A proposal for a 16,000-square-foot food truck court in southwest Ceres was approved unanimously by the city’s planning commission on April 1.
Shane Parson, the property owner, and Anthony Sanchez, the second applicant for the conditional use permit, won a 5-0 vote despite concerns from the commission and some audience members at the meeting.
The grub hub will be at the corner of Farm Supply Drive and Service Road.
The application originally proposed the court’s hours to be 9 a.m. to midnight, but the Ceres Police Department said they didn’t want it to be open that late considering the residential neighborhood that sits north of the property and potential noise issues. The approved hours are 9 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week.
As of the time of the meeting, most residents had not been notified that the grub hub had been proposed. Only the property owners within a 300-foot radius were notified, which is what is legally required.
“We would love to have more options there on the west side of Ceres,” said Ceres City Council member Rosalinda Vierra, who lives in the southwest part of town. “I think my biggest concern was notification — the fact that I can go to a park and talk to nearly 100 people and not one person over at Sam Ryno Park was aware of this and they’re almost directly across the street.”
Making notifications beyond the legal requirement could cause project delays and be costly, a representative from the city attorney’s office advised.
After some back-and-forth, the commission voted to approve the project without further notification arrangements.
Hardeep Gil, whose family owns the Flyers gas station on Whitmore Avenue, said every customer they’ve talked to about the potential grub hub has been excited to hear it may be coming.
“I think this would be a great asset to that part of the community,” Parson said. “There’s not a lot of food options out there.”
The grub hub is approved for up to 18 food trucks, a grass area with seating and canopies, an area for games such as cornhole and a public restroom building.
The parking lot will have 36 stalls, seven of which will have electronic vehicle charging stations.
The front of the property will be lined with a wrought-iron fence and a chain link fence along the side and rear of the property line, so the property is secured when the court is not in operation.
Food truck operators will not be allowed to perform any maintenance or cleaning of the trucks on-site. There will be no live music played at the grub hub.
The mobile food vendors will be parked on gravel, lined with a concrete pathway for customers to access the trucks and to comply with American Disability Act laws.
A cannabis dispensary sits to the west of the approved grub hub. Central Valley High School is two miles away from the project site, on Service Road.
“I’m not sure this is a good mix,” an audience member said to the commission.
Commissioner Cerina Otero said the dispensary has security, and employees must check the identification of whoever goes in.
“I could imagine that that’s very secure,” she said.
Commissioner Gary Condit said he spoke to Police Chief Chris Perry who said the department has not responded to the dispensary for any criminal activity.
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