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REQUEST FOR A USE PERMIT TO ALLOW THE ESTABLISHMENT AND OPERATION OF A PROPOSED SLAUGHTERHOUSE IN EXISTING WAREHOUSE BUILDINGS AT 2716 EAST MINER AVENUE (P16-0301)
recommended action
RECOMMENDATION
Staff recommends that the Planning Commission adopt a resolution approving a Use Permit to allow the establishment and operation of a proposed slaughterhouse in existing warehouse buildings at 2716 East Miner Avenue.
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Summary
The applicant, Howard Chan, has submitted the Use Permit application to relocate his existing slaughterhouse at 1320 South Aurora Street to the project site (the former Del Monte Foods processing facility). The subject operation will comply with all applicable development standards and the Development Code’s off-street parking requirements. Further, the proposed use must secure all required permits from the United States Department of Agriculture, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the City prior to the initiation of the subject use. Staff has, therefore, determined that the project meets the General Use Permit Findings contained in Stockton Municipal Code (SMC) Section 16.168.050 and recommended that the Planning Commission approve the Use Permit, in accordance with the recommended Findings for Approval and Conditions of Approval.
On August 25, 2016, at the conclusion of the Planning Commission hearing the Commission continued the hearing to its regularly scheduled September 8th meeting to allow discussion between San Joaquin Regional Transit District (RTD) and the applicant to address any concerns that RTD may have regarding the proposed use. Staff agreed to verbally update the Commission as to any new information that occurs between August 25th and September 8th.
DISCUSSION
Background
A slaughterhouse has operated at 1320 South Aurora Street since 1992 and the applicant took over the business in September of 2014. He is purchasing the project site to relocate his existing slaughterhouse. The overall subject site, generally located on the south side of Miner Avenue, on both sides of Filbert Street, is approximately seven acres in size and contains three parcels (Attachment A - Location Map and Aerial Photograph). The first parcel is located at the southwest corner of East Miner Avenue and North Filbert Street, is zoned IL (Industrial, Limited), and is occupied by an existing 14,500-square foot warehouse building. The two remaining parcels are located at the southeast corner of East Miner Avenue and North Filbert Street, are zoned IG (Industrial, General) and are occupied by approximately 280,000 square feet of warehouse space in seven buildings.
In accordance with SMC Section 16.240.020, an establishment primarily engaged in the slaughtering of animals for meat is defined as a “Major Impact Facility.” Further, SMC Section 16.20.020, Table 2-2, notes that slaughterhouses are only permitted in the IG, PT (Port District), and PF (Public, Facilities) zoning districts, subject to securing a Planning Commission-approved Use Permit. The proposed slaughterhouse, therefore, may only be allowed on the IG-zoned portion of the overall subject site (Attachment B - Zoning Map).
The project site is bounded to the:
• north across East Miner Avenue by single-family residences, vacant land, and a variety of industrial businesses zoned RL and IL - the eastern portion of this area is located within the jurisdiction of San Joaquin County;
• east across North Golden Gate Avenue by a plumbing/heating business and a single-family residence within the jurisdiction of San Joaquin County;
• south across the tracks of the Southern Pacific Railroad (SPRR) by various manufacturing businesses zoned IG; and
• west by a vacant warehouse building zoned IL.
Project Description
The applicant is planning to relocate his existing slaughterhouse to the project site to increase its processing capacity. The proposed use will be developed in three phases, as follows (Exhibit 1 to the Proposed Resolution - Site Plan):
Phase One (Building 3) - The slaughterhouse will operate within an approximately 169,000-square foot existing warehouse building in the central portion of the project site. The facility will include a live haul staging area, slaughter and evisceration lines, a boiler, freezer and cooler rooms, a kitchen area for the use of employees, packing and shipping rooms, and offices;
Phase Two (Building 4) - The subject use will expand into Building 4, which is located to the east of Building 3. The existing building will contain another poultry receiving area and other facilities related to the subject use; and
Phase Three (Building 2) - The existing warehouse building is located to the west of Building 3 and is currently occupied by existing tenants. The building will be used for slaughterhouse-related uses after the tenants move out.
Building 1, which is located on the west side of North Filbert Street and zoned IL, cannot be used for slaughtering activities. It may, however, be used for non-slaughtering activities that are accessory to the subject facility.
The applicant has stated that two or three trucks containing live chickens, ducks, and guinea fowl will arrive at the facility from 5:30 a.m. to 10:30 a.m., Monday through Friday. Between 5,000 and 14,000 birds will be processed inside the building per day, at an approximate rate of 50 birds per minute. All live poultry will be unloaded at a receiving area in the southeast corner of Building 3 and be transferred into the building, then weighed and loaded onto a slaughter line for processing. The subject use involves slaughtering live poultry with other related processing steps, including bleeding, scaling, de-feathering, evisceration, washing the carcasses, chilling, freezing, packing, and shipping. The applicant stated that the facility will also render approximately 3,000 pounds of beef fat once a week. To render beef fat, employees will receive frozen beef fat from their suppliers and cook it until it is converted into liquid oil. The facility will also occasionally render duck and chicken fat. He noted that the rendering of beef, duck and chicken fat would be an accessory component of the overall operation.
The South Aurora Street facility currently has 70 employees. The subject facility is larger and will process additional chickens. Therefore, it is proposed to have 100 employees due to the expansion of this business. The proposed hours of operation for the slaughterhouse will generally be from 6:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., Monday through Friday. A few employees will come in at 4:00 a.m. to set up and wait for delivery of the live poultry. The facility will extend its hours of operation to 6:30 p.m. during busy holiday periods. The applicant has stated that his existing slaughterhouse on South Aurora Street will be closed when the new facility commences its operation (Attachment C - Project Description).
Parking
In accordance with SMC Section 16.64.040, Table 3-9, the off-street parking requirements for a Major Impact Facility is “Per Use Permit;” meaning that parking is based on the specific characteristics of the use (as opposed to being specifically listed in Table 3-9). Staff has determined that parking for the subject use should be assessed based upon the rate required for “Industrial, Manufacturing and Processing” uses: 150 spaces plus one space per 2,000 square feet (sq. ft.) of area over 100,000 sq. ft. and one space per 250 sq. ft. of offices/sales area over 5,000 sq. ft. in size. Off-street parking for the proposed use, including 11,650 sq. ft. of office space, is 287 parking spaces. The overall project site will have a total of 289 parking spaces, after a portion of an existing paved area on the site is re-striped. All delivery trucks will enter (loaded) and exit (empty) the project site via the existing gated driveway on East Miner Avenue (aligns with North Shasta Avenue on the north side of East Miner Avenue). All shipping trucks will enter and exit the facility through an existing gated driveway adjacent to the SPRR tracks off of North Filbert Street (Exhibit 1 to the Proposed Resolution - Site Plan). Employees will park on the east end of the site and use the same gate as the delivery trucks.
Neighborhood Meeting
For the Commission’s information, the applicant hosted a community outreach meeting on August 13, 2016, to discuss his proposed slaughterhouse with residents of the surrounding neighborhood. Notice for the meeting, which was held on the subject site, was provided by the applicant to all property owners within 300 feet of the site. The applicant, three of his employees, and Senior Planner Jenny Liaw attended the meeting; however, no one from the neighborhood attended the meeting.
In conclusion, the relocation of the proposed slaughterhouse will be in compliance with applicable SMC development standards and the required Findings for Approval can be made in the affirmative. As such, staff recommends that the Planning Commission approve the Use Permit for the subject use.
ENVIRONMENTAL REVIEW
Should the Planning Commission approve the subject Use Permit, the project would be categorically exempt, per California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) Guidelines Section 15301, Class 1, for the re-use of an existing structure.
VOTES REQUIRED
A vote of a majority, four (4), of the total authorized membership of the Planning Commission is required for the Commission to take action on this matter.
Attachment A - Location Map and Aerial Photograph
Attachment B - Zoning Map
Attachment C - Project Description