The Douglas County Planning Commission on Oct. 12 approved a zoning map amendment to rezone a roughly 9‑acre parcel near the Minden‑Tahoe Airport from LI (Light Industrial) to GI (General Industrial) and approved a special‑use permit to allow a proposed 26,000‑square‑foot industrial recycling facility on the site. The zoning change recommendation to the Board of County Commissioners passed 5–0; the special‑use permit (DP 21‑0222) was approved by the commission 4–1.

Lorenzo Mastino, county planner, said the parcel lies within the Airport Community Plan and that the proposed recycling operation is a "general industrial" use under Douglas County Code (Title 20), which therefore requires a special‑use permit. Mastino listed the findings staff used to evaluate the request and summarized conditions staff recommended to mitigate potential impacts: screening of stored materials, requirements that any processing that generates excessive dust, fumes or smoke be conducted in an enclosed structure, and a requirement that the operator maintain all applicable federal, state and local permits.

Stan Silva, president of A&S Metals and owner of SJR LLC (the property owner), told the commission his company operates multiple recycling locations in California and seeks to open a processing and consolidation facility in Minden. Silva said the business would focus on scrap metals (aluminum, stainless, other metals), with some inbound material from local agricultural and industrial cleanups; the applicant said it does not intend to accept general household recyclables or scrap wood. "We're really very, very equipped with being in California and having our facilities definitely environmental friendly," Silva said, adding that battery and radiator items would be stored indoors in secondary containment and shipped to processors.

Applicants and staff addressed noise, dust and traffic. The applicant estimated an initial level of roughly 8–10 truck visits per day (semi‑type trucks). Jeremy Hutchings, county engineer, and Sam Booth, deputy director of community development, said details of access, drainage and road impacts will be addressed at design review and that the Water Conveyance Advisory Committee and other technical reviewers will examine drainage and stormwater details. Silva said concrete grinding would most likely be performed using portable equipment on‑site or at off‑site cleanup locations and that water misters would be used to suppress dust; during the hearing he said he would accept a condition limiting in‑building or on‑site concrete grinding if the commission required it.

Douglas Disposal (South Tahoe Refuse) provided correspondence and Jeff Tillman, general manager, spoke at the hearing in support and said the company and A&S Metals had already discussed coordination and franchise agreement issues. Public comments included an objection from resident Roger Adam, who urged commissioners to reject the zoning change and cited concerns about traffic, air quality, asbestos in demolition concrete and importing material from California. Mastino and staff pointed to Title 20 standards, the special‑use permit conditions and required state and federal permits as tools to manage those risks.

Commissioner Brian Owen moved to recommend approval of the zoning map amendment to the Board of County Commissioners; the motion passed 5–0. After separate deliberation on DP 21‑0222, Commissioner Nick Meyer moved a version of approval that would have added a one‑year reporting requirement; that amendment was not adopted. The commission subsequently approved the special‑use permit with staff's recommended conditions (six conditions) by a 4–1 vote (Meyer opposed). The special‑use permit approval is final unless appealed; design review, water conveyance review and any required state permits remain before the facility may operate.

"Processing of materials which is going to result in excessive dust, fumes, or smoke has to be conducted in enclosed structures," Mastino said in his staff presentation. Silva told the commission: "We will be collecting and storing them to send out to processors ... all of the above would be stored inside in secondary containments and put together as a processed material that is shipped out and not stored in a long manner of time."