SAN MARTIN
– Citizens with concerns over a plan to quadruple the size of
the disposal and recycling center in San Martin have one month left
to tell the county why they believe the project should be amended
or denied.
SAN MARTIN – Citizens with concerns over a plan to quadruple the size of the disposal and recycling center in San Martin have one month left to tell the county why they believe the project should be amended or denied.
An environmental review of the Llagas Avenue project has been prepared by Santa Clara County, triggering a 45-day public review period which ends March 1.
South Valley Disposal and Recycling, located at 14070 Llagas Ave. in San Martin, wants to expand its facility to meet future increases in waste disposal. However, some San Martin residents say the expansion will bring unbearable traffic, air quality and noise pollution problems to the area.
“I am very, very concerned about it,” said Sylvia Hamilton, chairwoman of the San Martin Planning Advisory Committee.
Hamilton said the project’s proximity to San Martin’s Gwinn Elementary School and its plan to direct large trucks over two small bridges makes it unsafe to kids and pedestrians.
“We need to make sure we’re protecting our children and all the other residents in the area, too,” Hamilton said.
County planning staff are still two months away from recommending approval or denial on the project. However, in the environmental review that’s out for review now, staff says air quality and noise issues will significantly affect the environment even after steps are taken to reduce their impacts.
The impacts are due largely to the increased number of trucks that will pass through the site. Currently, 193 vehicles enter the facility each day. Roughly 450 vehicles will use the site after the expansion.
Concerns over the expansion, along with other land use controversies in San Martin, helped spawn an effort by residents to secede from the county and make San Martin its own city.
Hamilton hopes the next meeting of the San Martin Planning Advisory Committee draws a number of residents. The session, to be held Wednesday at 7 p.m. in the San Martin Family Worship Center, is when local planning advisers and residents can formally point out negative impacts from the project.
The Family Worship Center is located at 245 E. Middle Ave. in San Martin.
The transfer station is a 20-year-old facility that serves as the collection, processing, and transfer point for solid waste and recyclable materials from Gilroy, Morgan Hill, San Martin and other parts in South County and San Benito County.
The proposed project would handle the increase in solid waste, recyclables and organic materials due to growth. The waste is not stored at the site. It is transferred to other facilities, such as landfills, after it is processed.
The proposed expansion includes:
• Adding 7,600 square feet to the eastern side of the existing transfer station building, increasing the total area to 23,600 square feet.
• Demolishing the recycling building and constructing a new building with a total area of 13,300 square feet.
• Constructing an approximately 11,800-square-foot organics transfer building.
• Developing an approximately 58,000-square-foot area along the southern side of the transfer station for handling materials such as concrete, scrap metal and rock.
