A controversial plan to bring a metal shredder to Colton, Calif., received approval from the city' s Planning Commission Oct. 12.
The commission voted 4-2, with one abstention, to change Pacific Rail Industries' conditional use permit to allow it to install the machine. The meeting adjourned after hours of discussion and community input, said Community Development Director David Zamora.
The City Council will take up the issue at an upcoming meeting. It must vote on the environmental impact report on the effects of the project.
The conditional use permit itself will go before the council only if someone appeals the commission's decision, Zamora said.
More than 100 people packed the council chambers for the commission meeting. Community members and out-of-town professionals spoke on both sides of the issue.
The shredder would turn old cars, appliances and other scrap metal into fist-sized wads at the rate of approximately 455 to 682 tons per day. Pacific Rail Industries also is asking permission to build a structure for storage of non-metal car parts, and to raise one of its walls from 8 to 13 feet.
The permit change also will allow Pacific Rail Industries to increase by 50 percent the amount of goods it unloads from rail cars onto trucks at its East M Street site. Press Enterprise