The Ceres City Council voted 5-0 to approve a four-building commercial project along Whitmore Avenue in west Ceres, clearing the way for a new Chipotle, a second drive-through restaurant, a multi-tenant retail building and a quick oil-change facility on what has been described as the last vacant stretch of that corridor.
The development totals 13,221 square feet, according to the Ceres Courier, and is planned for a site between Dutch Bros to the west and Mister Car Wash to the east. Coverage of the project's footprint has varied: the council vote was tied to a 2.9-acre site along Whitmore Avenue between Morgan Road and Malik Avenue, while earlier planning commission coverage described the project as sitting on nearly four acres. The project would fill what the Courier's report calls the last remaining vacant space along that stretch of Whitmore Avenue if it gets built.
The four buildings break down into a 6,786-square-foot multi-tenant retail building with 34 parking stalls, a 2,794-square-foot fast-food restaurant with 56 seats, a drive-through and 29 parking stalls, a 2,361-square-foot Chipotle with 56 seats, a drive-through and 32 parking stalls, and a 1,282-square-foot quick oil-change service facility with eight parking stalls. Though the lots may end up individually owned, the plan calls for them to function as one integrated commercial center with internal circulation between parcels, and two access points along the south side of Whitmore Avenue.
Rezoning Swaps Office Designation for Commercial Use
Getting there required a General Plan Amendment and rezoning of the property from Office and Planned Community-Administrative Professional designations to Community Commercial. Kelsey George, the city's contract planner, said the new commercial designation permits a broader range of uses than the existing office zoning allowed, per the Courier's reporting.
Mayor Javier Lopez called the project great for District 2, according to the same report. The approval still isn't final — the matter must return to the council for a second reading and adoption, and the Courier notes it would take effect 30 days after that adoption.
Noise and Drive-Through Concerns Raised by Residents
Council member Rosalinda Vierra expressed concerns about noise affecting nearby residences, the Courier reported, since the site borders residential lots. To address that, the project requires a six-foot-high masonry wall along with bushes and shrubs to separate the commercial buildings from residential properties, and the city requires adherence to its noise standards.
George said that during building review, speakers will be checked for compliance with those performance standards and shielded from residents. The Chipotle location will have a mobile-order lane only, with no outdoor ordering speakers, while nearby Dutch Bros already uses remote ordering instead of speakers because its location backs onto residential yards. The site will also be monitored for vehicle queues backing up into Whitmore Avenue, and the project will be required to prepare a queuing management plan if drive-through stacking becomes a problem.
Traffic Bottleneck Expected to Persist at Railroad Tracks
City Engineer Michael Beltran told the council that Whitmore Avenue is planned to eventually carry four lanes, two in each direction, but that the widening will not extend through the Tidewater railroad tracks, leaving a bottleneck there, the Courier reported. The relevant Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration filed by the City of Ceres separately specifies that landscaping along the East Whitmore Avenue frontage must be maintained to prevent sight-distance conflicts.
The railroad has demanded the city pay between $5 million and $7.5 million for crossing improvements, according to the Courier's account of the meeting. Medians are planned for Whitmore Avenue to prevent dangerous left turns out of the project, and motorists leaving the site will instead be directed to the Morgan or Malik traffic signals. The corridor already includes McDonald's, Flyer's gas station, Mister Car Wash, Dutch Bros, O'Reilly's Auto Parts and Dollar General, making the proposed project the latest addition to an already busy commercial stretch of west Ceres.
