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Board upholds denial of firewood-cutting permit near Paradise Elementary School
Summary
After a lengthy public hearing with neighbors and the school expressing safety, noise and rodent concerns, the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors on June 2 denied an appeal and upheld the Planning Commission’s April denial of a use permit for a firewood-cutting operation at 1201 Pauline Avenue.
The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors on June 2 voted to deny an appeal of the Planning Commission’s April 16 denial of a use permit for a firewood-cutting operation on a 4.52-acre parcel at 1201 Pauline Avenue, adjacent to Paradise Elementary School.
Planning Director Angela Freigherus and Assistant Planner Marcus Rodex summarized the staff record and the planning commission’s reasoning, noting unresolved code-enforcement activity earlier in the case, concerns about the visibility and height of wood piles, potential pest spread from off-site wood, and proximity to the school. The staff report included a negative declaration under the California Environmental Quality Act and recommended conditions of approval if the board were to grant the appeal.
The applicant, who identified herself as Sana Mia Madrial, told the board she had paid cited fines and secured building permits and argued the operation was a small family-run activity rather than a commercial enterprise. "Everything has been cleared and removed," she said, and asked the board to approve the permit.
Neighborhood speakers and school representatives disputed that characterization. Stuart Barnum and other neighbors presented photos and a petition and testified that semi-trucks, forklifts, shrink-wrapped pallets, portable toilets and large wood piles indicate commercial-scale activity rather than a hobby. Kevin Moise, a Paradise Elementary School board member, said the school has seen a rodent increase and that the noise and truck traffic raise safety and educational concerns.
Planning staff and several supervisors said the record included conflicting information about on-site activity (staff noted evidence of power tools and semi-truck deliveries that differed from the application’s description of personal pickups and manual tools). Multiple supervisors said the balance of evidence pointed to a commercial operation incompatible with surrounding small parcels and too close to an elementary school. One supervisor summarized: the operation "belongs further out in agricultural zones," and not adjacent to a school.
On a motion to deny the appeal (thereby upholding the Planning Commission’s denial), the board voted to sustain the commission’s decision. The decision means the applicant cannot resubmit substantially the same use permit application for one year unless new evidence or changed conditions are presented.
The board closed that item and continued with correspondence and other reports before adjourning to closed session on an unrelated litigation matter.
