CYPRESS : Action Delayed on Valley View Street Warehouse Project

After major environmental questions were raised during a public hearing, the City Council on Monday delayed action for two weeks on another proposed warehouse in the Valley View Street area.

Warehouses have become political battlegrounds in this community since Sept. 26, when the council approved a 440,000-square-foot carpet distribution facility near Valley View Street. Residents of the area, charging that the facility would ruin their neighborhood, filed suit--losing in Orange County Superior Court--and launched a recall move against three council members.

The court decision has been appealed.

The newly proposed warehouse calls for a combination office-distribution building to be built at 11261 Warland Drive, near Valley View Street. The proposal brought out an overflow audience to the council meeting, with many residents pleading for it to be blocked.

“We, as citizens, come before the council with concern about the quality of life,” said warehouse opponent Bob Pepper. Added Brian Black, another foe of the project: “I urge the City Council to do the right thing.”

Many environmental questions were raised by Alan Buck, a resident who holds a Ph.D. in environmental science and who is a nationally recognized consultant on environmental impact issues. Buck told the council it does not have sufficient data about noise pollution and increased traffic from the proposed warehouse.

He also warned about possible soil contamination in the construction area caused by the nearby Los Alamitos Armed Forces Reserve Center. He said decades’ worth of toxic waste spills and disposal on the Los Alamitos military base could have seeped into adjoining land in Cypress.

Councilman Tom Carroll said he believed Buck had raised sufficient questions on the warehouse site to delay council action. The issue was postponed until the council’s Aug. 28 meeting, and the council asked its staff to do additional studies.