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Santa Clara County planning commission signals intent to overturn denial of grading abatement for Coyote Valley nursery
Summary
After hours of testimony and legal debate over whether compacted base rock constitutes 'development area,' the Santa Clara County Planning Commission voted 4–2 to declare its intent to grant an appeal seeking to legalize part of the nursery’s unpermitted base-rock grading and return the matter for CEQA review and final action.
The Santa Clara County Planning Commission on Nov. 20 signaled it will overturn the Department of Planning and Development’s June denial of a grading abatement application for a nursery in Coyote Valley, declaring its intent to grant the appeal and send the matter back for environmental review and final conditions.
Deputy Director Lisa Mikhail and Associate Planner Michael Shuey told commissioners that county staff had denied the application on June 9, 2025 because staff could not make several required findings under county grading code C.12-4-33. Staff told the commission the compacted base rock spread across the parcel met the county’s definition of "development area" and that the importation of roughly several thousand cubic yards of base rock had been found nonexempt in a prior notice of violation and a court order requiring abatement.
"Staff recommends that the commission deny the appeal and uphold the decision of the Department of Planning and Development to deny the grading abatement application," the staff report stated during the…
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