ROCKLIN, Calif. — The Rocklin City Council approved a general development plan amendment for a new retail center in the Whitney Ranch neighborhood.
The development plan amendment approved at a May 14 meeting allows the size and location of the freeway signs near the on and off-ramps of Highway 65 and Whitney Ranch Parkway interchange to be evaluated and approved by the city council, according to the ordinance.
The standard allowed height would be ineffective for the project due to the overcrossing and other factors, according to staff documents.
The Whitney Ranch Retail project will be located at Whitney Ranch Parkway and University Avenue. It's planned to have 10 buildings totaling about 94,000 square feet.
The commercial shopping center is set to be anchored by an approximately 44,000-square-foot Nugget Market. The other tenants haven't been determined yet.
Rocklin City Council member Bill Halldin said at an April 23 meeting he's engaged with the community and people are excited about the grocery store.
”I live in Whitney Ranch and have lived there for seven years. To say that the Whitney Ranch community has been waiting, waiting, waiting and waiting for this would be an understatement,” Halldin said. “The community is very anxious and would love to see this built tomorrow."
The eastern portion will feature Nugget and five other buildings. The western side will be more travel-focused with a possible gas station, fast food or quick-serve restaurants.
The plans for the retail center were approved at an April 23 city council meeting.
"We haven't had a new supermarket come in for quite a while. As I was thinking of this, this is probably the biggest retail development we've done in Rocklin for at least 10 years and it might be the last big retail development we do in Rocklin, given the space issues in town," Halldin said.
Vice Mayor Jill Gayaldo echoed Halldin's statement at an April 23 meeting.
"This is the most desired message we've heard for many, many years is that there is no service for a grocery store out in the area and it's something the residents really want. Not only do they want a grocery store, but it was very often mentioned that they wanted a high-quality grocery store and I'm not sure we could do any better in a high-quality grocery store than what we see with Nugget," Gayaldo said.
The city council also discussed installing a signal at the University Avenue and Whitney Ranch Parkway intersection. This intersection is part of the Placer Parkway project, but the specific timing of the project isn't clear.
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Find out more about the Whitney Ranch Retail project HERE.
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