Vallejo City Council
September 20, 2022

V-Town Farms
Christina Ratcliffe, Planning and
Development Services Director
Steve Arnold, Chief Building
Official, CASp
September 20, 2022
Overview
• Purpose of Tonight’s Meeting
• Project History
• Appeal of Planning Commission denial of a
request to Amend Conditions of Approval
– Community Benefit
– Transparency Requirement
– Incomplete Building Permit Items
• Recommendation
Purpose of Tonight’s
Meeting
• Hold continued public hearing for
appeal by Charles Wesley of
Kolaboration Vallejo, LLC. (V-Town
Farms)
• Hear public comment
• Consider and give direction to
staff on appeal of the Planning
Commission denial of applicant’s
request to amend V-Town Farms
Use Permit (UP) #20-0008
Project History & Setting
• Planning Commission Hearing approval of
Use Permit : 3/15/2021
• Appeal of Planning Commission Decision
Submitted: 3/25/2021
• City Council Hearing: 5/25/2021
• City Council Hearing: 6/7/2021
• Building Permit (BP-2021-0468) Issued:
7/2/2021
• New Zoning Code Effective: 7/22/2021
• Temporary Certificate of Occupancy Issued:
7/30/2021
• V-Town Farms Commenced Business
Operations 7/31/2021
Site
Project History & Setting,
Con’t.
• Applicant Email: Request for
Amendment: 10/25/2021
• Temporary Certificate of Occupancy
Expired: 10/29/2021
• Major Use Permit Amendment Request
Submitted: 11/23/2021
• Planning Commission Hearing:
2/23/2022
• Applicant appealed to Council, hearing
on 5/10/2022, continued to 9/20/2022
Transparency Requirement
Existing Condition 40.b: Storefronts shall maintain transparent windows that allow visibility into the store, with a minimum of 60 percent transparency on the street frontage at the ground level and allow visibility into the building at a minimum of four feet above the ground.

Proposed Condition 40.b: As long as the Applicant maintains at least two armed security guards on the premises 24 hours a day and seven days per week, the Applicant shall not be required to meet the 60% Transparency Requirement; whether or not the requirement is reinstated in the Code.

Engineering Issues to meet
Transparency Requirement
• Staff received a letter on May 9, 2022
dated February 28, 2022 from the
applicant’s design firm BASE Design
regarding a structural support system and
two options for achieving the reviewed plan
60% storefront transparency requirement.
• This type of strengthening recommended
by BASE Design is common and normal for
storefront alterations.
• Applicant now proposes no alterations to
existing transparency, but proposes
decreasing the size of the retail sales area.

V-Town Farms Proposed
Floor Plan
submitted 9-6-2022
(red line added)

Community Contribution
• Existing Condition 14: As originally offered by the
Applicant, Applicant shall donate a minimum of
$600,000 annually to local non-profit agencies or
schools of its choosing for the benefit of Vallejo
residents, primarily those residing in District 2.

Said donation shall be adjusted annually for
inflation in accordance with the Consumer Price
Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U), San
Francisco-Oakland-Hayward, CA.
• Proposed Condition 14: The Applicant shall donate a
minimum of 1% of Revenue annually to local non-
profit agencies and schools of its choosing for the
benefit of Vallejo residents; primarily those residing in District 2.
– The applicant is proposing revenue be defined as
the total collections less City and State sales and
excise taxes.

Planning Commission
Hearing and Decision
• The Planning Commission heard the
Request for an amendment to the Use
Permit on February 23, 2022. The Staff
Recommendation was for denial of the
request.
• The Planning Commission denied the
amendment request by 4-3 vote
– AYES: Commissioners Blind, Bowman,
Douglass, and Palmares.
– NOES: Chair Cohen-Thompson, Vice
Chair Stamps, and Commissioner
Matulac
City Council Hearing of
5/10/2022
• Community Contribution: Straw
poll recommendation to accept
$300,000 first year, then 1% of
total gross sales each year
thereafter.
• Transparency (windows for retail
area): Council directed applicant to
work with City staff on a
compromise.
• Incomplete Building Permit items:

Council directed applicant to meet
with the Chief Building Official to
resolve these incomplete items
Applicant’s proposal
• Community Contribution:
$300,000 over the first two years,
then 1% of revenue each year
thereafter.
• Transparency (60% windows for
retail area):

Applicant proposes
no change to windows, but
proposes reducing retail area.
• Incomplete Building Permit
items
: Approximately half of the
incomplete items have been
resolved.

Recommendation
• Conduct the continued Public
Hearing, take testimony from the
applicant, the public, and staff
and give staff direction to return
with a Resolution memorializing
Council’s decision and detailing
required findings.

CONTACT(S)
Christina Ratcliffe, AICP
(707) 648-4382
[email protected]
Steve Arnold, CBO, CASp
(707) 648-4387
[email protected]

V-Town Farms TCO Work List
Updated August 26, 2022
Complete
Item Who is
Handling
Condion Acons Status
INT - Odor Control
See Use Permit wording
below.

Chuck Can smell cannabis just outside the
entrance.

So, the current condion meets the Use
Permit requirement. See below.

Complete
INT - Customer Path of
Travel
Mike Need to ensure for the Final Inspecon
that…
a. There is a 4 foot wide path of travel
from the sidewalk on Broadway to
the store entrance.
b. The ADA path of travel is marked in
the parking lot.
c. There are no drops or risers in the
ADA path of travel.
a. Ensure tenant tables
and planters are not
obstrucng.
b. Paint ADA paths of
travel on the parking
lot in two locaons.
c. Add “dome” material
to the two cleanout
lids at the entrance.

Complete
Do a final walk the day of
the Final Inspecon before
the inspecon.

INT - Path of Travel to the
Trash Bins
Chuck Door to the Trash bin area needs to swing
IN.

Get a contractor to install
a door that swings IN.

Complete
Aguilar Handyman
Services 707-373-7783
INT - Path of Travel at
Sushi Grille
Chuck There is not a 4 foot path to the east of
the Sushi Grille door.

Clean out the area in the
path of travel and pour
concrete there.

Complete
Aguilar Handyman
Services 707-373-7783
INT - Path of Travel at Antonio The door stop needs to be removed from Remove the door stop Complete Item Who is
Handling
Condion Acons Status
Distro Door the door. from the door.

Use a brick or other
means to hold the door
open.

INT - Unauthorized
Parking signs
Mike Missing. Must mount at each handicap
parking spot or at each entrance.

Mount a sign at each
entrance.

Complete
INT - Perimeter Wall
Extensions
SBA
Mike
The perimeter walls must be extended to
the ceiling.

Must use material that meets the fire
code. Sheetrock. Soundboard? Metal?
Get a plan from the
architect for perming.

Then get permied and
construct.

Plans have been
submied and approved.

Geng quote for work.

Work will be complete by
the end of October.

INT - Photometric of the
Parking Lot
Steve Need to produce a Photometric Plan for
the parking lot.

Produce the plan. In process.

Will be complete by the
end of September.

MEC - Install the HVAC
System
Chuck
Chess Air
Steve
Need to have Heat. AC is oponal. Have Chess Air install the equipment that has
already been purchased.
5 units are installed and
working. 4 others are
on-site and pending
installaon.

TRASH - Complete the
build.

Steve
Jim Garton
Need to add the metal to the large
enclosure per the permit.

Need to schedule the
work.

Work has begun and will
be complete by the end of
September.

TRASH - Remove the small
trash enclosure from the
Chuck
SBA
The small trash enclosure is not part of
the project or V-Town premises.

Circle it on the plan and
notate as such. Remove
Complete
Item Who is
Handling
Condion Acons Status
plan. any TI details from the
plan.

The plan is being
uploaded on 7/18.

ROOF - Check For Leaks Chuck Need to check to ensure that all leaks have been fixed.

Get roofer out there. Complete
Aguilar Handyman
Services 707-373-7783
60% - Negoate and
Complete
Chuck Need to negoate the 60%, then get
permits and complete.

Waing for the City to
assign a negoator.

Odor Control Requirement: Odor Control. A sufficient odor-absorbing venlaon and exhaust system shall be installed and operated to ensure that odor generated by the cannabis business is not detected outside of the property , anywhere on adjacent properes or public rights-of-way, or within any other separate use or unit located within the same building as the cannabis business.

INT - Permit BP-2021-0468 - Interior Tenant Improvements MEC - Mechanical (HVAC)
DEMO - Demolion - Complete
TRASH - Trash Enclosure
ROOF - Roof Repair
60% - 60% Transparency (No permit)