A new 7-Eleven could be appearing at the southwest corner of Whitmore Avenue and Blaker Road now that the project has cleared its first hurdle of the Ceres Planning Commission.

An existing house and detached garage occupy the site but would be removed for the store and a six-pump gas island.

Applicant Benny Singh Dhanda of Stockton won approval of his Conditional Use Permit (CUP) required to build the 4,740 square foot building. The site has a zoning designation of Community Commercial (C-2) and has a General Plan designation of Community Commercial (CC). Since the proposal is for a convenience store with a gas station, approval of a Conditional Use Permit entitlement is required for the project.

In December, the applicant met with city staff to get the city’s feel for the project. Dhanda was told that planners had a problem with the car wash because of likely noise impacts on the residents of the neighboring Whitmore Oaks Senior complex.The car wash was then dropped.

A portion of the building will be for a separate commercial tenant space. Because a grease trap is being included, the space could potentially accommodate a small future restaurant use or coffee shop instead of a carwash facility originally intended.

Two access points will be included along Blaker Road and one on Whitmore Avenue.