Planning commission approves funeral home permit for 246 East Tulare Avenue

The Tulare Planning Commission on July 28 unanimously approved Conditional Use Permit (CUP) 2026-12 to allow a funeral home and memorial event facility at 246 East Tulare Avenue, at the northwest corner of Tillery Avenue and North L Street.

City staff presented the application, saying, “The item before you is a request by Albert Cardano to salvage a funeral home and memorial event facility inside an existing commercial building.” Staff described the site as C-3 (service commercial) within the Central Business District, noted the project includes a refrigerated holding room and that “there will be no crematory services provided on the site,” and recommended approval subject to the conditions listed in the staff report.

During commissioner questioning, staff clarified that funeral homes require a conditional use permit under the current code for the C-3 zone and that the commission could add conditions tailored to this site. Chris Porfieri, who identified himself as “a licensed funeral director” and said he was representing Mr Grid Auto, described the proposed operations: “They would be traditional type of funeral services, memorial services, gatherings afterwards as well.” Porfieri said families could use the facility for receptions after services but that the business would not be rented out for unrelated events or allow open alcohol service.

Staff said the site has off-street parking and may use curbside parking under downtown standards; staff and engineering, fire and police review did not identify a traffic safety concern for occasional services. The applicant described typical visitation hours as roughly 4 p.m. to 8 p.m., with rosaries beginning near 6 p.m. and lasting about 25–30 minutes.

Commissioner (speaker 5) moved to approve CUP 2026-12 based on the findings and subject to the recommended conditions and Resolution No. 5558; the motion was seconded and the commission voted unanimously to approve. Chair Miller closed by welcoming the business to Tulare.

The permit approval is effective pursuant to the conditions in the staff report; additional administrative steps or appeals, if any, were not discussed at the meeting.