A new home for Santa Maria’s Costco and its planned gas station — along with car dealerships, retail shops, restaurants and more — is included in the Enos Ranchos development to be reviewed by the city Planning Commission on Wednesday night.
The meeting will start at 6:30 p.m. in council chambers at City Hall, corner of Broadway and East Cook Street.
The busy agenda calls for a public hearing for the proposed 113-acre Enos Ranchos development on land north of East Betteravia Road and west of South Bradley Road, adjacent to Highway 101.
In all, the Enos Ranchos development calls for 517,500 square feet of commercial space on 58.2 acres.
Specifically, commissioners will review a proposed General Plan amendment and zone change, Specific Plan amendment, a supplemental environmental impact peport, and a development agreement for the site, making a recommendation to the City Council.
Additionally, commissioners will consider four separate planned-development permits for Bradley East, Bradley West, Costco, and a Freeway Tower for NKT Commercial.
San Luis Obispo-based developer Nick Tompkins of NKT Commercial is buying most of the site with car dealership firms set to acquire 26 acres.
“The Enos Ranchos Specific Plan represents an opportunity for the city to strengthen its fiscal base while creating a district that improves the city’s image to residents and visitors,” Planning Division Manager Peter Gilli said in a staff report to the commission.
“Decisions on the this project will have a lasting legacy on the City,” he added.
To create an attractive shopping area, the plan calls for canopy-tree-lined streets, and quality architecture and landscaping design, the staff report noted.
The Enos Ranchos Specific Plan earned city approval in 2008, but due to significant changes, the project documents needed revisions before returning for approvals, city staff said.
The proposed new project calls for increasing the commercial area from 65.9 acres to 74.1 acres.
Land initially designated for low-density and medium-density residential, totaling 38.6 acres, would be replaced with high-density residential on 14 acres.
The plan also identifies 10.3 acres for a new elementary school.
Another 6.2 acres would be set aside for a recreational open space or a park.
“The applicant anticipates that one of the large commercial lots will be occupied by a major retail warehouse store, moving from its current location in Santa Maria, and will include a gasoline service station,” the Enos Ranchos Specific Plan Amendment said, identifying Costco elsewhere in the report.
The new Costco location would be a little more than a mile from the existing store, which opened in November 1988 and lacks a gas station.
A new home-improvement store also is proposed. The remaining commercial lots are expected to develop with a mix of uses, including restaurants, banks and retail stores.
Depending on market conditions, the project could start this summer and be completed in two to five years, the report noted.
The plan also calls for freeway interchange towers, much like those near Santa Maria’s other freeway shopping centers, to identify businesses included in the center.
— Noozhawk North County editor Janene Scully can be reached at jscully@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.