The board, during its meeting on Thursday, also imposed some conditions on the management of Western Sales Trading Company or WSTCO.
Among the conditions: the prohibition to park a cargo container on its premises for more than five days, the prohibition to use any hazardous chemical or fertilizer, and the reduction of noise generation based on the acceptable level required by the Occupational Safety & Health Administration.
The management is also required to set up a landscape as buffer zone between the warehouse and the road.
The working hours for the construction of the warehouse should not go beyond 5 p.m.
Santiago Aguon, a Susupe resident whose house is near the proposed warehouse, expressed his concern about environmental issue.
For over five years, he said he has complained to the Division of Environmental Quality about the noise and smoke emission from the Joeten warehouse but nothing was done.
“I don’t want this to happen in my house again,” Aguon said, as he strongly urged WSTCO management to protect the public.
The 10,000-square-meter property for the warehouse site is situated near the Joeten warehouse.
In a previous hearing, architect Herman Cabrera showed the plan for the construction of the warehouse, saying it would prevent air and noise pollution.
WSTCO resident manager Arnaldo G. Guban told the zoning board that the warehouse is only for storage purposes and that they will use a generator.
Zoning Board Chairman Diego Blanco said the generator should comply with the U.S. Clean Act and must be approved by DEQ.
Businessman Jose Ayuyu, who owns the property leased by WSTCO, reiterated his support for the project.
He is confident the company will comply with the requirements set by the conditional use permit.
Ayuyu said Christopher A. Torres, who owns WSTCO, has been doing business on Saipan for 27 years now.
WSTCO’s lease agreement for its warehouse in Lower Base expired on Oct. 9, Guban said.
