Jurupa Valley planning commission recommends denial of salvage-yard, citing Superfund, fire and procedural gaps

The Jurupa Valley Planning Commission voted unanimously Aug. 27 to recommend that the City Council deny a proposed zone change and conditional use permit that would legalize a salvage-vehicle storage and online auction operation on Pyrite Road.

Principal planner Roberto Gonzalez told commissioners the site sits within the Stringfellow reclamation overlay and that staff found "insufficient progress has been made over the last 7 years," including a lack of required technical studies needed to initiate CEQA review. Gonzalez also noted unresolved fire-access comments and several inconsistencies between the project and development standards for a medium-manufacturing zone.

The applicant, represented by attorney Mike Ricupero, said the operation has been active since 2009 and urged the commission to let the entitlement process continue while the owner funds studies. "We are committing $200,000 for 2 years, which is $400,000 for us to work with the city, the DTSC, the U.S. EPA, [and the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board] to define the pollutants," Ricupero said, framing the offer as a way to investigate whether limited, temporary uses could be safe while longer-term planning continues.

Neighbors and several commissioners pushed back. Commissioners and residents raised the site's Superfund history, the location's remnant monitoring wells and vents, and life-safety issues tied to a single ingress/egress route and the possibility of high fire risk in the Jurupa Mountains area. One commissioner cited the overlay's long remediation timeline, saying the cleanup was estimated at "400 years" and stressing that remediation activity and monitoring wells constrain what uses are appropriate near the Stringfellow site.

The property owner, identified during the hearing as Mr. Smith, said portions of the property had been used as a recycling yard for decades and described prior interactions with county officials and regulators. Smith said local fire departments have used the property for training and that, to his knowledge, there have been no evacuations of his operation. "When I bought it, it was a junk yard. We made it into a recycling facility," he said while acknowledging the business has been operating without city entitlements.

Staff and several commissioners argued the city cannot approve a time-limited conditional use permit where required CEQA and zoning findings cannot be made and where many technical studies have expired or are missing. Staff also said temporary CUPs are legally problematic because CUP findings include consistency with zoning and CUPs generally run with the land.

After extended questioning and public comment the commission moved to adopt Resolution No. PC-2025-19 recommending denial of the zone change (from rural residential to medium manufacturing) and Conditional Use Permit 19002. The motion passed unanimously. The matter will now go to the City Council for final determination; staff said the council could pursue enforcement and abatement procedures if vehicles remain on site.