WATSONVILLE—The Watsonville City Council at its first meeting of year will weigh whether to approve a proposed 170,000 gallon propane storage facility at 950 West Beach St., a project that has been much debated since it was first introduced in July of 2020.
If approved, the project would reshape a vacant 0.7-acre lot by installing a new railcar unloading tower and two new tank unloading stations. It would also refurbish and move an already existing 50,000 gallon propane tank. The project has the potential to add four additional 30,000 gallon propane tanks.
Richard Kojak of Mountain Propane Service in Felton owns the property and is leading the project.
The Watsonville Planning Commission unanimously recommended the City Council deny the project in September of last year. The item was originally on the commission’s July agenda, but staff postponed the decision because an adjacent property owner did not receive timely notice of the meeting, Watsonville Community Development Director Suzi Merriam said last year.
The project has also received pushback from various people, including George Ow Jr., a major local real estate developer and philanthropist whose Manabe-Ow Business Park is just a few dozen feet from the proposed location.
Several environmental and community advocates, including Consuelo Alba, the executive director and co-founder of the Watsonville Film Festival, have also asked leaders to deny the project. Alba before the September commission meeting joined Ow in writing a lengthy letter of opposition saying that the facility—because of a possible propane explosion at the location—would not only endanger the adjacent businesses but also the nearby homes, schools and the slough along Ohlone Parkway and Walker Street.
“This is a dangerous project in an already disadvantaged community. What other city in Santa Cruz County would approve such a risky project so close to its downtown? This is another example of environmental racism,” Alba wrote in her letter sent to the commission.
But Kojak at the September meeting said those concerns are overblown, and that explosions at propane facilities are rare thanks to the advances in preventative technology. In a letter to the City Council submitted on Jan. 14, Kojak said the “project’s positive impacts far outweigh any potential downside” and that it would bring good jobs and needed tax revenue.
“Propane storage facilities exist next to all types of development including industrial parks like the one proposed for the adjacent property and even schools, hospitals and residential developments throughout the region and the rest of the state,” his letter reads. “Propane storage facilities are safe and ubiquitous. I am sorry to say that the opposition has resorted to a campaign of misinformation and misleading statements to drum up support for their position.”
Because it is a so-called “quasi-judicial” review, to deny the project the City Council would have to show significant evidence that it is not consistent with the city’s 2005 General Plan, or it could leave the city open to a lawsuit. Staff, according to the prepared report, found that the project is “generally consistent” with the policies in that plan, though it did say it could be “detrimental to public health, safety and welfare” because of its proximity to a biodiesel plant.
The facility would be 300 feet away from a manufacturing plant that produces approximately 65,000 gallons of biodiesel a day. That, according to the prepared staff report, “raises concerns.”
“Its proximity to the project site presents a potential safety hazard. In the case of an accidental release from or failure of the proposed propane storage tank(s) that results in a fire or explosion, this, in turn, might result in a larger and more catastrophic fire and property damage and/or loss of life were it to spread to the nearby biodiesel plant,” the staff report reads.
Porter Building being discussed
The City Council in its closed session will go over two proposals to fill the historic Porter Building in downtown.
Pajaro Valley Arts Council and WatsNews LLC, the company that owns this newspaper, have been vying for control of the vacant two-story, 15,000-square-foot building, which has stood at the corner of Main Street and Maple Avenue since 1903.
PV Arts, a nonprofit established in 1984, hopes to create a haven for artists with gallery exhibits, art retail space and a multipurpose room for performances, meetings, events, workshops and additional special exhibits. The organization would also create several classrooms for seniors and young people and artists’ studios.
A company established by Santa Cruz Good Times owner and executive editor Dan Pulcrano in 2019 after he purchased the 152-year-old Pajaronian, WatsNews LLC is proposing a casual dining Italian restaurant from well-known restaurateur Joe Cirone, emphasizing locally-sourced ingredients, and a wine bar and food market highlighting Santa Cruz Mountains vineyards, Pajaro Valley farms and artisanal producers. The project also calls for a “boutique” micro-hotel and “creative” office space for community institutions as well as the Pajaronian.
It is unclear if the City Council will make a final decision between the two proposals Tuesday.
Showing Pride
Watsonville Mayor Jimmy Dutra is proposing the city fly the LGBT Pride flag at the Civic Plaza for Pride Month in June.
The flag, popularized as a symbol of the gay community by San Francisco artist Gilbert Baker in 1978, would replace the city’s flag for that month.
According to the Library of Congress, LGBTQ Pride Month is currently celebrated each year to honor the 1969 Stonewall riots in Manhattan. The Stonewall riots were a tipping point for the Gay Liberation Movement in the United States.
To view the entire Jan. 19 City Council agenda, click here.
