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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPC Minutes 03-16-81 (2) ~JSTIN PlANNI~ AGENCY Minutes of Regular Meeting March 16, 1981, 7:30 P.M. The Planning Agency held a regular meeting Tuesday, March 16, 1981, at 7:30 P.M., in the Council Chambers of the City Hall, 300 Centennial Way, Tustin, California. The ~=eting was called to order by Onaimran Pro-tern, ~r. Edgar, at 7:30 P.M. Present: Hoesterey, Edgar, Sharp, and Kennedy Absent: 8~ltarelli Also present: Alan Warren, Ccemmity Development, Senior Planner Edward M. Knight, Associate Planner Dan Blankenship, City Administrator, James Rourke, City Attorney, Mary Ann Chamberlain, Associate Planner, Recording Secretary PUBLIC HEARIN3 ENVI~AL IMPACT REPORT 81-1 and USE PERMIT 80-25 Applicant: Location: Request: Silicon Systems Incorporated 14351 ~yford Road Fabricate semi-conductor devices Mr. Edward Knight reviewed the staff report and he conx, ented that specific action should be delayed until the review period by the State Clearinghouse, is complete. The completion date is expected to be March 30, 1981. Nr. Knight stated that the EIR, as of yet, has generated few cxmm~nts, the City Engineer had several remarks and the only co~xm~nts so far into the State Clearinghouse is from Cal-Trans concerning hydroflorlc acid or arsine spills on route to the West Covina dump site. Silicon Systems representatives are present for public hearing to answer questions frcm the public and/or the agency. Public hearing was opened 7:32 P.M. Founder and Chairman of Board of Silicon Systems, Jean Potter, explained that he was in attendance to introduce the agency/public to the Silicon Systems Company, to answer any questions, a~d specifically to explain about the proposed wafer "fab", (fabrication) expansion. The proposed wafer fab expansion that we're ssking for approval on is the equilivant of over 250 such facilities located throughout California and United States, in fact, the majority of them being in California. The SSI company has been located in the Irvine Industrial tract since it's founding in 1972. Last year the facility did ten and half million dollars in business, the business being, designing, developing, n~mufacturing and selling custem, intergrated circuits. In April, 1979, we n~ved into our current facility to Myford Road. SII is a 83,000 square foot facility, we nc~ use approxin~tely 65% of the facility. We designed this facility several years ago, our intention was to use it as we are no~ proposing. We need this wafer fab expansion rather badly in order to continue the growth of the company. The co~ is essentially an e~loyee owned comfy, the majority of the stock being held by people that work and live in the immediate area. Mr. Potter gave a slide presentation describing the SSI facility. Planning Agency Minutes Nkrch 16, 1981, 7:30 P.M. Page 2 He stated the facility is an 83,000 sq. ft. building, two-stories. The wafer fab expansion will be inside and outside of the building as it stands. SSI is in the custem integrated circuit business. Intergrated circuits are fundamental building blocks used in virtually all modern electronic equipment. In an integrated circuit, electronic functions are created in and on a single, very s~ll, piece of silicon, typically less than a 1/4 of an inch on a side. Each of these circuits contain as many as tens or even hundreds of thousands of transisters with now-a-days entire computers being put on one of these chips. These chips, then encap~llated in s~all plastic ceramic packages which have leads on them capable of being soldered to, and this is what we sell to our custc~ers. We work with our potential custc~uers to design and build these custem integrated circuits to fit their specific needs and needs in which they cannot buy available products from the large manufacturers, such as Motorola, Tex_,:s Instruments, etc. .Mr. Potter continued his description of the facility with slides. Mr. Potter stated that they have gone to a great deal of trouble to provide an attractive as well as a safe place for people to work. A slide was presented of the test floor with automatic electrical test equipment for testing these integrated circuits. We currently subcontract this wafer processing to other firms all of which are in the State of California. We're asking for your approval to allow us to n~mufacture these wafers in our own facility. We need this because at presently the turn around time in getting these wafers processed is about six months. Having the processing done at our facility would allow us to provide this service to our customers in a matter of two or three weeks. Slide of the unused area of the building into which this wafer "fab" operation will be placed. Mr. Potter introduced, Steve Cooper, Vice President of wafer fabrication. Mr. Cooper briefly described the integrated circuits and the benefits they provide to the ccmmmmity. The n~st ceemonly known items that use integrated systems are: 1) the automatic garage door opener, 2) alarm and security systems, and 3) speech syntheis equipment for the visually handicapped. Mr. Cooper stated that SSI has subcontracted for all of it's wafer fab and we believe that an establishment of our own capability is essential to our expected growth. There are two principal reasons to begin in-house fabrication. First, to improve delivery times, second, is lower our per unit manufacturing cost. SSI currently e~loys approximately 150 ~ployees, the majority of which are located in the area of our facility. With the addition of wafer fab capability, we expect the nmuber of employees at this facility alone to go to approximately 500. This would include 300 day-shift personnel, 150 s~ing shift personnel, and about 50 people on grave-shift. It's note worthly that these employees will represent a board spectrum of skill levels with significant opportunities for advancement. SSI believes that it has a significant contribution to make to the ~ity of Tustin and we recognize that there are potential impacts. We have been totally open with these impacts ar~i our plans to mitigate them in the Environmental Impact Report. Planning Agency Minutes ~arch 16, 1981, 7:30 P.M. Page 3 Mr. Cooper introduced Gary Dudley, Vice President of Applied Conservation Technology. (ACT is the author of the Environmental Impact Report which includes the potential impacts and mitigations), and Ed Suichi, Safety Director, Intel Corporation, a leading semi-conductor manufacturing company. Mr. Sawicki's background includes: graduate studies in toxicology at the University of San Francisco, he is currently serving on the Chemical Task Force for the City of Santa Clara, California, he is a member of the Research and Development Comnittee for the National Safety Council, the Board of Directors for the Semi-Conductor Safety Association, he is also on the Board of Directors for the Bay Area Emergency Reponse Council, a founder and president of the American Electronics Association Safety group and a member of numberous other industrial s~fety organizations. He bas lectured at ~any colleges and universities on safety and health. Both of these men are available for questioning from the cc~,,~nity. Mr. Peer A. Swan introduced himself as a resident of Laurelwood, 14351 Morning Glory, Tustin. Representing the Laurelwood Home Owners Association, Mr. Swan expressed concern for the people living in iaurelwood about the City of Tustin being able to issue a permit that will sufficiently control the operation of this facility in the Industrial complex so they will not violate their use permit. And, what positive benefits will this additional use of facility generate for the community to offset the risks that the conmmmity is going to take, especially those who live close to this area who have had a bad experience in the last two years with an existing facility that did not stay within their terms of their use permit? Also, is this use going to generate additional sales tax for the coa~munity/city by having sales out of the f~cility? Mr. Cooper in answer, stated that SSI currently delivers to two neighbors within the Irvine Industrial complex which consequently is able to deliver a product and there is sales tax passed on as a result of that. As far as the contribution to the co,amity, Mr. Cooper stated that there would he an increase in Jobs for the community. In ~ddition, he felt that the types of talent that will be in the silicon systems company in the near future as they continue to grow, will have a positive impact on the co~mm/ty. He stated that the expertise in the areas of chemical analysis, fire prevention and treatment, will have a positive benefit to the fire department. SSI will have an abundance of equipment that is able to detect lc~ levels of chemical vapors. There will be fire fighting equipment available to the fire department should they need it and we would more than glad to help the fire department, if called in by them. Mr. Swan continued to express the concern of the public about the City being requested to provide significant more monetary coverage because of the impact of the company; i.e., creating additional traffic, the use of b_,~_~_rdous materials by SSI and of special fire services being needed. What is the financial gain or improvement to the city? The public too, is concerned that maybe we are opening our doors to another company that will be dealing with chemicals that sound very hazardous. What are the potential h-2~ts if any, of the use of these chemicals in the area. Mr. Sawicki commented that he sees SSI as being morally comnitted to address the concerns of Mr. Swan and the coemunity and they SSI is at present, addressing these concerns. Mr. Todd Ferguson representing the Peppertree Hce~m~ners asked the following: What measures are provided to monitor the air around the complex? Is there a unit capable of picking up small amounts of impuritie~ in the air? If there are impurities that potentially could be put in the atmosphere, we r~-~cd to know the response time that we can get from the Air Quality Control Board to substantiate if there are impurities in the air. Planning Agency Minutes March 16, 1981, 7:30 P.M. Page 4 Are there any danger of chemicals being released in the sewer system? Are the culverts in the sewer systems capable of handling the chemical waste products in terms of toxicology with respect to the g~ses that might be released a~s well am the liquid and solid chemicals? Are the culverts capable of staying in a functional capacity, avoiding chemical degeneration. Mr. Sawicki replied, there are several technologies that are available, one is a color metric system, known as a MSA pump, in essence it could be a grab sample, the chemical you're looking for can he anaylsis and you can get an instantaneous reading. In regards to current technology for continuous monitors, it varies from gas to gas or che~Kcal to chemical, there my be a unit that is available for continuous monitoring, the company hms mentioned it in the environ~aental impact report use of such a unit inside the plant. There n~y be a possiblity that it could be established on the scrubber syst~n. The unit referred to is known as a Moran, it uses an infrared spectrophotometer, it can do roughly five hundred chemical tests per hour. It sounds an alarm if there is a problem. However, water does represent a contamination for the Moran but, it's worth investigating. It's the only unit I know of that can menitor for a multitude of gases at one point. In reference to the se~er questions, Lynn Brewer explained that we use very small quanities of organic solvents however, we do use a large quanity of water. Regarding the material flow to the sewage, the organic solvents are collected in separate drains and sent to below grade storage tanks. They are kept there until hauled away by a licensed, authorized hauler. The hydrofloric acid is handled in exactly the same way. We have a general acid waste that his sent to a neutralization system were we nontitor the acidity of that stream, add a continuous amount of sodimm hydroxcide solution to neutralize it, then the neuralized waste goes to the sewer. The PH as specified by the Orange County Santitation District is the stream could run between 6 and 12. Basically that means you would want to run a little bit on the basic side as opposed to the acid, acidity side. There is a 9.4 hour strip chart recorder on that acidity of neutralized material. The contiguents used are sulfuric acid, small quanties of nitric, small quanties of hydrocholoric. The concentrations that we are talking about are extremely low. By far, the most dangerous material in your sewage system, basically, from a standpoint is ~r~ll from hydrogen sulfide, which is generated frcm general acid waste from homes. Todd Ferguson asked about the low-grade storage tanks. Where are they located and the contents of which you said are hauled away, where are they hauled away to? Mr. Brewer replied that the storage tanks referred to for organic waste and hydrofloric acid waste are stored below grade in sealed cavities. They are typically hauled away to dump sites. The nearest site is BK&K in West Covina. They have, based on the inquiries made by Gary Dudley in preparing the Environmental Impact Report, enough capacity to hsndle about 35 years worth of effluent based on their projections. Mr. Swan asked if the air coming out of the entire system of concern is going to be sent through a scrubber, if so, what percentage of impurities will be released into the air? Is this scrubber going to be installed and operating before any manufacturing? Mr. Brewer explained that the way we have designed the fume exhaust facilities, we will have two fume scrubbers that operate in parallel of one another either one is able to handle at least 75% of the capacity of the plant. In addition to those two operating in parallel, we have an emergency on-site diesel generator that will be used as back-up until the utility co~y can do its Job. Planning Agency Minutes March 16, 1981, 7:30 P.M. Page 5 Mr. Swan mentioned a chemical Z28 which is used by Dynachem in the exact application involved here, he was concerned with the odor this chentcal produces. There was a bad chemdcal smell in this area in the past, and we are concerned that we will not be exposed to this again. Mr. Brewer stated that we're dealing with small quantities of n~terial, we are also dealing with low concentrations and our process is extremely sensitive to having hazardous m~terials where they don't belong. He also stated that he is not familiar with Z28. Kathy Weil, resident, 1702 Soemerville, Tustin, laison, and Vice President for Tustin Meadows Coemunity Association, stated that she presented the EIR to Tustin Meadows Board of Directors, and though none on the board of directors has a chemical degree, they were very impressed with the sun~. She realizes that only reading the sun~ does not give you the full impact of the whole EIR but, it is very well done. She stated that the board of directors were quite Impressed with the fact that the mitigations were brought out to a great extent and that Silicon Systen~ seems to have done a thorough Job regarding back-up systems. Th~_gh SSI may not have covered everything, the fact that they covered so much, gave us the impression they were very co~scientious, trying to make themselves a good neighbor and also making sure that they would not i~ct the c~,,,~nity. The board felt that they would be a very good addition to the commmity because of the high technology involved and the high technology people involved. Tustin will be growing in the very near future and we will have ro~m for any additional people that they would want to bring in. As far as the financial part of it is concerned, since the advent of Proposition "13" and Proposition "4", the only way you can get any kind of sizable increase frcm a resident or a company, is when they put on an addition. Ms. Weil, in regards to Mr. Swan's concern about tax, explained that no manufacturer pays sales tax in anything they msnufacture because they sell it for resale, not directly to the consumer. Ms. Well also stated that Mr. Swan is only a resident from Laurelwood, not a representative of Laurelwood. She said that she had a long talk with the president of Laurelwood Co~mm~nity Association and he stated that their board has not seen the EIR and that they would like to have time to study it. Mr. Brewer n~ntioned that SSI has been working with the city of Tustin since the lOth of September in doing what needs to be done in the right fashion to obtain approval of this project. SSI filed a conditional use permit in November, and as a result of that permit filing, it was determined that SSI do an environmental impact report. We contacted a consulting agency based on the recommendation of the staff and worked with that agency in order to put this EIR together in a short time yet have it to be thorough. Based on the amount of time that has gone into getting us this far and be~_~_~=d on the lack of negative evidence frcm any state agency who, have an additional ten days of which to respond, I wish to request a comditional approval frcm the council tonight. Mr. Edgar stated that we are obliged to continue this hearing on the basis of the law. We can not mske any decisions on this m~tter at this time. Mr. Rourke confirmed this statement. Mr. Cooper m~de an open offer to the members community to meet with SSI personally or members of the staff if there were any questions between now and April 6, 1981. Mr. Sharp asked if the testimony of this public hearing was to be included in this EIR. Planning Agency Minutes March 16, 1981, 7:30 P.M. Page 6 Mr. Rourke explained that any concerns, that have been addressed to the council, orally or in writing, should be responded to a~d become a part of the final EIR document, also this p~blic hearing testimony is to be included. Mr. Sharp continued that the state agencies, no later than March 30, 1981, w~ill r~ to imput their concerns which will also be addressed in writing, and become a part of the final version of the EIR. Any questions raised ~y individuals, groups, here this evening that are not already incorporated in the EIR are going to have to be included in it and mitigation measure~ are going to have to be spelled out in the final version of the EIR. Hc~ is this going to be p~t in written form? Mr. Warren stated that the testimony taken tonight and any testimony from the State Clearinghouse will be reviewed by our department and the EIR will be brought to the planning agency at the next meeting with the recoewaended additions for consideration as to it's adequacy in meeting the environmental law. At that time again, more imput may be acquired through public testimony and the agency can make the determination to also add those ocmm~nts or the agency would then recomnend either contim~_~_nce or that the report be passed on to the City Council for certification. Mr. Sharp asked who will be the author of the final EIR for publication. Mr. Warren stated the author would be the city staff. Mrs. Kennedy mentioned concern about the b_~?_~_rdous chemical waste sewer system. Mrs. Kennedy stated that staff should take a close look at the proposed ways of waste removal. What impact will storing the waste on the SSI property pose? Mrs. Kennedy stated that the Air Quality District is not always able to respond when we have problems. The fact that this company has a very good record, is comforting, hc~ever, Dynachem had a good record until Thyicol bought them out. A moral reputation is not going to take care of us if this company is bought out in two years by another co~y with a different ethics code. Staff should consider the effect of SSI on the other chemical user co~anies, Heads Up, Dynachem, etc., in this area. Hc~ would they effect each other should a fire or explosion occur. Mrs. Kennedy asked if an anaylsis on the chemicals to be used, be made and the proof that none of these smells are detectable be su~nitted. Hc~ will the high water usage, (5million gallons), effect the city in case of a water shortage. Understanding that this question can not be answered, staff should look into this potential future problem. Mrs. Kennedy asked that a report of the possible effects of this chemical use on the public be put in the EIR. Also, ~s. Kennedy suggested that their be an independent analysis of the EIR made to assure those that am not scientists, that we are protected and that we are in turn protecting our commmity. This cost is well worth it. Mrs. Kennedy asked for the councils support on an independent analysis of the EIR. MOTION by Kennedy to hire an independent consultant to analysis the EIR. No second of the motion because the final EIR version may be acceptable as written. Planning Agency Minutes March 16, 1981, 7:30 P.M. Page 7 Mr. Sharp stressed that any concerns, conversation, questions, etc., regarding SSI should be put in writing for the EIR. Mr. Edgar confirmed that all inforn~tion and questions, discussed with SSI staff, planning staff, and/or agency members, regarding this matter should be brought to the public hearing to be sure that all information is put in the EIR. Mr. Edgar is concerned that all of the safe guards that have been identified will be followed through with, that they won't Just slip into a document that is well written and approved by the council and then become a sterile document in a file someplace. If this should happen, all of the insight that we no~ have will be lost. Mr. Edgar stated that before he makes his final vote (m the issue, these practical measures will be implemented. Mr. Gary Dudley, Applied Conservation Technology, introduced himself and stated that the easiest way to respond to our co~nents is to receive th~ in writing. The public/city should put all further co~nents/questions in memo form so that there are understandable. Public hearing closed 8:47 P.M. Chairman Pro-tern ~/ ~ Ann~hamberlain Recording Secretary