Merced Stop Wal-Mart Action Team

The memo below is a response from the City of Merced Police Department to this letter signed by Southeast Merced residents, the Stop Wal-Mart Action Team and the Golden Valley Neighborhood Association asking the City to enforce its laws around truck parking in residential areas, excessive idling and off-route truck driving near homes and schools.

You can read about California's health protective idling regulations here. Idling is limited to five minutes, and is prohibited within 100 feet of homes and schools. The Air Resources Board estimates that diesel soot caused about 3,900 Californians to die prematurely in the year 2000; diesel pollution is also a known carcinogen and can cause and aggravate asthma.

ARB recently announced that Highway Patrol and ARB staff have begun to enforce idling violations throughout the state. 

CITY OF MERCED
POLICE DEPARTMENT
INTER-OFFICE MEMORANDUM

TO: Chief Thomas

DATE: October 13, 2008
FROM: Sergeant Struble
SUBJECT: Merced Stop Wal-Mart Action Team News Letter

Chief Thomas,
I have reviewed The Merced Stop Wal-Mart Action Team October update newsletter. We are sensitive to the needs of the residents living in the area and understand their concerns. Hopefully our recent conversations with McLane will lead to a resolution that addresses the concerns of SWAT and McLane.

SWAT comments in their letter that "Trucks park near homes on Gerard Ave daily." There have been several commercial vehicles found parked on Gerard Avenue over the past several months. When officers see these vehicles, citations are issued for violating the Merced Municipal Code. There is nothing in the California Vehicle Code or the Merced Municipal Code that permits the Police Department to remove the vehicles parked in violation of the Merced Municipal Code, unless they violate the 72 hr provision for parked vehicles.

SWAT also comments that "Dozens of trucks drive past two schools on Childs Ave. every day to enter and exit the McLane distribution center, one-tenth the size of Wal-Mart's proposed distribution center."

E. Childs Avenue is not a designated truck route by the Merced Municipal Code. Merced Municipal Code Section 10.40.030 Direct Route Deliveries says "Any vehicle to which this chapter is applicable may use any street by direct route to or from a street the use of which is not restricted, for the purpose of delivering or loading for transportation of goods, wares or merchandise." This section does not restrict delivery trucks from using E. Childs Avenue, since they are taking a direct route to McLane Distribution center to deliver their merchandise. Contact has been made with McLane Pacific Distribution Center requesting that their commercial vehicles do not use E. Childs Avenue. McLane Distribution has been instructed to use East Highway 140 for their vehicles.

We should explore the possibility of restricting vehicles over 10,000# GVW from the using Childs and post signs indicating the restriction.

Additional enforcement action is always an option and one that we are willing to oursue if we cannot obtain compliance in a voluntary manner.

From the California Air Resources Board:


October 9, 2008
Commercial diesel vehicle owners warned of idling restrictions
Grace period over

SACRAMENTO: Air Resources Board staff hit the road this week to begin enforcing recently enacted anti-idling program for diesel engines that will reduce particulate matter emissions throughout the state.

ARB staff and local air quality officials throughout the state will enforce the idling regulations by monitoring sleeper berths and commercial on and off-road diesel vehicles where they operate. First time violations, idling for greater than five minutes, will receive a minimum civil penalty of $300. Subsequent penalties can be from $1,000 to $10,000. Owners, renters or lessees will be responsible for the penalty.

"Turning these engines off should be second nature," said ARB chairman, Mary Nichols. "It saves money, reduces pollution and protects the health of the driver and everyone working or living around the engines."

Even without an enormous, high-polluting Wal-Mart distribution center next door, residents in Southeast Merced already have to deal with the impacts of living near an industrial area.

• Trucks park near homes on Gerard Ave.

• Dozens of trucks use Childs Ave. every day to enter and exit the McLane distribution center, one-tenth the size of Wal-Mart's proposed distribution center

• Residents also complain that trucks idle excessively on Kibby Rd. outside the McLane distribution center - much like the Porterville residents who report that Wal-Mart trucks idle in their neighborhood. 

 On Wednesday, a letter signed by the Golden Valley Neighborhood Association, Stop Wal-Mart Action Team and residents of Southeast Merced was submitted to City Council and the City Traffic Committee asking them to enforce existing laws and tell McLane to stop using their neighborhood as a truck route. 

 If truck traffic is out of control now, imagine the air pollution, noise and traffic problems if City Council gives Wal-Mart a permit to pollute!

Background:

• Read the letter from the Golden Valley Neighborhood Association, Stop Wal-Mart Action Team and residents of Southeast Merced below.

• Read the sections of the City of Merced Municipal code and City of Merced General Plan being violated

• California truck idling regulations being violated (not technically a city responsibility to enforce)

• See a map of the neighborhood

On Monday Sept. 15, Merced City Council approved a reimbursement agreement with Wal-Mart for an additional $45,817 worth of consultants' studies on the proposed Wal-Mart distribution center's environmental impacts.

Cities use reimbursement agreements to make it seem as though mega-corporations such as Wal-Mart aren't just buying environmental studies for their projects. Instead, the City fronts taxpayer money, and then Wal-Mart pays the City back. 

At least that's how it's supposed to work.  In 2006, the City ordered $114,885 in environmental studies, but it took a delinquent payment notice and the threat of a referral to Collections to get the biggest corporation in the world to pay up. 

If Wal-Mart already repeatedly sues cities until their tax assessment is reduced, doesn't bother to pay its debts to one of the poorest cities in the U.S. and locks its janitors inside to save money, imagineif City Council lets Wal-Mart dumps its pollution on Southeast Merced.

According to the City's staff report, the studies include:

• $4,581 for City staff to "administer the EIR process"
• $6,000 for past and future telephone conferences
• $3,590 to update the EIR's air quality analysis in several aspects
• $3,897 for more detailed studies about nearby residents' exposure to noise
• $3,000 for project management (consultants' staff time)
• $5,500 in additional edits to the EIR's traffic report
• $4,000 to update traffic data 
• $8,095 to study additional intersections and roadway/freeway segments
• $5,710 for updated noise and air quality analysis with new traffic studies