San Leandro Planning Commission Approves Expansion of Alco Iron & Metal Facility on March 5, 2026
San Leandro Planning Commission Approves Expansion of Alco Iron & Metal Facility on March 5, 2026
The San Leandro Planning Commission and Board of Zoning Adjustments met on March 5, 2026, to consider a Conditional Use Permit for the expansion of an existing metal recycling facility at 1091 Doolittle Drive. The commission unanimously approved the permit and the associated Mitigated Negative Declaration, adding a new condition requiring annual safety and operational reporting. The meeting also included updates on development activity and other administrative items.
Consent Calendar
- Approved the draft minutes of the October 2, 2025, meeting by a 7-0 vote.
Public Comments & Testimony
- Emily Grego, President and CEO of the San Leandro Chamber of Commerce, spoke in support of the project, highlighting traffic improvements, safer workplace, environmental benefits (flood prevention and dust control), and the upgrade of Eden Road.
Discussion Items
- Staff Presentation: Senior Planner Cindy Lemaire presented the proposal to expand the Alco Iron & Metal Company facility onto two adjacent parcels. The expansion will move scrap piles away from Doolittle Drive, add a second truck scale to improve on-site circulation, and reduce truck queuing on public streets. The site is in the Industrial General zoning district and within Airport Safety Zone 2. Staff recommended approval with conditions, including a new condition (Condition 90) proposed by Commissioner Rich, requiring an annual operational and safety report with details on injuries, CalOSHA citations, and fire training.
- Applicant Presentation: Guy Houston, applicant's representative, and Michael Bercovich, COO, described the project's history since 2017, the two-scale system to improve traffic flow, and the coordination with Eden Road improvements. They expressed support for Condition 90.
- Commissioner Questions: Commissioner Tabjulu asked about traffic circulation and drainage of steel plates. Commissioner Zuber raised concerns about the visual sense of place at the city entrance and requested future renderings. Vice Chair Mendoza inquired about past CalOSHA investigations; the applicant noted two incidents (2017 settled, one ongoing investigation). Commissioner Rich suggested a labor-management safety committee, but the applicant deferred rather than commit.
- Public Hearing: No other public speakers.
Key Outcomes
- Motion by Commissioner Rich, seconded by Vice Chair Mendoza, to adopt Resolution 2026-xxx (Mitigated Negative Declaration) and Resolution 2026-xxx (Conditional Use Permit) with the additional Condition 90. The motion passed unanimously (7-0).
- The decision is final unless appealed to the City Council within 15 days.
Announcements
- Secretary Wayland Li announced the new AV system, the adoption of zoning code amendments for tobacco retailing, and an upcoming City Council presentation on the economic feasibility of residential development.
Commission Reports & Announcements
- Secretary Li presented a development activity update, noting recent completions (Central Calendar mixed-use, Toronto facility, Halcyon Drive residential) and new projects (Levitt's site). Commissioner Rich requested information on the inclusionary housing ordinance. Commissioner Zuber requested an update on Monarch Bay and Lake Chabot Road improvements. Discussion on training opportunities for planning commissioners.
- Vice Chair Mendoza announced his application for the City Council District 2 vacant seat.
Meeting Transcript
Okay, the uh March 5th, 2026 meeting of the Planning Commission is called to order. Would everyone please rise for the Pledge of Allegiance? Undergone deliberative justice for all. Will the Secretary please conduct the roll call? Uh yes, Chairperson. Uh for the record, the following commissioners are present for the meeting at the time of roll call. Uh Commissioner Chair De Hada, Vice Chair Mendoza, Commissioner Rich, Commissioner Solis, Commissioner Tebdulu, Commissioner Nay, and Commissioner Zuber. Uh, all commissioners are present, and we have a quorum. Thank you, Secretary. Uh, the next item on the agenda is announcements. Mr. Secretary, are there any announcements this evening? Uh yes, Chairperson. I have a few announcements for the commission this evening. Uh, first, as you may have noticed, we have a new audio and video system in the council chambers, and this is the first meeting that we've um we have using the upgraded system. So on behalf of staff, we appreciate your patience if we run into any technical issues. Um, and like to apologize in advance if we have any hiccups um during the course of the meeting, which we'll do our best. Uh, second, uh, prior to tonight's meeting, the chair requested that staff provide an update on development activity in the city and um just to move the agenda along. I'll plan on making that um presentation under item eight commissioner reports at the end of the meeting. Uh thirdly, it's been a few months since the commission last met, but I uh but you may recall that the last time the commission held a meeting. Uh the commission took action to recommend that the council adopt some zoning code amendments related to tobacco retailing. So I can report back to the commission that the council accepted committee the commission's recommendation and adopted those amendments, and those updated regulations went to effect at the beginning of this calendar year. And then finally, I did want to highlight uh for the um commission's knowledge that there was a particularly interesting presentation that went to the city council last month on February 17th that I think could potentially be uh good information for the commission. Um good information for the commission. Um the the uh city staff retained an economic economic development consultant to uh share some analysis regarding the economic feasibility of residential development in the city. And it's it was a really interesting interesting presentation and could provide some context for your work as a planning commissioner and your decision-making processes. So uh following this meeting, I'll send out a link to the PowerPoint and the uh recording of the meeting so you can um watch the meeting and the presentation at your own convenience. Uh that concludes the staff announcements for the evening and back to you, Chair. Thank you. Looking forward to those development activity updates towards the end of the meeting. The next item on the agenda is the consent calendar. There is one item on the consent calendar this evening, the draft minutes for the planning commission meeting of October 2nd, 2025. Would any commissioners like to pull the item from the consent calendar for corrections? If not, may I have a motion to approve the consent calendar? Commissioner Solis. I'll make the motion. I'll make the motion to approve the consent calendar. Sorry, that's can we go one more time here? Um back to you, Commissioner Solis. I'm gonna click you in the queue. I think your mic is hot now. Test. Yeah, yes. I'll make the motion to approve the consent calendar. Perfect, thank you. Do we have a second? I second it. Second, perfect. It has been moved by Commissioner Solis and seconded by Vice Chair Mendoza that the consent calendar be approved. Please vote on your screens.
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