Planning commission approves RV and boat storage facility in North Fillmore after conditions and revisions

The Fillmore City Planning Commission on a 5-0 vote approved a conditional use permit, a development permit and a lot merger that will allow an approximately 2.53-acre RV and boat storage facility in the North Fillmore specific plan area.

The application — presented during the commission's public hearing by city planning staff and the applicant’s consultant — asked to merge four parcels, to operate roughly 140 storage spaces, and for approval of site design and operational conditions. City staff described the project as a manufacturing/industrial use within the North Fillmore specific plan’s “industrial exclusive” area and noted the project is subject to the specific-plan mitigation measures for light, noise, drainage and similar issues.

Staff said the applicant first submitted the application before the city adopted a short-term moratorium on new RV-storage uses; after council action the city allowed this application and one previously-filed application to proceed. Staff presented a 46-page set of standard conditions of approval and noted the applicant requested several clarifications after the packet was published. "The applicant is making 3 requests. He's asking to merge 4 parcels into 1 parcel to about a 2.53, acre parcel," a member of city planning staff said during the presentation.

Why it matters: the North Fillmore specific plan anticipates future housing and road expansions in the area; staff said Fifth Street will eventually be widened and the project must dedicate 10 feet to accommodate that. The council's ordinance limiting locations for RV-storage uses played a central role in processing the application, staff added.

Key approvals and conditions - Approved actions: conditional use permit (to operate RV/boat storage), development permit (site design, landscaping, setbacks, walls), and a lot merger to create the 2.53-acre parcel. - Site details discussed in the hearing: about 140 storage spaces; an 8-foot block wall along the public-facing easterly property line with vine/landscape screening; asphalt surfacing (gravel originally proposed was changed to asphalt); one on-site modular restroom unit; a proposed automated security gate; and dedication of 10 feet along Fifth Street for future widening. - Environmental review: staff determined the project is exempt as an infill project but must comply with mitigation measures in the North Fillmore specific plan for light and glare, noise, trash and similar topics. - Condition changes adopted during the commission’s discussion: removal of a requirement for a 1.5-inch rubberized asphalt wearing surface (condition E50); clarification of overnight parking rules to specify areas designated for RV storage and to add “no overnight camping shall be allowed” (S14); and adding an explicit prohibition on on-site RV dumping/no RV dump station.

Applicant presentation and public comment Nicole Garner of Jensen Design and Survey, representing the applicant, summarized the project history and noted the applicant was allowed to proceed after a period of moratorium. "We were contracted by the applicant in January of 2023 ... and then the moratorium hit and ... we were put on hold," Garner said, describing a multi-year application timeline. She said the team revised the design to meet city requirements, switching from gravel to asphalt and from a 6-foot PVC fence to an 8-foot masonry wall.

Applicant Aaron (last name not provided) introduced himself as one of the small-family owners: "we are a small family business ... it's something that we hold dear and want to ... give to our kids," he said, and asked commissioners to approve the application so the owners could proceed.

Public commenters and commissioners raised technical and operational questions about landscaping, permeable surfaces, drainage, tree replacement, gate transparency (public-safety vs. screening concerns), parking stall widths and whether the project would include an RV dump station (staff and the applicant removed the dump station at the city’s request). Staff confirmed construction documents will be subject to detailed review by the city engineer, public works, building and safety, and fire.

Vote and outcome A motion to approve the project as presented, subject to the seven condition modifications discussed in the hearing, passed 5-0. The five commissioners recorded as voting yes were Chair Gary Cushing, Vice Chair Cameron Carrizales, Commissioner Aaron Todd, Commissioner Ashley Connolly and Commissioner Derek Farabish. The motion directed staff to finalize conditions and allow the lot-merger processing to proceed; no further Planning Commission review was required unless the applicant later requests substantial modifications.

What remains Staff and the applicant will finalize construction plans and the engineering review (hydrology/drainage, sewer connections and any required easements). The city will enforce the adopted conditions of approval, including architectural treatment of the modular office, graffiti-abatement measures along the public-facing wall, and the no-dump-station condition.

The project record includes the conditional use permit, the development-permit resolution and the lot-merger resolution as adopted by the Planning Commission; staff will incorporate the condition edits made at the hearing into the final permit documents.