Watsonville City Council considers podiatry center – Santa Cruz Sentinel

The Foot Doctors of Santa Cruz County has filed a permit application to open a new location in the former Wells Fargo in the Pajaro Hill Mall. The Watsonville City Council will need to consider a special use permit to allow podiatry-related uses in the mall. (Nick Sestanovich — Santa Cruz Sentinel)

WATSONVILLE — The Foot Doctors of Santa Cruz County, a Santa Cruz-based company specializing in podiatry services, is looking to expand its footprint — so to speak — in Watsonville by opening a space in the former Wells Fargo building in the Pajaro Hill shopping center.

Before doing so, however, the Watsonville City Council will need to approve a special use permit allowing podiatry-related uses in the mall at its meeting Tuesday.

The Pajaro Hill Shopping Center, located at the intersection of South Green Valley Road and Main Street, was approved with a special list of permitted uses in 1988 and fully constructed in 1990. Today, the center is owned by the Jay Paul Company with tenants including a mix of national and regional chains like Big 5 Sporting Goods, Dollar Tree, Verizon, Firestone, Coast Auto Insurance, Subway, Baskin-Robbins and Jack in the Box as well as independent businesses like Tina’s Nails and Hair, Launderland, Ocean Breeze Family Dental, Animal Hospital of Watsonville, La Condensa Market and Corralitos Pizza.

However, the center has a vacant 5.57-acre space in the former Wells Fargo building, which closed shortly after 2020. Foot Doctors of Santa Cruz County has applied to open a business on the vacant site. The company has two locations: one on Soquel Avenue in Santa Cruz and the other on Penny Lane in Watsonville.

The special use permit approved by council in 1988 allowed a wide variety of uses, including hardware stores, gas stations, auto supply stores, furniture stores, food stores, restaurants, art supply stores, toy stores, liquor stores, sporting goods stores, movie theaters and medical and health services. However, it does not allow uses related to podiatry, an area the city is seeking to amend to allow The Foot Doctors to operate on the site.

“This primary use listing has been successful for the past 30 years, but recent vacancies and restrictions on certain uses have made it difficult to attract new tenants,” Associate Planner Ivan Carmona and Community Development Director Suzi Merriam wrote in a staff report. “This change would allow the owner to lease the vacant building to The Foot Doctors of Santa Cruz County, revitalizing the shopping center and improving commercial services for the community.”

Because the project does not involve an expansion of use and is located in an area that is not environmentally sensitive, it qualifies for a Class 1 exemption from the California Environmental Quality Act.

In other business, the council will consider levy assessments for the Bay Breeze, Vista Montaña and Gonzalez Street landscaping and lighting maintenance assessment districts.

The council will meet publicly around 4:30 p.m. Tuesday on the top floor of the Watsonville City Council Chambers, 275 Main St. After a few items, the council will meet in closed session to discuss legal matters and resume its public meeting around 7 p.m.