Plans approved for new surgery center in Citrus Heights

Sentinel staff report–
Construction on a new 16,000-square-foot ambulatory surgery center in Citrus Heights could begin as early as next month, following a unanimous decision by the Planning Commission earlier this month to allow the project to move forward.

The surgery center will be located on the currently vacant, 2.3-acre lot at the corner of Stock Ranch and Sylvan roads. The design approved by commissioners includes a single-story floor plan with a patient drop-off and pickup location and covered decorative awnings, along with at least 70 parking spots and a new driveway on Stock Ranch Road.

See site plan: click here

Commissioners voted 5-0 on the proposal following an uneventful public hearing on Dec. 12 where the only public comment was made by the project’s developer, Capital Partners Development Co. The adjacent 84,000-square-foot Small Business Administration building and the new City Hall in Citrus Heights were also constructed by the same developer.

The site at 7435 Stock Ranch Rd. is owned by California C&S Properties, with the project’s applicant listed as Texas-based United Surgical Partners International, which has affiliated surgery centers in Roseville and Folsom.

Site plans included in the Planning Commission’s Dec. 12 agenda packet show parking situated on the west side of the rectangular lot, with the new building set back 20 to 25 feet from the intersection. Planning Commissioner Tim Schaefer told The Sentinel a separate, 4,800-square-foot building was also discussed and shown penciled-in on the site plan as a “projected need” for an office building at the site.

Although the second building is not currently slated for construction, Schaefer said it likely won’t need separate approval from the Planning Commission down the road. The site plan also shows twenty-two additional parking spots associated with the office building, labeled “future parking stalls.”

Schaefer noted that USPI facilities are for-profit, meaning it will pay property taxes, whereas nonprofit hospitals are typically exempt from property tax requirements.

Several messages left with USPI’s media division were not returned, but a spokeswoman at City Hall said construction on the surgery center is targeted for late January, although she said that date isn’t firm.

With their vote, commissioners approved a design review permit and a tree permit for the project, which includes removal of at least 17 existing trees. The project did not require an Environmental Impact Report, as a report was previously certified during prior development in the 129-acre Stock Ranch Special Planning Area, which includes the area the surgery center will be built.

Commissioner Marcel Weiland was absent from the Dec. 12 Planning Commission meeting, and former Commissioner Russell Blair’s seat was recently left vacant after he moved out of state. A separate public hearing was also held the same night regarding a 47-unit low-income housing project proposed on Sunrise Boulevard.

Related: Citrus Heights Planning Commissioners split over low-income housing proposal