Questions arise over Home Depot's plan for old Kmart site

About 200 pages of responses are now being reviews by the city of Thousand Oaks after the public reviewed an Environmental Impact Report draft on the proposed Home Depot site. The EIR was required by the state and paid for by the developer of the site, formerly known as the Kmart property at 325 Hampshire Road.

When all the responses are addressed, the final EIR will be presented to the planning commission. That would usually take a couple of weeks, but is unknown when it will happen in this case, according to city planner Rick Burgess.

"We have a lot to look at after getting back the responses and each issue will be addressed," Burgess said.

The report released in January said there was no significant impact that couldn't be mitigated.

Many of those responding to the EIR seemed to offer a different opinion.

"Home Depot states that the hours of operation will be from 5:30 a.m. until 11 p.m., and that Home Depot delivery trucks will be coming to the store from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. However, the impacts on the community from these trucks slowing and blocking traffic during the peak hour commute has been ignored," wrote John Stevenson of Thousand Oaks.

He also said the noise from customers arriving early enough to start loading materials at 5:30 a.m. hadn't been adequately addressed. In addition, he said the number of trucks coming to the site was underestimated at 12 to 18 per day, citing an independent analysis last year that put the Newbury Park Home Depot at 41 to 43 trucks per day.

"Home Depot's website states there will be 15 to 20 trucks per day. Undercounting trucks leads to emissions results that are just below level of significance according to air quality standards," Stevenson wrote.

Another concern brought to the attention of the city as a result of public comments to the draft was how large trucks could exit the northbound and southbound 101 Freeway without causing traffic delays.

It was noted that the EIR draft underestimated the volume of traffic and didn't analyze all intersections that will be impacted by the project. An example was the possibility of increased traffic on Triunfo Canyon Road as a shortcut to Home Depot.

Long-term deterioration of air quality to the immediate neighborhoods due to the increase of traffic, the large orangelighted sign detracting from the beauty of the community, and the health of those who use adjoining businesses were among other concerns in the responses.

Questions were asked as to how a Home Depot could be allowed to be built on a site zoned C-1, Neighborhood Shopping Center. The other two Home Depots built in Thousand Oaks were zoned C3, Community Shopping Center, zoning meant to serve a wider community.

According to James Aidukas, an environmental consultant with the Do-it Center, a competitor of Home Depot, the destruction and disturbance of the property during construction could cause health concerns for those nearby.

The EIR draft notes that construction workers will be advised to wear respirators during project clearing, grading and excavation operations, but, Aidukas wrote, there's concern for seniors and children near the site as the existing buildings and parking lot are removed from the site along with 38,580 cubic yards of dirt.

"San Joaquin Valley fever will pose a significant health risk to the sensitive receptors adjacent to the site, the children of the Little Dreamers Early Childhood Center and the seniors at the Westlake Health Care Center," the consultant said.

According to the EIR draft, the overall grade of the property will be lowered 4 feet to reduce driveway slopes to Hampshire Road.

Among the impacts listed in the draft as mitigated are light and glare, construction emissions, site grading, release of asbestos into the environment, erosion, water runoff and traffic. And, according to the draft, the project won't substantially block views of surrounding ridgelines or scenic vistas.

The 500-page report noted that the Kmart store was 109,000 square feet while the proposed Home Depot is 96,973 square feet. The maximum building height of the Kmart was 35 feet, and the singlestory Home Depot is to be about 42 feet at its highest point. Most of the building will be from 28 to 34 feet high.

According to the EIR draft, the proposed building would be in the footprint of the existing Kmart building- after that building and the attached shops are demolished.

The draft stated, "The proposed project would involve the demolition of existing structures and redevelopment of the project site with a single building in essentially the same footprint as the existing buildings. This would not have demonstrative negative effect on the existing visual character of the site."

Aidukas disagrees. "This statement is not supported by the evidence. It is not the footprint of the building that would cause the impact, rather the height of the finished building, which even after the lowering of the site would be higher than the existing building."

The EIR draft didn't list any unavoidable adverse impacts.

Still, there are some who are skeptical or have another idea.

"I ask the city to go back to the drawing board and attend to outlining another mall with as much care as it put into The Lakes or the Gardens of the World. Pretend, if you will, that it is in your neighborhood. Make that property a showplace that enhances our community," wrote nearby resident Mary Silvestri.