Plans for Planet Fitness gym at Santa Rosa’s Summerfield Cinemas site approved despite community pushback

The decision dealt a blow to a growing chorus of cinema buffs and community members who have joined in support of Summerfield Cinemas. |

The days appear numbered for Santa Rosa’s cherished independent film center as the city’s Zoning Administrator on Thursday approved a permit allowing the conversion of Summerfield Cinemas to a Planet Fitness gym.

The proposal had been working its way through city planning processes for the past few months over opposition from a growing chorus of film buffs, neighboring business owners and residents.

But it faced few government hurdles and Thursday’s approval was largely a formality. The hearing had been delayed a month after planning officials raised initial concerns over the bulky design during a June meeting.

It’s not known when Planet Fitness proposes opening.

The approval marked another sign of the end of an era for the theater, operated for the past 14 years under the business umbrella of the Tocchini family.

“We put all our love and care into that space since 2010 and before that,” said Dan Tocchini. “It’s sad. No question about that.”

Reached Thursday afternoon, Tocchini was informed by a reporter the conversion had been approved. He had already been put on notice by the new owners of the Lakeside Shopping Center that a decision was imminent.

Tocchini said he’d yet to receive formal notice requiring the theater to close and he planned to continue operating “until we have to leave.”

Property owner George Arce Jr., president and CEO of San Mateo-based Centers Dynamic Partners, and Jim Roachelle, of commercial real estate management firm EJR Group, who during Thursday’s hearing said he represented the ownership group, did not respond to a request for comment.

Thursday’s decision dealt a blow to a campaign that had formed in recent weeks to save what many view as a fixture of the eastern Santa Rosa community.

Derek Stefan, a Santa Rosa native and actor who helped form the Save Summerfield Citizen Committee, said the Planet Fitness is incompatible with the atmosphere locally-owned businesses have sought to cultivate there and the decision was disappointing.

“Summerfield is very special to me because it shows the art films, independent films, documentaries … and is the last theater in Santa Rosa to span all genres and appeal to a wide variety of audiences,” he said. “That will be lost if it’s replaced by the gym.”

The Summerfield theater in its current form dates back to the 1980s, but some cinema buffs can remember watching movies there as early as the late 1960s.

About 30 people, including the theater’s manager and other cinema staffers, rallied outside Summerfield on Wednesday to drum up support ahead of the hearing. The group launched an online petition in early June that had been signed by more than 1,300 people and even purportedly reached famed Hollywood director Quentin Tarantino, who wrote that he saw the 1994 comedy “Clerks” there during a trip to the area.

Stefan said he wasn’t surprised the permit was approved but he hoped the growing opposition would make the new property owners reconsider their plans. He vowed to keep the campaign going and indicated that members are considering appealing Thursday’s decision and thinking of other ways to keep pressure on the owners.

“If the community is overwhelmingly against it, it could be putting this Planet Fitness organization into a very negative light if they choose to demolish this beloved landmark,” he said.

Design concerns addressed in new plans

Plans for Planet Fitness were first submitted to the city in September 2023 and appear to have come as the shopping center, where the theater is located, was in escrow with a corporation managed by Arce.

Tocchini had previously told The Press Democrat his company had a long-term lease for the site but said Thursday his lease has since ended. A stipulation in the original lease allowed new owners to terminate it, he said.

The project calls for renovating the 14,200-square-foot cinema building at 551 Summerfield Road, upgrading plumbing, electrical and mechanical equipment, and installing new windows and wall siding on the street-front facade — work valued at $2.5 million.

A layout of the floor shows about 60 pieces of cardio equipment in the center of the gym, bench presses and weight training equipment along the north side of the building, a studio with bikes, locker rooms and other amenities where now there are theater screens.

Zoning Administrator Kristinae Toomians during a hearing on June 6 delayed a decision on an application for a minor conditional use permit after asking the project team to tweak its design to make it more compatible with the look of the surrounding commercial area.

Toomians described the exterior as “bulky and heavy” and questioned whether the corporate signs and color scheme were appropriate.

Architects revised the plans, lowering the elevation of the proposed parapet and awning so that no features protrude over the roof and minimizing the size of the bright purple business sign and logo. The color scheme was updated to better match the natural landscape of the area.

The new design appeared to address Toomians’ concerns.

She said Thursday it blended in better with other local businesses and signed off on the application, noting the city has little say over private business operations and the proposed use is permitted under city zoning and land-use regulations.

The gym is expected to be open daily from 5 a.m. to midnight Mondays, 24 hours Tuesday through Thursday, midnight to 10 p.m. Friday and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekends, according to the application.

Stefan said the design, even as amended, still dwarfs the neighboring businesses and though planning officials found the late-night hours aren’t a nuisance, cars coming and going throughout the day will disturb residents who live adjacent to the shopping center, he said.

He contended there are several health clubs in the area and Howarth Park directly across the street offers myriad recreational opportunities and the gym wasn’t needed.

Community members can appeal the conditional use permit to the Planning Commission while issues with the design can be appealed to the Design Review Board by July 29.

‘There are other options’

Stefan said the campaign is eyeing creative ways to show the importance of this community gathering space and also raise money to keep it open. Plans could include hosting a film festival in support of the theater, seeking angel investors willing to provide financial backing or proposing some type of mixed-use project that ensures the theater stays open and makes space for the gym.

He said there are successful independent theaters in the area, like Sebastopol’s Rialto Cinemas and the one-screen Cameo Cinema in St. Helena, that they can look to as examples.

He’s reached out to Arce to pitch his ideas but hasn’t received a response, he said.

“We’re hopeful that the new ownership can see how special this is and see that there are other options,” he said.

The group also has called on the Santa Rosa City Council to step in.

Members worry a national chain moving into the Lakeside Shopping Center will have wider implications for small businesses, driving local shop owners out and setting a precedent for other corporations looking to make similar moves.

The group has recommended the city create a small business overlay district to preserve small and locally-owned commercial areas and prevent large, corporate-owned companies from moving in similar to regulations in Calistoga and Healdsburg, Stefan said.

Tocchini, 90, said he appreciates the support.

The Tocchini family took over operations of the Summerfield in 2010 after the Rialto lost its bid to stay and relocated to Sebastopol. The Tocchinis had previously operated the theater there before the Rialto opened in 2000.

Tocchini said the business has struggled financially since the COVID-19 pandemic and amid historic Hollywood strikes, with fewer arthouse and independent films being released in theaters. Many of his clients were older residents, too, who don’t come out as often to watch movies anymore.

Still, he said he didn’t have plans to shut down anytime soon.

“There’s nothing we can do now though,” he said. “It’s been a nice run.”

Moviegoers will be able to catch some of the bigger specialty films at the Roxy Stadium 14 in downtown Santa Rosa but the company likely won’t be able to play as many of the smaller, independent pictures because of a lack of screens, he said.

You can reach Staff Writer Paulina Pineda at 707-521-5268 or paulina.pineda@pressdemocrat.com. On X (Twitter) @paulinapineda22.