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Castillo and Montecito Lot
updated: Oct 15, 2012, 1:34 PM

By MesaJim

I noticed that the empty lot that used to be a gas station on the corner of Castillo and Montecito had some activity this morning. Two large trucks were extracting dirt and sludge. Does anyone know if this is a sign of completion on the EPA project, and possible near-future development?

Comments in order of when they were received | (reverse order)

COMMENT 331575	2012-10-15 01:48 PM
Casa Esperanza West.
ROGER DODGER	2012-10-15 01:52 PM
That would be a really good place for it because many of them live in Pershing Park and shoplift at 7-11.
COMMENT 331595	2012-10-15 02:29 PM
Think there's enough homeless for 2nd Esperanza ? Or could we fill 10 more?
ROGER DODGER	2012-10-15 02:45 PM
I think places like this could serve as homeless substations. A place they could go and get pampered after a long hot day at the beach panhandling and intimadating tourists. Take a long hot shower, get a massage, get some therapy for their long stressed out day. Gourmet food, imported beer you know the Works! Everyone knows were all rich here so we have to take care of the poor souls and their dogs. I'd like to see acouple in the same block of the police station..
COMMENT 331607P	2012-10-15 02:45 PM
I drove by twice today and saw large bags being loaded on a semi. It looked like contaminated soil. That site was the location of leaky gasoline tanks, no?
COMMENT 331616	2012-10-15 02:55 PM
According to the State Water Board that UST site has already been cleaned up and the case closed in January. I saw the equipment being loaded this morning but I thought it came from down the street at the construction site in the train station parking lot.
COMMENT 331617	2012-10-15 02:57 PM
FYI Contaminated soil is transported in 55-gallon steel drums, lined and sealed with plastic.
COMMENT 331619	2012-10-15 03:13 PM
Thanks for that info. I was the one that said they were using bags. Huge bags. As I sat at the light I thought I should pull into 7/11, and shoot some photos of the operation. But really, who would be interested in that. I didn't.
COMMENT 331621	2012-10-15 03:17 PM
Huge bags sound like super sacks to be. They're typically used for transporting/distributing construction products like cement, sand and gravel.
SBJULES	2012-10-15 03:46 PM
there used to be a service station on the corner; Maybe they are going to clean that up.
COMMENT 331634	2012-10-15 04:11 PM
Roger for the win! Homeless Inc would LOVE to have that area serve as a luxury drop-in spot for the weary homeless, needing a place to lay their heads after a hard day of panhandling, harrassing the locals, fighting, drinking, and scoring drugs. The Organic Soup Kitchen would finally have a permanent place to serve their super-nutritious homeless brew, and JJ's and 7/11 could donate booze to keep the homeless off their lot. Casa Esperanza West indeed.
COMMENT 331652	2012-10-15 04:36 PM
If the trucks say Lash Const., it's probably a staging area for train station work as it's really tight quarters at the station.
COMMENT 331662	2012-10-15 04:55 PM
Can we get back to the intersection?
ROGER DODGER	2012-10-15 05:31 PM
I don't see why not..
COMMENT 331712	2012-10-15 07:16 PM
634, I live really close to that intersection, it's clear you don't.
COMMENT 331717	2012-10-15 07:35 PM
Its not lash construction.....they are doing the train depot box culvert for mission creek
BASENJI MOM	2012-10-15 08:12 PM
Contaminated soil is not always transported in 55-gallon drums. There are various degrees of contamination that require different was of disposal. It could easily be some final clean up from the gas station.
TMO	2012-10-16 06:24 AM
They are removing the tanks that were used for the cleanup, that is now complete, after many years.
COMMENT 331777	2012-10-16 06:54 AM
I'd be pissed, as a resident of that area, if it became a homeless shelter. Just sayin'.
REXOFSB	2012-10-16 08:24 AM
That's a good site for the world's smallest Target. Right off the freeway and close to the beach.
COMMENT 331860	2012-10-16 09:35 AM
1777: No one likes vagrant shelters in their back yards. Particularly the Homeless Inc donors from Montecito. They pay to make sure the vagrants play far from their own gated estates. Why is Coast Village Road free of pan-handlers you might ask, unlike State Street? Both are city streets subject to the same rules and enforcement demands. You would think CVR would be over-run with pan-handlers because that is where the money is.
RHS	2012-10-16 10:13 AM
I suppose the outpouring of love and human kindness expressed in these messages is because we are approaching the holiday season. So much vitriol. Get a grip folks. The poor will always be with us but it doesn't mean we have to be jerks about it.
COMMENT 331896	2012-10-16 10:44 AM
Dan - I rode by on the way home. There is the remnant soil/ground water treatment equipment still in place but as stated above the site clean up was completed in January per the Water Board. I didn't see any activity, but perhaps they're removing the old equipment and abandoning the monitoring wells. That would be the first step at that site before any other site work could be done since the lines run everywhere along the ground.
COMMENT 332032P	2012-10-16 03:07 PM
I'm pretty sure the reason there are no (or few) panhandlers on Coast Village Road is because there's very little foot traffic there... especially out of tourist season. The ones who are in the area are usually found at the exits of the Von's parking lot or at the freeway off ramps.

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