The project is to be approximately 139,000 square feet for the Home Depot store itself, however the entire project, once complete, would generate a development of up to 200,000 square feet of mixed commercial use. On site parking and other infrastructure improvements would be included, along with a primary access connecting Hwy 49/88 at the western end of the site. A secondary access point is not yet determined and approximately 15 acres of the 59 acre site would be preserved as open space. There are unavoidable impacts associated with the project according to the DEIR. Those include Air Quality because the project would contribute to cumulative ozone precursor emissions. Land Use and Planning would have some inconsistencies with the City’s current General Plan. Transportation/Circulation, or traffic impacts would create more impacted intersections and roadways, and the Aesthetics/Visual Resources of the city could degrade because of the project’s location in a scenic area.

The next steps for the project include the closing of the public comment sixty day review period which is scheduled for October 1, 2007. Then the Preparation of the final EIR will begin with the inclusion of all public and agency comment letters received in regards to the DEIR. During the meeting this week it seemed as though many of the maps and charts throughout the Draft report were called into question. Traffic, which remained a substantial issue throughout the meeting, seemed to be overestimated. The Market Analysis Report is no longer adequate as it was completed 2 years ago. Lowe’s has now moved into the county and with the current economic downtrend in building the market analysis may need revamped to reflect current conditions. The County through May of last year had 290 building permit applications. This year there are only 22. In August of last year 60 foundations were in process, as opposed to this August, when there were 10. Another topic of discussion was the toxic clean up from mining activities. The amount of arsenic found on the site is a concern, said members of the crowd,, with an average of 42 mg per kg. But, in the DEIR it is not mentioned what type of arsenic is present. Arsenic is widely accepted as a carcinogenic matter. Another concern was that of the beginning of urban decay, calling into question the yet uninhabited retail spaces at the Safeway Shopping Center.

Chris Wright from the Foothill Conservancy urged the Commissioners to “toss this project out” as it is “simply to large for this area”
It is also unknown where retention services (ponds etc) for drainage, would be located on the project grounds. Members of the Planning Commission also had much to say in regards to the adequacy of the DEIR, as Planning Commissioner Dave Butow (Boo-Tow) mentioned the EIR only effects Phase 1 but the EIR looks at both Phase 1 and Phase 2. Planning Commissioner Letitia Sexton was concerned that the number of employees needed by Home Depot was 200, with 60 of those being brought in from the surrounding areas for upper management positions. She also stated that North Main ST could only be used for access in Emergencies. Planning Commissioner Terri Works was concerned about the detention ponds and asked that the EIR looked at designing the parking lot with a pervious surface which doesn’t allow for runoff, and requested the heat island effect also be taken into consideration. Planning Commissioner Terri Works ended her comment period stating that “chapter 4.2 and 4.13 let us down”