Stockton Planning Commission Meeting – August 14, 2025

The Stockton Planning Commission met in regular session at 5:30 p.m. on August 14, 2025, in City Council Chambers at 425 N. El Dorado St., Stockton, California. Six commissioners were present: Chair Jeff Sanguinetti, Terry Hull, Derek Graves, Yolanda Amen, Pandora Crowder, and newly appointed Commissioner Jazmine Hernandez. Vice Chair William Muetzenberg was absent. The commission approved the consent calendar, heard public comment on the Thornton Road restaurant denial, and continued the 5066 West Lane cannabis retail storefront public hearing to the August 28, 2025 meeting after a failed denial motion and a vote to suspend the rules. The meeting adjourned at 7:57 p.m. No agenda was available; this summary is based on the minutes and transcript.

Consent Calendar

• Approved minutes of the June 12, 2025 Planning Commission meeting (Motion 2025-08-14-0301).
• Approved Resolution 2025-08-14-0302 recommending the City Council deny the pre-zoning request and denying the design review request for a drive-through quick-serve restaurant at 9324 Thornton Road (APN 072-450-26, Application No. P23-0295).
• The consent calendar passed 5-0. Voting yes: Hull, Graves, Amen, Sanguinetti, and Crowder. Commissioner Hernandez abstained after the City Attorney recommended that she not vote on the June minutes because she was not a commissioner at that meeting. Commissioner Muetzenberg was absent.

Public Comments & Testimony

• Mike Hakem, 3414 Brookside Road, speaking for the Thornton Road applicant, said he respected the commission's decision but disagreed. He asked the City Attorney to confirm on the record that the design review and pre-zoning would automatically proceed to the City Council as a single item without exhausting administrative remedies or filing an appeal. The City Attorney confirmed that representation was accurate.
• Staff reported receiving written opposition from the Joan Richards Learning Village at 5211 Barbados Circle, which stated the project was across the street from its facility. Staff reviewed the location and found the facility was approximately 1,500 feet away and not directly accessible from the project site.

Discussion Items

• Cannabis retail storefront at 5066 West Lane (Item 5.1): Staff recommended approval of a Commission Use Permit for a cannabis retail storefront in an existing 6,000-square-foot suite within a 10,000-square-foot building in the Villages at Weber Ranch Shopping Center, at the southeast corner of March Lane and West Lane. Staff found the project categorically exempt from CEQA under CEQA Guidelines Section 15301(a). The site has a General Plan designation of commercial and is zoned Commercial General. The proposal would relocate an already approved operator from 2521 West Lane; the city allows up to 14 retail storefronts, eight are approved, and six are operating, so approval would create no net increase because the applicant would surrender the existing permit. The existing 2521 West Lane permit remains active until approximately October 18, 2025, with building permits under review, and extensions are exhausted.
• Site compliance and lot line adjustment: Staff confirmed the project is more than 300 feet from residential uses, more than 600 feet from schools, churches, daycares, and youth facilities, and more than 1,000 feet from another cannabis operator. The applicant completed Lot Line Adjustment LLA 24-02 to bring the parcel into compliance with the 300-foot residential separation, because the original property line would have placed an apartment complex within 300 feet. Staff noted waivers are no longer permitted under the updated municipal code.
• Applicant presentation: Zach Dravon, attorney for the applicant, stated this was a relocation rather than a new permit, and that the new operating partner, Engelbert Sarkis, has operated PAX at 3706 Hammer Lane since 2019, which Dravon described as the highest-performing retail store in Stockton with approximately $19 million in gross revenue and $824,000 in cannabis taxes paid to the city in the last year. He described community partnerships, nonprofit contributions, security staffing, surveillance, 21-and-older access, and a track record of no significant security events across the organization's locations.
• Commission concerns: Commissioners asked about delivery and transfer logistics, security staffing, hours, proximity to family-oriented businesses and schools, and the purpose of the lot line adjustment. Some commissioners expressed concern that the shopping center is family-oriented and high-traffic, with an urgent care, restaurants, an ice cream shop, and schools nearby. Others noted the project meets all code standards and would not increase the number of approved storefronts. Chair Sanguinetti stated he could support a condition requiring no fewer than two security guards during operation; the applicant agreed to accept that condition if the project were approved.
• Continuation and denial votes: The applicant's attorney initially requested a continuance to the August 28 or September 11 meeting because Vice Chair Muetzenberg was absent. The minutes and transcript differ on the first vote: the minutes describe Motion 2025-08-14-0501-01 as a motion rejecting a continuance to August 28, which failed 2-4 with Hull and Sanguinetti voting yes; the transcript indicates Hull moved to continue and the motion failed. The commission then heard the full presentation. Later, Commissioner Graves moved to deny the use permit, seconded by Commissioner Crowder. Graves stated his reason was that the high-traffic, family-oriented location would not maintain or strengthen the integrity and character of the neighborhood. That motion failed 3-3, with Graves, Crowder, and Hernandez voting yes, and Hull, Amen, and Sanguinetti voting no. The City Attorney advised the tie meant the motion died and no project decision was made. Chair Sanguinetti then moved to suspend the rules to allow consideration of a continuance, seconded by Hull. That motion carried 4-2, with Hull, Amen, Sanguinetti, and Crowder voting yes, and Graves and Hernandez voting no. The item was continued to the August 28, 2025 Planning Commission meeting.

Reports and Informational Items

• Deputy Director Mike McDowell reported that the City Council approved the Murray Ranch project with modified conditions: a road connection referred to as Hall would be terminated with emergency-vehicle access required from the Murray Ranch project, and if the connection to Dr. Martin Luther King is extended within four years, the road would be opened; if it is extended later, the city would pay to open it.
• McDowell also said the ad hoc committee is close to receiving a draft of the next portion of the municipal code update.

Key Outcomes

• Consent calendar approved 5-0; the Thornton Road pre-zoning and design review denial resolution will proceed to the City Council automatically, with no administrative appeal or exhaustion requirement per the City Attorney.
• The 5066 West Lane cannabis retail storefront use permit was neither approved nor denied. A denial motion failed 3-3, and a motion to suspend the rules to continue the item passed 4-2.
• The cannabis retail storefront matter is scheduled to be heard again at the August 28, 2025 Planning Commission meeting with the full commission, if available.
• No new business or unfinished business was considered; the meeting adjourned at 7:57 p.m.