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Conduct a noticed public hearing to consider the request of Amir Habib to appeal the determination of the Planning Manager that approval of a Minor Use Permit is required prior to approval of building permit application B2022-1123. The 7.84-acre parcel is in the Rural Residential 2.5-acre minimum (RR-2.5) zoning district. The property is located at 7615 English Hills Road, APN: 0105-050-940. (Project Planner: Jasper Gutkowski, 707-784-3169).
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Published Notice Required? Yes _X__ No _ _
Public Hearing Required? Yes _X__ No _ _
DEPARTMENTAL RECOMMENDATION:
The Department of Resource Management recommends the Planning Commission:
Deny the appeal and affirm the Planning Manager determination that a Minor Use Permit is required prior to approval of building permit application B2022-1123
SUMMARY:
Amir Habib, the owner of 7615 English Hills Road (APN 0105-050-940) has submitted an appeal of the Planning Manager’s determination that a Minor Use Permit is required to be approved prior to approval of building permit application B2022-1123. The building permit application proposes a new 2,066 square feet (sq ft) garage with a 256 sq ft covered porch. The addition of the new garage and covered porch would result in an aggregate accessory building square footage of approximately 8,871 sq ft. County Code Section 28.31.20 requires approval of a Minor Use Permit to allow accessory buildings in aggregate greater than 5,000 sq ft in size combined on a lot greater than four (4) acres in the RR-2.5 zoning district.
The appeal, included as Attachment A, contends that unenclosed structures should not be counted toward the accessory structure aggregate square footage, that Planning Service’s Division staff is not consistently interpreting the Solano County Zoning Ordinance, and that the proposed garage should not be considered towards Minor Use Permit requirements because of a previous structure destroyed in the LNU Lightning Complex Fires. A list of the appeal issues and staff responses are provided as Attachment B and are 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 7.84-acre property is located approximately two (2) miles north of the City of Vacaville and consists of one APN (0105-050-940). The property is developed with a primary dwelling, a pool house, an in-progress accessory dwelling unit (ADU) conversion with an attached garage, and several accessory structures. The Planning Services Division has identified 16 existing accessory structures constructed without benefit of building permit. The site has direct access from English Hills Road.
Project description
The proposed project applied for with building permit application B2022-1123, will allow for the construction of a new 2,066 sq ft detached garage with a 256 sq ft covered porch. Under the Solano County Zoning Ordinance (Chapter 28 of the County Code), a Minor Use Permit (MUP) is required when total residential accessory building square footage exceeds 5,000 sq ft on a lot which is greater than four (4) acres (Solano County Code Section 28.31.20, Table 28.31A). Here, even as the site exists today, residential accessory building square footage exceeds 5,000 sq ft and is, therefore, in violation of the Zoning Ordinance since the structures exist without benefit of permit. The additional proposed detached garage results in a total aggregate of more than 8,000 sq ft of residential accessory building square feet. Further details and plans are included in Attachments E and F.
In consideration of the previous structure destroyed by the LNU lightning complex fires, the proposed new garage does not meet the minimum criteria to be considered legal nonconforming under Solano County Code section 28.114, as detailed in Attachment B. Therefore, the proposed garage is subject to all current zoning standards, including accessory building aggregation square footage requirements in the RR-2.5 zoning district.
Issue on Appeal
The project site is designated Rural Residential by the General Plan Land Use diagram (Figure LU-1) of the Solano County General Plan. The project site is zoned Rural Residential 2.5-acre minimum (RR-2.5).
The only issue on appeal to the Planning Commission is the determination of the Solano County Planning Manager that a Minor Use Permit entitlement is required before a building permit may be approved for the new 2,322 sq ft garage.
Under Section 28.31.20 of the Solano County Code, since the subject parcel is zoned RR-2.5, Residential Accessory Buildings in aggregate greater than 5,000 sq ft in size on a lot greater than four (4) acres may be allowed contingent upon approval of a Minor Use Permit. (See Table 28.31A.) If the Planning Commission affirms the Planning Manager’s determination, and a Minor Use Permit application is submitted in the future, it will be processed consistent with Section 27.31.20 and Section 28.106 of the County Code. The process includes a noticed public hearing before the Solano County Zoning Administrator.
Background:
Meeting with Resource Management Staff of December 11, 2025
On December 11th, 2025, members of Planning and Building Division staff met with the property owners of 7615 English Hills Road, Amir and Erlinda Habib, and the general contractor for the project, Phil Woolworth, to assist the applicant in understanding the Minor Use Permit square footage requirements of residential accessory structures in the RR-2.5 zoning district. Many of the accessory structures identified on-site were constructed without benefit of building permit, and therefore official measurements of the structures are not available. In the time since the Planning Division’s initial plan-check comments in 2022, the Planning Division repeatedly requested verifiable documentation to support a determination regarding whether aggregate square footage of residential accessory buildings on the property exceeds (or is less than) 5,000 sq ft without resolution. It was discussed that in the absence of building permits or other more precise, verifiable documentation, the County utilizes aerial imagery and GIS as an evidentiary tool to provide a reasonable estimation of square footage and support its administration of County Zoning Regulations. This review indicated that the existing and proposed accessory buildings exceed 5,000 sq ft in aggregate, and that a Minor Use Permit would be required to allow the accessory structures to remain on-site unless further, more verifiable, documentation was provided for review that could prove otherwise.
Planning Manager Letter of December 18, 2025
On December 18th, 2025, the Planning Services Division sent Mr. Habib a letter (Attachment C) clarifying the County’s methodology for calculating residential accessory building square footages for purposes of understanding whether a Minor Use Permit is required for the proposed garage under review (B2022-1123) in the RR-2.5 zoning district per Table 28.31A of the Solano County Code. This letter directed Mr. Habib to sections of the Code specifying calculation methodology and the requirement of both enclosed and unenclosed structures to be counted. It was stated that the County’s standard practice is to use official building square footage provided in the building permit application materials for each residential accessory building on the property. However, in the absence of official, complete building permit records, the County uses aerial imagery and GIS as an evidentiary tool to provide a reasonable estimation of square footage and support its administration of County Zoning Regulations and check that numbers provided by an applicant on a site plan are of relative accuracy. The County had previously requested square footage documentation of the residential accessory buildings on-site for several months without resolution.
Planning Manager Letter of January 12, 2026
On January 12th, 2026, the Planning Manager sent Mr. Habib a letter (Attachment D) further identifying the unpermitted, existing, structures which the County was seeking additional square footage information for. The County reiterated additional, verifiable, documentation such as a dimensioned floor / site plan, elevation drawings, and/or photos of all four sides of the structure, and identification of the corresponding structure on the site plan, was required to further review the existing unpermitted structures.
Planning Manager Letter of April 14, 2026
On April 14, 2026, the Solano County Planning Services Division sent Mr. Habib a letter (Attachment E) with the Planning Manager’s formal determination that a Minor Use Permit is required prior to approval of B2022-1123 to entitle the existing and proposed residential accessory buildings on the property. This letter was in response to applicant measurements and photographs depicting structures constructed without benefit of building permit sent to the County for review. The response included an analysis of the County’s approximations of the unpermitted structures without official building permit square footage and an assessment of whether they meet the standards of exemption from accessory building Minor Use Permit square footage calculations (Section 28.31.20, Table 28.31A, footnote 2). This letter again clarified the County’s methodology for measuring accessory buildings, detailing sections of the Solano County Zoning Ordinance requiring both enclosed and unenclosed accessory buildings to be counted toward aggregate square footage in respect to Minor Use Permit requirements.
Staff Evaluation
Review by Planning Division staff has determined that approval of a Minor Use Permit is required to allow the continuance of the existing accessory buildings on-site and prior to approval of B2022-1123. Planning Commission denial of the appeal is recommended based on the following grounds, as further detailed in Attachment E:
a. What is counted towards the aggregate square footage: Solano County Code Section 28.01 provides that a “building” is synonymous with a “structure” where it is supporting or sheltering any use or occupancy. Therefore, “residential accessory building” is synonymous with a residential accessory “structure” that is supporting or sheltering any use or occupancy. Narrow exemptions from the aggregate square footage calculation are provided in Footnotes 1 and 2 of Section 28.31.20, Table 28.31A. Unenclosed structures are counted unless they fall under one of the narrow exemptions.
b. Determination: After conducting a detailed analysis of the existing and proposed structures, the Planning Division determined that the aggregate square footage of existing and proposed qualifying residential accessory buildings total approximately 8,871 sq ft. Numbers provided by the applicant total 7,778 sq ft. In both cases, accessory buildings are more than 5,000 sq ft and require approval of a Minor Use Permit. Planning staff’s full review is detailed in Attachment E.
c. Even if the Planning Commission were to decide that unenclosed structures should be excluded from the definition of residential accessory building (which Planning staff does not recommend), enclosed residential accessory buildings would still total more than 5,000 sq ft and still require approval of a Minor Use Permit. Planning staff approximates 6,072 sq ft of enclosed structures, the applicant’s numbers total 5,678 sq ft of enclosed structures.
d. In consideration of the previous barn destroyed in the LNU Lightning Complex Fire, the new proposed garage does not meet the minimum criteria to be considered legal nonconforming and is subject to current zoning regulations. The full evaluation is outlined in Attachment B.
e. Many of the existing accessory buildings on-site were constructed without benefit of building permits. Building permits remain required for all existing and proposed structures exceeding 120 sq ft per the 2025 California Building Standards Code.
f. Even as the site exists today, residential accessory building square footage exceeds 5,000 sq ft and is, therefore, in violation of the Zoning Ordinance since the structures exist without benefit of a minor use permit.
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 Vacaville Reporter 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:
In addition to the staff recommendation, the Planning Commission may reverse or modify the determination of the Planning Manager. This is not recommended because, based on the text of the Solano County Zoning Ordinance and all evidence in the record, residential accessory buildings on the property (even without including the proposed new garage, and even without including unenclosed structures) exceed 5,000 sq. ft. Building permits remain required for all existing and proposed structures exceeding 120 sq ft per the 2025 California Building Standards Code.
Attachments:
A. Appeal letter
B. Staff responses to appeal items
C. Planning Manager Response Letter 12-18-25
D. Planning Manager Response Letter 1-12-26
E. Planning Manager Response Letter 4-14-26
F. B2022-1223 - 7615 English Hills Rd Site Plan
G. Public notice