South Merced Community Plan & EIR
The South Merced Community Plan and the Final Environmental Impact Report for the South Merced Specific Plan were adopted by the Merced City Council in January 2008. The documents are available for download below (please scroll down to the bottom of the page under the "South Merced Community Plan" header).
For further information on the South Merced Community Plan and EIR process, please follow this link.
Wal-Mart Distribution Center Environmental Impact Report
The proposed Wal-Mart Distribution Center is a 1.2 million square-foot warehouse and distribution center on Childs Avenue on land zoned for industrial use. The center would initially employ about 600 people and generate an estimated 450 truck trips into the facility each day and another 450 truck trips out. The center would operate 24-hours a day, 7-days a week.
The City has contracted with the firm of EDAW to prepare an Environmental Impact Report on the project. On July 7, 2006, the Notice of Preparation for the Wal-Mart Distribution Center Environmental Impact Report was released for a 30-day review, which ended on August 11, 2006. A copy of the Notice of Preparation (NOP) is available for download below under the "Wal-Mart Distribution Center" header.
Public scoping meetings were held on July 27, 2006 to receive citizen input on environmental issues that should be studied in the environmental impact report (EIR). Approximately 170 individuals attended those two meetings. A copy of the presentation shown at the meetings can be downloaded below. City staff recorded the public comments from the meetings to make sure that issues raised are included in the EIR. Although the scoping meetings are not public hearings, they are important to the EIR process because they give the public a chance to share their concerns about the project. While the public was encouraged to ask environmental questions about the project at the scoping sessions, they won’t get the answers until after the project is researched and the draft EIR is completed.
Once the comments from the public and government agencies were received, work began on the draft EIR. The draft EIR is expected to be completed by June 2008, according to the revised timetable, although it could be longer. The draft EIR will then be released for a 45-day public review period, when comments and questions can be made on the document. Responses will be made to the comments and a Final EIR will be released prior to the public hearings on the project. The Planning Commission and the City Council are tentatively expected to hold public hearings on the EIR in Fall/Winter 2008. As further documents become available and as final meeting dates are scheduled, they will be posted to this page for public review. If you would like to be added to the mailing list for this project, please send your name and mailing address (not email address) to the following: planningweb@cityofmerced.org If you have any questions, please feel free to call the Merced Planning Division at 209-385-6858.
Other Documents Available
The Planning Division has many documents and handouts available on various subjects. Below are several documents related to the City's population from 1900 to the present, demographic information from the 2000 Census, the South Merced Strategic Plan, development in the Downtown area, Small Lot Design Guidelines, as well as environmental documents on various projects, such as the new Mercy Hospital project at Cormorant and G (now under construction) and the City's Wastewater Treatment Plant Expansion project. Also below is a list of publications and their cost that can be obtained at the Planning Division offices on the 2nd Floor of the Merced Civic Center at 678 West 18th Street, Merced or by calling (209) 385-6858. Other documents will be added to this page as they become available.
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