By ALBERT VILLEGAS
Special to the NEWS
The San Benito Commissioners unanimously voted down a permit for truck parking near a residential area after concerns were raised about the types of chemicals that could be stored there, the applicant’s alleged action in laying out caliche without first consulting the city, and other issues.
The commission followed through on Planning & Zoning’s recommendation to deny the conditional use permit application by Mireya Miranda, submitted to the City of San Benito’s Planning Department on March 30.
The land in question is located in the 31000 block of FM 509 and, according to the City, is zoned Agriculture and Open Space (A&O). The parking lot would have covered 11.682 acres.
Elected leaders were provided an executive summary on the matter for their May 5 regular meeting.
Enrique Hernandez, the assistant director of Administrative Services, said that concerns included the presence of large caliche mounds on the property, the types of chemicals that may be transported in the trucks parked on-site, and whether hazardous materials would be stored in those trucks. Hernandez also told commissioners that residents expressed concerns that such materials could pose an explosion risk or harm nearby families, with 10 to 12 lots in the area.
Most of the families live along nearby Nixon and Zillock roads.
Hernandez said the applicant, Miranda, followed procedure when applying for a conditional use permit because this type of use is allowed in an A&O zone. She would also have had to subdivide the 22.2-acre property before obtaining building permits and applying for a business license, Hernandez told commissioners.
Elected leaders voted on the item following a public hearing in which one resident spoke against it.
Resident Alexandra Corkill said there were trucks already parking in the lot and that past complaints had been raised multiple times with City Hall.
“The only reason they are going through the process of getting the permit is that, as neighbors, we reported it and kept reporting it, so now it’s being done the proper way (through a permit),” Corkill said. “But I feel that because it had already been done illegally, the City is able to put restrictions.”
Corkill said that even though the land is off Paso Real Road and considered commercialized by residents, families fear airborne illness from sitting chemicals, which could arise now or later, so precautions need to be discussed.
Commissioner Pedro A. Galvan said he had fielded past residential concerns about caliche pushing up against their chain-link fences, closing in several properties.
“When we had major flooding in March 2025, these residents were out for some time; changes were made without proper permitting,” said Galvan, who made the motion to deny the permit. The motion was seconded by Commissioner Deborah A. Morales.
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