County considers proposal to transform old Penn Valley church into something very different

Nevada County planning officials are considering a proposal to turn a shuttered church in Penn Valley into a veterinary clinic.

Sierra Oaks Veterinary Clinic is planning the project on the site of the former home of Solid Rock Foursquare Church on Spenceville Road near the corner with Faraday Court, according to documents filed with the application.

A public hearing for the project is scheduled for 1:30 p.m. on Nov. 12 before the country’s Planning Commission.

The company plans to operate within the existing 3,810-square-foot former church building on the 1.97-acre lot.

Sierra Oaks plans to operate the clinic Monday through Friday from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., with occasional emergency services on Saturdays, the documents show.

The company plans to increase its workforce to 18 employees, up from 15 at its current clinic on Commercial Avenue.

Application documents show the clinic will provide services for large and small animals. It will have outdoor holding pens for up to eight animals.

To make the plan possible, the Planning Commission is considering a land-use change in its general plan from estate to rural.

The application also seeks a zoning change from residential agricultural, a designation that  does not allow veterinary clinics, to general agricultural.