Gilroy
– Although they are still in their most infantile stages, plans
are slowly sliding into place for the San Martin Transfer Station
to find its new home in Gilroy. The question now is where.
Gilroy – Although they are still in their most infantile stages, plans are slowly sliding into place for the San Martin Transfer Station to find its new home in Gilroy. The question now is where.
An initial blueprint to nearly quadruple the existing 20-year-old station at 14070 Llagas Ave. was filed in January 2002, but subsequently scrapped after a draft environmental impact report was filed in January of this year.
The draft report presented county staff with some “highly questionable” impacts, said Paul Sherman, a planner with San Francisco-based Norcal. South Valley Disposal & Recycling Inc. – a subsidiary of Norcal – collects, processes and transfers solid waste and recyclable materials from Gilroy, Morgan Hill, San Martin and other parts of southern Santa Clara and San Benito counties.
After reviewing the draft report, county staff took a deep breath and decided to begin anew. Sherman said representatives from South Valley Disposal have been meeting with county staff to consider other options.
The foremost alternative, at least in the eyes of South Valley Disposal, is relocating to Gilroy. If the proposal is submitted and gets a green light, the new facility would be up and running in three to five years. It would sit just inside Gilroy’s eastern limits near state highway 152, across from Gilroy Foods. The property, previously used as an agricultural trucking facility, is owned by Gilroyan Al DeFrancesco, who signed a lease with South Valley Disposal several months ago.
But that idea has Gilroy Mayor Al Pinheiro raising his eyebrows. Although he does not oppose the transfer station relocating to Gilroy, Pinheiro said the proposed location is less than desirable.
Pinheiro, along with a handful of city staff, visited San Francisco a few months ago to have a look at other Norcal-operated transfer stations. The stations’ operations are contained inside their buildings, Sherman said, so the structures are not eyesores. But even despite the neutral appearance of the building, Pinheiro said, concerns go far beyond aesthetics.
Air quality and odor near the site is questionable, especially considering the facility’s close proximity to Pacheco Pass Center, one of Gilroy’s major commercial hubs. Additionally, garbage-truck traffic might clog 152 where the highway narrows from four lanes to two. Other concerns include seagulls, as well as how the facility will affect Gilroy Foods, the city’s largest private employer.
But Sherman is confident that such worries are a normality considering the nature of the issue.
Both Sherman and Durkin said they hope to get the pre-application process rolling and begin the actual application process within the next few months.
