Opponents of the Resource Recovery Park project south of the John Smith Landfill are holding two open community meetings at the end of the month to inform supervisors and residents about their concerns.
County and landfill officials have been planning the project that is intended to provide business opportunities in such areas as solid waste storage, transfer, treatment, processing and other activities related to waste or recycling, according to the environmental impact report.
The proposed Resource Recovery Park proposal is located on 30 acres owned by San Benito County south of John Smith Road Landfill. County planning commissioners are considering whether to amend the general plan’s land-use designation from agricultural productive to public/quasi public and change it to a new zone called Resource Recovery Park.
Nearby residents such as Tammy Jackson, whose family is the closest neighbor to the proposed facility, are concerned about the project’s possible impacts such as damage to roads. She also contended that the project runs contrary to the goals of recycling and environmentalism due to the carbon footprint, the effect on roads and garbage being dropped on the streets.
“The road is not made to handle that type of traffic,” Jackson said.
In response to the crucial zoning consideration, she and others are hosting the two meetings at 6:30 p.m. Jan. 27 and Jan. 28 at the Tres Pinos hall next to the Immaculate Conception Catholic Church.
Jackson said four of the supervisors are committed to attending one of the meetings. Generally, if more than two supervisors take part in such a meeting, it would complicate matters and restrict their ability to engage in open dialogue.
