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Grass Valley planning commission approves Jada Windows grading expansion
Summary
The Grass Valley Planning Commission on April 23 approved an amendment allowing Jada Windows to expand its approved grading to add a 36,000-square-foot pad on an adjacent parcel and adopted a CEQA addendum; commissioners discussed dust controls and naturally occurring asbestos and noted Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District support.
The Grass Valley Planning Commission on April 23 approved an amendment to the previously approved Jada Windows development that allows grading of a roughly 36,000-square-foot pad on an adjacent parcel and adopted an addendum to the projects previously certified mitigated negative declaration.
The modification, filed as 26 PLN-0010, was approved after staff described the proposed change as reuse of on-site excavated material from the companys approved 70,000-square-foot manufacturing building to form the pad at 1011 Whispering Pines Lane. Staff said the change would reduce truck traffic compared with hauling excavated material off-site and that the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District had expressed support because of the reduction in on- and off-haul trips.
Kevin Nelson, of Nelson Engineering, representing Jada Windows, told commissioners the project is nearing completion and the company expects to occupy the building by "June or July." Nelson said the expansion is intended to reuse existing material and create pad area for a potential future building that would return to planning and the Design Review Committee for review. "We've reviewed the conditions. We're happy with all of those," Nelson added.
Commissioners pressed staff and the applicant on air-quality controls and the handling of excavated material. A commissioner noted that the material was being managed under protocols rather than a full geotechnical testing program and said the excavated soil "is naturally occurring asbestos," a condition the applicant and staff said they were treating according to regulatory protocols. Staff said engineering would enforce dust-control and stormwater measures and reiterated that the Northern Sierra Air Quality Management District provides air-quality oversight for the project.
The commission also heard that the project has had prior local review: the Design Review Committee reviewed the expansion at its April 14 meeting and recommended approval, and staff noted one earlier public comment raising air-quality concerns. Commissioners moved to approve the amendment, to adopt the CEQA addendum (finding that none of the conditions in CEQA Guidelines section 15162 requiring a subsequent or supplemental EIR were present), and to add the condition of approval permitting the expanded grading. The motion, made by Vice Chair Jacob McDonald and seconded, passed by voice vote.
The commission had no other formal actions and noted that a towing ordinance introduced at a prior meeting will go to the City Council for a second reading next week. Commissioners closed the meeting after brief community announcements about local events.
Notes: The applicant owner, Jada Bayer, was present in the meeting and Michael Mitchell was identified as the project manager; neither made substantive oral remarks during the public hearing.
