Northridge Mall PUD Chronology
Northridge Mall consists of 12 individual parcels totaling approximately 93.74-acres (4,083,410 square-feet) located in the Commercial Retail (CR) District. The property is in the Commercial Retail (CR) Zoning District. The following provides an overview of the land uses and zoning districts adjacent to the project site:
North: Commercial Retail/Commercial Retail (CR)
South: Multi-Family Residential/High Density Residential (R-H-2.1) East: Commercial Retail/Commercial Retail (CR) and Commercial Office (CO) West: U.S. Hwy. 101 and the Salinas Auto Center/Industrial – General Commercial/Salinas Auto Center Precise Plan Overlay (IGC-SP-4) Per City records, the mall was originally authorized by Planned Unit Development Permit 1969-006 (PUD 1969-006) and related Amendments One and Two. Planned Unit Development Permit 1978-008 (PUD 1978-008) was approved by the City Council on January 15, 1979, and again to clarify technical changes in the wording on May 14, 1979. Planned Unit Development Permit 1978-008 superseded the original Planned Unit Development Permit 1969-006 and related Amendments One and Two and approved the Phase Two expansion of the mall, including the addition of the former Sears store and an expansion to the former Mervyns store.
Planned Unit Development Permit 2014-001 (PUD 2014-001), which amended Planned Unit Development Permit 1978-008, was approved by the City Council on April 14, 2015. The project approved by PUD 2014-001 consisted of several phases. One of the phases included development of five (5) new commercial pads, four (4) along North Main Street and one (1) along the U.S. Highway 101 frontage. Currently, two of the four pads along North Main Street have been developed with Panera Bread and Chick-Fil-A. The two remaining pads have had requests for development from Starbucks and In-N-Out Burger, but development has yet to occur. There are currently no requests for development of the fifth pad located along U.S. Highway 101. A Second Amendment to PUD 2014-001 approved a sixth commercial pad located at the northwest corner of North Main Street and Madrid Street south of the current Big 5 Sporting Goods store. Another phase of PUD 2014-001 included the addition of approximately 48,337 square-feet to accommodate the relocation of J.C. Penney, which occurred a few years ago.
A First Amendment to PUD 2014-001 was approved by the City Council on January 22, 2019, which authorized development of an LED reader board sign located along US 101 and installation of a new 17-foot-high sign shaped as a bowling pin for Round One (PUD 2018-001). The reader board sign has yet to be built. Round One was authorized by Conditional Use Permit (CUP 2018-001), which included reuse of approximately 53,500 square foot of the former JC Penney retail area for Commercial Recreation consisting of a bowling alley, arcade, billiards, dining area with on-sale alcohol sales of beer and wine (Type 41 ABC license).
A Second Amendment to PUD 2014-001 was approved by the City Council on January 9, 2024, which approved a 1.651-acre building pad to construct a 3,501 square-foot restaurant with a drive-through, outdoor seating, 41 off-street parking spaces, and an 87.6 square-foot (58.6%) increase in sign area. The restaurant with a drive-through has subsequently been approved as administrative Site Plan Review 2024-006 (SPR 2024-006).