El Paso de Robles planning commissioners approve Sensorio storage laydown yard and 22,050 sq. ft. solar array

The El Paso de Robles Planning Commission on April 26 voted 7-0 to approve an amendment to Planned Development PD01025 that allows a storage laydown yard and a 22,050-square-foot solar array at the Sensorio site at 4380 Highway 46 East.

The approval amends PD01025 to create PD25-03 and includes conditions of approval carried forward from Resolution 14016 and a requirement that the applicant update the biological letter to reflect site material choices. Staff recommended approval, saying the proposed changes are consistent with the previously prepared Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND) and its addendum (14015).

Assistant Planner Piper Smith summarized the project for commissioners, saying the site is approximately 386 acres with general plan and zoning designations of parks and open-space agriculture and that the project is within the airport land use plan and gateway design standards. Applicant Amber Davis of Quest Planning described the design elements: a reclaimed-asphalt base for the laydown yard, a corten-steel gate set into existing 20-foot berms intended to screen the yard from Sensorio’s main parking area, 22 solar-powered, motion-activated lights for the laydown yard (each under 14 feet) and a 22,050-square-foot solar array with dual-sided tracking panels and a 7-by-5-foot electrical backboard.

Davis said the reclaimed asphalt is proposed as the yard base and that the solar array would sit on white crushed rock to limit regrowth under panels. "The base material for the yard will be an reclaimed asphalt base," Davis said, and described the solar array as "tracking panels" with white crushed rock below them.

Commissioners asked several technical questions during discussion. Concerns focused on the proposed white rock and reclaimed asphalt base, whether they matched the project’s biological assessment, and whether fire‑safety clearance around ground-mounted solar would be required. Commissioner Neal noted the biological report did not reference white rock and asked whether that would create a conformance issue; Davis and staff said the white rock had been included in the DRC presentation and that Cal Fire preferred a base material that inhibits grass regrowth near panels for fire-safety reasons. Piper Smith said staff had checked with fire and that Cal Fire "did like" the white-rock approach as a way to prevent grass regrowth beneath the panels.

The agenda packet and staff presentation noted DRC (Design Review Committee) actions from June 16, which requested additional photo simulations and nighttime lighting comparisons; staff said DRC determined no additional landscape screening was required for the proposed gate because the area is intended as a back-of-house use. Conditions of approval require the applicant to provide a light cut sheet for the portable solar-powered light units before issuing building permits, require that temporary portable lighting conform to the city’s dark-sky zoning standards, and require that the proposed base material for the storage yard be reviewed by the Regional Water Quality Control Board prior to permit issuance.

During the motion to adopt the draft resolution approving PD25-03, the commission amended the motion on the record to require a biological-letter update so the project’s biological analysis reflects the final base and ground‑cover choices. The motion to approve, as amended, passed on a roll call vote of 7-0.

Votes at a glance - Resolution adopting PD25-03 (amend PD01025) to allow Sensorio storage laydown yard and 22,050 sq. ft. solar array — Approved, roll call 7-0. Conditions include: carry forward conditions of Resolution 14016, submittal of light cut sheets before building permits, Regional Water Quality Control Board review of base material, conformance with dark-sky standards, and an updated biological letter addressing base/ground-cover materials. - Consent calendar approval (minutes corrections for several DRC meeting minutes) — Approved, roll call 7-0.

Background and next steps

Staff told commissioners the project is consistent with the previously adopted Mitigated Negative Declaration and addendum (MND addendum 14015), and that the conditions of approval in Resolution 14016 remain applicable. Prior to issuance of building permits, staff will verify submittals called for in the conditions of approval, including the lighting cut sheets and the water-board review of the proposed reclaimed-asphalt base; if reclaimed asphalt is not acceptable to the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the applicant indicated an all‑weather base material alternative would be used.

The approval reflects the commission’s stated intent to keep the laydown yard visually subdued behind berming and a solid gate, while making the solar array visible to signal the site’s renewable-energy use. The commission did not receive any public comments on the item during the hearing.

Commissioners and staff also discussed related project details raised at Design Review Committee (DRC), including requests for additional visual simulations and nighttime photography to assess visual impacts and lighting.

The Planning Commission record will reflect the amended PD25-03 resolution and the associated conditions; staff indicated they will check conditions at the building-permit and grading-permit stage.