The Nevada County Planning Commission has signed off on a key step for the controversial Hidden Grove project in the Cedar Ridge area near Grass Valley, voting to send the mixed-use proposal to the Board of Supervisors for a final decision. The plan would rezone about 3.3 acres to allow three two-story buildings that combine small commercial or light-industrial space on the ground floor with roughly 15 one-bedroom apartments above. Backers say it is exactly the kind of live-work setup that could help young entrepreneurs stay in the county, while nearby residents warn it would erode the quiet, rural character they moved there for.
According to the state environmental filing on CEQAnet, the Hidden Grove application (SCH No. 2026020143) needs a General Plan amendment and rezoning to a Business Park designation, along with a development permit, tentative parcel map and several related approvals. A Draft Initial Study/Mitigated Negative Declaration for the 3.31-acre site went out for public review in February and March. The package also includes a request to narrow the right-of-way on Hobart Lane and a management plan that would allow removal of a landmark oak tree. Staff reviewing the project flagged potential issues that include traffic, septic system capacity, and cultural and biological resources, among others.
"This is a live, work, play community," project applicant Jerry Cirino told commissioners as he laid out his vision for storefront businesses on the first floor with compact upstairs residences aimed at younger, small-business owners. Some neighbors at the hearing were not sold. One resident said she never expected a mixed-use complex in her rural neighborhood and feared it would fundamentally change her way of life. After taking public comment, the Planning Commission voted to forward the application to the Board of Supervisors, as reported by CBS Sacramento.
Project details
The current proposal calls for three two-story structures with a total of nine commercial or light-industrial units on the ground floor and 15 single-bedroom apartments above. Plans also show 49 parking spaces, internal driveways and on-site septic systems. The CEQA filing describes a four-phase buildout that would begin by formalizing the existing Cirino's Bloody Mary Mix operation, resolving an open code-compliance case and creating a storage and maintenance yard before moving on to construction of the mixed-use buildings.
The application proposes subdividing the property into four parcels and includes a Fire Protection and Evacuation Plan tailored to the Cedar Ridge Rural Center. Those technical details, along with maps and staff reports, are part of the public record available through the lead agency and posted in the environmental file on CEQAnet.
Neighbors' concerns
Project opponents argue that narrow, unstriped Hobart Lane is not designed for the additional traffic they expect the development to generate and that local septic systems are already stretched. Several speakers at the Planning Commission hearing said cutting back the right-of-way on Hobart Lane and allowing removal of a landmark oak would open the door to more intensive development, step by step, in an area they view as distinctly rural.
Residents told commissioners that the pace and scale of change contemplated by the project conflict with what they believed zoning and the county's General Plan would allow in Cedar Ridge. For them, revising those guiding documents to fit a mixed-use business park feels like a pivot that puts long-time neighborhood character at risk.
What comes next
With the Planning Commission's recommendation in place, county staff will assemble their final analysis and proposed conditions of approval before the Board of Supervisors takes up the Hidden Grove proposal, currently expected in May or early June. Senior planner Steve Geiger told CBS Sacramento that state law allows only four General Plan amendments per year, which makes each request a high-stakes decision for the county.
The upcoming board hearing will offer another formal round of public comment and the chance for supervisors to weigh the infrastructure constraints and environmental tradeoffs against the project's potential economic benefits and housing units. Anyone who wants to review the environmental study or confirm meeting dates can contact Senior Planner Steve Geiger at [email protected] or (530) 265-1236 for details on how to submit written comments and when the item is scheduled to appear on the board calendar. The CEQA record contains maps, technical studies and staff reports filed with the lead agency.
