Planning commission approves Peterbilt sales-and-service permit and billboard time extension

The El Paso de Robles City Planning Commission on Sept. 9 approved a new conditional use permit to allow vehicle sales at a proposed Peterbilt sales and service center and granted a time extension for an existing Outfront Media billboard permit. Commissioners voted 4-0 on both items.

City Associate Planner Katie Bannister presented the project and said the application proposes no physical changes from the plan approved in 2023. “It's the same site plan, the same elevations, the same operations that were proposed,” Bannister said. The project would occupy the northern two-thirds of the property at the southeast corner of the city near Highway 101, just south of the Target shopping area.

Why it matters: vehicle sales were an allowed use in the site's C-2 zoning district when the project was originally approved in 2023; after the city's 2024 zoning update vehicle sales are conditionally permitted in C-2. Because the zoning changed, the commission considered a new conditional use permit for the vehicle sales portion of the proposal in addition to a time extension of prior entitlements.

Bannister summarized the approvals and conditions tied to the 2023 decision, noting the project had previously undergone CEQA review and a mitigated negative declaration. She identified two separate actions before the commission: a resolution to extend the development plan and freeway-oriented sign entitlements while approving conditional use permit 25-06 for vehicle sales, and a second resolution to extend the Outfront Media billboard permit.

Project details included in staff materials and summarized at the meeting: the proposed highway-oriented Peterbilt sign would be 35 feet tall; a replacement Outfront Media billboard would be 30 feet tall with a sign face approximately 10 feet by 30 feet; three small oak trees in the middle of the lot (each under 6 inches in diameter) would be removed for the building footprint; rooftop equipment must be screened; service bay doors are required to remain closed to reduce noise; and the billboard would require appropriate Caltrans permits and underground utilities with the existing overhead line removed. Bannister said the development would be paved north of the delineated development line except for landscaped areas.

Commissioner Veil moved to approve conditional use permit 25-06 for vehicle sales and time extension 25-04 for development plan 22-02 and conditional use permit 22-16 for the Peterbilt sales and service center; Commissioner Roden seconded. The roll call vote was 4-0 in favor (Commissioner Neal — aye; Commissioner Roden — aye; Mr. Kogler — aye; Chairperson Marlow — aye). The commission then approved time extension 25-05 for conditional use permit 23-03 for the Outfront Media billboard in a separate motion by Veil, seconded by Roden; that motion also passed 4-0.

Questions from commissioners were limited. A commissioner asked whether the secondary billboard sign was a digital or changing-copy sign; Bannister clarified it is not a changing-copy or digital sign and is not lit, explaining “you as you drive down the highway, you'll see a billboard. It'll be there for 2 months, 3 months.” There were no public speakers on the item.

The approvals carry specific conditions of approval that staff said remain in effect from the 2023 resolutions, including landscaping at the base of the billboard, a 10-foot setback from the front property line for the billboard, Caltrans permitting, nuisance/noise and hazardous materials controls related to service operations, screening for rooftop equipment, and participation in any required road maintenance agreements for Netwood Circle. Staff recommended approval of both resolutions and the commission followed that recommendation.