An overhead view of the project shows the main entrance to the proposed quick serve restaurant facing Birdcage Street. Multiple vehicular entrance points are from Birdcage Street, Pebble Beach Drive and through the parking lot shared by the former Boston’s Pizza and Sports Bar. Photo courtesy of Morton & Pitalo

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - The Citrus Heights Planning Department received an application proposal filed on Jan. 17 from Patterson Properties of Roseville to demolish the vacant 9,372 square foot former Marie Callendar’s restaurant building on 5525 Sunrise Blvd. The intention is to build a new 5,000 square foot quick-serve restaurant on the site with two drive-thru service lanes.

The city planning department posted signage of the development proposal under consideration outside the shuttered restaurant on Saturday, March 8 and is inviting public comment on the project. The name of the proposed quick service restaurant is not yet known.

The proposed project is for commercial use on 1.55 acres at the southwest corner of Sunrise Blvd and Pebble Beach Drive.

The application request which was submitted to city planning requests site plan approval and use a permit to allow a drive-thru restaurant to be built.

A representative for Patterson Properties did not respond to a request for comment about the project, nor did the civil engineering and land planning firm of Morton & Pitalo, Inc. in Folsom which submitted project drawings on its behalf.

A letter dated Jan. 13 submitted by Morton & Pitalo, Inc. in Folsom with project plans summarizes the details of the project for city planners.

“An application has been submitted for a drive-through restaurant at 5525 Sunrise Blvd. The tenant is not yet identified,” said Citrus Heights Communications Officer Marisa Brown.

“The existing building (formerly Marie Callender’s) will be demolished, and a new building with site improvements will be constructed,” she said.

“A traffic study is in progress, and once completed, the project will proceed with the review process. The application requires Planning Commission approval, with the date yet to be scheduled,” Brown said.

The Citrus Heights Planning Department received an application proposal filed on January 17 from Patterson Properties of Roseville to demolish the vacant 9,372 square foot former Marie Callendar’s restaurant building on 5525 Sunrise Blvd.

The main entrance to the quick serve restaurant faces Birdcage Street features a large patio area. Vehicular entrance points are from Birdcage Street, Pebble Beach Drive and through the parking lot shared by the former Boston’s Pizza and Sports Bar whose new owners recently announced plans to open as a Korean BBQ. Pebble Beach Drive separates the proposed drive-thru from the Hibachi Buffet restaurant that is located next door.

Drawings describe a sidewalk pedestrian connection to Sunrise Boulevard. Reconfigured parking allows for up to 60 vehicles.

“Once a specific user is identified, a Design Review Permit will be processed for the specific building and building elevations by the city Planning Department,” Brown said.

“We feel the proposed use for this site is ideal because of its location, right off the busy Sunrise Boulevard (with both) easy access and visibility,” according to the letter submitted by Morton & Pitalo.

The double lane drive-thru condenses down to a single lane around the final turn facing Pebble Beach Drive before the pick-up window. A 50-foot sloping landscape green belt faces Sunrise Boulevard.

This drive-through layout described in project plans allows for more cars to be stacked, and individual orders fulfilled without a backlog of cars in a street or parking lot. The site design allows for 27 cars queuing at the drive-through.

“While the specific user has not been identified, we anticipate the hours of operations to be from 5:30 am to midnight.  This may change depending on the specific user requirements,” according to the statement which was provided by Morton & Pitalo to the city planning department.

Patterson Properties owns multiple commercial properties along Sunrise Boulevard including retail plazas at 5454 Sunrise Boulevard, 5460 Sunrise Boulevard in Sunrise Oaks, 6249-6253 Sunrise Boulevard in Sunrise Hills and three standalone buildings in Macy Plaza at 7840-7868 Macy Plaza Drive and 7830 Macy Plaza Drive where CSL Plasma is located.