Maverik Fueling Station and Convenience Store (PLNG24-031/APLA25-001)

2025110504

City of Elk Grove

NOE - Notice of Exemption

11/13/2025

11/13/2025

Kyra Killingsworth

City of Elk Grove

Senior Planner

Lead/Public Agency

8401 Laguna Palms Way
Elk Grove, CA 95758

(916) 478-3684

kkillingsworth@elkgrove.gov

Todd Meyers

Maverik Store, Inc.

Representative

Project Applicant

185 South State Street, Suite 800
Salt Lake City, UT 84111

(801) 520-4072

todd.meyers@maverik.com

134-0600-029, 134-0600-040, 134-0600-032, and portion of 134-0600-049

Elk Grove CA. Sacramento County

Categorical Exemption

Categorical Exemption [15332] and Criteria for Subsequent EIR [Section 15162] and Consistent with a Community Plan or Zo

CEQA requires analysis of agency approvals of discretionary “projects.” A “project,” under CEQA, is defined as “the whole of an action, which has a potential for resulting in either a direct physical change in the environment, or a reasonably foreseeable indirect physical change in the environment” (State CEQA Guidelines Section 15378). The proposed Project is a project under CEQA. Staff has reviewed the Project and determined that the Project is categorically exempt from CEQA review pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines Section 15332 (In-Fill Development). State CEQA Guidelines section 15332 consists of projects characterized as in fill development that meet the following conditions: a) The project consists of the applicable general plan designation and all applicable general plan policies as well as with applicable zoning designation and regulations. b) The proposed development occurs within city limits on a project site of no more than five acres substantially surrounded by urban uses. c) The project site has no value as habitat for endangered, rare, or threatened species. d) Approval of the project would not result in any significant effects relating to traffic, noise, air quality, or water quality. e) The site can be adequately served by all required utilities and public services. In addition, Staff finds that no further environmental review is required per State CEQA Guidelines Section 15162 (Subsequent EIRS and Negative Declarations) and Section 15183 (Consistency with a General Plan, Community Plan, or Zoning). State CEQA Guidelines 15162 provides that when an EIR has been certified for an adopted project, no subsequent EIR shall be prepared for that project unless the lead agency determines, on the basis of substantial evidence in light of the whole record, that one or more of the following exists: 1. Substantial changes are proposed in the project which will require major revisions of the previous EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; 2. Substantial changes occur with respect to the circumstances under which the project is undertaken which will require major revisions of the previous EIR due to the involvement of new significant environmental effects or a substantial increase in the severity of previously identified significant effects; or 3. New information of substantial importance, which was not known and could not have been known with exercise of reasonable diligence at the time of the previous EIR was certified as complete shows any of the following: a. The project will have one or more significant effects not discussed in the previous EIR; b. Significant effects previously examined will be substantially more severe than shown in the previous EIR; c. Mitigation measures or alternatives previously found not to be feasible would in fact be feasible and would substantially reduce one or more significant effects of the project, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measure or alternative; or d. Mitigation measures or alternatives which are considerably different from those analyzed in the previous EIR would substantially reduce one or more significant effects on the environment, but the project proponents decline to adopt the mitigation measures or alternative. State CEQA Guidelines Section 15183 (Public Resources Code §21083.3), provides that projects which are consistent with the development density established by an existing Community Plan, General Plan, or Zoning for which an environmental impact report (EIR) has been certified “shall not require additional environmental review, except as might be necessary to examine whether there are project-specific significant effects which are peculiar to the project or its site.” Staff reviewed the Project and analyzed it based upon the above provisions in Sections 15162, 15183 and 15332 of the State CEQA Guidelines. Additional analysis supporting the in-fill exemption pursuant to Section 15332 is described in detail in the preceding sections of this Staff Report. In February 2019, an EIR was prepared and certified by the City Council as part of the Elk Grove General Plan (SCH# 2017062058). That document provides a programmatic review of the potential impacts associated with implementation of the overall General Plan. A Final Subsequent EIR (SCH#2022020463) to the 2019 General Plan EIR was prepared and adopted in 2023 with the adoption of the Livable Employment Area Community Plan with the City of Elk Grove General Plan Amendments and Update of Vehicle Miles Traveled Standards Project. The Project is subject to the Mitigation, Monitoring, and Reporting Programs (MMRP) adopted with the 2019 General Plan EIR and 2023 Final Subsequent EIR. The Project consists of a Minor Design Review and a Conditional Use Permit for the construction of a fueling station with a convenience store; two fueling canopies; and associated parking, landscaping and lighting improvements. The property currently has an existing building that will be demolished with this application, which will also require a building permit from the City’s Building Division. The Project was reviewed and found to be consistent with the applicable General Plan designation and all applicable General Plan policies as well as with the applicable zoning designation and regulations. The Project site is within an urban area that is less than five acres in size and substantially surrounded by other industrial and commercial businesses. As identified in the General Plan EIR, there are no official designated scenic vistas in the City of Elk Grove’s Planning Area. In addition, the Project area is not designated as farmland or near any designated farmland. The Project site does not contain any habitat for endangered, rare, or threatened species as the site is graded, does not have vegetation, and there has been a building on site since the early 1980’s. An analysis of the site for potential impacts to habitat for endangered, rare, and threatened species was conducted by Ascent upon initial review of the Project application in 2024 which concluded that no such habitat was present on the site. Additional field review was conducted by Ascent on October 13, 2025, which concluded that the site does not contain any ditches or natural drainages directing the flow of water and that disturbance from maintenance activities including grading and disking, and lack of food resources make adjacent undeveloped areas unviable to provide permanent habitat for common or special-status species. Approval of the Project would not result in any significant effects relating to traffic, noise, air quality, or water quality. The Project will be subject to Elk Grove Municipal Code (EGMC) Chapter 16.44 related to Land Grading and Erosion Control and is required to comply with the Sacramento Stormwater Quality Partnership’s Stormwater Quality Design Manual. This will ensure that the appropriate water quality measures will be in place during the Project’s construction and operational phases. Operation of the Project will be subject to EGMC Chapter 6.32 related to Noise Control and the nearest sensitive noise receptor is a single large-lot residence on the west side of State Route 99 that is 1,400 feet from the Project site. Based on analysis by Ascent, any noise generated from the Project site either during the construction or operational phases of the Project will be imperceptible over the adjacent State Route 99 noise levels due to the distance of the sensitive receptor from the Project site. The Applicant provided an Air Quality Assessment for the Project dated January 17, 2025, prepared by Ascent and peer-reviewed by AECOM. It was determined that the Project would be below the construction and operational air quality screening levels set forth in the Sacramento Metropolitan Air Quality Management District CEQA Guide and would not result in significant impacts related to air quality. Finally, the site will be adequately served by all required utilities and public services. The General Plan EIR relies on Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) as a measure of transportation impacts. A VMT Analysis for the Project was prepared by Fehr & Peers dated April 2, 2025, to determine if the Project complies with City of Elk Grove General Plan Policy MOB-1-1 adopted to reduce VMT and achieve state-mandated reductions on VMT. According to the analysis, the Project would not exceed the City’s VMT limit for Regional Commercial or the City Limit. The Project will comply with the City’s Climate Action Plan (CAP) for new nonresidential development. A Cultural Resources Study was prepared for the Project. The Project includes conditions to address any accidental discovery of any unknown resources on the site. No special or unusual circumstances exist that would indicate there is a reasonable possibility that the Project would have a significant adverse effect on the environment. Approval of the Project will not result in a significant cumulative impact from successive projects of the same type in the same place, over time. No potential new impacts or more severe impacts related to the Project have been identified that would necessitate further environmental review beyond the impacts and issues already disclosed and analyzed in the General Plan EIRs. Therefore, the prior EIRs are sufficient to support the proposed action and pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines sections 15183 and 15162, no further environmental review is required. Additionally, the project is categorically exempt pursuant to State CEQA Guidelines section 15332.