On the heels of firm PR push, asphalt plant application withdrawn
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula News
Published: June 23, 2006
On the heels of a firm PR push by Lemonwood Industrial Park business owners and others, a Santa Maria-based company has withdrawn its application to build an asphalt concrete plant in Santa Paula just north of the Santa Clara River.
By Peggy Kelly
Santa Paula Times
On the heels of a firm PR push by Lemonwood Industrial Park business owners and others, a Santa Maria-based company has withdrawn its application to build an asphalt concrete plant in Santa Paula just north of the Santa Clara River. According to a letter by James A. Diani of A.J. Diani Construction Co. Inc. received by the city on Wednesday, the company plans to resubmit an application “in the near future,” although no reason was given for the withdrawal.
A Conditional Use Permit hearing on the project by the Planning Commission had been tentatively scheduled for June 27. The meeting has been cancelled.
“They’re leaving the door open to come back,” City Manager Wally Bobkiewicz said Wednesday. Bobkiewicz added that although he did not know why the application was redrawn, he speculated that rising business and community concerns were a factor.
The facility was proposed for 14.5 acres of property south of Highway 126 and east of Hallock Drive and the Lemonwood Industrial Park. According to the Draft Environmental Impact report on the project, the asphalt plant would have operated 20 hours a day for six days a week. Annual production was estimated at 400,000 tons of asphalt concrete for road projects.
Objections to the plant ranged from noise to air pollution and traffic, as well as contamination to the Santa Clara River. Among those objecting to the project was the Santa Paula Elementary School District, which had contacted the city about concerns of potential air pollution.
Former Deputy District Attorney and Assembly candidate Jeff Gorrell of Gorrell Advocacy was retained by Citizens for Santa Paula’s Future, who feared the impacts of the projected 236 truck trips - up to 984 trips on peak business days - on Lemonwood Industrial Park enterprises. A flyer sent by the Lemonwood-based group noted that the City of Ventura had rejected a proposed Diani asphalt plant and that the construction of a plant in Santa Paula would drive away businesses such as the Santa Paula Ford near the intersection of Highway 126 and Hallock Drive.
A Diani representative was not available for comment.
“We just found a growing lack of support for that plant because it’s just not consistent with the vision that Santa Paula has for their town or their future,” said Gorrell. Although “we were really finding a lack of support in places that would normally be supportive” of such a project, “now it’s wait and... we’re definitely watching the situation closely.”
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