Lodi Planning Commission OKs permit for new winery, tasting room
The Lodi Planning Commission approved a winery and tasting room, as well as a parcel map for the former Mokelumne Credit Union property, during its meeting Tuesday night. They also denied approval of a site plan and architectural review for a 76 Gas Station. Commission members Bill Cummins, Crystal Kirst and Debbie Olson were absent.
The commission unanimously approved a use permit to allow a wine production and tasting room facility at 710 S. Beckman Road, Suites C and D. Robert Smerling will be bringing his winery, Cabana Wines, to Lodi. According to City Planner Craig Hoffman, Smerling will open a tasting room in Suite C and an upscale office and production facility in Suite D.
“This is a great use for Lodi. We’re seeing a business move out of Sacramento, moving into Lodi. Mr. Smerling has a long history with this community, and so anytime we’re able to take a business from a different jurisdiction and bring them here, that’s a big deal,” Hoffman said.
According to Smerling, he is “delighted” to be coming to Lodi and satisfied with how the process has been moving along.
“I’m only half as enthusiastic as Craig about that location, and I think we’ll do well there. I think it’s an upand-coming area. I think it will be easy to identify. People will notice us,” Smerling said.
He told the commission he understood the noise ordinance, and even thought the property has no neighbors, he plans to abide by the rules. The winery will be open for production five days a week — seven days in the fall season — and may be open late once or twice a year for release parties, he said. The tasting room will be open Saturdays and Sundays from about 1 to 6 p.m.
“We just don’t see the traffic in east Lodi that you would see in Downtown,” Smerling said.
If more businesses come to the area and the winery gets more traffic, Smerling said, he will come back before the commission to get approval to expand the days of operation for the tasting room.
He expects to open the doors for Cabana Wines on April 28.
The commission also unanimously approved a parcel map to subdivide one parcel in two lots at 2000 W. Turner Road and 535 N. Mills Ave.
According to Hoffman, the property is part of the overall former General Mills property, and is where the old Mokelumne Credit Union Building sits. The site was developed independently of the General Mills site and is designated for industrial use, he said.
“The applicant is creating a parcel and building space that they can sell off,” Hoffman said. “Although they’re not looking to necessarily go back as a bank building, the industrial zone does allow office space. My last understanding of the property would be that somebody wanted to buy this and they do medical billing. They have offices they would like to go into this building, and the parcel map effectively creates this parcel,” Hoffman said.
In other action, the commission denied the approval of a site plan and architectural review for a 76 Gas Station at 141 E. Harney Lane to include modification to utilize a shared driveway. The vote was 2-2, with commission members Dave Kirsten and Tiffany Gomes opposed.
According to Hoffman, the commission had originally approved a site plan and architectural review for the project back in November 2017. In response to safety concerns from the Montessori School neighboring the proposed site to the north, the applicant included a separate driveway on Stockton Street in the plans instead of using the shared driveway that they have an easement for. The plans also included a condition requiring the applicant to install a median on Stockton Street.
According to the project developer, Omar Nasim, his distributors felt that the separate driveway would be a liability. The concern was that the driveway was too close to the intersection with Harney Lane, making it hard for drivers to get into the left lane and make a left turn onto Harney Lane.
Because it is a private easement between the applicant and the school, Hoffman said the city could not forbid the gas station from using the driveway. According to Hoffman, the area is zoned industrial, and the school was aware of that when they came in. When they subdivided the parcel, they should have created deed restrictions, Hoffman said.
The applicant was looking to modify the plans to utilize the shared driveway instead of the separate one and eliminate the condition of installing an median. Commission members David Kirsten and Tiffany Gomes both had concerns with tanker trucks driving through a driveway shared with a preschool.
Nasim said that their fuel distributors made it clear to them that they would only be doing night deliveries and the likelihood of crossover is zero. He also said he would be able to negotiate early morning and evening deliveries after school hours with their other distributors to address concerns. Nasim said he was willing to put a condition on the project that deliveries would only take place between the hours of 5 p.m. and 7 a.m. if distributors would agree.
Nasim also said he had been trying to work with the school to address their concerns, but claimed they have not been responding. He claimed that the school’s lawyer waited until right before a meeting or hearing to submit a letter of objection.
Neither the lawyer nor a representative from the school was present at the meeting.
The original approval still stands and the applicant is free to move forward with those plans. They can go before the city council to appeal the commission’s decision.