Planners delay recycling center proposal [Corrected]
The Costa Mesa Planning Commission on Monday postponed plans to review a proposed Westside recycling center so residents could have more time to weigh in on the project.
Lisa and John Morehart, the owners of the 1-acre site at 2025 Placentia Ave., asked planners to delay a discussion on their request for a permit to build an indoor, drive-thru recycling and collection facility there.
The Moreharts would like to build the center inside a 15,910-square-foot building.
FOR THE RECORD:
An earlier version incorrectly said Garcia Recycling would operate a new center proposed for Placentia Avenue.
The proposal could return to the commission as soon as April 23.Residents can attend the Recycling Arts Workshop from 5 to 7 p.m. Monday at the Boathouse, 1640 Pomona Ave., said Phillip Schwartze, a project consultant.
The recycling center would pay residents for their bottles and cans, but also feature exhibits, interactive monuments, an amphitheater and a sculpture garden of found and recycled arts, according to an April 4 letter John Morehart wrote to the proposed center’s neighbors.
“It’s really an education center, as much as anything,” Schwartze said.
The proposal also calls for an interpretive center, which would be a nonprofit set up to explore environmental stewardship and trace the path of waste and sustainability in the community, according to John Morehart’s letter.The project would include sustainable design principles, such as on-site graywater recycling, rainwater collection and photovoltaic systems.
“The new recycling center will be unique as an indoor drive-thru facility that meets the [strictest] standards for noise and odor control, aesthetics, hygiene and water-quality management,” John Morehart wrote.
The Moreharts were out of town and unavailable for comment.
Planning Commission approval is necessary to move forward, said Senior Planner Mel Lee.
The city hasn’t been notified of the intended operators, Lee said.
An attorney representing Garcia Recycling Center couldn’t be reached.
Twitter: @britneyjbarnes