The main entrance to the proposed quick-serve drive through restaurant faces Birdcages Street. Photo by Tom Sullivan

CITRUS HEIGHTS, CA (MPG) - Citrus Heights Planning Commission members unanimously approved a design use permit to allow the construction of a new 5,000-square-foot quick serve drive-thru restaurant in place of the former Marie Callender’s Restaurant and Bakery at 5525 Sunrise Blvd. in Citrus Heights.

The single agenda item was presented to the commission by senior planner Alison Bermudez at its June 10 meeting on behalf of Patterson Properties, Inc. of Roseville. The civil engineering and land planning firm of Morton & Pitalo, Inc. in Folsom had previously submitted project drawings on behalf of Patterson Properties.

The Citrus Heights Planning Commission received an application proposal on Jan. 17 from Patterson Properties to demolish the vacant 9,372-square-foot restaurant which closed in 2019. The department invited public comments on the project in March.

Vehicular entrance point come from Birdcage Street where a commercial office building is located and Pebble Beach Drive, which separates the planned drive through from the Hibachi Buffet restaurant located just across it. Photo by Tom Sullivan

During her presentation, Bermudez said that no specific user for the site has been identified and before any construction could begin, the applicant (Patterson Properties) must return to the commission with a design permit for formal review. 

The applicant, James Patterson, Patterson Properties, Inc. president who spoke and then answered questions during a comment period, said the Planning Commission’s unanimous decision could allow his investment and development firm to market the now approved quick serve drive-thru for compatible users such as Chick-fil-A or In-N-Out Burger.

Bermudez said that the applicant “presented a really good project” with adequate landscaping that would help improve the frontage along Sunrise Boulevard.

“In some areas, the applicant is proposing more shade trees that exceeds the city’s requirements,” Bermudez said.

The project intention is to demolish the former Marie Callender’s on 1.55 acres at the southwest corner of Sunrise Boulevard and Pebble Beach Drive and build a new 5,000-square-foot quick-serve restaurant on the site with two drive-thru service lanes.

The main entrance to the quick-serve restaurant that would face 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, as well as the commercial office space behind the former Marie Callender’s restaurant. 

Pebble Beach Drive also separates the planned quick-serve drive-thru from the Hibachi Buffet restaurant located next door.

Bermudez said a traffic study, which evaluated the “worst-case scenario” for traffic congestion by the city, indicated that a northbound turn pocket on Sunrise Boulevard which allows vehicles to turn left onto Uplands might need to be extended, depending on the identified user.

A site map for the project showed a drive-thru with two lanes wrapping around the main quick-service restaurant building, then merging into one lane at the pickup window. The site plan also calls for the addition of 58 regular parking spaces, three Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) compliant parking spaces and 13 electric-vehicle-capable parking spaces.

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 will face Sunrise Boulevard.

The applicant, Patterson Properties, has agreed to pay for a turn pocket extension where it is needed and will secure a bond for the cost of the improvements. Photo by Tom Sullivan

Bermudez said a short wall would also be required to parallel the drive-thru lanes along Sunrise Boulevard to reduce possible headlight glare. 

Final landscape plans need to be submitted to the city for review, which would include the planting of additional shade trees, according to Bermudez.

According to the city, the applicant (Patterson Properties) has agreed to pay for a turn pocket extension if it is needed and will secure a bond for the cost of the improvements. The city will retain the bond, then use or return the bond depending on the needs required once a user is identified.

Additional arrows and pavement markings were also recommended following the traffic study to help direct traffic flow in case of overflow from the drive-thru lanes, Bermudez said.

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