PASO ROBLES — A public hearing was held during the City Council meeting on Tuesday, Aug. 5, to discuss some potential improvements coming to a property on Spring Street. At the end of the hearing, the council approved the project that will convert the existing building located at 2508 Spring St. into a mixed‑use destination. The applicant, Veraison Wine Country Properties, LLC, is seeking to transform the 0.5‑acre site into a hub that would feature wine and beer tasting kiosks, specialty retail, a market and deli, and private meeting space.
During the July 8 Planning Commission meeting, a public hearing was held for the proposal at which time commissioners approved to move forward with the project to be approved by City Council — it was approved with a 4-0 vote from Commissioners Eric Marlow, Joel Neel, Mark Koegler, and Patrick Connally with commissioners Robert Covarrubias, Ty Christensen, and Sharon Roden absent from the meeting.
You can read Paso Robles Press’s coverage of that meeting at pasoroblespress.com/news/government/city-of-paso-robles/updates-may-be-coming-to-property-on-spring-street/
The building, originally constructed in the late 1960s and remodeled in 1992, most recently housed offices for Western Quartz and a dance studio.
With a 4-1 vote, Councilmember Kris Beal voting no, the council approved adopting both Resolution 25-XXX (A) to approve General Plan Amendment 25-01 and Specific Plan Amendment 25-01; and Adopt Resolution 25-XXX (B) to approve Conditional Use Permit 24-10 for a private meeting facility and Site Plan Review 24-13 for the physical changes to the site and building.
Later in the meeting, council discussed food truck regulations within city limits.
On Oct. 1, 2024, the Paso Robles City Council approved updates to the Zoning Code, including revisions to Section 21.69.120, which governs permitting and operational standards for food trucks. Under the current regulations, all food trucks operating within city limits must comply with these standards, hold a valid city business license, and maintain an active San Luis Obispo County health permit. Trucks operating in a single location for more than seven days in a calendar year must also obtain a Temporary Use Permit (TUP). As of July 2025, the city has 23 licensed mobile vendors and two active TUPs. However, enforcement remains difficult due to vague language in the code, prompting Councilmember Steve Gregory to request a renewed discussion in May 2025. Between April and June, the city received 36 mobile vendor-related service calls, highlighting ongoing concerns about compliance and regulation.
In response to these challenges, the Planning Division has coordinated with multiple departments — including Community Services, Finance, Wastewater, and County Environmental Health — to strengthen oversight and improve communication. Local concerns have focused on the concentration of food trucks in the downtown area and along major corridors such as Spring Street, Creston Road, and Niblick Road. Food truck operators have raised issues about limited eligible sites and lack of clarity around recent updates, while brick-and-mortar restaurants worry about unfair competition.
To address confusion surrounding the continuously confusing language regarding permits, City Council approved to create an ad hoc committee. Councilmembers Steve Gregory and Chris Bausch will be the two councilmembers on the committee, alongside community members, though Councilmember Kris Beal did pitch herself on the basis of having a different background than Gregory and her ability to speak Spanish being beneficial. The meetings will be open to the public, and anyone who is interested is encouraged to be there.
Until those changes are made, the Paso Robles Police Department will continue to monitor and regulate mobile food vendors.
PRPD Chief of Police Damien Nord addressed some concerns that officers were issuing citations to food truck owners, “We are enforcing current law. No citations were put out. We went out and educated. We contacted as many of the food truck owners as we could and between the two of us we worked together to create that list … If you tell us right now to not enforce some of these things, my fear is that you haven’t begun to see what kind of out of control we can have with food carts and food trucks. We can’t do that.”
The ad hoc will run for a three- to six-month term. A meeting date, time, and location will be announced when they become available. The committee will report back to Council within the next six months. The ad hoc committee was approved with a 4-1 vote, with Beal dissenting.
The next Paso Robles City Council Meeting is scheduled for Tuesday, Aug. 19, at 6 p.m.
