Commission to consider Fairmont Square revamp

A proposal to renovate the Fairmont Square shopping center to allow for a 2,500-square-foot drivethru restaurant will go before the Vacaville Planning Commission at its Tuesday meeting.

According to a staff report by Associate Planner Albert Enault, Rob Sesar of A2R Architects is proposing to construct a restaurant in the 51-year old plaza at Peabody and Marshall roads and divide an existing commercial building into four retail spaces with new exterior materials, mainly stucco siding and foam pop-outs.

The project would also remove a long-dormant 100-square-foot photo kiosk, 16 parking spaces and an existing driveway off Peabody. The proposed site plan aims to offer 82 parking spaces, two new trash enclosures, a large monument sign with perimeter landscaping, and a drivethru lane off Peabody.

Neither the staff report nor supporting documents mentioned a specific restaurant but did emphasize that it will have a drive-thru.

Fairmont Square, located kitty corner to the Wildcat Stadium at Will C. Wood High School, was approved by the Planning Commission as far back as 1971. Its initial anchor tenant was a Safeway that closed in 1990, leading to a property that sat vacant for 14 years until a 99 Cents Only store opened in 2004.

In addition to the 99 Cents Only, the only other tenants in the small center today are Fairmont Wine & Spirits, a Texaco station and Extra Mile convenience store. One vacancy exists in the old Master Suite Mattress site next to the liquor store.

The proposed division of the retail space would allow for an expansion of Fairmont Wine and three future retailers, Renault wrote.

The site also contains 23 trees. Enault wrote that Sesar is proposing to remove 18 trees and replant 23 new ones within the site plan, bringing the total to 28.

However, Enault wrote that some areas need additional refurbishment to meet the city's standards for ongoing landscaping areas. Specifically, city code emphasizes that “all landscaped materials shall be replaced as needed to screen or ornament the site.”

“Therefore, staff is recommending Condition No. 6, which requires the applicant to replace trees and shrubs within other existing areas that require refurbishment,” Enault wrote.

Ultimately, Enault wrote that the project met the criteria of the General Plan and Land Use and Development Code and, thus, staff is recommending approval.

In other business, the commission will consider another proposal by A2R Architects to construct a 108-room, five-story Hampton Inn on a vacant site next to the Texaco on Mason Street.

The commission will meet at 6 p.m. Tuesday at the Council Chamber at City Hall, 650 Merchant St. The meeting may also be viewed online at Ci.vacaville.ca.us/government/agendas-andminutes and Youtube.com/user/CityofVacaville.