Sacramento council rejects controversial gas station project in North Natomas
The Sacramento City Council unanimously rejected a developer’s proposal to build a gas station and two drive-through restaurants on a vacant lot in North Natomas.
The vote came after dozens of residents complained that the project would increase traffic and noise, decrease air quality and cater to drivers on Interstate 5 instead of the neighborhood.
Nick Avdis of the Thomas Law Group, representing the developer, said the project was redesigned at least 10 times after meetings with neighbors to ensure their concerns were addressed.
“This project was developed with a neighborhood-serving theme in mind,” Avdis told the council Tuesday during a two-hour discussion. “Make no mistake about it.”
Councilwoman Angelique Ashby, who represents North Natomas, said the changes made were not substantial enough, and there is already a gas station across the street.
“A gas station with 16 pumps is not the Sacramento of 2020 that we all aspire to be,” Ashby said. “This project includes gas, alcohol, tobacco, fast food, a strip mall and the removal of 23 trees.”
Ashby said the project has been in the works for seven years and that the “vast majority” of the community opposes it. The Sundance Lake Owners Association, which represents about 240 homeowners adjacent to the site, is strongly against it.
“The project with the 16-nozzle gas station, larger than any for miles around, a car wash and two fast food drive-through restaurants is designed to be a magnet to attract cars and trucks off of Interstate 5,” said Mike Wiley, board president of the association and former CEO of Sacramento Regional Transit.
Some called in to support the project. Debra “Red” Banes, former planning commission chairwoman, said the area needs more drive-through restaurants, especially during the coronavirus, to be used by families and also new employees at Centene’s new West Coast headquarters opening near the site.
“We need to keep up with our growing workforce needs,” said Banes, who said she lives in the district and owns property a half mile from the site.
The developer was seeking a rezoning and a conditional use permit to allow the project to move forward on several vacant lots near Duckhorn Drive and Arena Boulevard, next to Universal Technical Institute. The developer’s future plans for the site included a hotel.
City staff found the proposal did not match the long-term plan for the area, as a live-work walkable community, and recommended the council deny it. The Planning and Design Commission, however, recommended approval.
Avdis said the staff’s recommendation for denial left him “scratching his head.”
“We have a good high-quality project from a developer with a history of high-quality projects and is making significant investments in this city,” he said.
City materials listed Gateway West LLC as the applicant. That LLC is registered to the same address as Western Care Construction Co. in Rocklin, according to California Secretary of State records.
Under the current zoning, a gas station could be built at the site with planning commission approval, but a community member could appeal it, meaning it would need full council approval, said Garrett Norman, an associate planner for the city.
Ashby said she would support a conditional use permit for a child care center at the site.
