Distribution center expansion to go before commission
An application to expand and make improvements to the shuttered Gymboree Distribution Center building off Commerce Way will go before the Dixon Planning Commission at its meeting tonight.
The commission will recommend whether to send it to the Dixon City Council.
On Aug. 18, 2020, Ryan Sakata submitted an application to add 125,712 square feet of new space to the existing 427,042 square feet warehouse, according to a staff report by Community Development Director Raffi Boloyan. Much of the project would consist of constructing the new building space, removing the existing concrete slab, adding new parking areas, removing the existing parking lot along the southern border of the property, adding new pavement and bio retention areas along the western border and minor improvements to utilities.
The project would also add 223 net new parking spaces, for a total of 452. The project would also add 87 semi-trailer parking stalls along the southern portion of the site.
Back in 1988, the project was zoned as “heavy/light industrial planned development,” and the council adopted an ordinance providing future development standards for the site a year later, Boloyan wrote.
In 1996, the Planning Commission approved a design review for a 293,023 square foot distribution center along with plans for a potential future phase that would nearly double its size.
The distribution center was for Gymboree, a San Francisco-based retailer of children's clothing founded in 1976, which operated more than 1,000 locations throughout the world. The Dixon warehouse, which opened in 1998, distributed clothing to all locations and was frequently one of the city's top employers. Because the chain specialized in children's projects, the street was named Kids Way. A second phase of development, expanding the size to 434,000 square feet, was approved in 2006.
Following Gymboree's filing for bankruptcy protection in 2019, all of its stores were closed as well as the distribution center. The company has since been sold to The Children's Place, which has relaunched Gymboree as an online retailer and started selling its products at Children's Place stores.
The council voted in 2019 to rename Kids Way as Commerce Way.
Currently, the warehouse is leased to the federal government for distribution of personal protective equipment. Recently, medical supplies were distributed to Ukraine amid the Russian invasion, and Gov. Gavin Newsom made a brief appearance to help pack supplies. An ending date for the lease has not been set, but the site is still zoned for heavy and light industrial uses.
“Should the current tenant leave or a new use is proposed, it will need to be considered by the City for consistency with the zoning and new entitlements, such as a Conditional Use Permit which may require additional environmental review and review and approval by the Planning Commission, may be deemed necessary,” Boloyan wrote.
The exact plans for the space were not included in the staff report, but the project is entitled to a design review for the proposed improvements, including the addition to the warehouse, new parking, pavement, bio retention and landscaping. Boloyan wrote that the commission usually has the authority to consider and act on design review applications, but since the project exceeds 75,000 square feet, city code requires final review and action by the council.
“Therefore, the Commission is serving in a recommending role in this matter,” he wrote.
As a result, the commission's purview consists of adopting draft resolutions approving the design review, initial study/mitigated negative declaration and a mitigation monitoring and reporting program.
In other business, the commission will receive an update on the five-year capital improvement project and consider a use permit for an AT&T tower off East F Street.
The commission will meet at 7 tonight in the Council Chambers at City Hall, 600 East A St. The public may also participate via Zoom at Us02web. zoom.us/j/9886211137?pw d=R2dxZ3RkbU9SQXdlU VllRkc0QlQwZz09 or teleconferencing at (669) 9009128. The meeting ID is 988 621 1137, and the passcode is 604754. To speak during public comment over Zoom or teleconferencing, press “Raise Hand” or *9.