How long does it take to get approval to build a grocery store? In the case of a Grocery Outlet, proposed to be built in King City in April 2021 by Best Development Group LLC, it takes three-and-a-half years. One for an application to the King City Planning Commission and appeal to the City Council, and two for litigation.
On Oct. 21, the Sixth District Court of Appeal ruled in favor of the King City Planning Commission and the developer, upholding a lower court ruling that the project complied with the California Environmental Quality Act, and allowing the store to proceed.
The store is planned for a location at Broadway and a Highway 101 off-ramp, where defunct Raymundo’s Auto Sales used to be. The 4-acre property was the last of King City’s redevelopment properties, and Grocery Outlet would go on a 1.6-acre plot, visible from the highway. The 18,187-square-foot store will have 72 parking spaces and about 13,908 square feet of landscaping.
Planners determined it was an infill project and therefore could be fast-tracked regarding CEQA, but faced objections.
Efrain Aguilera is a representative of UFCW Local 5, which represents employees at King City's only other full-service grocery store, Safeway (located next to the Grocery Outlet location). He started raising concerns during the first phase of approvals for the project, and alleged that fast-tracking the project was a violation of CEQA and that a full-blown environmental impact report was required.
When the Planning Commission and the City Council disagreed and voted to approve the store, Aguilera and a group called Working Families of Monterey County sued. They lost at trial court and appealed; they lost again at the Court of Appeal.
The case hinged largely on the question of whether the store constitutes "infill development," or if it should be subjected to a rigorous environmental analysis.
"We determine that City did not err in determining that the Grocery Outlet project comes within the [legal] exemption for infill development," the Court of Appeal found.
"This represents a substantial victory for our city,” Mayor Mike LeBarre said in a statement. “It helps everyone in our community who struggles to put food on the table and highlights the significant economic development efforts underway to bring new commercial businesses and shopping opportunities to King City.”