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Q. When will Corral Village be built?
A. The Phelps Family had hoped to break
ground in Summer 2013. However, the CEQA challenge of the
county's approval is likely to delay the start of construction
for six months to a year. The village will take about a year to
build.
Q. What will happen to the existing gas
station?
A. The gas station is NOT on the Corral
Village property; it is an adjacent and separate parcel.
Nevertheless, county conditions contained in the Corral Village
approval require demolition of the gas station site, which is
set to be removed this year.
Q. Is the soil or water under the gas
station site contaminated?
A. The underground storage tanks were
removed in 2002 in compliance with all existing rules. In Summer
2011, CapRock Geology Inc. tested soil samples and
monitoring/drinking wells on the .7 acre former gas station
site. They determined that there is NO contamination of the
water in any monitoring or drinking wells. They did find a small
amount of contaminated soil in one of four borings. The county
and Regional Water Quality Control Board have approved CapRock's
work plan to excavate and remove all impacted soil and conduct
tests to confirm a clean site.
Q. How
does the village protect the area’s rural character and scenic
corridor?
A. Designers Hart
Howerton have gone to great lengths to preserve rural character
and protect scenic corridor views. The village is a series of
domestic scale and quality buildings arranged around grand oak
trees, open air plazas and pedestrian paths. Materials, colors
and architecture mirror nearby historic agricultural barns and
buildings. Under the revised plan, most buildings are
one story and all structures are
at least 100 feet from the frontage roads.
Parking
is subdivided into 12 landscaped parking zones with 27% of the parking hidden behind the buildings. There
are heavily planted berms along both frontage roads creating a
green visual screen to passersby. Below are renderings of
offsite views of the flat developed site.
5-7 years after the project is developed on the 11-acre
flat site
click to enlarge
Corral de Tierra 5-7 years after the project is
developed.
click to enlarge
Q. What kind of shops and services will go into the
village?
A.
The Phelps family set out to bring the community great tenants that meet the residents’ needs. In the community-wide poll taken in 2002, residents said their number one need was for a full-service, family style market. So, the shopping village has a market as its anchor. Other tenants are likely to include a post office, pet store, sporting goods, hardware store, a drug store, copy shop, coffee shop, dry cleaner, retail shops and restaurants. The Phelps hired an economist to study the economic feasibility and sustainability of the village. The firm found that the village design and size was ideal for attracting and keeping quality tenants.
Q. Will the project hurt groundwater supplies?
A. We all share a concern over groundwater supply in the Toro Area. The reduced-size, approved Corral Village project would actually
benefit groundwater supply. How is that possible? Today, rainfall that hits the vacant site mostly runs off as stormwater and flows away in creeks toward the Pacific Ocean. Just .9 acre feet a year percolates down through the site to recharge the groundwater supply. The proposed project incorporates a rainwater harvesting and recharge system, that collects, retains and recharges rainwater tenfold, or 9.53 acre feet a year. And, by installing LEED water conservation measures and xeriscape landscaping, the project’s water usage drops to 5.83 acre feet a year. The result is a
net benefit of 3.7 acre feet a year for the local groundwater basin.
Q. Will the village make traffic on Highway 68 worse?
A. No, the village will IMPROVE traffic on Highway 68 by shortening
shopping trips by local residents by an average of 10 miles per
trip. As a result, the village saves almost 3500 vehicle
miles traveled (VMT) every day, mostly on Highway 68.
Q. Who provides water and sewer to the village?
A. The
project is currently served by existing water and sewer utility
lines and has three hydrants. The Phelps have contributed to the
development of the water supply and storage system owned by
California American Water Company. The project’s water would
come from Ambler Park water supply wells within the Corral de
Tierra sub-area 500 feet southeast of the project site.
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