Straight Digs

The City of Aliso Viejo pled its case to the Orange County Association of Realtors recently.  Because I have not seen this on any Web site, I’ll reproduce the document here.  Bottom line, they’re still against it.

To:  Orange County Association of REALTORS®

Subject: City of Aliso Viejo’s response to USPS’ mail-distribution center slant

The City of Aliso Viejo strongly opposes the U.S. Postal Service’s plan to build an enormous mail-processing facility on a 25-acre site near homes, a religious facility, preschool, teen center and proposed affordable senior-housing development – despite public claims from the USPS’ that state otherwise. Statements by the USPS to the media, residents and business professionals claim that the new slightly smaller proposal stems from discussions with the City, which is not the case.

The Postal Service’s recently proposed 350,000-square-foot distribution center, which would serve Orange

The proposed distribution facility would operate around the clock with hundreds of employees. Large trucks and tractor trailers would access the site 24/7, with an unspecified number of truck deliveries being made daily. The original plan estimated 100 trips daily. At least three neighboring cities would likely suffer from through-truck traffic that would alter the traffic patterns on their city streets. The Postal Service has continually failed to publicly acknowledge or address the surrounding sensitive uses near the site and instead only identifies commercial uses in its written materials. Again, this massive mail-processing center would be built near homes, a preschool, teen center, synagogue, Christian elementary school and an affordable senior housing development currently being processed by the City for development.

The City expects the Postal Service to release a revised Environmental Assessment (EA) in February. However, the City is concerned the amended EA still will not adequately address the traffic, public safety, environmental, noise and other significant impacts and concerns the City has continued to raise – and the USPS has failed to address. The Postal Service’s original EA raises more questions than it answers.

The USPS has not operated in a cooperative or concerned manner with the City or its residents and has failed to take into account the goals and policies of the Aliso Viejo General Plan.  The Postal Service has also continually refused the City’s request to produce a full environmental impact statement on the project and has brushed off officials’ concerns regarding the 100 truck-traffic trips on residential streets per day; the 751 tons of solid waste per year; and the more than 6 million watts of electricity per year that the facility would generate and use, respectively. The City is also still waiting for more information about the full impacts of noise, urban runoff, air quality and other significant impacts to the community.

As political and public opposition to the project has continued to skyrocket, the USPS continues to disregard the concerns of the City, its residents and surrounding communities about this regional issue.

In a recent letter to the USPS Board of Governors, Senator Dianne Feinstein raised several concerns about the project and USPS process. Orange County Supervisor Patricia Bates, in a letter to the USPS, raised significant traffic and safety issues that the proposed facility would have on the region. The South Orange County Chambers of Commerce, which represents seven south Orange County cities, has also sent a letter to the USPS opposing the facility.

More than 1,200 residents signed a petition, and hundreds of letters and e-mails against the project have continued to pour into City Hall. Phone calls continue to flood City leaders since the City’s October 22, 2007 public forum, which attracted more than 120 residents and Laguna Hills Mayor Melody Carruth, who also expressed her fervent opposition to the plan.

USPS has not adequately explored alternative sites. The Postal Service claims that plans for the “much-needed processing facility have been in the works for years … to meet the demands of rapidly growing Orange County …” However, the City was first contacted about the proposed facility in March 2007 by USPS representatives, who did not meet with City leaders until June 2007. Subsequent meetings with USPS staff resulted in the realization that USPS’ Environmental Analysis lacks critical information about the potential impacts of the facility on the community and that information on substantive issues directly conflicts with verbal statements made by USPS staff to the City.

USPS staff also failed to disclose that they were working on a potential alternative site in the City of San Juan Capistrano. That location was revealed when San Juan Capistrano launched an aggressive public relations campaign that helped to expedite the collapse of the deal. After the collapse, the EA did not contain analysis of this alternative site and no other site was brought forth in the EA. USPS must consider alternate sites, as the proposed facility is not a good fit in Aliso Viejo and should be located closer to the freeway and away from such highly sensitive uses.

At this point, the City does not have any written information about the latest proposal by the USPS that describes the “new” plan or the potential impacts of the facility.

Concerned business professionals and citizens are urged to contact the City with their concerns. Comments and concerns can be e-mailed to the City Manager at city-manager@cityofalisoviejo.com or can be expressed by calling 949-425-2510. Detailed information is also available on the City’s Web site at www.cityofalisoviejo.com.

This entry was posted on Monday, January 21st, 2008 at 3:37 pm and is filed under Aliso Viejo, Orange County. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.