Proposed Salida project has been debated for years. Decision could come Tuesday evening
A highway commercial project in Salida has generated extensive debate for two and a half years.
Tuesday, Stanislaus County supervisors could decide the fate of the 9.6-acre service station and mini-storage project on Pirrone Road near the Hammett Road overcrossing of Highway 99.
Cal Sierra Financial proposes a gas station, drive-through restaurant, retail shops and mini-storage. The original project in 2019 was a truck plaza that sparked outrage among Salida residents, but it was down-scaled to the current plan.
The county Planning Commission voted 4-2 on Feb. 17 in opposition to the revised commercial development. Four of the commissioners said the Salida Municipal Advisory Council should take another look at plan revisions and make a clear recommendation.
Reviewing the project for the fifth time since 2019, the Salida MAC on Feb. 22 voted against it 5-0.
Mary Stephenson, a resident of the nearby neighborhood, told the Planning Commission last month she fears the station will attract criminal activity at night.
She said there are plenty of gas stations along Highway 99 from Modesto to Ripon. “We don’t need mini-storage units,” Stephenson said. “We don’t need more fast food. ... It’s wiser to put something there that adds value to our neighborhoods.”
Daniel Haynes of Salida expressed concern the mini-storage won’t be strictly watched and hazardous or flammable materials will end up in the storage units.
Haynes suggested that toxic material spilled at the gas station will get into stormwater that is flushed to the nearby Stanislaus River. Along with gasoline and diesel, the fuel station could include electric vehicle charging and hydrogen fuel for hybrid cars.
John Anderson, planning consultant for Cal Sierra, countered that the service station will have systems for containing runoff and preventing pollution.
Anderson said the site on the east side of Pirrone Road has been zoned for highway commercial services for about 30 years.
Paul Grewal, the developer, told the commission he expects the drive-through business will be something like a Dutch Bros. or Panera. In response to a planning commissioner’s question, Grewal said the drive-up lane will have space for 12 or more cars to keep from impacting road traffic.
Patrick Burns of the Salida Fire Protection District told the county planners the district supports any commercial development in Salida, as a source of revenue.
Wildlife issues settled
The proposed service station was scheduled for a county Board of Supervisors hearing Aug. 17 but was postponed after a lawyer for Friends of the Swainson’s Hawk and Stanislaus Audubon Society sent a letter challenging the environmental review.
Anderson said the developer agreed to a mitigation for Swainson’s hawk, which involved purchase of credits from a resource conservation bank as replacement for loss of foraging habitat. It appeared to settle wildlife issues that delayed the project for about a year.
Cal Sierra is now faced with overcoming a negative recommendation from the Salida MAC and persuading county supervisors Tuesday evening to approve the service station development.
Supervisor Terry Withrow, who is serving as board chairman this year, said he has knocked on doors in the neighborhood near the service station site and heard a lot of opposition. Withrow’s supervisorial district includes Salida.
“The people in the neighborhood do not want this 24-hour, seven days a week facility next to their houses,” Withrow said. “As elected officials, we are there to represent the people. I can’t support this 24/7 operation right up against these houses.”
The county Board of Supervisors will meet at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday in the basement chamber of Tenth Street Place, at 1010 10th St., Modesto.
This story was originally published March 11, 2022 at 8:32 AM.
