RECYCLING FACILITY FOES SURFACE

Four entities oppose plan for site for handling green waste, building debris

A proposal to build a recycling center for green waste and demolition and construction debris west of Interstate 15 and north of Escondido city limits — in the development pipeline since 2012 — is running into opposition from neighbors, community groups and the city of Escondido.

Four entities have appealed a Feb. 5 decision by the San Diego County Planning Commission approving the project and rejecting an earlier round of appeals. The new appeals mean the San Diego County Board of Supervisors will weigh in on a key environmental issue, which will determine how the project moves forward. The board is tentatively scheduled to hold a hearing on the project May 5.

Appeals of the Planning Commission decision were filed by the

Twin Oaks Valley Community Sponsor Group, the Hidden Meadows Community Sponsor Group, the city of Escondido and the Montreux Homeowners Association. The community sponsor groups advise county officials on planning and land use matters.

At the heart of the appeals is the question of whether a full environmental impact report should be required for the proposed recycling center under the California Environmental Quality Act, or CEQA. County planning and land use officials determined the project is exempt from the requirement for an EIR, because potential environmental impacts were analyzed in an EIR previously prepared for an update of the county’s General Plan, a blueprint for future development of unincorporated areas of the county.

Supervisors will specifically consider the issue of whether an EIR is needed before the project can move forward.

The city of Escondido, which borders the project site to the south, contends the project requires a full EIR that would study

such issues as traffic, noise, greenhouse gas emissions, impacts on wildlife and other potential effects, said Mike Strong, the city’s director of community development.

“Our contention is they are not proceeding in a manner that CEQA provides,” Strong said.

The city isn’t necessarily taking a position on the merits of the project, said Strong, but wants the county to have all the pertinent information available before making a final decision. An EIR would also ensure that the public has a chance to comment on potential impacts.

“We are looking at public agencies to make informed decisions, which includes all aspects of CEQA,” Strong said.

Tim Kennedy, president of the Montreux Homeowners Association, said the project site is in the “middle of the countryside” and there are a number of issues that should be studied further, such as impacts on protected sagebrush, wildlife and nearby homes.

Montreux is located across I-15 from the project site, about 1,500 feet away, said Kennedy, and includes 67 homes. Because the community is at the same elevation as the project site, Kennedy said, noise and particulates from the recycling operation could impact residents.

“We feel there needs to be an individual, site-specific EIR,” Kennedy said.

Both Kennedy and Dan Cannon, president of the Emerald Heights Homeowners Association, a residential development about 800 yards west of the project site, said the location is inappropriate for an industrial facility due to potential impacts on the environment and nearby homes. Cannon said the project would also pose a fire hazard to the area.

“We don’t believe that type of use belongs in that area,” Cannon said.

Karl Gailey, a co-owner of the project site and project manager with the San Marcos-based Hilltop Group Inc., developer of the proposed recycling center, disagreed with those who are calling for completion of a full EIR. He noted that the project is allowed under both current General Plan and zoning land-use designations.

Over the past eight years, Gailey said, his company has commissioned numerous environmental studies on all aspects of the project, such as greenhouse gas emissions, traffic, archaeological resources and visual impacts. The analysis resulted in 2,000 pages of data and comments, which demonstrate that the project qualifies for the CEQA exemp- tion, and nearly equaled what would be required for a full EIR, he said.

The project, which is offi- cially called North County Environmental Resources, will help the county meet its recycling goals, said Gailey. The site was once used to excavate material for the construction of I-15, he said, and is screened from view, and none of the studies have shown there will be significant impacts on neighboring properties.

“I have a hard time understanding why anybody would want to oppose it,” Gailey said.

The project is planned for a 139-acre site west of I-15 and south of Mesa Rock Road. It will consist of a 12,000-square-foot steel recycling processing building with a parking lot, one

100,000-gallon water tank, a security trailer, truck scales and up to twenty (60 feet by 60 feet by 18 feet high) adjustable storage containers.

Hilltop Group is among a number of businesses run by members of the De Jong family, including the Hollandia Dairy in San Marcos.

In 2018, Arie Eric De Jong III, owner of Diamond Environmental Services, a supplier of portable toilets, was convicted of illegal dumping and sentenced to five months in prison.

Sandra Farrell, chair of the Twin Oaks Valley Community Sponsor Group, wrote in a letter to the county Planning Commission that the criminal case raises concerns that the applicant will “increase operations and exceed the scope of the (recycling center) project that is being permitted.”

But Gailey said the case was unrelated to Hilltop Group, which has operated successful, premium businesses in North County over the years.

If the project is approved by the county, it could still take up to two more years to obtain the necessary permits from various government agencies, Gailey said.

“For a project which helps the county achieve the general plan recycling goals, in the appropriate zoning and land use, far from residential, close to freeway access, the project should have been approved long ago,” Gailey said.