OCEANSIDE - At the end of a lengthy meeting Wednesday, in which roughly 200 people waved signs and pinned buttons on their shirts, the City Council approved a controversial proposal to build a concrete plant near Loma Alta Creek.

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With a 3-2 vote, the council handed a victory to Corona-based Robertson's Ready Mix, whose project has been criticized for months by neighborhood and environmental groups.

Mayor Jim Wood and Councilwoman Esther Sanchez cast the dissenting votes.

Dozens of people crammed into the council chambers for the debate, and those unable to find seats spilled into the hallway to watch the proceedings on overhead televisions.

At issue was Robertson's proposal to build a concrete batch plant at 2847 Industry St. The 3-acre property, east of Foussat Road near Oceanside boulevard, is part of an industrial row.

More than 70 people on both sides of the debate addressed the council during the meeting that lasted five and a half hours, their speeches punctuated by the occasional scoff from the audience and raucous applause.

Several people cautioned the council members that their votes would come back to haunt them at election time.

"Rest assured that the sand is running out of your hourglass, and it won't be flipped over for those who voted against the will of the people who put them in office," said plant opponent James Felton.

Critics of the facility raised concerns about pollution running into the creek and cement trucks clogging nearby streets. Others said they had a grander vision for the larger Oceanside Boulevard corridor than another industrial use.

"Consider this area as a diamond in the rough, poised for renewal," said Greg Root, a resident of the Loma Alta neighborhood.

But Robertson's supporters said the plant should be allowed because it met all of the city's requirements.

"Businesses need to be protected," said Dan Jaoudi, owner of a window and mirror business on Industry Street. "You have zoning and it's there for a reason."

Bernie Rhinerson, a consultant working for Robertson's, said critics had significantly overstated the environmental and traffic effects of the project. He assured the City Council that the plant would be fully enclosed, state of the art and environmentally safe, and that it would generate $230,000 a year in sales tax for the city.

City staff agreed with the environmental assessment and recommended that the council approve the project.

Councilwoman Sanchez, however, said she wanted the city to perform a more stringent environmental review or move the project to a different location.

"For them to say there would be no impacts is an outright lie," she said.

Wednesday's overflow crowd was not a surprise. At the outset, City Clerk Barbara Riegel Wayne displayed a 4-inch stack of letters and e-mails that had been delivered to City Hall in advance.

It also wasn't the first time Robertson's had faced community backlash.

In 2004, the company withdrew its application for a plant in San Marcos when it appeared unlikely to win City Council approval. A year later, Vista denied the company's plant proposal amid a storm of resident complaints.

Earlier this year, Oceanside's Planning Commission rejected Robertson's proposal by a 5-2 vote. The company appealed that decision to the City Council.

- Contact staff writer Craig TenBroeck at (760) 901-4062 or ctenbroeck@nctimes.com.