Alliance Metals, a bustling recycling center in West Oakland that draws entrepreneurs packing garbage bags full of cans and bottles, is in the bull's-eye now that a new market-rate condo development has opened down the street.
Although no one is telling Alliance Metals to get out of Dodge yet, the conflict between new and old is poised to be played out again and again as more residents settle into an increasingly gentrified West Oakland, snapping up still somewhat-affordable homes or moving into the live/work complexes sprouting up all over, especially near the Emeryville border.
In this case, the new complex is Magnolia Row, a market-rate development that opened earlier this year at 32nd and Magnolia streets, just two blocks from Alliance Metals. New residents readily admit they knew that Jay Anast's recycling business was there when they plunked down $300,000, give or take, for their units.
But now, the hip urbanites who thought they could handle life on the edge of an industrial area apparently have found it's not all it's cracked up to be.
"We really believe in the importance of recycling, and we really agreed that Jay provides an important service to people who really need this kind of support, but we just think that the character of the neighborhood is changing dramatically and his (business location) is not appropriate," said Shawny Anderson, who moved to Magnolia Row this year. At the very least, she told the Oakland Planning Commission last Wednesday, the business should be completely enclosed to block the noise of breaking glass.
Anast bought the business in 1989 and expanded the warehouse in 1995. He was required to meet several conditions as part of the expansion, including planting greenery outside the building and cleaning up the litter or collecting the shopping carts left behind by recyclers. He also has to discourage loitering and make sure patrons don't double-park or block the sidewalk.
Anast said he hadn't received any complaints since the city did its last round of inspections in 1998 and signed off on his conditional use permit. Then earlier this year, city inspectors started nosing around -- sometimes announced, sometimes unannounced.
They said some neighbors had complained about noise, smells and traffic associated with the business.
In an informational report given at Wednesday's meeting, the inspectors found that Anast was in compliance with the conditions of his permit, except for a drain problem that he quickly fixed. They raised the possibility he could be in violation of the city's general noise ordinance, which every-one must abide by.
"The neighbors are not happy with us," Anast said. "They want me to leave, but I have a legal business. I support my family with this business. ... These shopping-cart people earn between $50 and $60 a day, try taking that away from them," he said.
"We're the best-looking business in West Oakland. We keep it clean and tidy, the mess is contained within our walls," Anast said. "There are people coming in and out, there is activity, stuff happens. But we keep a full-time person out there to monitor things. We are an operating business, but the fact that we are out there sweating, people don't like it."
Willie Keyes, president of West Oakland Neighbors, said the community had unsuccessfully tried to block the company's expansion back in 1995, and he appreciates the new neighbors' efforts. He said they don't want to run Anast out of business, but the company is a magnet for "undesirables" who stand around in front of nearby homes selling drugs, and it would be better off relocating to a more industrial area.
Planning Commissioner Michael McClure asked Anderson if she knew the business was there before she moved in. He told her a recycling business had been there 20 years and the property is zoned for industrial uses. He suggested she probably got her loft for a lower price because of it.
"That's the certain atmosphere of the neighborhood. It's industrial and mixed-use, so it seems a little bit questionable that now a year later you (complain)," McClure said. "You knew it was there and now you want to come in and change the neighborhood."
Vice Mayor Nancy Nadel said she isn't entirely satisfied with the inspectors' assessments, because she has often seen patrons double parking and shopping carts left around the business.
"When I walk the neighborhood the noise of bottles breaking is really loud," she said. "They should either cover the facility or move, because he's outgrown it."
The commission told city staff to work with Anast to see whether the business exceeds noise levels and to try and mitigate the sounds if it does. Oakland Tribune