Stanislaus approves truck parking restrictions. Composting project withdrawn
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- Supervisors approved ordinance limiting truck parking in agricultural areas.
- Home-occupation permits shrink from three to one tractor-trailer, plus two trailers.
- Composting appeal withdrawn after Planning Commission denied a 24-acre facility.
Stanislaus County supervisors Tuesday night unanimously approved tighter regulations on truck parking facilities after a special committee studied the problem for more than 10 months.
The ordinance amendments aim to prevent concentrations of facilities where commercial trucks and trailers are parked in agricultural areas. The new regulations also add criteria and restrictions to address public concerns including farmland conversion, road damage, eyesores, hazardous materials and compliance with standards.
Tuesday’s action changes the rules for truck owners who park vehicles at home in the unincorporated area and also for parking facilities allowed through approval of a use permit. The county will allow one tractor-trailer and two trailers under a home-occupation license, instead of the current three tractor-trailer rigs and three trailers.
The ordinance still will permit up to 12 tractor-trailers and 24 trailers if the county approves a conditional use permit for the site. The vehicles must be registered in California. Next month, the board will consider land-use regulations for larger truck parking facilities that would require a general plan amendment.
The updated regulations will apply to new applications for use permits and home occupation permits.
Supervisor Vito Chiesa, who served on the ad hoc committee with Planning Commission chair Carmen Morad, noted that most of the code enforcement on illegal truck parking is within his Turlock-area district.
“I think this is a good product,” Chiesa said of the new regulations. “I think it will be a work in progress.”
Christine Gemperle, a farmer who has called for more controls on illegal truck parking, said it’s important that farmland is not compromised. “We talk about overregulation in agriculture, but over the years, I have realized regulation happens because of people who exploit the rules and the laws. That is clearly what is happening with this trucking situation in Stanislaus County.”
Another speaker said he parks trucks on his property that are used for hauling freshly harvested produce and asked if the regulations apply to him. County staff said there’s a separate set of rules for trucks exclusively used for agricultural purposes.
The board also approved consent items to abate unpermitted truck and trailer parking at seven sites on Lander Avenue and Golf Road in Turlock; South Sperry Road in Denair; East Barnhart and Esmar roads in Ceres; Bangs Avenue in Modesto; and Sycamore Avenue near Patterson.
Supervisors postponed a nuisance abatement on a Patterson Road parcel in Riverbank. Attorney George Petrulakis, representing the owner, said it’s a legal nonconforming use as a truck terminal, and he asked for time to prepare a permit application to the county.
Hearing canceled for composting facility
A Stanislaus County business has withdrawn its appeal of a Planning Commission decision that rejected a controversial composting facility west of Turlock.
Petrulakis notified the county Nov. 12 that his clients, Machado & Sons Construction, was formally withdrawing the appeal to the Board of Supervisors.
Machado & Sons proposed a 24-acre facility on West Main, between Crows Landing and Carpenter roads. The Planning Commission voted 5-2 in April to turn down the project after nearby residents complained it would disrupt traffic on West Main and create dust, odors and poor air quality.
Machado & Sons proposed a facility to receive 160 tons of waste materials per day, including yard clippings, discarded food materials and other green waste. The business planned to produce soil amendments for sale to local farmers.
This story was originally published November 19, 2025 at 8:11 AM.
