The Tulare County Planning Commission on Wednesday approved tentative subdivision map TSM25-002, a revised map that reduces an earlier 24-lot approval to eight single-family lots on roughly 9.58 acres north of Road 33 and State Route 201 in the Kingsburg Rivers planning area.

Staff said the revised proposal cuts the originally approved density from 24 lots (about 2.4 units per gross acre) to eight lots (about 0.8 units per acre), and that several conditions tied to the earlier, higher-density approval no longer apply. The revision will require engineered septic systems and individual wells; staff reminded the commission that Environmental Health enforces the county’s LAMP program, which in Tulare County limits septic design and requires engineered systems and replacement leach-field areas.

At the public hearing, Blake Dodd, a nearby property owner at 3322 Avenue 400, said his well has dropped about 20 feet in the last 10 years and that he and other neighbors oppose the subdivision. Dodd urged clarity on septic setbacks, replacement leach-field areas, property lines and the long-term duration and impacts of the development, and said he collected signatures from adjacent neighbors expressing opposition.

Staff responded that final maps will include record surveys to precisely locate property lines and that Environmental Health and engineering reviews will require engineered septic designs, setbacks and replacement areas. Environmental Health staff in the hearing record noted limits on septic density (often one septic per acre under the county’s LAMP agreement with the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board) and that septic permitting is an engineered, multi-stage process that typically includes an initial permit and later review with building permits.

Commissioner Bill Whitlatch moved to approve the tentative subdivision map subject to the modifications discussed during the hearing; the motion carried 6-0. Commissioners asked staff to follow up with the commenter to explain engineering and environmental-health review steps and to ensure neighbors receive final conditions and maps as the project moves forward.

The approval authorizes the county to proceed with the modified tentative map under conditions; final parcel maps, surveys and engineered septic and well approvals remain part of subsequent permitting and cannot be assumed until those reviews are complete.