CYPRESS : Warehouse Foes Direct Recall Effort at 2 Officials

What’s been dubbed the “warehouse battle” is now erupting into a recall action.

Foes of a large carpet warehouse proposed for a Valley View Street business park in southern Cypress announced Friday that they have begun recall procedures against Mayor Cecilia L. Age and Councilwoman Gail H. Kerry.

Bob Pepper, president of the newly formed Cypress Recall Committee, said recall notices--the first step in the process--were mailed Thursday to Age and Kerry. The committee next plans to get the signatures of about 5,000 registered voters in the city to trigger the recall election.

“The issue really relates to the arrogance of City Council members who believe that they can make decisions that impact the lives of the residents of this city without the consent of the people impacted by their actions,” Pepper said.

Age, however, said in rebuttal Friday that the council had acted “in the best interests of the entire city.”

She said the proposed warehouse would bring the city $800,000 to $1.2 million a year in taxes. “In my opinion, people in the southern end (of Cypress) are not looking out for the benefit of the entire city,” she said.

Kerry could not be reached for comment Friday.

Age and Kerry were among those on the City Council on Sept. 26 when it unanimously approved a permit for a 440,000-square-foot warehouse at 11400 Valley View St. The building would serve as a wholesale distribution center for Shaw Industries, a Georgia-based carpet manufacturer.

Residents near the proposed warehouse packed a council meeting when the issue was discussed. They said the large warehouse would cause noise and traffic and would wreck nearby residential neighborhoods.

After the council approved the warehouse, angered residents formed a citizens group. That organization, the Citizens’ Assn. for the Sensible Development of Warland Center, filed a lawsuit in Orange County Superior Court challenging the warehouse. The suit is still pending.

In the meantime, the citizens group started fighting a second proposed warehouse in the Valley View area. The proposed developer of that warehouse, a food distribution center, withdrew the request at the City Council’s Dec. 12 meeting after protests.

The newly formed recall committee includes many people who have been active in the earlier group, said Tony Smith, who is active in both organizations.

Richard Partin and Joyce Nicholson, two of the five council members who voted Sept. 26 for the carpet warehouse, did not seek reelection Nov. 8. A third council member, Walter K. Bowman, was reelected Nov. 8 and state law prohibits his being targeted for recall until 90 days after the election, the recall leaders said.