ESCONDIDO: Concrete plant developer seeking new permit

Blaming Caltrans, company wants to relocate required traffic signal

By DAVID GARRICK - Staff Writer | Wednesday, July 16, 2008 11:04 PM PDT ∞

ESCONDIDO ---- Two years after the City Council approved a controversial concrete mixing plant over the objections of several nearby business owners, the concrete company wants to amend its operating permit before building the $5 million facility.

Opponents of the facility contend it would clog traffic in Escondido's industrial zone, which is just west of Interstate 15 and south of Highway 78.

Supporters argue that the facility would help meet concrete demand in the area without increasing noise or dust pollution, because it would be the city's first fully enclosed concrete mixing plant.

An official with Robertson's Ready Mix downplayed the significance of the requested permit changes Wednesday, characterizing them as simply shifting the location of a traffic signal the company must erect as part of the deal.

The company also asked the city for permission to increase the daily concrete output of the plant from 750 to 950 cubic yards per day. But the Robertson's official said Wednesday the company has withdrawn that request based on neighborhood opposition and indications that it had overestimated demand for the extra capacity.

City officials required the company to build a traffic signal because of the increase in traffic from dozens of large trucks delivering concrete and materials each day.

The Robertson's official, Christine Goeyvarts, said a nearby Caltrans road project makes erecting the required signal at Simpson Way and Hale Avenue impossible before 2011. Instead, the company has suggested erecting a signal at Simpson Way and Andreasen Drive.

Kristina Owens, an assistant planner with the city, confirmed that the Caltrans project has made it impossible for Robertson's to comply with the city's demands before 2011. Without an amended operating permit, the opening of the plant could be delayed as long as two years, she said.

Increasing capacity was a key reason why the city's Planning Commission rejected the permit change request last month in a 5-0 vote, and it was the No. 1 reason cited by nearby business owners who objected to the permit change.

Goeyvarts said the extra capacity would not have worsened nearby traffic congestion because the work would have been done exclusively at night, but that argument did not prove persuasive.

"It bugs them anyway, so we just dropped it," said Goeyvarts.

The council was slated to approve the new operating permit Wednesday night, but the public hearing was postponed to Aug. 13 because a consultant hired by Robertson's had a scheduling conflict.

The plant would join three other concrete plants in the city's industrial zone: Superior Ready Mix, Hanson Aggregates and Palomar Transit Mix.

Councilman Sam Abed said he strongly opposes the plant because the city has enough concrete mixing plants already.

"This city does not need four concrete batch plants," said Abed, citing traffic problems and concerns about too much heavy industry in the area. "We could have one plant to do our part helping the region fulfill its concrete demand."

Abed also said the plant would be a setback to recent improvements in that part of town, including a new Lowe's home improvement store.

Abed voted against the project when the council initially approved it 3-2 in August 2006. There was no indication Wednesday that other members of the council had shifted their position on the plant.

Owens said Robertson's would be allowed to proceed with the project under the 2006 permit if the amended permit did not get council approval. She said it would be complicated legally for the council to nullify the 2006 approval.

Robertson's, a Corona-based company, has been in business more than three decades and has more than 35 plants in Southern California, including facilities in San Clemente and Miramar.

The company received approval recently for a plant in Oceanside, but opposition from residents killed proposals for plants in Vista and San Marcos.

Contact staff writer David Garrick at (760) 740-5468 or dgarrick@nctimes.com.