Rialto Planning Commission approves Pacific Clinics mental health clubhouse two weeks after ordering a denial resolution
The commission voted 5-0 on Oct. 21 to approve the adult program at Rancho Verde Plaza. On Oct. 7, with three members absent, it had told staff to draft a resolution of denial.
The Rialto Planning Commission on Oct. 21 approved a permit for an adult mental health clubhouse in the Rancho Verde Plaza shopping center, two weeks after telling staff to draft a resolution denying it.
The vote was 5-0, with Vice Chair Jerry Gutierrez and Commissioner Terrie Schneider absent, according to the minutes. Commissioner Terry Thompson moved to approve Conditional Development Permit No. 26-0009, and Commissioner Dale Estvander seconded.
The staff report for that meeting recommended adopting the denial resolution prepared at the commission's request. The minutes record no motion on it.
The proposal
Pacific Clinics, an Arcadia nonprofit, provides health services through a contract with the county's Department of Behavioral Health, according to the September staff report.
It plans to close its Rialto site at 1501 S. Riverside Avenue and move to a vacant 2,700-square-foot suite at 2026 N. Riverside Avenue, Unit K. The center occupies the northwest corner where Riverside Avenue meets the 210 Freeway, with single-family neighborhoods on its north, east and west sides.
Services would include support groups, resume and interview workshops, help finding resources, cooking and nutrition activities, and showers and laundry for members during business hours.
The site would be open weekdays from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with 20 to 30 clients a day and no overnight stays. Three staff members would work there along with a supervisor and the facility's director, the report says.
A crime prevention plan reviewed by Rialto police calls for security cameras linked to the FUSUS system, outdoor lighting, no-loitering signs and enrollment in the department's no-trespassing program. The commission may review the permit within six months, the report says.
How the item got here
After a Sept. 2 hearing, the commission continued the item on a 7-0 vote. It asked staff to set up tours of the current site, a meeting with police and a talk with the applicant about other locations, the Oct. 7 staff report says.
Commissioners, officers and planning staff toured the existing site Sept. 10 and Sept. 17. Pacific Clinics told staff it had a signed lease and was not looking at other sites, the report says.
On Oct. 7, with three commissioners absent, the commission voted 4-0 to have staff write a denial resolution. The motion cited "conditions A, B, C, and F of Rialto Municipal Code Section 18.66.020," according to the minutes. That code section lists what must be found before such a permit is granted.
The draft resolution said the program did not fit the neighborhood commercial zone, was too close to homes and would operate in a suite smaller than its current one.
The Oct. 21 minutes do not record commission discussion before the vote to approve. Commissioners Ray Corral and Virginia Avalos-Villalobos, who were absent Oct. 7, attended Oct. 21 and voted in favor.
