ZF #2022-0072: Consider a request for a Tentative Parcel Map and Use Permit to divide a 100-acre parcel for the development and operation of a truck and travel center on a commercially zoned parcel and determine an Addendum to a Mitigated Negative Declaration is the appropriate level of environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA). The proposed project includes vehicle fueling and charging, a convenience store, restaurants, a truck dealership, truck repair and servicing, travel-related retail, a 60-room motel, and overnight parking for trucks. The project is located at the southwest corner of the junction of Interstate 5 and County Road 8 in the unincorporated community of Dunnigan (APN: 052-060-011). (Applicant: Mel Smith / Property Owner: Aulman, LLC) (Planner: JD Trebec)

The proposed Project would achieve a number of benefits for the community of Dunnigan and the County. Additional commercial development will provide local employment opportunities for the community and tax revenue for the County. The proposed project meets all zoning requirements and standards and is compliant with Section 66474 of the Subdivision Map Act and Section 8-1.312 of the Yolo County Code, which requires a Tentative Parcel Map and Parcel Map for subdivisions creating four or fewer lots. It is consistent with 2030 Countywide General Plan Land Use and Community Character policies, such as LU-3.3, which targets Interstates 5 and 505 for highway-oriented and regional commercial development, and CC-4.27, which requires highway service commercial uses to be designed to preserve surrounding agriculture. 

Conditions of Approval for the project include dedication of an agricultural conservation easement to mitigate the conversion of agricultural land and fencing to contain non-agricultural uses at the project so that farmland is protected and preserved. The roads would be wide enough and be marked with signs to ensure that agricultural equipment can safely share the roads with traffic generated by the project. Additionally, the proposed project would further economic development policies such as supporting tourist services along Interstate 5 at Dunnigan and providing a mix of lodging, retail, restaurants, gas stations, and other services for visitors. The proposed project also furthers the Dunnigan Community Plan policy DU-LU-6 which requires that development at County Road 8, within the community, continues to support highway-oriented commercial land uses that provide economic opportunities.

Background
The junction of Interstate 5 (I-5) and County Road 8 (CR 8) has long been considered an opportunity to promote economic development in Dunnigan. A truck stop on the southeast corner of the interchange was originally permitted in 1969 and was later bought by Pilot, the current operator. Upon approving an expansion at the Pilot facility, the Planning Commission cited employment opportunities and the generation of additional sales tax as reasons for approval. Other services, including an auction yard to the south and a travel center with food and fuel services to the north, have been developed around the Pilot service station. On the west side of Interstate 5, just north of the proposed project site, an older service station was recently renovated and expanded.

The Dunnigan Truck and Travel Center (DTTC) was also previously permitted at the I-5/CR8 interchange. On January 6, 2004, the Yolo County Board of Supervisors approved the DTTC which consisted of a Tentative Parcel Map and adoption of Planned Development Overlay 56 which included the original Master Plan for the Dunnigan Truck and Travel Center. The Project is located on approximately 100 acres of land within the Dunnigan Community Growth Boundary at the southwest corner of the junction of Interstate 5 and County Road 8 (see Attachment A). A Parcel Map was never recorded for the project, however, and the Tentative Parcel Map has since expired. 

In 2022, the applicant submitted a new application for the proposed DTTC. The project is substantially the same as the previously approved Master Plan, with the notable exception of provisions for water and wastewater services. The prior approval relied on water and wastewater services supplied by the Dunnigan Water Company located on the east side of Interstate 5. The company has since been sold to California American Water Company and the applicant has stated that connecting the project to Cal American Water is not feasible at this time. Instead, the applicant has proposed using the 48.3-acre remainder parcel for development of the required stormwater, wastewater, and well infrastructure needed to serve the project. To allow for modifications to the project, the Planned Development Overlay was removed in the 2024 Dunnigan Community Plan update which freed the project from the prior Master Plan requirements. Desired parts of the Master Plan such as design requirements have been incorporated in the proposed Conditions of Approval for the DTTC (Attachment E). Please refer to the Analysis section, below, for further detail.

Project Request
The proposed Tentative Parcel (Map# 5259) divides the 100-acre parcel into four parcels and a remainder. Parcel 1 measures 15.83 acres, Parcel 2 measures 10.01 acres, Parcel 3 measures 12.73 acres, and Parcel 4 measures 5.65 acres, for a total of 45.22 acres. The remaining 48.33 acres would be the remainder parcel.

Proposed development of Parcel 1 consists of a travel center with truck, auto and RV fueling; electric vehicle charging; quick service restaurants; convenience store; truck driver lounge, showers, and overnight parking. Parcel 3 is proposed to include a tire shop; truck service center; travel-oriented retail shops; a full-service restaurant; and additional overnight truck parking. These are expected to be the first services developed.

Later development, which does not have a specific timeframe, would occur on Parcels 2 and 4. Development of Parcel 2 is to include a drive-through restaurant, a 60-room motel, and parking. Parcel 4 is planned for a new and used truck dealership with truck sales, parts, and repair services.

Approval of the project would be subject to a Use Permit in the Highway Services Commercial (C-H) zone to permit development of the truck-related uses proposed for the DTTC, such as the truck stop, truck service and repair, and truck dealership.

Access to the Project is proposed from County Road 8 by means of a roundabout that would control the flow of traffic into the project site without causing traffic to back up onto County Road 8. The addition of right-turn only lanes would mitigate impacts at the intersections with Interstate 5. Onsite circulation would be over three new roads constructed by the applicant which would link County Road 8 and County Road 90. The applicant has requested that the County abandon the approximately 0.3-mile stretch of CR 90, which would otherwise conflict with the roundabout and internal roads. The internal roads are required to meet all county standards. The applicant will be responsible for costs associated with the infrastructure, including road improvements and facilities for stormwater, wastewater, public water, and lighting services. As previously indicated, the applicant has proposed developing stormwater, wastewater, and well facilities to serve the project on the remainder parcel. No public financing is proposed. 

Analysis
The original approval of the DTTC in 2004 included a rezone to adopt a Planned Development Overlay that consisted of the Master Plan for the project. This set up a situation where a zoning amendment would be required to allow for any changes to the project. To provide more flexibility, the Planned Development Overlay was removed from the parcel with the recent Dunnigan Community Plan update so that the project would not be burdened by overly specific requirements that may not be aligned with current conditions or desired outcomes. The architectural requirements have been retained in the proposed Conditions of Approval (see Attachment E).

The applicant has proposed an onsite well and septic system for wastewater treatment rather than receiving utility services from a private company as was required under the Master Plan. The project has been conditioned to receive approval for the wastewater treatment system from the Regional Water Quality Control Board, which will set requirements for wastewater treatment. The onsite water and wastewater facilities are a change from the earlier version of the project which proposed connecting to the existing facilities on the east side of Interstate 5 owned at the time by Dunnigan Water Works (now California American Water, Inc.). The project is expected to produce over 10,000 gallons of wastewater per day at build out, which is the threshold for State permitting. The project has been conditioned to be permitted by the Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board.

Two issues were discussed extensively during the project review and at meetings of the Dunnigan Citizens Advisory Committee (DCAC): fees for local services and traffic concerns. Specifically, the Dunnigan Fire Protection District has had difficulty finding financing to cover their operational expenses and has proposed the creation of a Community Facilities District (CFD or Mello-Roos) to pay additional taxes for the District's enhanced service costs associated with the project. However, fees required for a project must have a direct nexus or relationship to the immediate impact of the project, and the County does not have a policy of conditioning projects on the developer's payment of Mello-Roos taxes. An existing mitigation measure from the previously adopted MND, included as COA #94, requires that “The project applicant shall consult with the Dunnigan Fire Protection District and reach a mutual agreement that provides reasonable offsets for the project's impact to fire protection services. Said agreement shall be based on the fee schedule proposed by the DTTC or Fire District Impact Fee Study, when adopted.” This mitigation measure ensures that the project provides the appropriate amount of support to the DFPD in proportion to the additional services that the project will require.

The other concern identified by the DCAC was traffic. The Traffic Impact Study provided by the applicant, and reviewed by Caltrans and the County, identified several road improvements to provide for public safety and efficient traffic flow, including designating turn lanes on the ramps to I-5, improvements to County Road 8, and providing a roundabout at the intersection of CR 8 at the project’s entrance. Thus, roads within the project site would meet or exceed County standards and be dedicated to the County as public right-of-way. The project has proposed to abandon the section of CR 90 along the southbound I-5 on-ramp. Access to CR 90, the neighboring undeveloped commercial parcel, and farmland to the south of the project would be provided over the new roads constructed by the project, which includes improvements to CR 90 within the project boundary. The project will be conditioned to maintain access to CR 90 during project construction; maintenance of existing drainage facilities within the abandoned section would be the responsibility of the developer.

The applicant, neighbor, and a farmer with land accessed by CR 90 were in attendance at the October 16, 2024, DCAC meeting to discuss the proposed roads. The farmer wanted to ensure that the interior project roads would at least meet the same width as CR 8. The right-of-way for County Road 8 is 66 feet wide, but only paved with two 11-foot wide lanes. The new roads through the project would dedicate between 65 and 75 feet of right-of-way for two travel lanes, a central turn lane, paved shoulders, and sidewalk.  Roads would be marked with signage to prevent truck parking and caution that farm equipment may be present on the roads. The neighbor with an adjacent parcel zoned for Highway Services Commercial expressed concerns about congestion on the interior roads impacting access to potential future development on his land and requested additional lanes or retention of the section of CR 90 proposed for abandonment.

The Traffic Impact Study conducted for the project identifies the Level of Service (LOS) inside the project at level ‘A’, which is the highest level of service. Policy CI-3.1 of the 2030 Countywide General Plan’s Circulation Element requires the County to require a minimum of LOS ‘C’ for new projects. The project has been conditioned with the circulation improvements mentioned above to maintain that level of service on the existing and proposed roads. Future development of the neighboring parcel would require its own Traffic Impact Study to determine if additional improvements are required by that project applicant. The DTTC has room for four lanes on the interior roads if needed, but staff does not believe that development of the neighboring parcel will increase traffic enough to reduce the level of service below LOS ‘C’ so that changes to the proposed roads would be necessary. Additionally, staff believe that retaining the northern section of CR 90 would negatively impact public safety. Staff recommends implementation of the proposed traffic plan which includes the abandonment of the bypassed section of CR 90B.

Addendum to the Mitigated Negative Declaration
The Mitigated Negative Declaration (MND), adopted in 2004, has been reviewed and it was found that the circumstances and impacts identified in the MND remain substantively unchanged. This supports the finding that the proposed modifications do not raise any new issues and do not cause the level of impacts identified in the previous MND to be exceeded. Therefore, an Addendum to the MND has been prepared (Attachment B).

The Addendum evaluated the project's compliance with current biological and circulation requirements. Under the adopted Yolo County Habitat Conservation Plan/Natural Community Conservation Plan (HCP/NCCP), the project is now required to comply with Avoidance and Minimization Measures that ensure impacts to threatened species remain less than significant. Therefore, the previously adopted mitigation measures for Swainson’s hawk and the burrowing owl were removed in light of the new requirements, and Condition of Approval #54 requires compliance with the HCP/NCCP, which includes submittal of a Yolo HCP/NCCP application for coverage, associated application fees, and any land cover and mitigation fees, which will be determined at the time of payment.

A Request for Comments was distributed to agencies and interested parties during review of the application and staff received input on the project from the County Public Works and Environmental Health divisions, the Dunnigan Fire Protection District, California American Water Company, Central Valley Regional Water Quality Control Board, California Department of Transportation, and interested parties.
 

The Dunnigan Citizens Advisory Committee voted 5-0-1 to recommend approval of the project to the Planning Commission at their regular meeting on October 16, 2024, with a letter from the neighboring property owner regarding his concern about traffic through the project impacting potential development of his site (Attachment F). This followed a special meeting to consider the project on October 7, 2024. Discussion focused on the fees required for the Dunnigan Fire Protection District (DFPD) and road requirements as discussed in the project analysis above. Staff met with the DFPD several times to understand their concerns and worked extensively with Caltrans during their review of the Traffic Impact Study. 

Any person who is dissatisfied with the decisions of this Planning Commission may appeal to the Board of Supervisors by filing a notice of appeal with the Clerk of the Board within fifteen (15) days from the date of the action. A Planning Commission Appeal Form and appeal fee immediately payable to “County of Yolo” must be submitted at the time of filing. The Board of Supervisors may sustain, modify or overrule this decision. The Planning Commission Appeal Form can be accessed at the following link: https://www.yolocounty.org/government/board-of-supervisors/clerk-of-the-board/planning-commission-appeal