Planners Reject Recycling Plant at Egg City Site

In a split vote Thursday, the Ventura County Planning Commission denied an Oxnard company’s request to locate a recycling facility at the old Egg City chicken ranch north of Moorpark.

After listening to more than four hours of complaints from neighbors of the property, the commission voted 3 to 2 to deny the permit. They said increased truck traffic would only exacerbate congestion on roads surrounding the area.

“To add to truck traffic in the area is just unconscionable. . . . It’s the wrong project at the wrong place at the wrong time,” said commission Chairman Michael Wesner, a resident of Moorpark. “It’s a burden that residents shouldn’t have to deal with.”

Moorpark officials, who have opposed the project, cheered the commission’s decision.

“This was not an appropriate use for the property, and I’m happy the commission saw it that way,” Moorpark Councilman Bernardo Perez said.

M-Maintenance and Clean-Up of Oxnard applied for a five-year conditional-use permit earlier this year to locate the recycling center on a 14.5-acre parcel at the north end of the 205-acre site. The facility would be used to sort and recycle scrap lumber, cardboard, concrete and roofing tiles from construction sites.

However, neighboring residents have strongly opposed the project, fearing that it would further choke California 23 and other surrounding roads with trucks and spread dust that would damage neighboring avocado and lemon groves.

“I can’t believe this project wouldn’t have a significant impact on the surrounding environment,” said Eugene Shamoon, who owns the 110-acre Padre Ranch just south of the site. “All this dust from the debris would blow down onto my property and hurt my crop.”

The commission voted to deny the permit in spite of the planning department’s recommendation that it be approved.

After months of study, the department issued a report stating that noise would not be a problem and that dust could adequately be controlled because the recycling center would be in a remote corner of the site.

As for concerns about increased traffic congestion, M-Maintenance and the county agreed to restrict the number and kinds of trucks that would be used to transport recyclables to the facility. Additionally, those trucks would only be able to use certain routes.

The commission’s decision was a relief to homeowners and farmers who have opposed the project since the beginning.

“It [the vote] was a heart stopper,” said Patty Waters, an area rancher who spearheaded the project’s opposition. “But they really missed the fact that this is a growth issue, not a traffic issue.”

Waters has maintained that the unincorporated county area has been zoned for agricultural use or as open space. She and other residents fear that the project would lead to more development.

“Basically, once you put the yeast in the bread, it’s going to expand in every direction,” she said. “We don’t want what happened in the San Fernando Valley to happen here.”

Joseph Reisdorf, an environmental consultant representing M-Maintenance, was dismayed by the commission’s decision and said he would appeal his client’s case to the Board of Supervisors.

“They obviously made a mistake,” he said. “They didn’t consider the facts in this case and based their decisions on completely unfounded perceptions.”

David Goldstein, with the county’s Solid Waste Management Department, sided with the developer’s plan, saying the recycling center is needed to meet state regulations requiring local governments to reduce waste going to landfills by 50% by the year 2000. If the county fails to follow the mandate, he said, it could be fined up to $10,000 a day for every day it is not in compliance.

He noted that the Ventura County Recycling Zone, a partnership of local governments that includes the county, has approved a $300,000 low-interest loan to M-Maintenance to help fund the recycling center.

Salvador Plascencia, owner of M-Maintenance, said he was disappointed by the decision but vowed to pursue his plan.

“I’m not going to give up because I’ve got way too much invested in this,” he said. “I’m not looking for any trouble; I just wish there was a way for me to assure residents it won’t hurt them.”