CYPRESS : Residents Urge Council to Block Proposal for Large Food Warehouse

A proposal for a second large warehouse to be built in the Valley View Street area of south Cypress is causing concern among residents.

Even though the new warehouse proposal has yet to reach a public hearing, some homeowners in the southern part of the city urged the City Council this week to kill the idea.

“We are very concerned,” said resident Dave Conde. “Help us.”

At issue is a proposed 150,000-square-foot warehouse that would be built on undeveloped commercial land southwest of the intersection of Valley View and Katella streets. The warehouse would be used as a distribution site by Foodmaker Inc. and would operate seven days a week, 24 hours a day.

The food warehouse project is scheduled for a public hearing Dec. 12. But the proposal drew early criticism at Monday night’s council meeting.

Many homeowners in south Cypress previously opposed a large carpet-distribution warehouse that was approved by the City Council on Sept. 26. Some residents subsequently took the issue to court, and their lawsuit challenging the project on grounds of environmental suitability is pending in Orange County Superior Court.

Tony Smith, a resident who opposed the carpet warehouse, told the council this week that a second warehouse would intensify residential problems in the Valley View Street area. He said that Cypress, in seeking such projects, would be subjecting residents to huge influx of trucks and noise.