Pictured is an artist’s rendering of the proposed Starbucks at Stock Ranch. Image courtesy of Burrell Consulting Group, Inc. of Roseville

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - The Citrus Heights Planning Department has taken under review a Design Review Permit and Use Permit to build a new Starbucks coffee shop at 6970 Auburn Blvd. in Stock Ranch.

The project proposal describes a 2,305-square-foot drive-through coffee shop on a 15,024-square-foot tract facing Auburn Boulevard, according to city planning documents.

Public notice of the proposed location was listed on May 28 on the city’s current projects list at https://www.citrusheights.net/292/Current-Projects which lists projects under review, recently approved, and under construction, said Marisa Brown, the city’s communications officer.

Brown responded on behalf of Alison Bermudez, chief city planner, as to the permit’s status.

“The application for the proposed Starbucks is currently being evaluated to ensure it is consistent with both the Guide for Development and the traffic assumptions in the Environmental Impact Report (EIR),” Brown said.

“Once a determination is made, the project will be presented to the Planning Commission. No date for that meeting has been set but it is anticipated to be in the fall of this year,” she said.

The proposed Starbucks would be located on a strip of undeveloped vacant land in the Stock Ranch planning area facing Auburn Boulevard. A nearby commercial parcel also facing Auburn Boulevard is home to West Coast Sourdough, currently under construction and slated to open this fall, a Sport Clips hair salon, an AT&T phone store, Crumbl Cookies and Citrus Heights Smile Dentistry.

Project plans show a landscaped horseshoe-shaped drive-through with a primary entrance from an existing road running perpendicular to Auburn Boulevard. The coffee shop would seat an estimated 38 customers according to project plans, with some 33 allocated individual parking spaces, according to plan drawings.

A detailed landscape shading plan was prepared by the BGB Design Group in Costa Mesa, which includes the placement of 14 trees surrounding the Starbucks drive-through.

Stock Ranch is situated in the central portion of the city and is bounded by Auburn Boulevard to the north, Sylvan Road to the east, Greenback Lane to the south and Van Maren Lane to the west.

The city’s Stock Ranch development guide was adopted in February 2001 and provided a comprehensive plan for the development of the two main areas: a 43-acre residential area on the south side of Arcade Creek adjacent to Stock Ranch Road and a 41-acre commercial area on the north side of the creek, adjacent to Auburn Boulevard.

The plan called for the development of 570,000 square feet of commercial areas and allowed for the construction of a maximum of two big-box retailers, Costco and Walmart, which have already been built.

“The commercial portion of the Stock Ranch development was planned to include over 400,000 square feet of commercial uses, which would be developed in phases,” Brown said.

 “About 380,000 square feet of commercial use currently exist in Stock Ranch which allows room for a drive-through Starbucks (to be built),” she said.

Brown said an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) has been prepared for the city to examine potential environmental impacts, including traffic, in the proposed development area.

“The EIR considered the project at total build-out and anticipated one user to be a drive-through,” Brown said.  The complete EIR and project proposal documents can be viewed on the city’s website at https://www.citrusheights.net/292/Current-Projects