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Planning Commission approves swap‑meet special use permit, recommends zone change for 12021 Avenue 328
Summary
The Planning Commission approved a special use permit for a swap meet with food trucks and a beer garden at 12021 Avenue 328 and recommended the Board of Supervisors approve a zone change to C2/Mixed Use; the commission also found the project categorically exempt under CEQA Section 15303 with mitigation conditions.
The Planning Commission approved a special use permit and recommended a zone change for a swap‑meet proposal at 12021 Avenue 328, a site approximately 0.87 miles northeast of Visalia within the Visalia Urban Area boundary.
Sandy Roper, chief planner with the Resource Management Agency Special Projects Division, presented the application for zone change PZC24009 and special use permit PSP24074 on behalf of applicant Galloway, whose representative is Eric Tange. Roper said the owner is Larry Ritchie. Roper described the request as a change from AE40 (exclusive agricultural, 40‑acre minimum) to C2MU (General Commercial with Mixed Use overlay) and said the site’s existing uses include a concrete batch facility, beekeeping and trailer homes. Roper said the Special Projects Division circulated consultation requests and received comments from Public Works, Environmental Health, Fire, the Regional Water Quality Control Board, the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District and Caltrans.
Roper said CEQA review resulted in a proposed categorical exemption under Section 15303 (Class 3, new construction or conversion of existing structures), and staff recommended the commission forward the zone change and approve the categorical exemption and the special use permit, subject to the zone change becoming effective.
Developer representative Eric Tange said the proposal would reuse the existing large canopy structures and other buildings and that no new structures are proposed. He said the swap meet operation would occur two days per week and described site circulation intended to be one‑way: enter from the west, circulate and exit to the east. Tange said the project team prepared a traffic memo and would provide on‑site traffic control during events.
Members of the public did not speak. Commissioners moved to recommend the Board of Supervisors approve the categorical exemption and the zone change (PZC24009), and to approve special use permit PSP24074 subject to the Board’s approval of the zone change prior to recording the Planning Commission resolution. The commission’s motions passed on roll call: the recommendation and the special use permit were approved by seven yes votes with one absence.
County staff said Public Works conditions require on‑site parking and surfaced driveways; condition 27 requires on‑site parking and driveways be surfaced for all‑weather conditions and maintained to prevent dust and mud impacting roadways. The permit prohibits off‑site parking along Avenue 328.
The Commission’s approvals will proceed to the Board of Supervisors for the zone change; the special use permit is conditioned on Board approval of the zone change.
