The days appear to be numbered for Santa Rosa’s beloved independent film hub, as the city’s zoning administrator on Thursday approved a permit authorizing the conversion of Summerfield Cinemas into a Planet Fitness gym.
The proposal had made its way into the urban planning processes in recent months despite opposition from a growing number of moviegoers, neighboring commercial homeowners and residents.
But it faced few government hurdles and Thursday’s approval was largely a formality. The hearing was delayed for a month after officials tasked with making the plans raised initial considerations about the bulky design at a meeting in June.
It is unclear when Planet Fitness will offer its opening.
This approval marks the end of an era for the theater, which has been operating for 14 years under the auspices of the Tocchini family.
“We’ve put all our love and attention into this since 2010 and before,” Dan Tocchini said. “It’s sad. There is no doubt about it.
Tocchini, reached on Thursday afternoon, reported through a journalist that the conversion had been approved. The new owners of the Lakeside Mall had already warned him that a resolution was imminent.
Tocchini said he had not yet formally secured the theater’s closure and planned to continue operating “until we have to leave. “
Real estate owner George Arce Jr. , president and CEO of San Mateo-based Centers Dynamic Partners, and Jim Roachelle of advertising asset holding company EJR Group, who at Thursday’s hearing said he represents the owners organization, responded to a request for comment. .
Thursday’s resolution was a blow to a crusade that had been building in recent weeks to save many staples of the east Santa Rosa community.
Derek Stefan, a Santa Rosa actor and local who helped create the Save Summerfield citizens’ committee, said Planet Fitness is incompatible with the environment that local businesses sought to tame there and that the resolution was disappointing.
“Summerfield is very special to me because it exhibits art films, independent films, documentaries. . . and it is the last theater in Santa Rosa that covers all genres and attracts a wide variety of audiences,” he said. “That will be lost if it’s replaced through the gym. “
The Summerfield Theatre in its current form dates back to the 1980s, but some moviegoers were watching films there as early as the late 1960s.
About 30 more people, including the theater manager and other theater employees, gathered outside Summerfield on Wednesday to gather help before the hearing. The organization launched an online petition in early June that was signed by more than 1,300 people and reportedly even reached famed Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino, who wrote that he saw the 1994 comedy “Clerks” there while on vacation. in the region.
Stefan said he wasn’t surprised the permit was approved, but he hoped the developing opposition would prompt the new owners to reconsider their plans. He vowed to continue the crusade and said members were contemplating a nice Thursday resolution and contemplating other tactics to keep the pressure on landlords.
“If the chain massively opposes this, it could paint a very negative symbol on this Planet Fitness organization if they knock down this beloved milestone,” he said.
Plans for Planet Fitness were first presented to the city in September 2023 and appear to stem from the fact that the mall, where the theater is located, is in escrow with a company controlled through Arce.
Tocchini had told The Press Democrat in the past that his company had a long-term lease for the site, but said Thursday that his lease had already ended. A stipulation in the initial lease allowed the new owners to terminate it, he explained.
The allocation includes renovations to the construction of a 14,200-square-foot movie theater at 551 Summerfield Road, improvements to plumbing, electrical and mechanical equipment, as well as the installation of new windows and wall coverings on the street-facing façade, valued at $2. 5 million.
An upstairs layout shows about 60 aerobic machines in the middle of the gym, bench presses and weight-training equipment along the north side of the building, a studio with bicycles, locker rooms and other equipment where theater screens are now located.
Zoning Administrator Kristinae Toomians, at a hearing on June 6, delayed resolution on a minor conditional use request after asking the assignment team to replace its design to make it more compatible with the appearance of the surrounding advertising area.
Toomians described the exterior as “bulky and heavy” and whether the company’s symptoms and color scheme were appropriate.
The architects revised the plans, reducing the elevation of the proposed parapet and canopy so that no element protruded from the roof and minimizing the length of the company’s bright purple sign and logo. The color scheme has been updated to better fit the natural landscape. of the Area.
The new design responds to the considerations of the inhabitants of Toomi.
She said Thursday she has greater compatibility with other local businesses and approved the request, noting that the city has little say over personal business operations and that the proposed use is permitted through city zoning and land use regulations. .
The gym will be open every day from five in the morning to Monday, 24 hours a day from Tuesday to Thursday, on Fridays from 10 pm to 10 pm and from 7 am to 7 pm. on weekends, depending on the application.
Stefan said the design, even modified, still dwarfs neighboring businesses and that while city planning officials have found that late hours are not a bother, cars coming and going during the day will be a nuisance. to citizens who live next to the shopping center, he said. Training
He said there are several gyms on the domain and that Howarth Park, across the street, offers countless recreational opportunities and that the gym is not necessary.
Community members can appeal conditional use permission to the Planning Commission, while design issues can be appealed to the Design Review Commission until the 29th. July.
Stefan said the crusade was looking at artistic tactics to show the importance of this net-gathering area and also raise money to keep it open. Plans may come with simply hosting a film festival at the theater, finding angel investors willing to provide a monetary matrix, or proposing some sort of mixed-use allocation to ensure the theater stays open and frees up area for the gymnasium.
He said that there are successful independent movie theaters in the area, such as the Rialto cinemas in Sevastopol and the Cameo cinema in St. Helena, which can serve as examples.
He reached out to Arce to give him his ideas but got a response, he said.
“We hope the new owner knows how special this is and sees that there are other options,” he said.
The organization also requested the intervention of the Santa Rosa City Council.
Members worry that a national chain setting up shop at Lakeside Mall will have broader implications for small businesses, driving out local merchants and setting a precedent for other businesses to take similar action.
The city organization creates a small business district to maintain small, local business spaces and prevent giant companies from setting up shop, similar to regulations in Calistoga and Healdsburg, Stefan said.
Tocchini, 90, said he supports him.
The Tocchini family took over Summerfield’s operations in 2010 after Rialto lost its bid to stay and moved to Sevastopol. The Tocchinis in the past operated the theater there before the Rialto opened in 2000.
Tocchini said the company has been suffering financially since the COVID-19 pandemic and amid historic moves in Hollywood, with fewer arthouse films released in theaters. Many of its consumers were also older residents, who no longer pass out watching videos as often.
Still, he said he has no plans to do so anytime soon.
“But we can’t do anything at the moment,” he said. It’s a wonderful race. “
Film enthusiasts will be able to see some of the biggest specialty films at Roxy Stadium 14 in downtown Santa Rosa, but the company will most likely not be able to show as many smaller independent films due to a lack of screens, he said. Declares.
You can contact editor Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or paulina. pineda@pressdemocrat. com. En X (Twitter) @paulinapineda22.