Use Permit Application No. PLN2024-0067- Cal Almond

Request to expand an existing almond hulling and shelling facility onto two new parcels (APNs 057-016-002 and 057-016-025), 19.1 and 19.7 acres in size, in the General Agriculture (A-2-40) zoning district for the storage of unprocessed nuts, processed nut hulls and shells, and empty trailers. The total property consists of 58.35 acres over four parcels. The facility was first approved under Use Permit No. UP 77-28 and has since been expanded with multiple subsequent Staff Approval Permits, the most recent of which being SAA No. PLN2011-24. The active season for the facility is August through December, with typical hours of operation Monday through Saturday from 4:00am to 9:00pm, with two eight-hour shifts for employees. During peak harvest season, however, the facility may operate up to 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with three eight-hour shifts. Six full-time employees, including one manager, report to the site, and the business may also have up to 20 part-time employees reporting to the site at a time. Up to 100 one-way truck trips (for trucks bringing in unprocessed almonds and trucks leaving with processed shells and hulls) and 52 passenger vehicle trips (inbound and outbound trips for up to 26 employees) are expected per-day. Stormwater runoff is contained in drainage basins located at the northern end of the project parcels. The existing facility is contained on APNs 057-016-028 and 057-016-029, with the new parcels being used for overflow storage of storage of unprocessed nuts, processed nut hulls and shells, and empty trailers. The unprocessed nuts and processed hulls and shells stored year-round on-site are kept in 16-foot-high mounds and covered with tarps. The project site is enclosed with an eight-foot chain-link fence. The fence has privacy slats along South Commons Road.