ROSEVILLE, Calif. — Some homeowners in Roseville's Winding Creek community are apprehensive about a proposed project near their homes.
Nichole Mace moved into Winding Creek in April 2022. She says she only heard about the proposed Roseville Industrial Park project earlier this year. She says she received a half-sheet of paper in the mail from the city with information on the proposal and people could email the city if they had concerns.
However, the site of the project was identified as a future business park and jobs center in 2006, before any homes were built in the area, according to the city.
"This is huge. Like, this is going to be right in, like my neighbor's backyard, just like a few hundred feet away from me," Mace said.
The Roseville Industrial Park is proposed along Phillip Road in West Roseville. The project could include up to 15 buildings, totaling 2,430,000 square feet. While nothing is set in stone, some of the businesses could include research and development, light manufacturing, warehousing, distribution, a potential electrical substation or office space.
"The exact size and business uses have not been determined at this time. While the environmental study examines potential square footage, that number could change. If the project moves forward, it would be gradually built in phases. These phases could take more than a decade," Helen Dyda, a spokesperson for the city of Roseville, told ABC10.
Homeowners are concerned about traffic from trucks that could be part of an industrial park. Mace also says air quality is a concern because the project wouldn't be near a major highway.
"Trucks come with diesel pollution and there's risks of exposure to the pollution and the emissions from those trucks and these roads cut right through all of these industrial places," Mace said.
Jesus Arechiga also lives in Winding Creek and his house backs right up to the proposed lot.
"This is why we bought here because we were away from the city next to a lot of open space, a trail and a creek. It's Winding Creek. I want my kids to grow up riding bicycles, that's not going to happen next to 18-wheelers," Arechiga said.
According to Dyda, other developments are planned for West Roseville and Placer County that have been in the works for decades.
A Draft Environmental Impact Report was released in Feb. 2023 raising alarm bells for some neighbors, including Mace.
"There's schools and parks and all of these residential zones where kids are walking and biking, and that is our biggest concern is the health risks that come with, you know, the travel and the traffic of these trucks passing right by our kids and having to compete with that," Mace said.
While no specific businesses, including trucking, have been proposed for the site, the report outlines the potential impacts of long-term operational emissions on air quality. These impacts are based on the potential uses of the site and according to Dyda it doesn't mean it will have those uses or the environmental impacts will necessarily happen.
According to the city, there is a shortage of industrial space in the Sacramento region and adding a jobs center to Roseville would positively impact the economy.
"To be clear we're definitely pro-industrial, pro-economic growth, but this is just not a good fit and a good location," Mace said.
Arechiga echoed her sentiment and said people should share their thoughts with the city whether they agree with him or not.
"Just say no to the traffic, say no to the pollution, say no to the risk of cancer. This is Winding Creek. This is not Industrial Creek. Don't pollute our environment. We are here because we like the outdoors and nature. We don't like an industrial park," Arechiga said.
The public comment period for the draft report was extended a month, until 5 p.m. on April 21. Comments will be addressed and added to the final report.
The proposal and environmental reports would go before the Planning Commission and the City Council. Before the project could get underway, the planning commission and city council would have to approve the area to be rezoned from public to industrial.
Roseville has existing industrial space including the Foothills Boulevard and Industrial Avenue Corridor which is 4.8 million square feet, according to Dyda.
For more information on the project, visit the city website. A meeting with the Westpark, Fiddyment Farms, and Creekview neighborhood associations will be held April 12 at 6:30 p.m. at St. John’s Episcopal Church, 2351 Pleasant Grove Boulevard.
Winding Creek is a community in West Roseville that – once complete – will include more than 2,000 new homes and apartments. The 500-acre Winding Creek community will also include an elementary school, four parks, and a retail center among other trails and protected land.
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