Council approves annexation, conditional-use permit for Family Health Care Network parking lot

Porterville City Council voted 5-0 Wednesday to approve a conditional-use permit and to request LAFCO initiate annexation proceedings so Family Health Care Network can build an off-site parking lot west of its existing clinic in southwest Porterville.

The action lets the clinic annex a parcel just outside the city’s limits so it can connect to city water for landscape irrigation and comply with city development standards. Staff told the council that the lot is intended primarily for employee overflow parking and that the project would add 47 parking spaces.

City Planner Jeff O’Neil told the council the project was reviewed under state law and that staff concluded the project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under categorical exemptions for existing facilities and small accessory structures. O’Neil also said the conditional-use permit should be approved before the council asks LAFCO to start annexation procedures.

At the public hearing, a neighboring property owner, Ralph Martin, said his mother-in-law lives adjacent to the proposed lot and asked the council to require screening and a lighting plan so new fixtures would not shine into her living room or cause nighttime noise. Aaron Oliver of Lane Engineers, representing the applicant, said the project will include a masonry wall to separate residences from the lot and that a lighting plan must demonstrate the design will not cast excessive light on adjacent properties.

Resident Alexis Espinosa, who said she and her son use the clinic, supported the parking project but urged the applicant to consider security measures because the property borders the Tule River Parkway and can attract transient encampments.

Councilmembers asked staff and the applicant to confirm hours of operation, drainage, and handicap access. The applicant said clinic hours were generally 7:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays, until 5 p.m. on Saturdays, and closed Sundays; staff said project drainage and pavement must meet city standards to avoid puddling on adjacent properties.

Outcome and next steps: Council approved staff recommendations to adopt the conditional-use permit and to request LAFCO begin annexation, 5-0. Staff will bring the final resolution and the lighting/landscaping plans into the project record and forward the annexation request to LAFCO.

The council’s vote permits the applicant to move forward with plans that will return for final engineering approvals; annexation will be completed through LAFCO procedures.