Planning commission recommends Traver plan change to expand urban boundary, send amendment to Board of Supervisors

The Tulare County Planning Commission on June 11 recommended that the Board of Supervisors approve General Plan Amendment GPA 25‑003 and zone change PCC 25‑002 to update the Traver Community Plan, expanding the urban development boundary to include roughly 233–238 additional acres and adding a wastewater treatment facility parcel.

Planning director “air Bach” told commissioners the proposal would change land use in the added area from Valley Agriculture to mixed use and would rezone the area to R1MU (single‑family residential with mixed‑use overlay) and M1MU (light manufacturing with mixed‑use overlay). “This project also includes the wastewater treatment facility, which adds another 26 acres to the project,” air Bach said. He acknowledged that the county earlier omitted the area from the 2014 plan and called that “a little bit of a faux pas on our part.”

The staff presentation said an initial study and mitigated negative declaration was prepared, posted for review, and that comments from local agencies were addressed. air Bach summarized agency input: the Department of Conservation flagged agricultural‑conservation and Williamson Act questions (staff responded that none of the project area is under Williamson Act contract), Kingsburg Joint Union High School District raised potential school impacts and school‑fee mitigation, and the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District noted voluntary emissions reduction approaches may be needed for future projects.

air Bach said the county faces a housing shortfall and that the Traver amendment would add sites that staff estimate could accommodate about 1,000 additional housing units in that part of the county. “It’s also noted that there's a drastic shortage of housing,” air Bach said. He also noted county RHNA expectations may add more than 9,000 units countywide over the coming planning cycle and said the change could help meet rural housing needs.

Commissioners voted on the staff recommendations. The Planning Commission recorded a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors to approve GPA 25‑003 and PCC 25‑002; the recommendation passed with six votes in favor, one absence and zero no votes.

The item will be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors for final decision. The staff packet and the adopted mitigated negative declaration were posted on the Resource Management Agency website, the planning director said.

Why it matters: the change amends the county’s Traver Community Plan and urban development boundary, opens new acreage for mixed‑use and industrial/residential overlay zoning, and adds a wastewater treatment site into the development footprint — actions that guide where and how future development may occur in and near the unincorporated community of Traver.

Next steps: the Planning Commission’s recommendation goes to the Tulare County Board of Supervisors for a public hearing and final action.