Fresno County Planning Commission Jan. 25 meeting

Documented by Artemes Gidram

Here’s what you need to know

• A pistachio-processing facility was approved for construction south of Firebaugh.
• Despite complaints about changing the entrance to a different street, the committee voted to allow the construction of the pistachio-processing facility without changes.
• A building height requirement was waived on a tomato evaporator located 2.15 miles southwest of Huron.

Follow-up questions

• Will the pistachio facility still look into changing its entrance or go forward with current plans?

Notes

The scene

The Fresno County Planning Commission meeting took place on Thursday, Jan. 25, at 8:48 a.m.

The meeting was held in person at 2281 Tulare St. in Fresno and over audio on the Fresno County Planning Commission’s website. The agenda is available on the county website.

Name of Officials:

Ken Abrahamian, chair

Glenda Hill, vice chair

James Quist, commissioner

Esther Carver, commissioner

Kuldip Chatha, commissioner

John Arabian, commissioner

Lisa Woolf, commissioner

Blake Zante, commissioner

• The meeting began at 8:48 a.m.
• Consent agenda
  • There were no consent agenda items at this meeting.
• Unclassified Conditional Use Permit application, variance application and Environmental Impact Report filed by OPA Pistachios
  • Ejaz Ahmad, Public Works and Planning
    • The proposal would allow a pistachio-processing, sorting processing and shipping facility to be built in four phases.
    • Construction will include a dumping pit area, pre-cleaning areas, huller buildings, processing buildings, dryers and silos.
    • The project will use an existing on-site well to obtain its water supply.
    • The project site will have access on an access drive connecting to Panoche Road.
    • The site location is approximately 9.7 miles south of Firebaugh on the northwest corner of West Muscat Avenue and South Newcomb Avenue. The zoning for the site is for exclusive agriculture.
  • Public comment for those in favor of the application
    • Kyle Simpson, consultant with LSA
      • There was a 45-day public period in which public comments could be received between Nov. 1 and Dec. 18.
        • Comment letters were received and responses were sent to each one.
        • One comment was received outside of the comment period to which they responded as well.
      • There is a ranch located next door across the road that has been accounted for when considering the impacts of this site.
      • The environmental impact report covered 14 different resource topic areas covering everything from aesthetics to utilities.
        • Mitigation measures were provided for the impacts caused by agricultural resources, air quality, biological resources, cultural resources and geology.
        • There was found to be an unavoidable impact in regards to greenhouse gasses in which no mitigation measure could be found.
      • This project has been in the works since 2019.
    • Dirk Poeschel, Land Development Services
      • Poeschel was present on behalf of applicant Tom Stefanopoulos, who has been growing pistachios since 1972.
      • This project eliminates the need to load and transport pistachios from the farm to Firebaugh. The current transportation takes 50 miles to deliver and return.
      • The harvest season lasts 84 days.
      • The staff agrees that the site is adequate in size and shape for the proposed use.
      • Traffic reports were done for Panoche Road as part of the environmental impact report and there is adequate capacity for the proposed trips.
        • Caltrans had an opportunity to comment on the traffic study and commented that it was adequate.
      • The proposed project means fewer trips on county roads, which will lead to less wear and tear and a reduction in air quality impact.
      • Facility walls will be 8 inches thick and insulated.
    • Richard Matoian, president of American Pistachio Growers
      • In 2000 there were approximately 74,000 acres of pistachios in America. Today there are more than 464,000 acres of pistachios. It is estimated that the industry will grow to 698,000 acres by the year 2031.
      • Pistachio production topped 1 billion pounds in 2020, and production is estimated to grow to 2 billion pounds by 2031.
      • There are currently seven processors in the pistachio industry that represent about 95% of the current processing capacity. This facility is needed to facilitate the growing pistachio industry.
      • This facility will help with employment for residents of surrounding areas such as Firebaugh and Mendota.
    • Paul Dictos, Fresno County assessor-recorder
      • Dictos urged the commission to vote in favor of this facility for the taxes that it would bring in.
      • “I encourage you to vote for it because money talks,” Dictos stated.
  • Public comment for those opposed to the application
    • Sarah Pilibos, owner, Pilibos Bros Inc.
      • Pilibos is representing the orange farm across the street from the proposed pistachio plant.
      • She said she is opposed to the current design, and has concerns about how it will affect their current farming operation, ranch access and the health and safety of their camp residence employees.
      • They spoke about their concerns to Simpson during a meeting on July 25, 2022. They were told that their concerns would be noted and they would be included as an interested party. Pilibos said they did not receive any further notice.
      • Issues
        • Pilibos said she has an issue with the proposed plant entrance, as her vehicles use the same road, Panoche Road, in their operations. She also has concerns about the effect on air quality from the plant and the traffic in the area.
      • Pilibos proposed that they change the plant entrance to be on a different street.
      • She said that despite the project not being approved yet, concrete has already been poured on the site.
      • The nearby campsite that is owned by the Pilibos family was built in the 1950s and Pilibos is unsure what it is zoned.
  • Commission comment
    • Woolf
      • Woolf said she was disappointed that they are just now hearing about the complaints from Pilibos, specifically in regards to the traffic on Panoche Road. She said that this is going to require a design change that she feels should be an easy change. She apologized to Pilibos that the issue had not been addressed. Woolf said she expects the owners to address this directly.
    • Quist
      • Quist wanted clarification on the concrete being poured, and how this was being done when the project had not yet been approved.
        • Staff stated that they don’t know the specifics but they know that there is some activity on the site. There has since been a stop-work order issued. They said that this is not an area that they normally are involved in. Staff also could not comment on whether the work was related to this project or something else.
    • Abrahamanian
      • Abrahamanian wanted to know if changing the access road would reset the process to the beginning or if it was an easy change.
        • Staff noted that if they changed the project significantly there is a potential that they would have to go back and redo their research. This could be addressed if the committee allowed them to research whether changing the entrance would have any substantive impact on traffic and air quality.
    • Hill
      • Hill pointed out that the traffic impact would be for a relatively short period. With harvest only being 84 days, there isn’t a large window for heavy traffic use most of the year, she said. Knowing that Firebaugh is a small disadvantaged community, she believes they need the plant to provide jobs. Hill said that they are not in the business of stopping businesses, and that “we need to protect our agriculture.”
    • Arabian
      • Arabian said he was in favor of the project, and has a lot of confidence in it. Arabian liked that it reduces traffic, and that the environmental impact report has been well vetted.
  • Rebuttal
    • Poeschel
      • The total impact of this project is that they are reducing traffic from trucks in the neighborhood, he said. There are currently large numbers of shipping trucks taking the same road that will be eliminated because they will not be required in order to ship the pistachios to a third-party facility.
      • The health-risk assessment that was performed showed that a sensitivity rate for cancer was 20 in a million for someone continuously living in the facility for 30 years.
      • The changing of the access road will be difficult because the environmental impact report, Caltrans, and county input were all focused on using Panoche Road as an access road.
      • In regards to the work being done on the site, they were approved for a permit from Fresno County to extend a gas line to the property. They have begged the county to allow early construction but have been denied those permits. This is leaving them close to missing next year’s harvest if this plan doesn’t go forward.
      • There have been attempts to have conversations with Pilibos that didn’t occur. A reason why they didn’t occur wasn’t given.
      • During the conversation that did occur, it was agreed that they would change the entrance if it did not mean there would be significant changes that would require them to reevaluate their entire process
  • Vote
    • A motion by Arabian to follow staff’s recommendation with no changes passed 6-2, with Woolf and Abrahamian voting no.
• Variance and environmental review filed by Steven Sesocti
  • This proposes to waive the building height requirements to permit an 89-foot-tall tomato evaporator for an existing 56.26-acre processing facility. The subject parcel is located at the northeast corner of South Butte Avenue and West Gale Avenue. Approximately 2.15 miles southwest of Huron.
  • Woolf recused herself due to a conflict and left. The reason for recusal was not given.
  • There were two letters of support and no letters opposed.
  • Vote
    • A motion by Chatha passed 7-0-1, with a recusal by Woolf due to an undisclosed conflict of interest. 
• Variance, director review and approval, and environmental review filed by John Jensen
  • Proposal to waive road frontage requirements and lot-depth ratio requirements necessary to allow a property line adjustment reduction. Also, consider a director’s review and approval to allow an existing 1,248-square-foot second residence and an existing 1,412 soiree feet primary residence. The parcels are located on the west side of Maple Avenue approximately 680 feet north of Sumner Avenue and 2.8 miles south of Fresno.
  • Neither letters of support nor opposition were filed.
  • Vote
    • A motion by Zante carried unanimously.

Actions/discussions/public comment

• Public presentations
  • Radley Reep
    •  Reep read from a letter he had written. He stated that copies had been given to the commissioners. He said that he does not recall the commission ever investigating the Board of Supervisors’ ability to implement their general plan.
    • Reep stated that he believes the county’s annual progress reports do not provide full disclosure, and aren’t transparent
    • He requested that the commission direct the county’s planning staff to bring them an annual progress report for 2023. Reep said that he would be back in two weeks to follow up on the matter.

Conversation highlight

• “I don’t think we can stop, we’re not in the business of stopping capitalism. And that’s what our Valley needs. And here we went extra to protect the ag,” said Glenda Hill, commissioner, Fresno County Planning Commission.

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If you believe anything in these notes is inaccurate, please email us at fresnodocs@fresnoland.org with “Correction Request” in the subject line.

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