Neighbors Protest Plan to Expand Gold Coast Recycling Operation

The City Council on Monday is set to review three appeals of a proposal by Gold Coast Recycling Inc. to nearly triple its trash recycling operation near Valentine Road.

The proposed expansion would allow Gold Coast to dramatically increase the amount of trash and recyclables it now processes for western Ventura County, boosting its daily intake from 440 tons to 1,200 tons.

“It is an excellent benefit for the citizens of San Buenaventura,” Councilwoman Rosa Lee Measures said Friday. “We are very fortunate that they are on the cutting edge of really advancing our recycling process and making that service available.”

But neighboring businesses say the expansion would result in foul odors, increased noise and additional trash trucks clogging the already congested intersection of Valentine Road and Victoria Avenue.

They have appealed the Planning Commission’s initial approval of the project and are asking the City Council to deny permits that would allow the expansion to occur.

“This project, which would have a dramatic affect on this area of the city, seems to be going forward with little or no thought or sensitivity to the surrounding residents,” said Stephen McMorrow, an accountant who requested an appeal on behalf of property owners on nearby Knoll Drive.

“This is not a suitable area for such an expanded facility,” McMorrow said in a letter to the City Council.

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Representatives of Ivy Lawn Memorial Park also wrote a letter outlining concerns about increased traffic and noise. Ivy Lawn is across the street from Gold Coast and is seeking the construction of a sound wall between the two businesses if the expansion approval is upheld.

“A cemetery is a place of tranquillity,” said Linda Loftis, president of Ivy Lawn. “The families who have their loved ones interred here expect, and are entitled to, peace and quiet when they visit.”

The city of Oxnard is the third entity to formerly protest Gold Coast’s request to expand. Oxnard officials have cited regional concerns about increased traffic and diminished air quality.

All three of the appeal requests ask the City Council to hold off on issuing permits until a $12-million street widening project is completed.

The first phase of the traffic improvement plan would include a redesign of Valentine Road and the southbound Ventura Freeway on- and offramps at Victoria Avenue. It would also include widening Victoria Avenue at the freeway under-crossing.

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That project is estimated to cost $9 million and is expected to be completed by the end of 1998.

Gold Coast officials could not be reached for comment Friday. But city planners said the expansion needs to move ahead because of the pending closure of Bailard Landfill next month.

“Gold Coast wanted to be open by August,” Community Services Director Everett Millais said. “If the project gets approved Monday night, they would try to break ground immediately, within 30 days.”

The proposed expansion is expected to cost $2.4 million and take about six months to complete, officials said. It would more than double the size of Gold Coast’s existing two-acre facility at the corner of Colt Street and Sperry Avenue.

Last year the company abandoned plans for creating a $100-million environmental business park on a 19.5-acre parcel near the Ventura Auto Center in favor of the more modest plan.

Gold Coast was established in 1990 to serve Ventura’s curbside recycling program. It also serves Fillmore, Ojai, Camarillo, Newbury Park and parts of unincorporated Ventura and Santa Barbara counties.