Opponents To Ops Complex State Reasons For Concern

A group of Garry Park neighbors Tuesday vowed to fight the city’s plan to locate its fleet facility and operations complex in their neighborhood.

“It’s time to stop talking and start acting,” Julie Broxson said to about 50 people gathered at Stevens Elementary School.

The crowd included project opponents, steering committee and neighborhood council members, some city staff and councilwoman Cherie Rodgers.

Opponents cited traffic, air pollution, noise and possible poisons brought into the neighborhood by the garbage trucks among their main concerns.

“What are the benefits to our neighborhood?” asked Jack Ramm, leading the opposition. Ramm said they have collected more than 600 signatures opposing the project. Opponents say they were not listened to and never told about meetings held earlier between the city and neighbors.

The ops complex, as it’s known, will add 2,358 car and truck trips daily through the neighborhood when it opens, according to a traffic study for the project.

Most of the trips will coincide with the time children at Stevens Elementary - about three blocks from the site - leave for school or are walking home from classes.

Opponents said they would prefer private industry on the site. Broxson also suggested it would be an ideal place for the city to locate something like the Pacific Science Center.

“For once in our neighborhood’s history we could have something boosting us instead of damaging us,” she said.

Project supporters were silent during the meeting, but distributed letters asking opponents to list advantages of private industry on the site over conditions agreed to by the city.

“The city has tried to answer all their questions,” said Jim Santorsola, with the neighborhood council.

A letter from Stevens school staff also asked how opponents would guarantee private industry would protect students from traffic and chemicals.

City staff held several meetings at Stevens Elementary School beginning in October. The city sent out flyers and the meetings were announced in the newspaper and on Channel 5.

But many of the opponents said they didn’t know about the meetings. Others said it was difficult to attend meetings held during the winter months.

Working with the neighborhood, the city agreed to design a planting strip on the north side of the complex to reduce noise, and locate driveways on the south and east sides only.

Drivers of city cars and trucks will be told to head only south when leaving the facility, avoiding the most residential part of the neighborhood. But city staff said they can’t guarantee direction employees in private cars will use coming and leaving work.

Other agreements are intended to control fumes and spills from hazardous chemicals.

The city has already agreed to buy the $5 million site. Ramm announced that the city is planning to lease part of the site to a company that trains “big rig” truck drivers.

The company has asked to train drivers until 10 p.m. three days a week in the summer. Two trucks will be used at a time. The information was discussed at the last neighborhood council meeting.

Darryl Reber, executive director of Inland Empire Residential Resources, also spoke against the city project.

His company owns and operates triplexes and duplexes in the neighborhood for 69 developmentally disabled adults. Forty of his clients use motorized wheelchairs.

“This much additional traffic through the neighborhood is not acceptable,” he said.

“I haven’t heard anything about the pluses, the benefits to the neighborhood,” he said.

Opponents say at the very least, private industry could provide new jobs in the neighborhood that residents could walk to.

“This is a neighborhood in transition,” said Reber. “If this complex goes through there is serious question about which direction that transition will go.”

“There are still a lot of unanswered questions,” he said.