The Santa Clarita Planning Commission will return from a monthlong hiatus Tuesday to review four proposed projects, including three in Canyon Country and one in Saugus.
Battery storage facility in Canyon Country
Commissioners will first consider a proposal by Placerita EES, LLC, for an energy storage facility on 3.5 acres near the corner of Sierra Highway and Soledad Canyon Road.
“Energy stored in the project will be discharged into the grid when the energy is needed, providing important electrical reliability services to the local area,” according to a city staff report.
A solid masonry wall ranging from 8 to 10 feet will fully enclose the storage facility, which will feed the stored electricity to the Southern California Edison North Oaks Substation by way of a new 125-foot line spanning three 75-foot-tall utility poles.
“The batteries would be installed in racks that are housed within approximately 55,000 square feet of outdoor enclosures that would be accessed from the outside via cabinet doors for maintenance purposes,” the report stated.
The proposed energy storage site is located behind a 2.86-acre commercial center fronting Soledad Canyon Road.
Canyon County convenience store
Second on the Planning Commission’s agenda is a proposed 2,400-square-foot convenience store in the Flying Tiger Plaza commercial shopping center off of Sierra Highway just north of Via Princessa.
Jacob Dib, the applicant, built the shopping center with the convenience store space in 2011. In 2009, he received the Planning Commission’s approval, which included approval for a convenience store “with greater than 10% of shelf space dedicated to the sale of alcohol” at the location being considered by commissioner this Tuesday.
Dib has proposed operating the store from 7 a.m. to midnight and requested having “no more than 35% of total shelf space dedicated to alcohol sales with up to 10% of shelf space dedicated to liquor sales.”
The remaining shelf space, according to the staff report, will be dedicated to “goods and merchandise, such as groceries, toiletries and other household items.”
A condition of approving the project would require Dib to comply with all requirements of the California Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control, which has granted six licenses to sell liquor in the proposed store’s census tract despite allotting four licenses to the tract.
If the project is approved, the city would need to send a letter to the ABC communicating that the store provides a public convenience or necessity.
Skilled nursing facility in Saugus
The Stone Creek Co. will present an application to build and operate a 26-foot-tall, 51,000-square-foot, 120-bed skilled nursing facility at 26650 Valley Center Drive, near the corner of Soledad Canyon Road and Golden Valley Road in Saugus.
The 3.8-acre property is surrounding by a self-storage facility and commercial center.
The facility would offer “a higher level of care than what is offered at a typical assisted living facility or group home,” according to the staff report.
“Skilled nursing patients receive acute care, with some patients residing in the facility for a short time as they heal after surgery while others receive medical treatment for chronic health issues or end-of-life care,” the report stated. “As such, skilled nursing facilities do not have the need of outdoor amenities or recreational facilities that are commonly associated with assisted living communities.”
Modifying the Sand Canyon Plaza
The commission’s final case seeks to make modifications to a 9.6-acre portion of an 87.5-acre project at the northeast corner of Sand Canyon Road at Soledad Canyon Road approved in 2017.
The 9.6 acres includes the previously approved assisted living facility and retail space, which is adjacent to multi-family and single-family housing and open space on the rest of the project area.
The applicant has proposed adding 62,000 square feet to the approved 85,000-square-foot assisted living facility and decreasing the approved 60,000 square feet of retail space by 15,000 square feet.
The modifications also include replacing one water feature with two and eliminating a previously approved 264-space parking structure, leaving 284 surface parking spaces, short of the 313 spaces required by the city’s code.
The Planning Commission meets Tuesday, Aug. 17, at 6 p.m. at Santa Clarita City Hall. More information is available at santa-clarita.com.
