The Los Banos Planning Commission on May 24 recommended approval of an alcohol license for Beverage House Market, as well as approving the development of a boat and RV storage facility and two mobile food vending permits for Ary’s Ice Cream and Mariscos El Aguachilense.
The commission also held a design review study session for the development of a car sales lot located at 702 G Street.
The commission approved a categorical exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act and recommended to the Los Banos City Council the approval of a Type 21 alcohol license for Beverage House Market, located at 547 West I Street.
This location was the previous site of a Circle K, which had a Type 20 beer and wine license. A Type 21 alcohol permit authorizes the sale of beer and wine with the addition of distilled spirits for consumption off the premises where sold. Associate Planner Rudy Luquin noted that the approval of this permit would only intensify the previous alcohol permit, not increase the total.
Steve Rollicks, present on behalf of the owners of Beverage House Market, shared that the store will be carrying more fresh foods such as fruit and vegetables.
“We wrote a condition to ensure that this was going to be a community market,” Rollicks said. He added that unlike beer and wine, the distilled spirits will be located only at the back of the cash register.
The hours of operation for Beverage House Market are Sunday through Thursday from 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. and Friday through Saturday from 6 a.m. to 12 a.m. Rollicks noted that the previous establishment was open for 24 hours but decided that closing Beverage House Market at night may be more beneficial to the neighboring residential area.
“Thank you and the owners for dressing that unit up,” Commissioner Chair John Cates told Rollick. “The stylization in this rendering is awesome.”
The Commission also approved a categorical exemption from CEQA and mobile food vending permit for Areli Jimenez Velasco, who will be doing business as Ary’s Ice Cream.
The ice cream truck will operate on the public-right-of-way and will vend throughout Los Banos. The proposed days and hours of operation are seven days a week from 2 to 6 p.m.
The Commission approved an exemption from CEQA and mobile food vending permit for Mariscos El Aguachilense, who will also vend on the public-right-of-way throughout the city. Mariscos EI Aguachilense is proposing to vend six days a week from Tuesday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
The commissioners congratulated both applicants and wished them success.
The Commission also approved a categorical exception from CEQA, a conditional use permit and a site plan review for the development of a boat and recreational vehicle storage facility. Including a 1,600 square foot office and a 225,000 square foot covered storage area, the project is to be developed on a vacant parcel located at 1725 West Pacheco Boulevard (west of Walmart).
Community and Economic Development Director Stacy Elms noted that there is an existing structure on the parcel, but enhancements to this building will occur in phase two of the plan.
The storage area for the boats and RVs will be covered by six canopies, Luquin said. Light pole fixtures will be added to the entrance of the facility while motion-sensor lights will be added to the underside of the canopies. For this facility, landscaping will be featured throughout the project site, including six tree species totaling 95 trees and seven groundcover and shrub species.
Rick Mummert, the president of Benchmark Engineering, Inc. came forward to share details about the project. “It’s going to have propane sales, an RV dump station and air and water for the RVs,” Mummert said. “It’s going to be a top-notch facility.”
“A lot of thought has gone into this. It’s going to be appealing to the eye as you come into town, which is really important,” Commissioner Rob Robinson said about the project.
Lastly, the Commission held a design review study session for the development of a 360 square foot commercial building and site improvements for a proposed car sales lot, located at 702 G street.
Leading the presentation, Luquin said the design review served purely as discussion between the commission and the applicant and that no formal action was to be taken place that evening. The commission members were to give feedback on the architecture, landscaping and exterior lighting for the future development.
Commissioner Rob Robinson requested 3D renderings of the site plan so that the commissioners could picture the project more accurately.
Due to the absence of the applicant, the Commission decided to move the design review study session for the development of a 1,500 square foot Sunday school for the Church of Nazarene to a future agenda.
