Fontana, CA — The Fontana City Council approved plans Tuesday for a new grocery-anchored commercial center in the city’s growing Arboretum development, advancing a project city officials said will provide neighborhood shopping while preserving the overall housing capacity and park space envisioned in the master-planned community.
The council unanimously approved a general plan amendment, specific plan amendment and related entitlements for the approximately 9.3-acre site at the northwest corner of Sierra Avenue and Terra Vista Drive.
Mayor Pro Tem Peter Garcia recused himself from the vote because he lives near the project, leaving the remaining four council members to approve the proposal.
The project converts the site’s land-use designation from Residential Planned Community to General Commercial, allowing construction of a 69,617-square-foot shopping center anchored by a 49,362-square-foot grocery store.
Plans also include a 13,017-square-foot inline retail building, a 9,544-square-foot pad building, a 3,694-square-foot drive-through restaurant and authorization for off-site alcohol sales associated with the grocery store.
Associate Planner Cecily Session-Goins told the council the proposal also requires modifications to the Arboretum Specific Plan to accommodate commercial uses that were not previously permitted within that portion of the development.
“The proposed project is a specific plan amendment and general plan amendment for the Arboretum Specific Plan area as well as associated development within the specific plan area,” she said.
She explained that while the 9.3-acre parcel would transition from residential to commercial use, the overall number of residential units allowed under the specific plan would remain unchanged.
“We won’t end up with any additional units beyond what the specific plan and the associated environmental document originally contemplated,” Session-Goins said. “It’s just that those units are now placed into other areas within the specific plan area.”
Council members devoted much of their discussion to traffic circulation, pedestrian safety and compatibility with future residential development planned immediately north of the site.
One council member compared the proposal to traffic congestion experienced at another Fontana shopping center, asking whether sufficient space had been provided to prevent vehicles from backing up onto surrounding streets.
Session-Goins said that city planners believe the project’s internal circulation will perform better because of multiple access points and the placement of the grocery store farther into the site.
“I don’t foresee there being any traffic holdups as far as vehicular circulation through the site,” she said. “I also think the way in which the buildings are placed … allows for better circulation.”
Council members also questioned how truck deliveries could affect future homes planned adjacent to the commercial center.
She said the project includes multiple design features intended to minimize impacts on nearby residents, including screening walls, retaining walls and substantial separation between loading areas and future housing.
“I think with the distance, the wall for sound and screening, and then the secondary wall for the actual truck loading bay, I don’t anticipate any noise that will impact future residents,” she said.
Another topic centered on student safety as additional housing is constructed north of the site near an existing elementary school.
Council members noted motorists currently travel at relatively high speeds along Sierra Avenue because much of the surrounding area remains undeveloped, expressing concern that conditions will change dramatically once hundreds of new residents move into the neighborhood.
She said city engineering and traffic staff continue working with the developer to evaluate deceleration lanes, traffic-calming measures and pedestrian improvements.
“I know that our engineering department, both land development and traffic, have worked very closely with the applicant and also plan to keep working closely together,” she said. “They’re looking closely at it, even in real time, about how much deceleration space they need.”
She added that future improvements will include signalized pedestrian crossings designed to safely accommodate students walking between surrounding neighborhoods and nearby schools.
The council subsequently adopted Resolution No. 2026-076 approving the general plan amendment, conditional use permit, tentative tract map, tentative parcel map and design review for the commercial center.
