Club requests EIR for Crossroads project

The Ventana Chapter is joining other groups in requesting that the proposed development at the Crossroads Shopping Center, at Rio Road and Highway 1, in Carmel be subject to a complete Environmental Impact Report (EIR).

This project involves the demolition of a Safeway Market, a theater, and a mall. More than 64,000 square feet of structural material will have to be removed by truck from the site. Then, enough material to construct 85,000 square feet of new mall (third anchor) and a new Safeway Market will have to be trucked to the site. The developers also propose to raise the new Safeway by 7 feet, to protect the market from flooding.

Problems that need to be addressed in the EIR include:

o Hydrology experts are divided on the impact of the project on the Carmel River and surrounding properties.

o There is no traffic mitigation required for the continuous convoys (anticipate 3 years) of trucks necessary to remove 64,000 square feet of structural material, replace it with 85,000 square feet of structural material, and haul the 3,000 truckloads of dirt needed to build up the site of the new Safeway Market.

o The developer failed to provide traffic estimates and mitigation for the additional traffic that is certain to be generated by the addition of 31,000 square feet of retail space.