Capacity constraints related to equipment problems and solids buildup at the Visalia Wastewater Treatment Plant is expected to impact new South Valley development W.M. Lyles image

Visalia-based San Joaquin Valley Homes wants to build a 303-home subdivision in Goshen west of Highway 99.

It received preliminary approvals from the Tulare County Planning Commission Wednesday night.

But the builder needs an OK from another key player — the City of Visalia, which supplies sewer capacity to Goshen from its wastewater treatment plant also west of Highway 99.

But the Visalia City Council heard recently that the plant’s capacity has been affected by needed repairs and the city wants to reevaluate what needs to be done long term as well.

The City sent a letter to the Goshen Community Services District suggesting new development projects in Goshen be put on hold while the City works to repair and upgrade the plant.

“We were surprised by the letter,” said Tulare County economic development chief Mike Washam, who has now offered to meet with city officials to potentially “contribute to the solution.”

Steve Nelsen, member of the Visalia City Council, said they too were “surprised” about the big, proposed subdivision project, adding that no notice was offered before they saw an agenda item.

“Nobody let us know” that the project was on deck, says Nelsen.

“We used to think we had plenty of sewer capacity,” but the city has grown and developed rapidly in recent years, Nelsen notes, including in the industrial park. The big issue is the load of solids that needs to be processed from multiple sources including the big California Dairies milk plant.

Visalia first?

Defending the letter to the County, Nelsen argues “we need to make sure we have capacity for growth in Visalia first.”

In recent weeks, staff has requested emergency funding to clean, inspect and repair each of the eight 62-foot sewage digesters at the plant after discovering a leak that made one of the digesters inoperable. The big issue is how to handle solids from upstream processes typically consisting of sludge, scum, fats, oils and grease.

A staff report says digester sludge has also seen a steady increase of “disposable” wipes and other non-disposable products. The wipes and plastic clump together with organic debris, forming large clumps within the digesters, clogging pumps, valves and pipes.

Inspections found the leak, prompting staff to call for inspection of all the digesters but not until the first digester is repaired — a six-month process, according to a report in May.

It is not just new homes in Goshen impacted — of which there are now four subdivisions — but also the pending annexations around the outskirts of Visalia now that the City has approved an ag mitigation policy that will allow the Tulare County Local Agency Formation Commission (LAFCo) to begin to approve annexations again.

“We need to hire a consultant to sort out all the issues at the [wastewater treatment] plant,” said Nelsen. The last major upgrade at the plant was 2018.

Movie theater on 99?

Then there is the Sequoia Gateway drama also outside the City boundary but dependent on the sewer system. Here too the County is running interference on the Caldwell/99 project.

The most recent news was the withdrawal of the huge resort — Great Wolf Lodge — several months ago. Since then, other retail uses at the site have stalled. However, a new developer is in the wings who is going through their due diligence on whether to move forward or not, confirms Washam.

But the City of Visalia has concerns about this commercial project, depending on what and who a developer might want to attract. Washam says the City let them know they were concerned about some uses under consideration.

Councilmember Nelsen said the County has asked if the City would approve a movie theater at Caldwell Avenue and Highway 99. That has apparently stirred opposition.

Nelsen said they told the County they would not welcome uses that could be accommodated on Visalia’s Mooney Boulevard retail corridor, including a new movie theater.

Washam said city officials “got specific,” telling them that they wouldn’t approve some retailers including Dave & Busters, Crate and Barrel and Pottery Barn, which like the movie theater could be easily accommodated on Mooney. All four uses are potential new developments that could be located at the Sequoia Mall that the city would love to see filled with new stores.

Developer Dave Paynter has been working to fill in the space at the mall after the Regal Cinema closed its doors and the company was allowed to exit their lease as of May 31 through the bankruptcy process. But Paynter may not be giving up on attracting a new theater.

The City was not opposed to the Sequoia Gateway project in general, but now does not want a new retail complex on 99 to hurt Mooney — a lingering concern in Visalia that goes way back.