Ceres will be getting a third O’Reilly’s Auto Parts store, this time in west Ceres on Whitmore Avenue.
On Monday The Ceres Planning Commission approved plans to build a 7,453 square foot retail commercial building on a one-acre site at 960 E. Whitmore Avenue immediately east of the Dollar General. The proposed commercial use falls in line with the Planned Community-48 (PC-48) zoning designation and a General Plan designation of Community Commercial (CC).
The auto parts chain has existing stores at 1810 Mitchell Road and 1354 E. Hatch Road. There is also an AutoZone Auto Parts store at 1765 Mitchell Road.
A new storm water retention basin is proposed at the south side of the site.
“Staff supports the O’Reilly Auto Parts project as it will provide the local area residents with a local auto parts store in southwestern portion of Ceres,” a staff report to the commission read.
The site will be accessible from the existing Dollar General driveway on Whitmore Avenue as well as the Dollar General second driveway access on Malik Avenue. O’Reilly Auto Parts and Dollar General will have reciprocal driveway access.
Planning Commissioner Gary Del Nero mentioned his surprise that plans call for 38 parking spaces but was told that the city’s standard is one parking space per every 200 square feet of building space.
When seeing that the Mitchell Road store had fewer six parking spaces and a couple of handicapped stalls, Del Nero said: “Now I guess I’m complaining there’s too many and I don’t mean to do that but I just thought, well, that’s a lot of parking spots.”
Community Development Director Christopher Hoem noted that the city could review those formulas for parking.
Ceres resident John Warren asked if the two other O’Reilly’s stores in Ceres will be closing. Senior Planner Teddie Hernandez said the city doesn’t believe that will be the case.
“Well we started with one, I guess we’re gonna have three,” said Planning Commission Chairman Bob Kachel.
“Let’s hope it’s good news that they’re doing well and wanna go with another store. It is a new location for them on the other side of town. Makes sense.”
Kachel added that the west side of cities in the Valley “get a little bit neglected historically so it’s good to see something positive. I’m excited about it.”
After the meeting Hoem said the new store will be more convenient for the west side residents. He also noted that demand for auto parts has been healthy given the longer lifespan of vehicles.”
The commission found that the project is consistent with the following General Plan Policies:
• General Plan Policy 1.B.2. The city shall promote and support the development of a healthy balance of residential, commercial and industrial businesses within the city.
• General Plan Policy 1.B.7. The city shall promote infill development and reuse of underutilized parcels in the City, consistent with maintaining or enhancing the positive qualities of the surrounding neighborhoods.
• General Plan Policy 1.F.3. The city shall encourage commercial developments to incorporate features such as: attractive building frontages that are readily visible to the public, an attractive overall landscaping plan, and articulation in the walls of the building.
