Hanford planning commission approves variance to keep ice-and-water vending machine in parking lot

The Hanford City Planning Commission on Oct. 28 adopted Resolution 2025-34 approving Variance No. 0027-25 to allow an ice-and-water vending machine to remain in the parking lot at 1736 North 10th Avenue, 141 feet from the nearest building in the CN (Neighborhood Commercial) zone.

Planning staff told commissioners the site is designated CN Neighborhood Commercial and that vending machines are a permitted use with an administrative use permit. Staff said the proposal would replace an existing water-vending machine in substantially the same location and that most development standards in the Hanford Municipal Code had been met, with landscaping and wall requirements remaining legally nonconforming but not worsened by the project.

Staff said the current code requires outdoor vending machines to be located along the face of a building or against a structure designed to accommodate them; the existing machine predates that 2017 rule. Staff noted prior approvals for similar machines (a 2016 administrative approval and a 1997 permit for the existing on-site machine) and said a separate ice-and-water store and a previously approved variance in a different center showed the city has authorized such configurations in the past.

"Staff recommends that the planning commission adopt Resolution 2025-34," planning staff said, and noted that plans would undergo further review for the concrete pad and utility connections. The project was determined categorically exempt under the replacement or reconstruction exemption referenced in the staff report (section 15302), and a notice of exemption was prepared.

Commissioners asked whether the applicant had provided a timeline for installation; staff said no specific timeline was provided. Commissioners also observed the replacement machine would be slightly larger and would dispense ice in addition to water. No members of the public spoke during the public-input period.

A commissioner moved to adopt the resolution; the commission approved the motion by roll-call vote, with Commissioners Curtis, Nelson, Norris, Vice Chair Douglas and Chair Ham voting yes. The motion passed unanimously.