11/10/05 Lumber-mill plan irks some (Stephen Wall, Staff Writer)

COLTON - South Colton residents are concerned about a proposed lumber milling operation they say would bring too much traffic, noise, dust and other problems to their neighborhood.

They plan to take their objections to the city Planning Commission, which is set to consider the proposal Tuesday.

Pico Rivera Pallet Co. is asking the city for permission to operate a lumber milling operation on 10.5 acres of vacant land next to its existing business at 240 E. Congress St.

Neighbors say the project would clog residential streets with large trucks, posing a danger for children playing outside.

They also are worried about noise from the equipment used to mill the lumber and dust created by the operation.

"We don't want the lumber mill behind us," said Rachel Warner, who has lived on Florez Street for 55 years. "Why don't they take it somewhere else?"

Pico Rivera Pallet is requesting a General Plan amendment and zone change from open space to light-industrial use. The company also must obtain a conditional-use permit to allow operation of the lumber mill.

City officials said the project is suitable for the area because it is near other industrial businesses. The milling operation would be at the southern edge of the property, as far as possible from homes, officials said.

"This mill is 1,200 feet from the nearest resident," Planning Manager Andres Soto said. "Noise shouldn't even be an issue."

The project would not have a significant effect on the environment, officials said.

In February, Pico Rivera Pallet received $500,000 from San Bernardino County's business expansion loan program.

If the milling operation is approved by the city, the money would be used to buy equipment and make capital improvements to the site for the processing of bark-beetle-infested timber from local mountains, said David Avina, co-owner of Pico Rivera Pallet.

If the project is denied, the money would be used for other purposes, Avina said.

Avina's existing operation involves cutting small pieces of lumber, assembling them into pallets and selling them to commercial and industrial businesses.

"What we have now is a slow process," Avina said. "To cut logs, you need something that's more efficient and produces the lumber faster."

Under the proposed operation, the logs would be cut by six saw blades operated by diesel-powered generators.

The mill would cut 25,000 to 30,000 board feet per eight-hour shift, Avina said. One board foot is a piece of lumber one inch thick and one foot wide by one foot long.

The proposed hours of operation are 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. weekdays.

Up to eight trucks per day would deliver the logs using Congress Street, Avina said.

Lumber that had been arriving from Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Mexico and Canada would now come from local mountains, so the actual volume of truck traffic would not increase, Avina said.

"Once we get the lumber from the mountains, it's going to replace the trucks coming in from Canada and other places," Avina said. "It's going to be an even wash."

If the new operation is approved, Pico Rivera Pallet would add another 40 employees to the 80 people who work there now, Avina said.

Residents, however, are worried about the mill generating noise and air pollution.

"It's a business that's dangerous for the community and should not be allowed," said Amador Roman, a Florez Street resident.