses represented who spoke and uh that that signifies that your time limits up. However, I can let you finish up what you want to say in that, but I'm not gonna let you go on and on. Right. Okay. Anyway, so that's people were not did not understand and and were not contacted and were not in favor of any of those things. Okay. That's the first thing I wanted to say that and I'd like it for your consideration to you know to think about that. The second thing quickly is this.
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