Transfer station use permit extension on the docket for Planning Commission

Meeting will not address amended plans applied for this year by Recycling Industries

The Yuba City Planning Commission will consider granting Recycling Industries a two-year extension on its transfer station use permit at its meeting tonight.

The permit for the project at the recycling center on Epley Drive was approved by the Planning Commission in 2014 and was granted a two-year extension in 2016. It outlines plans for a large-volume transfer station.

Those plans include: the removal of two metal buildings and construction of a new 25,000-squarefoot building; permitting the facility to receive 100 tons or less per day of additional mixed recyclables and solid waste; allowing Recycling Industries to expand existing operations for up to 10 percent of putrescible (decaying) solid waste; allowing for self-haul only – packer garbage trucks not permitted. The permit would be reviewed annually by the Planning Commission for three years following construction, according to the staff report.

According to city code, approved use permits expire if construction hasn’t substantially commenced within two years of its approval, according to the report. For an extension to be granted, the applicant must file a timely request, and the planning commission that considered the original application must determine that the conditions have not changed to the extent that would warrant denial.

In September, RI filed an application to amend its current use permit, which would include: expanding the facility from 3 to 4 acres; increasing the amount of material that could be accepted to up to 300 tons per day; removal of limitations on putrescible material; and removal of any limitations on type of deliveries, like self-haul or commercial, according to the staff report.

The proposed amendment will not be considered by the Planning Commission tonight.

In March, the city notified RI owner Dave Kuhnen that he would need to retain, at his expense, a qualified environmental consultant to prepare an initial study pursuant to the California Environmental Quality Act. A city consultant is to then review the study, to be reimbursed by Kuhnen.

Once the initial study and other necessary documents are submitted, city staff will schedule a date for the Planning Commission to consider the amendment proposal.

City staff recommends the Planning Commission grant the extension of the use permit with a new expiration date of July 23,2020. In the recommended action, the city also notes that Kuhnen agrees to “defend, indemnify and hold harmless” the city from any claims, damages, or liabilities connected with the project, according to the report.

Though the permit was approved in 2014, a fall City Council meeting where Kuhnen discussed the project sparked a grassroots movement opposing its expansion. “Stop the Dump” is a campaign run by residents Dave Shaw and Rik Jimerson, and paid for out-of-pocket, Shaw said in an April interview.

The expansion is the focus of the movement and concerns range from smell to traffic and property values, according to its Facebook page. Arguments have ensued over verbiage: city officials and Kuhnen say it’s a transfer station, not a dump.

And while Shaw asserts the movement is run by concerned residents, Kuhnen has said he believes it’s being run by his competitors, and that his recycling center has never had a complaint since opening in 2009.

Recycling Industries is operating under a 2007 use permit for its recycling center.

The Yuba City Planning Commission meets at 6 p.m. in the council chambers.