Why build a gas station just to tear it down? Part 2

Stanislaus County Public Works presented a proposal at the Tuesday, October 26, 2021 Salida Municipal Advisory Council (Salida MAC) for Stanislaus County to purchase 2.2 acres of land for $100K from Grover Family Trust. The reason given for purchasing the land by the county employee is it will be, "...maintained by public works as a storm drain basin but it's not going to be allowed to have something built upon it so that it would ultimately have to be torn down at the taxpayers' cost."

Wait. WHAT?!? You mean like the gas station, storage units and other development planned for the parcels adjacent to Pirrone Court also owned by Grover Family Trust and would be torn down when the Hammett Road overpass is improved?

At the September 2021 Salida MAC meeting, Stanislaus County Planning Department gave an update that the gas station project is on hold while the developer looks for land to mitigate for the threatened status species, Swainson's Hawk, which is currently foraging on the land.

Um....Hello Stanislaus County - how about doing the same for the gas station parcel and leaving it as forage for the hawk for THE VERY SAME FREAKING REASON CITED FOR BUYING THOSE OTHER TWO PARCELS?!?

Updated Nov 2, 2021: The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors approved the purchase of the aforementioned 2.2 acres at their Tuesday, November 2, 2021 meeting. 

READ: Why build a gas station just to tear it down? Part 1

Why build a gas station just to tear it down? Part 1

A Public Records Act Request has revealed the shocking information that Stanislaus County planners and leaders know the proposed gas station and storage (PLN2019-0079) to be built next to the Vizcaya neighborhood would be torn down to make way for the expansion of the Hammett Road interchange. In this email exchange dated December 7, 2018 between former Stanislaus County Deputy Director, Miguel Galvez, to Stanislaus County Planner, Kristin Doud and copied to Stanislaus County Planning Director, Angela Freitas, Galvez writes, 

"The Grover family is interested in developing their property by the Hammett Road overcrossing. They would like to develop a service station on the 9.6 ac. parcel (APN 003-014-007), it would be temporary until the property is taken for the development of the new interchange."

NOT ONCE has this information that the development will be demolished for the new interchange been shared at ANY of the county meetings held about the gas station project in Salida! WHY would Stanislaus County proceed with a project that not only would have a gas station, but a mini-storage, and other restaurants when all of it will be torn down for a freeway interchange? Would the business owners and corporations know in advance that their business investments on this land could be short-lived? At the Hammett Road Interchange meeting held at Salida Library Community Room on July 31, 2012, one of the hired consultants of the study said at 7:16 in the recorded meeting, 

"The problem is, any development, any significant development around the Hammett Road Interchange causes the Hammett interchange to fail in it's ability to service traffic, so it would need to be improved. The plan that we have done in here tonight, is the least impact way of making a long term interchange improvement to accommodate any development that occurs at the interchange."

At 5:44 in the recording after a discussion on whether the land could be developed or not, a man says, "The land should be acquired at fair market value." In the December 7, 2018 Galvez-Doud email, they discuss the zoning. A-2 is the zoning code for General Agriculture.

A second development project debuted in early 2020 known as "Lark Landing PLN2019-0131" which includes another gas station, car wash, convenience market, offices, fast food and TWO hotels on the land in front (west) of the Vizcaya neighborhood. This project is currently on hold, but again, if you look at the layout of the Hammett Road interchange, this land would also be taken for that along with the new Pirrone Rd. alignment. 

The only reason I can think of as to WHY Stanislaus County would follow through with these doomed projects is to insure the landowners receive a higher "fair market value" for their land by the state. A General Plan rezone is part of these development applications and built-out commercial land would cost the state more than if it were undeveloped or remained agriculture. 

A Conflicted MAC Part 2

On April 6, 2021, I wrote "A Conflicted MAC" about how Salida Municipal Advisory Council board members had voted AGAINST our community by supporting the gas station planned within 500 ft of the Vizcaya neighborhood. To briefly recap that post, Salida MAC Chair, Leng Nou is employed by Stanislaus County and Stanislaus County stands to gain a drainage basin at a 200% discount off the price if the project is approved. And new Salida MAC board member, Bob Elliott, became employed as of March 1, 2021 at the very same real estate company handling the transaction of the land. Both voted in favor of the project at the March 2021 Salida MAC meeting. Their votes benefit their employers and are the opposite of what the majority of the community has expressed at that meeting and past ones.

With the passing of new Salida MAC board member, Debbie Nutt, her vacancy was filled by the appointment of Tom Burns to the Salida MAC council. Tom Burns has served on the Salida MAC board previously and also served on the Salida Fire Protection District board.

Patrick and Tom Burns at April 27, 2021 Salida MAC meeting.

It will be interesting to see how Tom votes on the gas station re-vote slated for the Tuesday, June 22, 2021 in-person Salida MAC meeting. Tom also brings a conflict-of-interest with him to the table: his son, Patrick, is Chief Engineer of Salida Fire. Patrick has said at a previous Salida MAC meeting that the gas station project is worth the equivalent of 5,000 homes in tax revenue to Salida Fire Dept. Incidentally, Patrick mentions in the recording that the Salida Fire Dept has been in the red, but I have heard they are now back in the black. This is difficult to verify since the fire board has canceled their last two meetings. Anyhow, I point this out because putting the Fire Dept in the black is not a justification for voting in favor of all development. Development needs to be conducive to nearby neighborhoods.

Patrick is a Salida resident and I have always thought it admirable that he doesn't cast a vote in the community poll vote the MAC conducts because as a Salida resident, he has the right to vote. I assume he doesn't because of the conflict-of-interest. But will his father do the same?

The purpose of the MAC is to represent the community, and not their employers or their family members' employers. This is stated in Government Code section 31010: "...a municipal advisory council may represent the community to any state, county, city, special district or school district, agency or commission, or any other organization on any matter concerning the community."

A large number of Salida residents support the Vizcaya neighborhood and have signed the online petition and circulated paper petitions. It's not hard to see why if you put yourself in their shoes; would YOU want a gas station built within 500 ft of YOUR neighborhood? Please support Vizcaya and sign the petition here.

Summary of the Vizcaya posts

 I didn't realize just how many times I've addressed the issue of development around Vizcaya until I looked back at past posts. Vizcaya residents especially need to read these posts so they know the history and issues involving the land around their neighborhood.

GROVER FAMILY - Our former Stanislaus County District 3 Supervisor, Jeff Grover, was one of the three votes which passed the Salida Community Plan in 2007. JEFF GROVER WOULD HAVE BEEN CONFLICTED FROM VOTING ON THE PLAN IF HIS COUSIN, MARK GROVER (owner of Grover Landscaping) HAD SIGNED A DEVELOPMENT AGREEMENT. It's NOT a "drafting error" that they just suddenly noticed after 14 years when Mark Grover wants to sell his land for development. The land has NOT SOLD yet as you can see by this out-of-boundary water service agreement that Mark and Lorraine Grover have requested on the Modesto City Council agenda for TODAY, Tuesday, April 13, 2021.

Read:

When the past comes back to haunt you

STANISLAUS COUNTY - A Stanislaus County employee even truthfully stated at a past meeting when asked, that he "Wouldn't have bought a house there" meaning in Vizcaya and knowing what development would be put in by the homes. The county machine is churning like a steamroller towards Vizcaya. A county employee on the Salida Municipal Advisory Council voted in favor of the project despite three meetings where Salida residents were unanimously opposed. Why does the county want this project so much? Besides being a large tax

Current Vizcaya drainage basin in 2021

generator, the county will get a new drainage basin for Vizcaya at "75% off" the land price. The highly questionable and extreme lengths the county seems to be going to in order to push this project through include allowing the votes of a county employee and a new MAC member who became a real estate agent on March 1, 2021 FOR THE VERY SAME COMPANY HANDLING THE SALE OF THE LAND and he DID NOT DISCLOSE THIS NEW JOB publicly at the MAC meeting nor conflict himself out of voting.  The county machine is also doing a very poor job of notifying Vizcaya residents of what is transpiring including planning to adopt a Negative CEQA document on the project when it was only announced at the March 2021 Salida MAC meeting that hydrogen fueling tanks have been added to the project. There is no mention of the hydrogen tanks in the Salida Gas Station Project.

Read:

"I wouldn't have bought a house there" in Salida's Vizcaya neighborhood

A Conflicted MAC

The due diligence of transparency, taxes, and development

Salida residents, and especially those in Vizcaya, need to SPEAK UP! You need to write to planning@stancounty.com and contact all five county supervisors. You need to attend meetings when you can, even if it's virtual on Zoom and Microsoft Teams. Call them on the mat for these things. 

Sign the petition to support Vizcaya and share the link. Time is running out.

A Conflicted MAC

At the Tuesday, March 23, 2021 vote conducted at the Salida Municipal Advisory Council meeting regarding the Salida Gas Station Project bordering the Vizcaya neighborhood; MAC members were conflicted and in more ways than one.

A straw-poll vote of those attending the meeting, Salida MAC member, John Martin, made a motion to not approve the gas station and Vice-chair Brad Johnson seconded the motion. 

New MAC board member, Bob Elliott, who was sworn into office in January 2021, voted against the motion saying, "I'm going to vote nay because I just think there's some information that the public has that may not be totally correct and that's the basis of some of the comments." Mr. Elliott never specifies what the "some information" is. When he joined the Salida MAC in January he gave a brief introduction of himself saying his occupation was "sales for a software company." Mr. Elliott does not announce his new job as of March 1st is in real estate for the very same company handling the sale of the land for the gas station. 

Salida MAC Chair, Leng Nou, also voted nay, "...only because there was strong opposition we heard at previous community meetings, and whether it's because of noticing, I don't know but I know that we have community members here tonight with five no's as opposed to a roomful before."

Now why Salida MAC can vote "yes" on the CSA tax annexation with a majority of ten people in favor and she votes "no" with a majority of five voting against and many more than that at all the previous meetings is questionable. There weren't any Salida residents who attended the meeting that voted for the project in the straw poll vote. And as to the low turnout of residents at the meeting, there were several issues that impeded attendance like no meeting notice was sent to the Salida MAC e-mail list, two different agendas circulated and the one posted on Facebook did not contain a hyperlink to the meeting, and the county switched platforms from Zoom to Microsoft Teams. 

Considering that Bob Elliott is now employed with the real estate company handling the land sale for the Salida Gas Station, that should have conflicted him out of the vote. Should Leng Nou also have been conflicted out of voting because she is an employee of Stanislaus County? 

John Martin points out that the county really seems to be pitching for this project because they will get "75% off" the land price for a drainage basin. Stanislaus County Public Works Director, Dave Leamon tries to explain his stance, but it does sound like a pitch in his comments about the basin.

Salida MAC is an advisory board and so is the Stanislaus County Planning Commission. Our county supervisor is the only one who has a binding vote on this issue. The Salida MAC vote unfortunately split, and if occupational bias was involved, this advisory vote should be reviewed by county counsel. Salida MAC board members are elected to represent the community and not their employers. 

Please support our Salida neighbors in the Vizcaya community and sign the petition here.