FILLMORE : Council OKs 1st Step to Build Water Tank

The Fillmore City Council has paved the way for construction of its third water storage facility by certifying an environmental report on the 3-million-gallon tank, despite public opposition to the project.

The proposed site on Foothill Drive next to an existing water tank has been opposed by nearby residents, who say the city is creating an eyesore.

At a council meeting May 22, residents testified against the city’s plan to screen the tank with landscaping. About a dozen people protested the removal of a grove of 40-year-old oaks, pines and peppertrees to clear the site for construction.

Arguing that replacement landscaping would fail to shield the tank from view, residents asked the council to preserve at least some of the trees. The council agreed to continue the public hearing at the next meeting, allowing staff members time to study the issue.

During Tuesday’s session, a consultant’s report showed that replanting the same trees would be more costly than putting in new landscaping and that removing most of the trees is necessary for construction to begin. Seeking to mollify protesters, city officials presented a more detailed landscaping design for the new facility, and said they would improve plantings around the existing tank and take responsibility for maintaining all the landscaping.

City officials continued to maintain that Foothill Drive is the best site for the new tank despite residents’ requests to relocate the project. During the past year, Fillmore city staff members examined 10 sites before declaring Foothill the most suitable. According to a geological report, the site can safely support the tank.