Following an investigation by CEA Foundation and the submission of a legal analysis, the City of Grass Valley has acknowledged that the Use Permit for the Dorsey Marketplace Project has expired. Consequently, the proposed 7-year phasing plan that was brought before the Planning Commission on November 18, 2025, and subsequently brought before the City Council, is not legal. At the November 25 City Council meeting, the decision on the phasing plan was continued to a future date in order to address other various questions raised by the Council members. CEA brought up the question of the apparent permit expiration at that time.
Following the November 25 City Council meeting, CEA Foundation engaged attorneys Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger to evaluate the Use Permit status. In that analysis, CEA’s attorneys determined that the permit, which was issued in April of 2020, expired in April of 2021, one year after it was issued and more than four years ago, and that the 7-year phasing plan could not be granted on an expired project. That analysis was submitted to the City on Dec 10. (Documents can be viewed at cea-nc.org/projects/dorsey-marketplace.)
Upon receipt of the analysis, the City Council continued the item to Jan 13, 2026 in order to provide time for the City attorney to consider the merits of the analysis. On Jan 8, according to City Senior Planner Amy Wolfson, the City attorney agreed with the Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger analysis that the Use Permit is expired, and thus the phasing plan cannot be granted.
A new project application will be required for any future development on the site.
Editor’s note: We confirmed with Senior Planner Wolfson that the use permit is indeed expired. The City expects a new application for the previously submitted project to be filed soon.