Fresno County has settled with a family of pistachio growers over unpermitted building on what the family contends will be the largest pistachio plant in the world. The County issued permits back in September to Ventana South, LLC and Touchstone PIstachio, LLC for the construction of 49 siloes in Cantua Creek. Both companies are owned by the Assemi family of Fresno. However, in early December, a nut division of the Wonderful Company filed a complaint against the county, alleging that it ignored the state’s environmental review process for the Assemi family’s developing plant. According to the settlement, the county issued a stop work order after finding unpermitted construction on the property in Cantua Creek. The Wonderful company’s lawsuit says the county should also remove the unapproved construction. In the settlement, the Assemi brothers also agreed to set aside $ 250,000 to cover any costs the county might accrue in reviewing the project. This comes months after the Assemi
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