Placer County approves Loxley Lane manufacturing use, finds project exempt from CEQA

Placer County’s zoning administrator approved a minor use permit and design-review agreement on Dec. 18 to allow indoor manufacturing of modular educational-structure components at 12600 Loxley Lane in unincorporated Auburn.

Senior planner David, lead planner for the project, told the hearing the proposal would convert an existing 100,000-square-foot building into approximately 59,000 square feet of manufacturing and warehouse space, 9,000 square feet of offices and 1,800 square feet of employee-support areas. The applicant proposes to operate a single daytime shift (7 a.m.–5 p.m.) with about 60 employees and roughly 25 truck trips per week. Site plans show 140 parking spaces, exceeding the 68-space requirement cited in staff materials.

"The applicant proposes to establish a 70,000-square-foot indoor manufacturing operation for the prefabrication of building components supporting K through 12 and higher education construction projects," David said in the staff presentation, and recommended the zoning administrator find the project categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act under CEQA Guidelines sections 15301 and 15303 and the Placer County Code sections cited in the staff report.

Staff told the hearing the project involves reuse of an existing facility with only minor exterior alterations — two new roll-up doors, repainting, a new security gate and a 56-square-foot freestanding monument sign — and that county departments and outside agencies reviewed the proposal and the recommended conditions. Staff also noted an errata adding a standard county indemnification requirement (condition 15) that staff provided to the applicant and said the applicant had indicated agreement with the added condition.

Applicant representative John Stump (Flint) confirmed he had no additional comments and said, "We're excited." With no written or oral opposition presented at the hearing or from the Tahoe remote location, Hearing Officer Crystal Jacobson closed the public hearing, determined the project exempt from CEQA and approved the minor use permit and design-review agreement subject to the conditions in the staff report, including the errata (condition 15). Jacobson waived the appeal period, noting the applicant retained the sole right to appeal.

Why it matters: The decision allows reuse of a large vacant industrial space in the Auburn Bowman Community Plan area for a manufacturing use that staff determined is consistent with the industrial general plan designation and local zoning rules. The approval is conditioned on the findings and mitigation measures listed in the staff report and the added indemnification requirement.

Next steps: Staff will implement the conditions of approval, and, per the hearing officer’s action, the applicant has the right to appeal the decision within the county’s appeal process if it chooses.