ZF #2022-0003: Consider a request for a Use Permit to allow a large event venue at the Old Sugar Mill located at 35265 Willow Avenue (APN:043-240-030) in the unincorporated town of Clarksburg, and determine that the project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) pursuant to Section 15323 of the CEQA Guidelines (Class 23 Categorical Exemption). 
 

FILE # 2022-0003: Request for a Use Permit to allow a large event venue at the Old Sugar Mill
APPLICANT: John Beckman  PO Box 123 Clarksburg, CA 95621	OWNER: Koy Builders 1875 Sargossa St Pomona, CA 91768
LOCATION: 35265 Willow Avenue (APN:043-240-030) in the unincorporated community of Clarksburg GENERAL PLAN: Commercial General (C-G) ZONING: General Commercial (C-G) SUPERVISORIAL DISTRICT: 1 (Supervisor Villegas)	SOILS: Developed Classification (Mk, Tb, So soils) WILLIAMSON ACT: No FLOOD ZONE: A FIRE SEVERITY ZONE: Urban Unzoned
ENVIRONMENTAL DETERMINATION: Categorical Exemption 23

That the Planning Commission:

1.   Hold a public hearing, receive a staff presentation, and accept public comments on the request for a Use Permit for a large event venue at the Old Sugar Mill in Clarksburg;
2.   Determine that the Class 23 Categorical Exemption is the appropriate level of environmental documentation pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and CEQA Guidelines (Attachment C);
3.   Adopt the proposed Findings (Attachment D); and
4.   Approve request for a Use Permit in accordance with the Conditions of Approval (Attachment E).

Approval of the Use Permit would set requirements for hosting events at the Old Sugar Mill and implement improvements to the winery, which has been subject to code violations due to public health and safety concerns. Imposition of the Use Permit would ensure the health and safety of visitors to the site and Yolo County by providing a safe environment for an important economic and cultural entity in Clarksburg.  Approval of the request would also bring the Old Sugar Mill into compliance with the Yolo County Zoning Regulations which requires a Use Permit for public/quasi-public and recreational uses in the General Commercial (C-G) Zone.

The project furthers policies in the Yolo County 2030 Countywide General Plan that seek to enhance existing communities and diversify the local economy, including Policy CC-2.6 which encourages infill and redevelopment of underutilized properties within community boundaries and Policy ED- 1.11 to support local efforts to create new services and businesses that expand wealth and job opportunities. Likewise, policies in the Clarksburg Area Plan, such as Policy L5, support redevelopment within the community boundary and Policy A8 supports visitor-serving private businesses that retain and complement Clarksburg’s agricultural and historical rural character.
 
BACKGROUND
The proposed project is located at 35265 Willow Avenue (APN: 43-240-030) in a former beet sugar refinery that dates from the 1930s. The mill closed in the 1990s and was empty for nearly a decade before it was renovated and became a winery. Since then, the facility has come to host a number of boutique winery tasting rooms and associated events, including larger annual events. In the past, large summer concert events were held under an Outdoor Festival approval issued by the County. Currently, the Old Sugar Mill consists of a wine production facility and an area identified as the Gallery, which leases tasting rooms to 14 regional wineries. The total number of employees ranges from 20 to 50 depending on the day of the week. Regular hours are from 11 am to 5 pm.
 
In addition to the main Old Sugar Mill site, portions of two adjacent parcels, APNs: 43-240-031 to the north and 43-240-029 to the south, are included in the project. A lot merger (ZF2022-0040) has been approved to join the main site and the southern parcel to facilitate an expansion of the wastewater treatment system for the facility. The northern parcel would accommodate additional parking. All three parcels currently have a land use designation of Commercial General (CG) and are zoned General Commercial (C-G) (Attachment A). These parcels were redesignated from Industrial to Commercial General by the 2015 Clarksburg Area Community Plan General Plan update to support the evolution of the site into a facility for wine production and tasting rooms.
 
Various code violations have been ongoing with respect to the onsite well and wastewater treatment system, and a Notice of Violation (CE2022-0001) was issued on February 10, 2022, that itemized Planning, Environmental Health, and Building Division violations at the current facility which must be addressed prior to continuing operation as an event center.
 
Staff Analysis
 
As mentioned above, the Old Sugar Mill has previously held large summer concert events by obtaining approvals through the County's Outdoor Festival Ordinance (Chapter 12 of Title 5, Yolo County Code of Ordinances). Not all large events have received approval, however, and there have been an increasing number of weddings and other smaller events held at the Old Sugar Mill. At the time of issuing the Notice of Violation, approximately 100 events for 2022 had already been scheduled. Most of the events were weddings with a few parties and corporate events. Larger annual and seasonal events include concerts, the Wine and Chocolate Festival, Mother’s and Father’s Day events, and Farm to Fork weekends.
 
The Old Sugar Mill has requested a Use Permit to allow four annual large events which could be attended by no more than 2,000 people. Smaller events, such as weddings, parties, and corporate retreats, with a maximum of 1,000 attendees, would be permitted in the course of regular operations, though it is expected not all events would draw the maximum 1,000 attendees. Regular public hours for the tasting rooms are daily from 11 AM to 5 PM. Events that occur indoors would be permitted until 10 PM, while outdoor events with any amplified sound would end by 9:30 PM.
 
Outdoor events have been held in the plaza area and the adjoining field to the east of the Gallery area. This area is approximately two acres. A separate one-acre event area is proposed along South River Road at the southeast corner of the project site. There are no water or toilet facilities at the South River Road location (Attachment B).
 
The main areas to be used for indoor events would be the Barrel Room in the Gallery and the Boiler Room identified as Building 411. The Barrel Room is approximately 3,500 square feet with a potential maximum occupancy of 500, and the Boiler Room is over 5,000 square feet with a maximum occupancy of 700. The Boiler Room would need to obtain a Certificate of Occupancy from the Building Division before being used for events.
 
Adequate sanitary facilities have been an ongoing concern at the Old Sugar Mill. Currently, the only permanent public bathroom facilities are located in the Gallery with four toilet stalls designated for women and two stalls and two urinals for men. The applicant has proposed expanding the facilities in the Gallery to provide eight additional toilet stalls for women and four stalls and four urinals for men. Likewise, the existing wastewater treatment system for the Old Sugar Mill is only designed for 200 visitors per day. As discussed in the background section, the main and southern parcel have been merged to provide sufficient area for onsite wastewater disposal. A plan has been submitted to the Environmental Health Division to construct a system designed for over 750 visitors and employees. Larger events would be supplemented with portable facilities.
 
In the past, there have been issues with parking occurring in the public right-of-way along Willow Avenue. There are currently fewer than 100 permanent parking spaces available onsite. The applicant has proposed to increase the onsite parking with an additional 154 paved parking stalls for a total of 232 paved parking spaces and a designated gravel-surfaced overflow parking area to accommodate an additional 332 vehicles. 
 
SUMMARY OF AGENCY AND PUBLIC COMMENTS
 
A Request for Comments was distributed to agencies and interested parties during the preapplication and formal application review process. The Clarksburg General Plan Citizen Advisory Committee (Committee) was consulted for the preapplication and for their recommendation on the Use Permit. The Use Permit recommendation was discussed at the Committee's October 12, 2022 Special Meeting where the Committee voted to recommend approval of the project 4-0.  Discussion included whether the parking lot ought to be paved or could be gravel. Per Yolo County Code Sec 8-2.1313, non-agricultural zones are required to have paved parking and loading areas; however, special considerations for permeable or pervious parking materials may be considered [Section 8-2.1313(b)]. In consultation with the Public Works Division, staff recommends that the overflow parking area for the four larger events have an all-weather gravel surface to reduce the total amount of asphalt coverage. Existing trees in the proposed parking area would be protected to maintain shade for the area.

The Committee also asked about development fees required for this project. The project would be required to pay Facilities and Service Authorization (FSA) fees which serve to fund law enforcement, criminal justice, and social services. FSA fees are standard for commercial building permits. Additionally, it is a standard condition of approval that the applicant is responsible for all costs associated with implementing the development. The need for road improvements is identified to mitigate traffic impacts during the project review and/or by the County Public Works Division. In this case, Public Works did not identify an increase in traffic or substantial wear and tear on the roadways from the existing use, so no offfsite road improvements were identified and none are proposed. The County does not otherwise require general development fees, but projects such as large residential subdivisions or developments that will generate numerous daily truck trips that create significant increases in traffic and utility demands are often conditioned to provide infrastructure improvements to meet the increased need due to either an increase in population or substantial wear and tear on a substandard roadway.

Staff recommends approval of the Use Permit which would mandate improvements to resolve existing violations, set requirements for hosting events, and bring the Old Sugar Mill into compliance with Zoning Regulations that require a Use Permit for public/quasi-public and recreational uses in the General Commercial (C-G) Zone. The project implements Countywide General Plan policies that encourage redevelopment of underutilized properties within community boundaries and support  businesses that expand wealth and job opportunities, as well as policies of the Clarksburg Area Plan that support visitor-based businesses promoting Clarksburg's agricultural and historical character.

CALIFORNIA ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY ACT (CEQA)

Approval of the Use Permit is exempt from CEQA under the Class 23 Exemption for "Normal Operations of Facilities for Public Gatherings." The Class 23 exemption is found in Section 15323 of the CEQA Guidelines, which reads in full: "Class 23 consists of the normal operations of existing facilities for public gatherings for which the facilities were designed, where there is a past history of the facility being used for the same or similar kind of purpose. For the purposes of this section, 'past history' shall mean that the same or similar kind of activity has been occurring for at least three years and that there is a reasonable expectation that the future occurrence of the activity would not represent a change in the operation of the facility. Facilities included within this exemption include, but are not limited to, racetracks, stadiums, convention centers, auditoriums, amphitheaters, planetariums, swimming pools, and amusement parks."  Given the past use of the Old Sugar Mill for large gatherings, which was redesigned for those purposes, the Class 23 Exemption would apply.  Staff has prepared a Notice of Exemption for filing after project approval.
 

A Request for Comments was distributed to agencies and interested parties during the preapplication and permitting process, though no responses were received. Staff worked with staff in the Community Services Department, including Code Enforcement, Environmental Health Division, Building Division, and the Public Works Division to address needs identified in the Notice of Violation.