Council approves auto body shop’s negative declaration
By Steve Dreyer
The operation of an auto body repair shop in the Poway Business Park would cause no significant impact to the environment, the City Council decided Tuesday night.
Council members voted 5-0 to approve a negative declaration following a review of a 153-page report prepared for the city on operations at Chrome Collision, 13175 Gregg St.
An allegation made Tuesday night by a competitor, that the 12-bay, 32,000 square-foot shop is violating terms of its use permit by doing some work outside of the building, will be reviewed by city staff. An attorney representing Chrome strongly denied the allegation.
The shop has been open since May. A year earlier the council approved a conditional use permit and a notice of environmental exemption. Those approvals were not without controversy as the owners of competing shops in town alleged that the large Chrome operation should not be allowed in the business park and that its presence would harm their own businesses.
An attorney representing one of the owners went to court in an attempt to overturn the council’s decision. A Superior Court judge ruled in April that the city erred in concluding that the business was exempt from environmental review and ordered it to conduct a study in compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act. The judge did not rule on whether he thought an environmental impact report would be necessary and rejected the plaintiff’s request that work in the shop be halted.
The city had taken the position the auto body shop was similar to the building’s previous use as a collection point for repossessed personal watercraft and motorcycles. As such, the city claimed, the new use would be exempt from environmental reviews.
Everett DeLano, the attorney who sued the city, appeared before the council Tuesday night but did not voice any objections to the consultant’s finding.
In other matters, the City Council:
• Approved spending $6,500 to have the boiler in the 100-year-old Baldwin steam locomotive used in Old Poway Park tested to determine its condition. Poway Midland Railroad volunteers have said the boiler may need to be replaced.
• Awarded a bid to Bowcon Co., Inc. to build a small amphitheater in the Blue Sky Ecological Reserve. The firm was the lowest bidder, at $80,022.
• Approved a hillside/minor developer application to build a 4,019-square-foot home, a 704-square-foot attached garage and a detached guest house and garage on 3.37 acres on Del Poniente Road in the Williams Ranch subdivision.
• Approved a variance to allow a combined wall and fence height at 13131 Nelson Lane to exceed the 6-foot-high city standards.
The next council meeting is set for 7 p.m. Monday, Sept. 4.
Pre-recorded Poway City Council meetings can be viewed on Cox Channel 24 and Time Warner Channel 19. Broadcast times are 6 p.m. on Monday, Thursday and Friday and 3 p.m. on Saturday and Sunday.
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Short URL: http://www.pomeradonews.com/?p=27817
Posted by Steve Dreyer
on Aug 22 2012. Filed under Local News, Poway.
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