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Board tables special-use permit for small-engine repair business after neighbors raise screening, fence and operations concerns
Summary
The board voted to table SUP2025-420 for Dunright Small Engine Repair LLC to the Dec. 16 meeting after neighbors and supervisors flagged fence ownership errors in application materials, unclear screening and storage rules, and missing restroom provisions; applicants said they would add vegetative buffers and clarify operations.
The Orange County Board of Supervisors moved to table SUP2025-420, a special-use permit application for Dunright Small Engine Repair LLC, to the board’s December 16 meeting so the applicants and staff can address neighbors’ concerns about fencing, screening, vehicle storage locations and restroom provisions.
Joe Ryan, county planner, summarized the application from applicants Manoka Niclow and Morgan Niclow for a small-engine repair business on a three-acre agricultural parcel. He said the proposal includes a waste-fluid storage building with four 55-gallon drums for oil, fuel, antifreeze and transmission/hydraulic oil, routine inspections, and quarterly pickup by a registered contractor.
Neighbors Janice and Zach Edelberg told the board that a photograph in the planning materials misleadingly showed what had been described as a 12-foot fence but is an 8-foot fence owned by the adjoining property owner. Zach Edelberg also urged limits on the area used to store vehicles waiting for repair and said the application does not address restroom availability; "there's no restroom or bathroom situation for this building," he said. Janice Edelberg said the photo inclusion of her daughter's fence was misleading.
The applicants told the board they did not represent the wooden fence as theirs and said they plan to plant Leyland cypresses and other vegetation on their side of the line. "There are only 4 inoperable vehicles," the applicant said, adding that other items on site are salvage parts and bicycles for repair.
Supervisors and staff recommended adding clear conditions: remove the fence maintenance condition (because the fence belonged to the neighbor), require a defined and screened storage area for vehicles and equipment, specify the number and placement of required screening trees/plantings, and address restroom provisions (such as a porta-john) where customer access could occur. Several board members said the conditions in the current SUP are insufficient to protect neighboring properties and asked planning staff to draft specific conditions before the board acts.
After discussion, a supervisor moved to table the permit to the Dec. 16 meeting; the motion was seconded and passed by voice vote. Staff will work with the applicants to revise the application and proposed conditions for return to the board.
