Residents Persist and Prevail Against Largo

The Colton City Council on Jan. 6 voted to uphold the Planning Commission's denial of a conditional use permit to Largo Concrete to establish a contractor's storage yard in south Colton. The Council voted 6 to 1 at last Tuesday's public hearing - mandated by San Bernardino County Superior Court Judge David Cohn - not to approve Largo Concrete and property owner Alec Balci's appeal of the Planning Commission's decision to allow the company to construct the storage yard at 240 E. Congress Street, which is in a light industrial zone. Largo first applied for the CUP in 2013 and in the wake of the Planning Commission's denial of the permit has met resistance by residents of the area. The matter has been brought before the council for appeal several times in the approximate last year. In August 2013 the Planning Commission denied a CUP to allow a contractor's storage yard at 240 E. Congress Street, which Largo appealed in October 2013. Staff reports show at that time the council voted 4-3 to preliminarily approve the project: Councilmembers David Toro, Isaac Suchil and Frank Navarro voted against the project, and former Councilmembers Frank Gonzales and Susan Oliva, former Mayor Sarah Zamora and Councilmember Deidre Bennett voted to approve the project, contingent upon reaching an agreement on revised conditions of approval to mitigate concerns expressed by the public, including less public safety due to increased noise, traffic and air pollution. A City Council ad hoc committee was formed to discuss these issues, meet with Largo and residents and provide revised conditions for final review and approval by the City Council at a Nov. 19, 2013 meeting. At the November 2013 meeting, the City Council came to a stalemate vote - Councilmembers Toro, Navarro and Suchil all voted against the project, and former Councilmembers Gonzales and Oliva and former Mayor Zamora voted to approve the project. Councilmember Bennett was absent from this meeting. In January 2014, the planning commission then adopted a resolution which revoked the CUP pertaining to pallet manufacturing and lumber storage at the Congress Street address and once again the council was asked to consider an appeal made by Largo. On March 4, 2014, the council voted 4-0 to uphold the Planning Commission’s denial of the CUP to Largo, with former Mayor Zamora and former Councilmembers Oliva absent due to illness and Gonzales recusing himself from the item. Additionally, Largo took the case before Judge Cohn, who concluded that the 4 to 0 vote was improper and ruled that the appeal be brought back to the council as the Colton Municipal Code requires all six councilmembers and the mayor to participate and vote on the matter – which they did at the Jan. 6, 2015 meeting. Public comment on the item lasted over an hour with several speakers arguing for and against denial of the CUP. The project would have established an approximate 6,000 square-foot main office building with two 60-foot by 150-foot canopy structures, a paved site and concrete loading dock, parking, perimeter fencing and three fire hydrants on the 7.6 acre site, located adjacent to a residential neighborhood and Wilson Elementary School. It would have staffed seven full-time employees and trucks would have made an estimated 27 total daily trips. Issues of concern for residents and environmental advocates who spoke against the project included increases in noise, traffic and air pollution, all of which would mean less safety for residents in the area, they argued. Resident Rachel Warner said she was surprised to see the appeal come before the council again. "We are tired. We don't want any more trucks (in the area)," she said. With four asthmatic grandchildren, Warner said she was concerned about added pollution due to an increase in diesel trucks, as well as increased traffic in the area. Another resident, Amador Roman, said, "We have no desire to have one more truck on Congress Street. It's tearing up our roads, it's very dangerous for our emergency vehicles and the roads are clogged with other traffic." He pointed out nearby schools, parks and residential neighborhoods that he said would be impacted negatively if the project was approved. "I believe that we need to have the same quality of life as the rest of Colton. As members that have been elected, you should make sure that happens," Roman said. But Megan Garibaldi from Rutan & Tucker, LLP, which represents Largo Concrete, argued that the project would have made an insignificant negative impact on the area in comparison with other light industrial projects. "The city has zoned this property for light industrial use," said Ghirabaldi. "This is what Largo wants to use the property for, specifically to store decking materials, with only seven employees and only 27 trips per day. Compared with other light industrial projects approved by the city, it is difficult to imagine any less of an impactful use other than Largo's use," she said. She argued that a noise study concluded that any noise generated from the project would have complied with the city's ordinance, and emphasized that Largo Concrete would use the area for storage of lumber and decking materials. "As for issues of public safety, no evidence has been presented that that risk exists with respect to Largo's proposed use," said Garibaldi. Following public comment, Mayor Pro Tem Isaac Suchil made the motion to uphold the Planning Commission's decision to deny the CUP, with Councilmember Frank Navarro seconding the motion. Voting with Suchil's motion were Councilmembers Toro, Navarro, Bennett and Luis Gonzalez , along with Suchil and Mayor Richard de la Rosa. Voting against Suchil's motion was Councilmember Summer Zamora-Jorrin.