PAJARO—The County of Monterey will hold a public meeting on Thursday at Our Lady of the Assumption Church in Pajaro to gather input on a large proposed commercial development on the northeast outskirts of the small town.
The planned development, known as the Miller Trust Commercial Project, hopes to turn a portion of a 29-acre property on San Juan Road into a multi-lot parcel that will feature a 189,092-square-foot commercial building with a garden center and a 10.05-acre parking lot.
The meeting is set for 4 p.m.
Those who cannot attend can submit comments on the project to the County through mail and email. Comments should be mailed to Associate Planner Mary Israel at the Monterey County Resource Agency at 1441 Schilling Place, 2nd Floor, Salinas.
Send comments via email to Israel at is*****@co.us.
Comments will be accepted through March 12.
To see the proposed plans visit https://bit.ly/2T8p9KH.
Currently, roughly 4.6 acres of the property at 235 San Juan Road is used for agricultural work and storage by Royal Oaks Farms, LLC.
The proposed plan would transform 17 acres into a giant commercial building with 870 parking spaces. The commercial space is expected to attract roughly 5,000 customers per day, according to County staff.
Pajaro has a population of roughly 3,000.
The development is not currently associated with a company, Israel said.
A call to property manager Chuck Allen, who is listed as the applicant on the County’s website, asking for details was not returned as of 4 p.m. Tuesday.
An application for the property was completed and approved in 2006, but construction was put on hold because of the subsequent economic downturn, according to County staff.
At the time, the Pajaro Valley was abuzz with talks of possible suitors for the commercial space. According to reports from this publication, the Millers courted Walmart to fill the location, but that eventually fell through, much to the delight of concerned citizens who were critical of the corporation’s labor practices.
A new Environmental Impact Report is required for the development to move forward, Israel said.
After the 30-day Notice of Preparation period closes on March 12, the County will complete a Draft EIR, which will be open to public review and comment for 45 days. A final EIR will then be prepared and presented to the Planning Commission later this year.
