Home Depot report released; Planning Commission set to review project Dec. 16

By: JENNIFER KABBANY - Staff Writer | Saturday, November 22, 2003 12:25 AM PST ∞

VISTA ---- A city-commissioned report released this week contains 36 letters stating reasons against building a Home Depot in south Vista.

The report also lists the city's point-by-point response as to why those reasons do not require further environmental analysis of construction of the proposed 149,000-square-foot store.

The report is the final step in an environmental review process evaluating the effects of building the home and garden center on a 14.1-acre lot at South Melrose Drive and Oak Ridge Way in the Vista Business Park.

The Planning Commission is set to review the proposal at its Dec. 16 meeting and issue a recommendation to the City Council, which has final say on the project.

The 36 letters mainly raise concerns about traffic, air, noise and water pollution that the store would bring ---- problems that became public in a draft environmental report released in July.

The report, released Tuesday, answers those concerns, as well as public comments made during an Aug. 19 Planning Commission meeting.

The land is now zoned for light-industrial use, and Home Depot is requesting that the designation be changed for light-industrial or commercial use.

Diane Nygaard, president of the environmental group Preserve Calavera, says her group wants the land to remain light-industrial, which typically has a less-adverse affect on nearby native habitats than commercial uses.

The report states that with either designation, the land is going to be built upon and "therefore development of the site will not result in impacts to the regional or local conservation-planning efforts."

Nygaard also contends that the store would create a large amount of water runoff that would likely be filled with pollutants that can flow into nearby creeks and streams.

She suggests that Home Depot evaluate how the project is beneficial to nearby watersheds and conduct routine inspections to ensure their quality.

In response, the report states that the proposed location is not directly next to any open-space preserve, and inspections are unnecessary because Home Depot will follow the highest standards in its industry to protect against pollution.

Another contention in Nygaard's letter is that the traffic studies conducted did not take into consideration the nearby Carlsbad Oaks North project, an industrial-park development under way that includes the extension of Faraday Avenue ---- which would be built through to North Melrose Drive and into the Home Depot area.

But the report states that the study did consider the Faraday Avenue extension, and that there are many different scenarios as to when the road would be completed and what mitigating measures would be in place when it is extended.

Vista resident and businessman Chuck Rabel, who has been leading a fight against the store, said that despite the Planning Department's findings, he believes the City Council will nix the project.

"I fully believe, once the decision makers get all the facts on the table, they will make the right decision and this thing will die," Rabel said.

Rabel wrote a letter on behalf of "Vistans for Responsible Community Planning," a group of about 30 businesses and residents opposing the project, many of whom live nearby.

Rabel's letter states that the unavoidable environmental problems the store brings with it could be sidestepped by keeping the land zoned light-industrial and not changing it to commercial.

That decision is for the Planning Commission and the City Council to decide, the report states.

In fact, many responses that the report offers state that only specific environmental concern are to be addressed.

Some residents, such as Susan Baldwin, wrote to request the city deny Home Depot access to Vista to "protect our city from unnecessary pollution, noise and traffic."

"The purpose of the (report) is not to 'pass' or 'fail' a project ... (but to) disclose the environmental impacts," the report states.

Home Depot's paid consultant, John Ziebarth, said he does not believe there are grounds to prevent the store from being built.

The Planning Department will not make a formal recommendation on whether the project should be approved until the issue goes before the Planning Commission.

Ziebarth said the only issues that Home Depot must address are the ones that create unavoidable effects on the environment and surrounding community, such as wear and tear to roads and traffic.

As for traffic concerns, Home Depot will pay "its fair share" to improve nearby roads and intersections, and the city must identify where it will come up with money to pay for the rest of the improvements, he said.

The city's principal planner, John Conley, said that the "city has the discretion to come up with additional funds to implement those improvements."

"We are going to try and collect other money from other developments," he said. "We are looking for future developments to implement (the road improvements)."

Any "overriding concerns" would be outlined in the staff report, which will be released a week before the Dec. 16 Planning Commission meeting, Conley said.

The draft and final reports were prepared by consultants hired by the city at a cost of about $150,000, which was paid for by Home Depot and are available at City Hall, 600 Eucalyptus Ave.

Contact staff writer Jennifer Kabbany at (760) 631-6622 or jkabbany@nctimes.com.

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