Considering battery storage on your San Joaquin County land?

Identify the land and the reviewer before choosing an application

Start with the parcel number and a drawing of the area the company wants. Include any access or electrical route outside that area. A postal address can help locate the property, but the company should confirm whether the work is reviewed by the county, an incorporated city or another authority.

San Joaquin County’s Planning Division administers the General Plan, Development Title and other adopted plans. Its use-permit guidance describes discretionary review for uses with special site, design or operating requirements. Ask Planning which application applies to this battery proposal and what other approvals will be needed.

Do not choose an application solely because a nearby project used it. A county notice for PA-2400335 (A), near the Tracy combined cycle power plant, describes an Administrative Use Permit. That is useful evidence of one project’s route; it is not a ruling on a different parcel, design or battery operation.

The administrative-use page encourages consultation with county staff before submitting. Have the company bring the proposed layout and operating description to that discussion. Ask it to report the result in writing, identifying the reviewers, required documents and questions still to resolve.

Keep the application number when one is assigned. Use it to match the plans, correspondence and decision to the proposal on your land. If the company changes the acreage, entrance or electrical route, ask whether the revised proposal needs further review.

Reference: San Joaquin County: Planning Division · San Joaquin County: Administrative Use Permit · San Joaquin County: July 2025 Notice of Determination, PA-2400335 (A)

Make the site plan show what happens to the rest of your property

A battery fence is only one part of the drawing. Mark the entrance, internal roads, unloading area, electrical line, drainage work and any temporary construction areas. Show the parts of the tract you will keep using and how you will reach them after the project is built.

The county’s site-plan checklist calls for property lines with dimensions, streets and easements with access details, and existing and proposed structures. It also asks for proposed parking and driveways, including their dimensions and surface material. Use those details to compare the company’s plans with the rights requested in the agreement.

The checklist includes existing and proposed wells, wastewater facilities and replacement areas where applicable. Tell the company about infrastructure serving your home, farm or another building. Ask the engineer how the proposed work avoids it and whether it will remain accessible for repair.

Drainage facilities, unusual terrain, water features, landscaping, tree removal, fencing and screening also appear on the checklist. Ask what will change, including work outside the equipment area. A new road, removed tree line or redirected ditch may affect the land you retain.

The checklist tells applicants to consult staff about which requirements apply. Have the company’s professional prepare the required plan and confirm its scope. You can provide property information without taking responsibility for the engineering design.

Compare the final drawing with the lease and easements before signing. Separate the permanent project area from temporary construction rights. If plans change during review, ask for an updated map and a clear explanation of any additional land or access the company wants.

Reference: San Joaquin County: Site Plan Checklist · San Joaquin County: Administrative Use Permit

Read the county signature form before granting authority

The county administrative-use page lists a signature form with signatures from all property owners. Ask the company for the complete form, the application it accompanies and the recorded ownership information it is using. Co-owners, trusts and companies should check who has authority to sign.

The linked Discretionary Signature Form contains more than permission to submit an application. It includes indemnity and defense provisions concerning claims connected with the application, project approvals and environmental review. It also addresses certain county costs and defense arrangements, with stated exceptions.

Have your adviser review those provisions and explain the responsibilities you would accept. Ask how the company’s separate agreement deals with application costs, challenges to approvals and any obligations requested of you. Do not assume that the county form and the company’s lease allocate responsibility in the same way.

The application-signature portion distinguishes a property owner, an applicant and a legal agent. For an applicant or agent, it asks for proof of the owner’s consent and authority to file on the owner’s behalf. Ask exactly what authority you are granting and which application and plans it covers.

The form also has an initial concerning completion of a separate campaign-contribution notice and disclosure form. Request the current supporting paperwork and understand what you are certifying. Signing a county application is a different step from making an inquiry about whether your land could work.

Keep the signed application, authorization and submitted plans together. If the applicant or project changes, ask whether new consent or documents are required. Your permission to pursue a defined proposal should not leave you unclear about who may act for you.

Reference: San Joaquin County: Discretionary Signature Form · San Joaquin County: Administrative Use Permit

Separate application acceptance from the project decision

The county’s administrative-use process describes submitting information, staff review for acceptance and then payment of the appropriate fee. Acceptance means the application has reached that stage of processing. It does not tell you that every project approval or permit has been issued.

The same page says the Zoning Administrator may approve, conditionally approve or deny an Administrative Use Permit, or refer it to the Planning Commission in described circumstances. Ask for the actual decision and its conditions when the company reports that the project is approved.

The county guidance identifies findings concerning plan consistency, adequate improvements and services, site suitability, compatibility with surrounding property and nuisance concerns. These are reasons to discuss access, drainage, noise, lighting and neighboring uses early in the design.

Request a list of conditions with the responsible party and the stage at which each must be satisfied. Some conditions may change a drawing, require more work or affect construction timing. Ask which conditions involve your land or signatures and who pays to meet them.

Set realistic deadlines in the private agreement while review continues. Find out how long the company wants to reserve the property, what it pays during that period and what happens if approval is denied, delayed or requires a layout you do not want.

The county CDD website provides online permitting access and assistance. Use the official county process to check application information and payment instructions. Keep a company’s status report, the county’s application record and the issued decision identified by their separate purposes.

Reference: San Joaquin County: Administrative Use Permit · San Joaquin County: Community Development Department

Use the Tracy record as an example of conditions, not a promise

The July 2025 Notice of Determination for PA-2400335 (A) reports county approval on July 11, 2025. It describes a 40-megawatt, 320-megawatt-hour battery project on about 12.8 acres within a 39-acre parcel adjacent to an existing power plant.

Those figures describe that proposal. They are not a minimum acreage, a standard battery layout or a promise that another tract can support the same equipment. Your property needs its own access, service, land-use and engineering review.

The notice says a Mitigated Negative Declaration was prepared, mitigation measures were made conditions of approval and a mitigation reporting or monitoring plan was adopted. Ask for the measures and monitoring responsibilities for your proposal, rather than stopping at the statement that environmental review is complete.

The earlier May 2025 review listing describes the application and environmental-review stage. The July notice reports a later decision. Keep those stages separate when assessing progress. A referral or proposed environmental determination should not be described as the final approval.

The documents state that the Tracy property was not under a Williamson Act contract and identify its agricultural zoning and plan designation. Have the company check your own property’s restrictions and agricultural-contract status. Another parcel’s status does not establish what is allowed on yours.

This guide has reviewed the notice and related listings, not the entire initial study, mitigation schedule or approval packet. Before construction on your land, obtain the completed project documents and confirm remaining permits, conditions and utility requirements. The notice alone does not establish that the Tracy project has been constructed or is operating.

Reference: San Joaquin County: July 2025 Notice of Determination, PA-2400335 (A) · CEQAnet: May 2025 review listing, PA-2400335 (A)

Check water and service work beyond the battery equipment

The administrative-use page asks for environmental-health information and a service letter when a public water, sewer or storm-drainage connection is required or proposed. Ask which services the project needs and whether the responsible providers have agreed to serve it.

A service letter should be identified by what it covers. A water or drainage provider’s letter does not establish the battery’s electrical connection. Request the separate utility or connection-authority status, along with a drawing of any line or facilities needed across your land.

A June 2025 Central Valley Water Board letter on the Tracy environmental review discusses construction stormwater, work affecting waters or wetlands, wastewater discharges and dewatering. Many of its requirements depend on the work proposed. Ask the engineer which of those issues arise on your property and what current permissions are needed.

If trenches or excavations may require pumping water, ask where it would go and what review applies before discharge. If a ditch or water feature would be crossed or altered, ask who is reviewing that work. Include temporary construction activities when discussing the scope, not just the finished facility.

The letter is a review comment, not an issued water permit. It cites older permit-order identifiers, so have the company confirm the current process and provide evidence of any required coverage. Do not use the letter as a blanket clearance for another project.

Put private responsibilities into the agreement as well. Decide who pays for service extensions, protects existing wells and drainage, repairs construction damage and maintains any project facilities. Ask how those commitments continue if the project is transferred to another operator.

Reference: San Joaquin County: Administrative Use Permit · San Joaquin County: Site Plan Checklist · Central Valley Water Board: June 2025 review comments for PA-2400335 (A)

Start a property discussion with the information you have

Use the form on this page to share your contact details and the property’s location. Approximate acreage and a parcel number are helpful if you have them. Tell us whether you want to consider the whole property or only a portion.

Mention existing access, a nearby home, a well, irrigation facilities or a recorded restriction that you think could affect the project. You can describe what you know without commissioning a site plan or collecting county permit forms for an initial inquiry.

If you already have a proposal, keep the company’s name, requested acreage, site map and timeline. Note any document it wants you to sign and whether it says an application has been submitted or approved. Those details help focus the next questions.

An inquiry to Sunland America does not authorize us to file a county application on your behalf, grant access to the property or commit you to a lease or sale. Any later proposal should describe its land rights, payments, approval deadlines and responsibilities clearly enough for you to review.

Reference: San Joaquin County: Discretionary Signature Form · San Joaquin County: Site Plan Checklist