Food truck plaza proposed for long-vacant Citrus Heights lot

By Sara Beth Williams–
A long-vacant and overgrown parcel of land on the corner of Auburn Boulevard and Twin Oaks Avenue could become a new food truck plaza.

A proposal for a Twin Oaks Food Truck Plaza has been submitted for the property at 7509 Twin Oaks Ave. and is under consideration by the city’s Planning Division.

The current site has been vacant for years, featuring a large cement slab overgrown with weeds and surrounded by chain-link fencing. A sign posted by the City of Citrus Heights states that a development proposal is currently “under review.”

The plaza would accommodate up to 15 food trucks, according to documents posted online in November of 2023. The proposal blueprints depict plans for new landscaping and fencing, appropriate electrical and water hook ups, and applicable garbage and food waste disposal locations for food trucks.

The proposed plaza design incorporates a central space for tables with “covered pyramid awnings with lighting.” Several photos show colorful triangular canopies as an alternative to pyramid awnings. Lighting would “be directed inward away from neighboring properties” according to the proposal.

Several more photos show another similar business model in action, where food trucks line either side of a busy plaza and metal awnings cover a bustling central thoroughfare, with both round and rectangular tables provided for patrons to sit.

Alison Bermudez, senior planner with the City of Citrus Heights, said that the proposal is still under review and that several site improvements would need to take place before the plaza could become operational.

In a letter to Bermudez dated Nov. 16, 2023, Lee Jagoe Architecture Inc. President Mark Lee specified some of the planned improvements to the existing site, including extending the existing concrete slab farther to meet vendor and seating area boundaries, and adding restroom facilities and a service room for electrical equipment and storage.

The Sentinel reported in 2017 that developer Hemanta Agarwala previously owned the lot and wanted to convert the corner into a shopping plaza. Agarwala invested at least $1 million into the property over a ten-year period, including underground improvements, laying the foundation, and getting approval for the project from the city’s planning commission. Documents from Lee Jagoe Architecture also note that parking curbs were previously poured for a parking lot in the back of the property.

Agarwala struggled to find tenants to fill spots for his proposed shopping center, with plans never materializing. According to Bermudez, a new owner, Jagar Singh purchased the Twin Oaks parcel in the fall of 2023. Singh was not immediately available for comment before press time on Thursday.

Bermudez expects the city to provide a decision regarding the proposal by the end of January.