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Local transporter proposes indoor transfer station; rezoning request to go to planning commission
Summary
Taylor Transport owner Mike Laboki asked the city to rezone property near 1776 Sherman Way from light to heavy industrial for an enclosed transfer station that he says would keep local revenue, create jobs and provide community recycling services; the planning commission will review the rezoning request on June 18.
A Woodland business owner presented a rezoning proposal Monday for property adjacent to 1776 Sherman Way that would reclassify the site from light industrial to heavy industrial to accommodate an enclosed transfer station.
"It's not a garbage dump. It's a transfer station," Mike Laboki of Taylor Transport told council during a workshop presentation, saying the facility would be an enclosed, roughly 13,000‑square‑foot building with rollup doors and internal transfer operations. Laboki said Waste Connections has provided corporate approval to participate and that an in‑town transfer station could reduce truck travel to out‑of‑area landfills, retain tax revenue locally (he estimated about $500,000) and create several family‑wage jobs.
Council members said they viewed the presentation as the start of a public review process. Planning commission hearings are scheduled to consider the rezoning request; the mayor emphasized that no council decision was made at the workshop and that the planning commission will review land‑use impacts and potential conditions. A resident asked whether the rezoning would remain in effect if Waste Connections ultimately did not proceed; staff clarified rezoning would be an unconditional land‑use change rather than a conditional rezoning tied to a single operator.
Residents who spoke at the workshop largely described nearby transfer stations they had visited as well managed; one resident said a Vancouver transfer station had no noticeable odor. Council members and staff raised standard questions about buffering, landscaping, queueing so trucks do not block Sherman Way, and limits on permissible uses under I‑2 zoning.
What’s next: the rezoning will go to the planning commission (meeting scheduled for June 18) for public hearings and staff analysis. If the planning commission forwards a recommendation, the council will consider formal rezoning ordinances in a future meeting.
No formal zoning decision or permit was made at the June 1 workshop; any zoning change would be subject to environmental review and land‑use procedures required by state law and local code.
