[1. CALL TO ORDER]
[00:00:03]
GOOD MORNING EVERYONE AND WELCOME TODAY'S MEETING.
I'M GOING TO CALL THIS MEETING TO ORDER.
WE'RE GONNA START BY THE PLEDGE OF ALLEGIANCE.
IF YOU JOIN ME, I PLEDGE ALLEGIANCE TO THE FLAG OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA AND TO THE REPUBLIC FOR WHICH IT STANDS, ONE NATION UNDER GOD, INDIVISIBLE, WITH LIBERTY AND JUSTICE FOR ALL.
[4. APPROVAL OF MINUTES]
TO MOVE FORWARD IN APPROVAL OF MINUTES.HAS ANYBODY READ THE MINUTES AND LIKE TO MAKE THAT MOTION? MOTION TO APPROVE.
WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
UM, I MYSELF, UH, OPPOSED PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
NOW WE'RE GONNA OPEN UP A PUBLIC COMMENT FOR IF ANYBODY WOULD LIKE TO, UH, COMMENT ON THE MINUTES.
NOW WOULD BE YOUR TIME TO DO SO.
USUALLY THAT'S BEFORE THE VOTE.
SEEING NONE, WE ARE GOING TO CLOSE THAT.
MOVE ON TO CITIZEN COMMUNICATION AT THIS POINT, IF ANYBODY FROM THE PUBLIC WOULD LIKE TO SPEAK ON SOMETHING THAT'S NOT ON TODAY'S AGENDA, NOW WOULD BE YOUR TIME TO DO SO.
WE'RE GOING TO CLOSE, UH, PUBLIC, UM, CITIZEN COMMUNICATION AND
[6. PUBLIC HEARING(S)]
MOVE FORWARD WITH PUBLIC HEARING.MINOR SUBDIVISION NUMBER MS 25 DASH 0 1 2.
UH, GOOD MORNING COMMISSIONERS.
I AM THE DEPUTY DIRECTOR OF PLANNING AND I HAVE THE PLEASURE OF PRESENTING MINOR SUBDIVISION NUMBER MS 25 DASH ZERO TWO FOR THE APPLICANT.
THE REQUEST IS TO SECTION OFF A 3.8 ACRE NET HOME SITE PARCEL AND CONVEY THE REMAINING ACREAGE WITHIN A BUDDING PARCEL RESULTING IN PARCEL ONE EQUALING 3.8 ACRES AND A REMAINDER PARCEL EQUALING 74.5 ACRES.
THE PROJECT SITE CONSISTS OF TWO PARCELS AS UNIDENTIFIED ON THIS SLIDE, WHICH ARE DESIGNATED AGRICULTURAL LAND USE IN THE GENERAL PLAN AND ZONED A ONE IN GENERAL AGRICULTURAL.
THIS SLIDE HERE SHOWS THE PROJECT SITE HIGHLIGHTED IN RED AS WELL AS, UH, DENOTED BY THE STAR IN ITS PROXIMITY TO THE FRANKLIN BEACHWOOD COMMUNITY AS WELL AS THE CITY OF MERCED.
THE PROJECT SITE IS LOCATED ON THE SOUTHEAST CORNER OF SOUTH OR STATE ROUTE 99 AND FRANKLIN ROAD IN THE FRANKLIN BEACHWOOD MERCED AREA.
THE FRANKLIN BEACHWOOD COMMUNITY IS LOCATED NORTH OF THE PROJECT SITE AND THE CITY OF MERCED IS LOCATED APPROXIMATELY 0.54 MILES EAST.
AS YOU CAN TELL BY THE UH, VICINITY MAP.
THE FRANKLIN BEACHWOOD COMMUNITY IS PHYSICALLY SEPARATED FROM THE PROJECT SITE BY THE SOUTHERN PACIFIC RAILROAD AND STATE ROUTE NINE NINE.
THIS SLIDE HERE IS A MORE, UH, CLOSEUP VIEW AERIAL OF THE PROJECT SITE STILL HIGHLIGHTED IN RED.
YOU CAN SEE THAT THE PROJECT SITE HAS AN ANIMAL CONFINEMENT FACILITY AS WELL AS A RESIDENCE ON SITE, SOME LAGOONS, AND THEN IT'S BOUNDED BY THE BLACK RASCAL CREEK TO THE SOUTH IN STATE ROUTE NINE NINE AND THE RAILROAD TO THE NORTH.
UH, ALSO TO NOTE THERE IS A HOME ON THE OTHER SIDE OF THE PROJECT SITE.
UM, THAT'S ONE OF A RURAL NCES AND THEN MOST OF THE SURROUNDING AREA, UM, SOUTH OF 99 IS CONSIDERED AGRICULTURAL WITH ORCHARDS AND ROW CROPS AND RURAL RESIDENCES.
THIS SLIDE HERE SHOWS THE PROPOSED TENTATIVE PARCEL MAP.
THE BLUE OUTLINES THE REMAINDER PARCEL.
AND THEN THE RED IS THE, UH, HOME SITE PARCEL, PARCEL ONE THAT'S GONNA BE 3.8 ACRES.
AS YOU CAN SEE WITH THE SUBDIVISION, NOT ONLY WILL BE A CREATING TUBE, UH, PARCEL AND A REMAINDER PARCEL, BUT THE DIVISION WILL ENSURE THAT THE ANIMAL CONFINEMENT FACILITIES AND ALL OF THE IMPROVEMENTS AND STRUCTURES ARE GOING TO BE LOCATED ON THE REMAINDER PARCEL, WHEREAS ALL THE, UH, HOME AND ASSOCIATED PERSONAL STORAGE POOL AND WHATNOT ARE GONNA BE LOCATED ON THE HOME SITE.
STAFF HAS REVIEWED THIS FOR CONSISTENCY WITH OUR GENERAL PLAN AND THE PROJECT WAS FOUND TO BE CONSISTENT WITH VARIOUS GOALS.
UH, GOAL ULU DASH TWO, GOAL AG DASH THREE, UH, IN GOAL AG DASH TWO AND ASSOCIATED POLICIES INCLUDING POLICY AG 3.12, UH, WHICH REQUIRES A CONDITIONAL USE FOR ANY RESIDENCES FOLLOW A SUBDIVISION, MEANING THAT THE RESIDENCES WILL NOT BE A RIGHT RIGHT BY RIGHT FOLLOWING.
[00:05:01]
RECORDING OF THAT SUBDIVISION, THE PROJECT WAS FOUND, UH, CONSISTENT WITH THE SUBDIVISION MAP ACT AS WELL AS THE COUNTY'S TITLE 17, WHICH IS OUR SUBDIVISION CODE FOR CONSISTENCY THE OF OUR ZONING CODE.UH, THE PROJECT WAS FOUND CONSISTENT WITH ALL OF THE GENERAL DEVELOPMENT STANDARDS, INCLUDING EXCEPTIONS TO THE PAR MINIMUM PARCEL SIZE AND THE AG BUFFER.
WHEN IT COMES TO THE MINIMUM PARCEL SIZE, THE REASON, UH, BEING IS TYPICAL MINIMUM PARCEL SIZE FOR A ONE ZONE IS 20 ACRES, BUT WE DO NOT AN EXCEPTION FOR HOME SITES AS LONG AS THE HOME SITE IS BETWEEN ONE AND FIVE NET ACRES.
THE PROPERTY OWNER HAS LIVED AT THE RESIDENCE FOR 10 PLUS YEARS AND THAT THE REMAINING ACREAGE IS CONVEYED TO AN ADJACENT PARCEL THAT WOULD THEN BECOME, UH, MEANING THE AS ASSISTANT, UH, MEETING THE MINIMUM PARCEL SIZE REQUIREMENTS FOR THE A ONE ZONE FOR THE AG BUFFER.
UH, IT DOES NOT MEET ALL OF THE 200 FOOT AG BUFFER REQUIREMENTS FROM THE HOME TO A NEW PARCEL.
AND, UM, THAT IS BECAUSE IF THEY WERE TO DO SO, THEN THEY WOULD NOT BE ABLE TO ENSURE ALL OF THE FACILITIES THAT ARE RELATED TO THE A CONFINEMENT FACILITY ARE STUCK TOGETHER.
UM, SO THERE WOULD BE AN IMPACT WITH THE RESIDENCES AND THE AG THAT'S EXISTING ALREADY.
SO THEY ARE MEETING IT TO THE MAXIMUM EXTENT FEASIBLE, WHICH IS ALLOWED BY OUR ZONING CODE.
AND IT ALSO MEETS THE CRITERIA OF CLUSTERING, UH, WITH OTHER RESIDENCES IN THE AREA AS THERE IS A RESIDENCE ACROSS THE STREET.
SO THERE ALREADY, UM, EXISTING IMPACTS AND THIS CLUSTERING WOULD NOT EXACERBATE THAT.
AND THEN FINALLY, WE DO HAVE THE PROVISION THAT THERE IS A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT REQUIRED FOR ANY NEW HOMES FOLLOWING THE SUBDIVISION.
THE PROJECT SITE IS LOCATED IN THE AG PRESERVE AND IS UNDER AN ACTIVE WILLIAMSON ACT CONTRACT AND NO AMENDMENT IS REQUIRED FOR THE HOME SITE AS UH, WILLIAMSON ACT DOES ALLOW FOR HOME SITES WITHIN AN ACTIVE CONTRACT FOR ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW.
STAFF HAS DETERMINED THAT NO FURTHER ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW IS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO SECTION 1 5 1 6 2.
UM, THIS IS BECAUSE WHEN WE COMPLETED OUR GENERAL PLAN EIR, IT DID FIND THAT THERE WOULD BE A SIGNIFICANT IMPACT WITH AGRICULTURAL SUBDIVISIONS, BUT ONLY IF, UH, RESIDENCES WERE ALLOWED BY WRIGHT.
SO WITH THAT, WE DID ADOPT POLICIES THAT SAID THAT FOLLOWING SUBDIVISIONS, UM, THAT RIGHT HAS BEEN WAIVED AND THAT, UM, AS LONG AS NO NEW RESIDENCES ARE PROPOSED, THAT THERE WOULD BE NO OR LESS THAN SIGNIFICANT IMPACT, UM, OF THESE AGRICULTURAL SUBDIVISIONS.
SO AS A RESULT, WE ARE PUTTING A NOTE ON THE FINAL MAP STATING THAT THE RIGHT TO BUILD A HOME, UM, SHALL REQUIRE CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT.
PUBLIC COMMENTS NOTICE OF THIS PUBLIC HEARING WAS NOTICED ON OCTOBER 23RD, 2025.
UM, THE PUBLIC COMMENT WAS, UM, PUBLISHED IN THE MERCED COUNTY TIMES AND THEN MAILED TO PROPERTY OWNERS WITHIN 300 FEET.
UH, NO COMMENTS WERE RECEIVED AS OF TODAY.
GIVEN ALL THE INFORMATION THAT IS DETAILED IN THE STAFF REPORT AND THEN ALSO SUMMARIZED IN THIS PRESENTATION, STAFF HAS TWO RECOMMENDATIONS.
THE FIRST IS DETERMINED THAT NO FURTHER ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW IS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO SECTION 1 5 1 62 AND THEN TO APPROVE MINOR SUBDIVISION NUMBER MS 25 DASH ZERO 12.
UH, THIS CONCLUDES STAFF'S PRESENTATION.
I'M AVAILABLE FOR ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.
ADDITIONALLY, UM, THE APPLICANT'S SURVEYOR IS AVAILABLE IN THE AUDIENCE FOR ANY QUESTIONS YOU MIGHT HAVE.
ANY QUESTIONS FOR STAFF? SEEING NONE, WE'LL OPEN THE PUBLIC HEARING UP AND NOW WOULD BE A CHANCE FOR ANYBODY IN THE PUBLIC WHO'D LIKE TO COME TO SPEAK ON THIS.
THIS WOULD BE YOUR OPPORTUNITY.
SEEING NONE, WE'RE GONNA CLOSE THE PUBLIC HEARING AND MOVE FORWARD.
WOULD ANYBODY LIKE TO MAKE, UH, THE SE QA DETERMINATION, MOTION, OR DISCUSSION? I WILL MAKE THE MOTION.
SECOND, UH, I THINK WE NEED TO READ THE MOTION AND I'M GOING TO, SORRY, DETERMINE THAT.
NO FURTHER ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEWS REQUIRED PURSUANT TO SECTION 15 1 62, SUBSEQUENT EIRS AND NEGATIVE DEC DECLARATIONS OF THE CQA GUIDELINES BASED ON THE ANALYSIS AND THE 2030 MERCED COUNTY GENERAL PLAN PROGRAM, ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT REPORT, AND THE ATTACHED CQA GUIDELINES, SECTION 15 1 62 FINDINGS AND ANALYSIS.
WE HAVE A MOTION AND I THINK WE HAVE A SECOND ALREADY.
NOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO THE PROJECT DETERMINATION.
I'LL MAKE THAT MOTION TO APPROVE MINOR SUBDIVISION, PARDON ME.
NUMBER MS. UH, 25 DASH 12 BASED ON THE FINDINGS INCLUDED IN THE STAFF REPORT AND SUBJECT TO THE RECOMMENDED CONDITIONS OF APPROVAL.
WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
OPPOSED? THAT ALSO PASSES UNANIMOUSLY.
[7. COMMISSION ACTION ITEM(S)]
NOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO COMMISSIONER ACTION ITEMS.[00:10:03]
UH, TODAY THE COMMISSION ACTION ITEM BEFORE YOU IS THE APPOINTMENT OF THE CHAIR AND VICE CHAIR OF THE COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION THROUGH OCTOBER OF 2026.IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE COMMISSIONER, UH, COMMISSION'S ROTATION STAFF IS RECOMMENDING COMMISSIONER JOE RAMIREZ FOR CHAIR AND COMMISSIONER D TATUM FOR VICE CHAIR FOR YOUR CONSIDERATION.
HOW DOES EVERY COMMISSIONER FEEL ABOUT THAT? ARE WE ALL ON BOARD? YOU NEED A MOTION? I I DON'T.
I'LL, UH, MOTION TO APPOINT COMMISSIONER JOE RAMIREZ AS CHAIR AND COMMISSIONER D TATUM AS VICE CHAIR OF THE MERCED COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION, EFFECTIVE IMMEDIATELY THROUGH OCTOBER, 2026.
WE HAVE A MOTION AND A SECOND.
OPPOSED? THAT PASSES UNANIMOUSLY ALSO.
UM, NOW WE'RE GONNA MOVE ON TO DIRECTOR'S REPORT.
NOTHING, UH, COMMISSIONER'S COMMENTS.