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Conduct a noticed public hearing to consider an appeal by Matthew Flaherty of the Solano County Zoning Administrator’s June 19, 2025 approval of Minor Use Permit Application No. MU-23-08 of Rhonda and Mike Petrillo to establish a Special Events Facility (Small/Medium), located three (3) miles southwest of the City of Winters in the Exclusive Agriculture 20-acre minimum (A-20) zoning district at 3695 Vickrey Lane, APN 0101-090-550. The project has been determined not to have a significant effect on the environment and is categorically exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act pursuant to CEQA Guidelines Section 15303 Class 3 - New Construction or Conversion of Small Structures & Section 15304 Class 4, Minor Alterations to Land
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Published Notice Required? Yes _X__ No _ _
Public Hearing Required? Yes _X__ No _ _
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The Department of Resource Management recommends that the Planning Commission:
1. Conduct a noticed public hearing to consider an appeal by Matthew Flaherty of the Solano County Zoning Administrator’s June 19, 2025 approval of Minor Use Permit Application No. MU-23-08 of Rhonda and Mike Petrillo to establish a Special Events Facility (Small/Medium), located three (3) miles southwest of the City of Winters in the Exclusive Agriculture 20-acre minimum (A-20) zoning district at 3695 Vickrey Lane, APN 0101-090-550; and
2. Deny the appeal request and adopt a resolution (Attachment A) affirming the Zoning Administrator’s decision and approving Minor Use Permit application MU-23-08 based on the enumerated findings and subject to the recommended conditions of approval.
SUMMARY:
Matthew Flaherty of Sunlight Horse and Cattle LLC, the owner of 3700 Vickrey Lane (APN 0101-090-540) located directly south of the subject parcel, has submitted an appeal of the Zoning Administrator’s June 19, 2025 decision to approve Minor Use Permit MU-23-08. The project proposed under MU-23-08 would establish a Special Events Facility (Small/Medium), located three (3) miles southwest of the City of Winters in the Exclusive Agriculture 20-acre minimum (A-20) zoning district at 3695 Vickrey Lane, APN 0101-090-550. The appeal, included as Attachment C, contends that the Zoning Administrator did not adequately consider public safety, infrastructure and accessibility issues. A list of the appeal issues and staff responses is provided as Attachment D and detailed in the discussion section below. The appeal was submitted within the required 10-day appeal period and the application fee has been paid.
DISCUSSION:
Setting
The 20-acre property is located approximately six (6) miles north of the City of Vacaville and three (3) miles southwest of the City of Winters and consists of one APN (0101-090-550). The property is developed with a primary dwelling, temporary single-family dwelling, and several accessory structures, with the remainder of the property used for agricultural production. The site has direct access from Vickrey Lane, a private road. Per 28.70.10(B)(6) of the County Code, the road shall be maintained in accordance with County Road Improvement Standards.
Project description
The proposed project will establish an outdoor Special Events Facility using the existing parking areas, lawn, and other graded and landscaped areas on the parcel. Initially six (6) events per year are proposed with up to 150 attendees, which may increase to 12 events per year depending on demand, but the size of individual events will not exceed 150 people. The initial phase will use portable restrooms rented for each event and catering by permitted food trucks, with no new development proposed. Once the facility has conducted 18 total events, exceeded six (6) events in a single calendar year, or has operated for five (5) years (whichever comes first), permanent restrooms and a septic system will be required to continue operation and will increase the allowed number of events to 12 per year as a Medium Special Events Facility.
Further details and plans are included in Attachment F.
General Plan and Zoning Consistency
General Plan
The project site is designated Agriculture by the General Plan Land Use diagram (Figure LU-1) of the Solano County General Plan and zoned Exclusive Agriculture 20-acre minimum (A-20). The existing zoning is consistent with the 2008 General Plan, and the proposed Special Events Facility (Small/Medium) is allowed in the A-20 zoning district subject to the applicable regulations and permitting requirements detailed below.
Zoning
General Standards: The proposed facility will meet all standards listed in Section 28.72.10 of the Solano County Code when operated in compliance with the proposed conditions of approval.
Specific Standards: The subject parcel is zoned A-20, where Small Special Events Facilities (if located on a private road) and Medium Special Events Facilities are allowed with approval of a Minor Use Permit subject to Sections 28.73.30(A) & (B)(6) of the Solano County Code.
Environmental Analysis
The project is exempt from the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) under CEQA Guidelines Sections 15303 and 15304.
a) CEQA Guidelines Section 15303 exempts the construction and location of limited numbers of new, small facilities or structures; installation of small new equipment and facilities in small structures; and the conversion of existing small structures from one use to another where only minor modifications are made in the exterior of the structure. Section 15303, subsection (e), includes as an example construction of accessory (appurtenant) structures including garages, carports, patios, swimming pools, and fences. The permanent restrooms that will eventually be constructed are consistent with this exemption, and the project will not include any other substantial physical changes to the property.
b) CEQA Guidelines Section 15304 exempts minor public or private alterations in the condition of land, water, and/or vegetation which do not involve removal of health, mature, scenic trees except for forestry or agricultural purposes. Section 15304, subsection (e), states that minor temporary use of land having negligible or no permanent effects on the environment is also exempt from further environmental review. The proposed events, which could be a maximum of 12 single-day events per year if all conditions are met, will not cause or result in any permanent changes to the existing conditions.
With the implementation of standard County conditions of approval, the development and operation of the proposed project is not anticipated to cause significant effects on the environment.
Background and Public hearings:
Zoning Administrator Hearing of November 7, 2024
On November 7th, 2024, the Solano County Zoning Administrator held a duly noticed public hearing to consider Minor Use Permit MU-23-08 to establish a Special Events Facility (Small/Medium). At the time of the hearing, Section 28.73.30(A)(6) of the Solano County Code stated that Public Assembly uses, such as Special Events Facilities, “shall be located on a public road or a private road if there is a recorded maintenance agreement executed by all lot owners served by the private road.” Vickrey Lane is a private road but does not have a recorded maintenance agreement. The applicant included a draft agreement with the application for MU-23-08 but stated that they were unsuccessful at getting all property owners served by Vickrey Lane to sign, instead proposing agreement via a condition of approval to maintain the road in safe and passable condition for all users and to take responsibility for the cost.
At the hearing, several public comments were submitted in opposition of the project related to the lack of a private road maintenance agreement, increased traffic, noise, and increased pollution and fire risk. All written public comments are included as Attachment H. At the applicant’s request, the Zoning Administrator took action to continue the hearing to an indefinite future date and in the meantime the applicant would attempt to resolve the issues raised by public comments.
Amendment of Private Road Requirements
On April 22, 2025, the County Board of Supervisors adopted an ordinance amending Chapter 28 of the Solano County Code (ZT-25-01). Among other amendments, the ordinance updated the Code to require that all land uses in Solano County abide by the Solano County Road Improvement Standards and Land Development Requirements. The ordinance removed the requirement that certain land uses may only be approved by the County if there is a signed and recorded private road maintenance agreement in place. The change made Solano County more consistent with other jurisdictions throughout the State.
Zoning Administrator Hearing of June 5, 2025
On June 5th, 2025, the Solano County Zoning Administrator held a duly noticed continued public hearing to again consider MU-23-08. Several public comments in opposition of the project were received after close of business on June 4th, which generally reiterated concerns regarding private road maintenance, increased traffic, noise, and increased pollution and fire risk. One of the comments was an email received from the Vacaville Fire Protection District at 10:30 p.m. on June 4th, stating that the project was subject to several additional conditions that were inconsistent with Vacaville Fire Protection District’s prior approval of the project as-is. Due to the new information and conflicting comments from the Vacaville Fire Protection District, the Zoning Administrator took action to continue the hearing to the next scheduled date of June 19, 2025, in order to give time for staff to analyze the comments in detail and connect with the Vacaville Fire Protection District regarding their conflicting comments.
Reinspection by Vacaville Fire Protection District
Between the June 5th and June 19th hearings, Vacaville Fire Protection District staff conducted an inspection of the property and provided written approval (included in Attachment H) stating that the access was sufficient for the proposed use and withdrawing their June 4th, 2025, comment letter.
Zoning Administrator Hearing of June 19, 2025
On June 19th, 2025, the Solano County Zoning Administrator conducted a public hearing to once again consider Minor Use Permit MU-23-08, and after testimony from the applicant and members of the public, took action to approve the permit.
Appeal of Zoning Administrator Action
On June 30, 2025, Matthew Flaherty submitted an appeal (Attachment B) raising concerns of increases in traffic, noise, and fire danger, lack of accessibility and evacuation plans, and general opposition to operation of a special events facility in the area.
The proposed special events facility would be allowed to conduct a maximum of 12 events per year, which is expected to include up to 60 vehicles entering and exiting the property for each event. Vickrey Lane is currently in good condition and the permittee will be required by condition #23 of MU-23-08 (Attachment A) to ensure that the road is safely passable (including making necessary repairs) prior to conducting any events. At the maximum capacity, special events would add an average of two (2) cars per day to the yearly traffic on Pleasants Valley Road.
Noise is addressed in 28.70.10 (B) of the County Code and conditions #15 and #18 of MU-23-08 (Attachment A) and is limited to 65 dba at the property line. Per condition #5, documented violations would lead to the permit being set for revocation by the Planning Commission if not corrected.
Fire safety is addressed by conditions 6, 11 and 16 (see Attachment A), which require an inspection and approval of a management plan prior to operation, and that the property be maintained free of junk and debris. The property is located within a State Responsibility Area (SRA) designated by the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (CAL FIRE) as a Very High Fire Hazard Severity Zone. The project does not propose any new development which would be subject to SRA regulations, and the Solano County Building Official and Vacaville Fire Protection District have conducted an inspection and determined that the existing access and availability of water for fire suppression is adequate for the proposed use (see Attachment H).
Properties located in the Exclusive Agriculture zoning district allow a variety of more intensive uses than a strictly residential district which many result in more noise and traffic than is typical for a strictly residential district. If the special events use is conducted in compliance with the conditions of approval, objections based on commercial activity and additional traffic do not warrant denial of a permit application.
All concerns raised in the appeal were reviewed as part of the permit process, and either have been addressed as conditions of approval, do not apply, or do not require any changes to the existing site conditions. Detailed staff responses to each item as listed on the appeal are provided as Attachment C.
Public Hearing Notice
Consistent with Sections 28.106 and 28.04 of the Solano County Code, a public hearing notice was published in the Daily Republic and Winters Express at least 15 days prior to the public hearing. In addition, all property owner’s within ½ mile of the project site received written public notice.
ALTERNATIVES:
The Planning Commission, after conducting a public hearing on this matter, may choose one of the following
options:
1. Affirm the Zoning Administrator’s approval and approve MU-23-08, or
2. Reverse the Zoning Administrator’s approval and deny MU-23-08, or
3. Modify the terms and conditions of the permit based on new information received and further analysis.
Attachments:
a) Planning Commission Draft Resolution MU-23-08
b) Flaherty Appeal Submittal
c) Staff Response to Appeal
d) ZA Resolution June 19 2025
e) ZA Packet June 19 2025
f) ZA Packet June 5 2025
g) ZA Packet November 7 2024
h) ZA Public Comments All
i) Public Notice