Lodi Moose Lodge proposes move to Acampo

Current location is on property that will be the new home of Blue Shield

The Lodi Moose Lodge has its eyes set on a new home on a property adjoining vineyards on Woodbridge Road, just west of Highway 99.

The complex, consisting of a 15,000-square-foot building and an outdoor bocce ball court, would be open to Moose Lodge members and their guests only. It would contain a commercial kitchen and private bar. If the project is approved, the building can be available for private events, but for members only, according to a San Joaquin County staff report.

The San Joaquin County Planning Commission will conduct a public hearing on the project tonight in Stockton.

Moose Lodge members were not available for comment Wednesday afternoon.

If the Planning Commission approves the relocation from Harney Lane and Highway 99, the Moose Lodge will no longer have to wonder where its home will be. The issue arose in September 2006, when San Joaquin Valley Land Co. obtained Lodi City Council approval to build the Reynolds Ranch complex.

The Lodi Moose Lodge, needed to relocate from its south Lodi location due to the Blue Shield project, hopes to move to Woodbridge Road, west of Highway 99. (Marc Lutz/News-Sentinel)

San Joaquin Valley Land began looking for a new home for the Moose Lodge when Blue Shield, the primary tenant in the Reynolds Ranch project, requested that the developer construct buildings for commercial use within walking distance of Blue Shield, according to Stockton attorney Mike Hakeem, who represents San Joaquin Valley Land.

The new location would be south of Woodbridge Road between the western frontage road of Highway 99 and the Union Pacific Railroad tracks. The 10-acre parcel is zoned for agricultural use.

The original application called for trapshooting, but a new proposal was filed with the county that eliminates the shooting range.

Three neighboring property owners filed letters of opposition last May, citing traffic, noise, the incompatibility with pesticide spraying and the removal of palm trees on the property, according to the county staff report.

Don Precissi, who filed one of the letters, said on Wednesday he won't make a big issue out of the Moose Lodge moving to Woodbridge Road.

Precissi said he is concerned, however, about the possibility of sulphur being sprayed on vineyards that may blow onto the Moose Lodge property. But most of the spraying, both by air and ground, is done in the early morning, Precissi said. The lodge isn't scheduled to open until 11 a.m.

County planning staff isn't too concerned about the pesticide spraying issue.

"Residents of property on or near agricultural land should be prepared to accept the inconveniences or discomforts associated with agricultural operations or activities," according to the staff report.

Russell Steele, who owns property across the street from the Moose Lodge site, said the developer has addressed some of the concerns, especially about the gun issue.

The San Joaquin County Planning Commission will consider the Lodi Moose Lodge's relocation at 6:30 p.m. tonight in the San Joaquin County Public Health and Planning auditorium, 1601 E. Hazelton Ave., Stockton.