Studies focus on 3,400-acre development in Stanislaus County. Process raises some eyebrows
Salida’s 3,383-acre expansion plan is finally under environmental review to study traffic impacts, basic infrastructure needs, effects on wildlife, and the feasibility of city incorporation.
In 2007, the Salida Community Plan was an initiative proposed for a countywide vote, but county supervisors in a 3-2 decision that August approved the contents of the initiative, rather than putting it on the ballot. The plan included land use areas just north of Modesto capable of producing 27,800 jobs and 5,000 homes, possibly adding 15,000 residents.
By December 2007, the nation was in the grips of the Great Recession and a home mortgage crisis. The Salida Community Plan remained on the books during the recovery years. Today, there’s renewed interest in development, such as the 145-acre Scannell Properties project, proposing 2.5 million square feet of warehouses, distribution centers and manufacturing at the northwest corner of Kiernan Avenue and Dale Road.
County leaders agreed early last year that a programmatic environmental study was needed to consider the overall impacts of the Salida plan, before individual projects like Scannell can move forward.
In July, county supervisors approved a $900,000 agreement for Sacramento-based Ascent Environmental to prepare the overarching environmental study and also include a feasibility analysis on city incorporation of Salida. One purpose of the 2007 initiative was a larger tax base for Salida and fiscal self-sufficiency for the unincorporated town of 14,800 residents.
Questions of conflict of interest have arisen because Ascent also is preparing an environmental study looking at the specific impacts of the Scannell project.
County Counsel Thomas Boze said Tuesday there is no conflict. Ascent is capable of doing objective work for both studies. When a county hires outside consultants to prepare an EIR under the California Environmental Quality Act, the consultants are essentially assisting county staff members in completing the work, Boze said.
The developer is paying for costs of the study, but the county retains control over the document, Boze said. “The document is ours,” Boze explained. “The report has to be approved by the Board of Supervisors.”
In another legal question, the county contracted with Ascent for the Salida Plan EIR without first requesting proposals from consulting firms. A county staff report justified the decision, noting that overlapping technical assessments are needed for both the Salida Plan and Scannell project environmental studies, and Ascent was already conducting some of that work.
“It is not time or cost effective to bring in another consultant that will be duplicating work already being performed,” the county report said.
Sean McMorris of Common Cause California, a nonprofit focused on promoting accountability in government, said the downside of the RFP process for local governments is it takes more time. But the process serves to build trust with the public.
“The upside is: They can get the best deal and also can set parameters for participants in the RFP,” said McMorris, the transparency, ethics and accountability program manager for Common Cause.
McMorris said he didn’t think it’s illegal for the same consulting firm to prepare the programmatic EIR while handling the environmental work for a project in the Salida development area. But the public may think something is awry.
“We hope that people who do EIRs are ethical and don’t have predisposed outcomes before they come in,” McMorris said. “For the people who do these EIRs, it is a business. They want to have happy clients so the clients use them over and over again.”
Jessica Babcock, senior project manager for Ascent, said at a Salida Municipal Advisory Council meeting in late September the project EIR is being prepared under a three-party agreement with the county, Scannell Properties and Ascent Environmental. She said both of the environmental studies will contain unbiased information.
Study considers a variety of issues
The programmatic EIR is looking at larger planning considerations and ways to address overarching issues of developing the 3,383-acre Salida expansion.
Babcock said there’s no clear picture on whether to expand the wastewater treatment plant of Salida Sanitary District or build new facilities to serve Salida’s expansion area. The study also will consider needs such as a Sheriff’s Department satellite office combined with a fire station.
A number of “sub-consultants” are working on the program EIR, including: Fehr & Peers, doing traffic modeling; West Yost Associates, looking at water and wastewater infrastructure; and Economics & Planning Systems, analyzing incorporation feasibility.
County Supervisor Terry Withrow has said the Salida Community Plan could be a possible location for an innovation campus supporting the county’s bioindustrial initiative.
The Salida Plan, situated along the Kiernan Avenue traffic corridor, between Sisk and Dale roads, also could attract proposals for distribution centers, raising issues of air pollution and whether the lower pay scale of that industry is desirable for the county.
The community plan includes land designated for 5,000 homes and about 1,260 acres for industrial development, 490 acres for business parks and 280 acres of commercial uses.
Timeline for completing EIR
A draft environmental report should be ready for release in the spring. That will trigger the start of a 60-day period for public comments on the study’s findings. The final EIR, with responses to public comments, will be completed roughly a year from now.
The final study requires approval from the Board of Supervisors.
Katherine Borges, a Salida resident, said at the September Salida MAC meeting that new projects should not use septic tank systems because of the high water table in Salida.
Brad Johnson, a Salida municipal council member, asked skeptically if any other area of the county has a plan for 27,800 jobs.
To cover costs of the program EIR, the county will pull $682,785 from the General Fund, $291,220 from the Salida Planning Fund and $75,000 from the Salida Incorporation Study fund balance. As the Salida plan is developed over time, the county will collect fees from individual development projects to reimburse for the General Fund money.