California city’s record sixth Costco location getting closer to reality, and not everyone is happy
A record sixth Costco location is one step closer to coming to a Bay Area city soon, and not everyone is happy about it.
The San Jose Planning Commission unanimously voted Wednesday to certify an environmental impact report for the proposed warehouse location, the San José Spotlight reported, setting up the city council to consider approving it on October 22.
The proposed location is adjacent to Prospect High School, which has a population of more than 1,600 students and staff, according to the school's website. People living nearby are opposed to the warehouse due to traffic and increased noise pollution, the Spotlight reported.
"We’ve seen Costcos make a lot of improvements to public infrastructure around them because of problems they themselves will cause, and we haven’t seen San Jose talk about doing anything likewise," Marc Pawliger, co-founder of grassroots group Save West Valley, told the San José Spotlight. "There doesn’t seem to be much of an effort between Costco and the city to get any kind of mitigations or improvements."
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"The location is inappropriate," Julie Reynolds, president of the high school’s Parent Teacher Student Association, said, according to the Spotlight. "It’s less than 50 feet from long-established homes, close to several parks, across from assisted living centers and 1,000 feet from a high school."
Although city officials did not immediately respond to a FOX Business request for comment, Planning Commissioner Pierluigi Oliverio has previously voiced his support for the project expected to bring 250 to 300 jobs to San Jose and generate $2 million in annual tax revenue, according to the San José Spotlight.
"When we have a chance where there is a commercial development that brings revenue to the city, we must approve," he said. "At the end of the day, there’s a tsunami of general plan and city needs for economic development that this must happen."
Costco did not immediately respond to a FOX Business request for comment about the location that the Spotlight says will cost about $60 million to develop.
If the proposed location goes through, it would make San Jose the city with the most Costcos in the U.S., according to SFGATE.
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The location would be the first U.S. location to offer rooftop parking, Costco told the Spotlight.
The 165,000 square foot warehouse would take the space that is currently home to a Goodwill store, Ethan Allen Furniture Company, Bikram Yoga San Jose, and the former Smart & Final and Orchard Supply Hardware building, the local outlet reported. All of those would be demolished to make room for Costco.