Los Alamitos : City Seeks to Ease Lumber Yard Noise

The City Council will consider banning heavy trucks and trailers on Catalina Street in an effort to ease traffic and minimize noise coming from the operation of Barr Lumber Co.

The council directed the city staff Monday to look at a truck ban and other traffic improvement alternatives in response to complaints from residents who live close to the lumber company.

In addition, the city will require the company to stop piling lumber higher than six feet, to apply an asphalt overlay on loading and unloading areas to minimize dust, and to move storage facilities farther away from neighboring houses.

Residents said they were pleased with the city’s action.

“If it cuts down on the noise and the dust, it will make our lives a little bit easier,” said Temi A. Doty, a resident of Los Alamitos Estates, a six-unit condominium complex at the corner of Catalina and Reagan streets.

Community Services Director Elizabeth Binsack said the city will try to find a permanent solution to the traffic and noise problems, including possibly drafting an ordinance regulating parking along Catalina and other streets close to Barr Lumber.

“We will act quickly,” Binsack said, adding that the city continues to work with the owner of the lumber company to resolve the problems.

Murl Fast, president of Barr Lumber, said his company’s ability to make improvements, such as landscaping that will serve as a buffer between the company facilities and the residential areas, is hampered by the fact that the company does not own the property.

“We can’t make significant improvements if we could be kicked out in 30 days,” said Fast. The land is leased from the Southern Pacific railroad, he said.