The City of Manteca Planning Commission on Oct. 16 voted to recommend that the City Council repeal a 1997 Planned Development ordinance governing the St. Dominic’s healthcare campus and approved environmental clearance and entitlements for Kaiser Permanente’s planned 27,476-square-foot emergency department expansion.

The action included a resolution finding the repeal request exempt from further review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) “common-sense” exemption (CEQA Guidelines Section 15061(b)(3)) and a separate resolution adopting an Initial Study and Mitigated Negative Declaration (SCH 2025080633) and approving site plan and design review (SPC-24-81), a conditional use permit (UPJ-25-02), a lot line adjustment (LLA-24-82) and a master sign program (MSP-25-05) for the Kaiser project.

Why it matters: The planning commission’s actions clear the way for a sizable ED expansion at the St. Dominic’s / Kaiser campus in Manteca while removing an older Planned Development ordinance and the campus-specific design guidelines that remain on record despite a citywide rezoning completed in December 2024. The entitlements include site redesigns, off-site street and drainage work, and conditions that must be completed as part of the approvals.

Kaiser representatives said the project will expand emergency treatment capacity and add related parking, landscaping and lighting. “The emergency department expansion … is a 27,500-square-foot new state-of-the-art emergency department expansion, increasing our treatment base from 11 to 34,” Andrea Cotter, a Kaiser Permanente representative, said during the commission presentation. Kaiser staff said the work would reconfigure building entry, create a separate ambulance entrance and relocate displaced parking to the east along St. Dominic’s Drive.

Staff presentation and CEQA: Deputy Director Jesus Orozco and Associate Planner Tobin Barnum told commissioners that the existing Planned Development (PD) ordinance and campus design standards—originally adopted in the late 1990s for the St. Dominic’s campus—remained on the books even after the city’s 2024 rezoning, leaving conflicting regulatory language for the site. Barnum summarized the approval requests and the environmental analysis prepared for the expansion and recommended the commission adopt the IS/MND and the site approvals.

Project features and public improvements: The approved project includes a 27,476-square-foot ED addition, a dedicated ambulance entrance on the west side of the new building, reconfigured parking with an ambulance drop-off zone, and a new primary ED drop-off and roundabout on St. Dominic’s Drive. Conditions of approval require right-of-way dedication and construction of Center Street through the project and installation of a traffic signal at the intersection of West Yosemite Avenue and St. Dominic’s Drive, plus a raised median and a Class II bike lane on West Yosemite frontage. The project will also include undergrounding of Drain 5 and completion of an adjacent stormwater basin.

Amendments and conditions: Commissioners approved the D2 entitlements as amended. Staff read three written amendments into the record: (1) revised recital language describing the parcel merger, the 27,476-square-foot expansion and the off-site improvements; (2) matching recital revisions for the entitlements resolution; and (3) a new engineering condition (Condition 12) requiring the developer to dedicate a 60-foot right-of-way in fee and construct the extension of Center Street across specified APNs prior to final occupancy, including vertical curb and gutter and five-foot sidewalks on both sides of the roadway.

Traffic, operations and design: Kaiser said the project aims to minimize disruption to medical services during construction. Engineering staff told commissioners the new raised median and signal timing will be coordinated with the signal poles’ delivery schedule; interim channelizers are planned until the signal poles are installed. Mike Seling of the city engineering department said the signal poles are a long-lead item (four to five months for fabrication and delivery), so interim traffic treatments will accommodate operations until the signal becomes operational.

Questions and community impacts: Commissioners asked whether the expansion would add services beyond emergency care and whether the facility could be upgraded to a trauma center; Kaiser staff responded that service offerings are under continual review and that higher-level trauma designations are complex and are being evaluated as part of broader system planning. Commissioners also questioned the appearance and placement of temporary imaging trailers; Kaiser said modular/portable units allow equipment upgrades and that the project locates those units in less visible areas than current trailers.

Project funding and scale: During discussion Commissioner Mendoza referred to an $85,000,000 figure when asking why certain equipment would remain in trailers rather than being enclosed; that dollar amount was stated by the commissioner during the hearing and appears in the public transcript as a commissioner question. The project package submitted to the commission did not include an itemized construction budget in the staff report attached to the planning action.

Commission action: After public comment (no public speakers on the record for this item), the planning commission voted to recommend repeal of Ordinance 779 and to adopt the IS/MND and approve the site plan and associated entitlements for the Kaiser ED expansion as amended. No roll-call vote counts were read into the record; the chair announced the motion carried.

Implementation notes and outstanding items: Conditions require right-of-way work, Center Street extension and underground drainage improvements prior to final occupancy, and the approvals include a mitigation monitoring and reporting program attached to the IS/MND. Staff and the applicant said they had reached out to an adjacent residential property west of the project and that the property owner had not engaged, but staff is available to meet with the property owner if desired.

Where it goes next: The recommendation to repeal Ordinance 779 and the resolutions adopting the IS/MND and entitlements are advisory to the City Council; the repeal or final ordinance adoption and final project permits will require council action and the developer’s compliance with the conditions of approval.

Clarifying details extracted from the hearing:
- Project size: 27,476 square feet (applicant/ staff presentation).
- CEQA document: Initial Study / Mitigated Negative Declaration, State Clearinghouse No. 2025080633 (staff report).
- Entitlements approved: SPC-24-81 (site plan/design review), UPJ-25-02 (conditional use permit), LLA-24-82 (lot line adjustment), MSP-25-05 (master sign program).
- Key off-site improvements required: traffic signal at West Yosemite and St. Dominic’s Drive; raised median and Class II bike lane on West Yosemite; extension of Center Street; undergrounding of Drain 5; completion of adjacent stormwater basin.

Proper names and places used consistently in this report: Kaiser Permanente; St. Dominic’s (St. Dominic’s Drive); West Yosemite Avenue; Center Street; APNs as listed in staff report.

Ending: The commission’s recommendations now move to the Manteca City Council for final consideration; city staff said they will provide the council packet and the project’s mitigation monitoring and reporting program for council review.