My comments to the Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, March 15, 2022 during public comment about the Salida Gas Station project. Fortunately, three of the supervisors listened to the residents and voted against the project, albeit for varying reasons. Our own District 3 Supervisor was spot on in his comments (watch the video 4:41 minutes).
"Good
evening, I'm presenting a recap of facts you might not have heard -
August 2007 – The Stanislaus County Board of Supervisors pulls the Salida Now initiative off of the ballot and passes it by 3 votes thus making it the new Salida Community Plan. One of those votes is cast by Jeff Grover, whose 2nd cousin owns the land within the map area of the Plan which has brought us here tonight.
problem is, 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.”
Sometime between 2013-2017 – Water well #299, (Vizcaya's) is shut down for being over the limit in arsenic.
December 7, 2018 - An email between 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."
May 1, 2019 – Email from Miguel Galvez stating that Baldev Grewal came to the planning counter on April 29, 2019 with a proposal to develop the Grover property and is considering several options: 1. Convenience market with gas station 2. commercial parcel map with speculative highway commercial development on four-five parcels 3. propose a parcel map and develop all the properties in phases, with one property to be developed with a hotel. The email also states that Mr. Grewal wishes to move with the General Plan Amendment ASAP then go for a building permit for the convenience market.
September
11, 2019 – Planning files notice with CEQA, mentions the“drafting error” that was unchallenged when the Initiative was
passed and unchallenged in the 12 years since.
November 6,
2019 – The Modesto Bee points out that City of Modesto approved
water for the project and nowhere in the documents was it mentioned
that there would be a “truck stop” or “travel plaza”.
January
28, 2020 - ”I wouldn't have bought a house there” words
spoken by a Stanislaus county employee at Salida MAC when asked if he
would want to live near the various developments being planned around
Hammett and Pirrone. At least five Vizcaya residents sold their homes
before this gas station is built. Some disclosed what was going in to
the new owners and some did not.
March 3, 2021 –
City of Modesto Associate Engineer sends an email to Miguel Galvez
stating that the city has denied water service to Brinca's Lark
Landing Project citing insufficient fire flow to serve the property
at full build out. They cite the contaminated well serving the
Vizcaya neighborhood that was shut down.
March 23, 2021 – The split vote at Salida MAC – a motion is made to vote against the gas station project and the newest MAC member who votes nay on the motion does not disclose that he became employed not even a month prior by the same realty company handling the gas station land. The other person to vote nay on the motion is a Stanislaus County employee and it is brought up at the meeting that the county will receive a 75% discount purchasing land for a new storm drain basin if this project is approved.
May 2021 – Moore Biologics is hired by applicants to do environmental assessment and says there's no evidence of Swainson's Hawk nor burrows for a Burrowing Owl at the site.
 |
| Burrow at site |
June 5, 2021 – An amateur ornithologist photographed a Swainson's Hawk and a nest within one mile of the site.
July 13, 2021 – I sent the Board of Supervisors a photograph of burrows on the site.
February 15, 2022 – In my comments to the Stanislaus County Planning Commission, I refer to sections of the Salida Community Plan that state it cannot be changed and institutes a Community Facilities District. There may a provision in the plan for piecemeal development but that does not mean the rest of the plan can be cherry-picked. Also want to note that potential natural gas fueling has been added and still no EIR. Planning Commission votes 4-3 to oppose the project. The applicant gets off easy if he only has to pay 7-8 years of Mello Roos taxes.
February 22, 2022 – Salida MAC votes unanimously to oppose the project. After the meeting, the developer says he should just sell the land to Travel America which is a truck stop company bringing us right back to where we began.
To sum up the timeline, I oppose this piecemeal-development-truck-stop-or-gas-station-with-two-types-of-fuel-not-at-other-gas-stations-in-the-county-but-could-wipe-Vizcaya-from-the-map-like-in-San-Bruno-or-the-hydrogen-station-explosion-in-Norway-still-with-no-EIR-for-the-threatened-status-species. The county has gone out of it's way to help this project get approved, whether it's ignoring conflicts of MAC members, not requiring an EIR or other requirements of the Salida Community Plan, bypassing Salida MAC before the Planning Commission, and the list goes on. You have heard many reasons tonight to oppose the project but if you need more then County policy 19 and 20, provide you with the means as well as Board of Supervisors policy 10.46.020."
