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Analysis - Use Permit Jurisdiction Prior to submittal of the Use Permit application, the applicant met with the Community Development Department to discuss the type of application, if any, that will be needed to establish the proposed expansion of the UP intermodal facility. The applicant, Union Pacific, claimed by virtue of its status as a public utility subject to regulation by the California Public Utilities Commission, it is exempt from local land use control. In the spirit of cooperation, UP stated that they were voluntarily filing the Use Permit application and agreeing to participate in the CEQA process. According to the County Counsel's office, the California Public Utilities Commission has paramount jurisdiction over public utilities such as railroads. The County may impose reasonable conditions and mitigation measures through the CEQA process, but the County may not prohibit the construction, maintenance, and operation of the proposed intermodal facility. The California Constitution, Article XII, Section 8, provides, in part: "A City, County, or other public body may not regulate matters over which the legislature grants regulatory power to the[Public Utilities] Commission." The California Public Utilities Code, Section 701, provides: "The Commission may supervise and regulate every public utility in the State and may do all things, whether specifically designated in this part or in addition thereto, which are necessary and convenient in the exercise of such power and jurisdiction." Under California case law, the County cannot regulate the construction, maintenance, and operation of the facility relating to the health and safety of UP's employees, passengers, customers, and the public. The County may impose reasonable conditions relating to matters of local concern but may not interfere with the construction, maintenance, and operation of the facility. The matters of local concern must be compatible with the statewide interest to ensure that the railroad is operated in a safe and efficient manner. If the County desires to go further in conditioning the project, the County's remedy is to petition the Public Utilities Commission for a hearing to obtain orders under Public Utilities Code Section 762, concerning the construction of the facility, and under Public Utilities Code Section 768, concerning the operation and maintenance of the facility. Background On May 7, 1992, the Planning Commission concurrently approved Use Permit No. UP-92-13 for a railroad facility to load truck trailers onto railroad cars and Major Subdivision application No. SU-92-5 to subdivide three parcels into six parcels. The railroad facility uses three of the six parcels. The existing intermodal facility encompasses 132 acres. The existing facility uses 3 unloading tracks totaling 13,800 square feet. There are 1,450 existing parking bays for cargo units and each parking bay is 11 feet by 53 feet. There are 57 parking spaces existing for employees and guests. The cargo units are carried by trucks which are processed through 9 manually-operated gate lanes. The existing operation includes a 2,225 square foot administrative building and a 5,625 square foot maintenance building. On September 17, 2009, the Planning Commission approved Use Permit application PA-0900174 for a container yard for the existing intermodal railroad facility. The 10.9- acre expansion included a new San Joaquin County PA-0900184 & 185\Union Pacific Community Development Page 7