The Tulare County Planning Commission on Wednesday referred consideration of Special Use Permit PSP25-045 — a proposed contractor storage yard at 23205 Avenue 192 in Strathmore — back to county staff for further study after multiple neighbors raised complaints about noise, overnight truck activity, bright lighting and stormwater runoff.

Roxanna Brand, a planner with the county Resource Management Agency, told commissioners the applicant, Steve Alvarado, seeks to legalize use of a 1.7-acre property inside the Strathmore urban development boundary to store vehicles for a family-operated transportation business. Brand said the proposal would allow parking for three semi trucks, seven trailers and one pickup and would typically operate Monday through Friday, 6 a.m. to 7 p.m., with seasonal flexibility and occasional weekend truck washing.

The item drew multiple public speakers who said actual operations have extended beyond the hours described in the application. “They’re out there till 09:00. They got compressors going, generators, power washers, and then their semi trucks, they got the reefers that are operating, and those are operating at night,” said Juan Ayala, who identified himself as the neighbor at 23191 Avenue 192. Ayala told the commission he can hear trucks from about 150 feet inside his house, described repeated overnight activity and said water runoff from the site has flowed onto his property and toward his well.

Other neighbors echoed concerns about overnight refrigerated trailers and about grading and gravel placement that, they say, shewed stormwater onto adjacent yards. Javier Ayala Gonzales, who said he has lived across the street for 45 years, told commissioners headlights and noise disturb his home and that school buses stop on the same road. Kathy Cardona, speaking for a relative who stores a truck at the site, said routine pre-trip checks and limited window cleaning occur on-site but denied that large-scale washing or full mechanical repairs take place there.

Hector Ramos, the county building official who oversees code enforcement, told the commission the county logged a complaint in December 2024 and inspected the site; no formal case was opened but Ramos said additional inspection work is planned. “This complaint came to our office in December 2024 for contractor storage yard. We did inspect the site... No case was actually ever opened. But... we will be going out here in the near future to go do another investigation on the property to address all these concerns,” Ramos said. Commissioners specifically asked code enforcement to check nighttime lighting and to follow up on possible unpermitted structures or mechanical work.

After public comment, Commissioner Lehman moved to refer the item back to staff for further study and to develop mitigating measures in coordination with neighbors and the applicant; Commissioner Wayne Millies seconded. The motion passed 6-0 (one commissioner absent). The commission directed staff to provide affected homes with the draft conditions of approval (including a Spanish translation), to have engineering add standard off-site drainage conditions addressing runoff, and to return with a subsequent report and recommended conditions. The action was recorded as a continuation with date uncertain.

The referral does not approve or deny the permit; it directs additional enforcement inspection and staff work to address the complaints and to draft conditions should the commission later consider approval. Brand told the commission the applicant has said he is willing to adjust lighting and add gravel and regrading to improve drainage; neighbors asked for specific, enforceable restrictions on hours, washing and refrigeration units.

The commission also confirmed that the property is zoned R-A (43,000-square-foot minimum) and that the contractor-storage-yard use is allowed in the zone only with a special-use permit and compliance with Tulare County ordinance provisions for contractors’ storage yards.

The commission’s referral instructs staff and code enforcement to return with findings and recommended permit conditions that address noise, lighting, runoff/drainage and any unpermitted uses before the matter is scheduled for a future hearing.