Proponents of project clarified yesterday that proposed site for the construction of the Western Sales Trading Company warehouse on Tokcha Avenue is “for the most part” surrounded by established businesses.
The 10,000-square-meter property for the site is near the Joeten Group of Companies warehouse.
Jose C. Ayuyu, who owns the property said Western Sales Trading will only use 6,000 square meters for the warehouse.
Christopher A. Torres, who owns Western Sales Trading, has been doing business on Saipan for 27 years now, Ayuyu added.
“Our economy is in bad shape and they have been doing business for a long period of time. We should support them,” he said.
He said he supports the project because the company wants to modernize its warehousing facilities.
They want to be located in an area closer to their customers, he added.
Western Sales Trading is currently leasing a warehouse in Lower Base which is already dilapidated and “so it makes a lot of business sense to move to a new location and put something new,” Ayuyu said.
He said proposed warehouse will have minimal impact on the traffic in the area.
“It’s very obvious that this area is already commercialized,” he added. “If this is in the middle of the village surrounded by homes, then that’s a different story.”
Architect Herman Cabrera showed this reporter the plan for the construction of the warehouse.
He said there will be no air and noise pollution since the warehouse is only for storage.
“You cannot even see the warehouse because they will develop a landscape in the area,” he added.
Western Sales Trading resident manager Arnaldo G. Guban said they will only stock finished products and not chemical or other hazardous items.
Guban said they will also unload cargoes only once in a month using one 40-foot and one 20-foot container.
Variety was told that residents who opposed the project submitted “ready-made letters” to the Saipan Zoning Office upon the prodding and influence of a businessman whose name was not disclosed.
But Marcelino Aguon, a resident in Chalan Kanoa, said nobody persuaded him to go against the project.
He said other residents support his belief that the Zoning Office should maintain the beauty and the integrity of residential communities.
Torcuato M. Castro, another resident opposed to the project, told Variety that no one influenced him to speak out against the warehouse.
“My only concern—if this big thing is built—is it will affect my safety,” said Castro whose house is about 250 feet from the proposed warehouse site.
He said if the Zoning Board approves the project there’s a big possibility that adjacent properties will also be used for commercial or business purposes.
Castro said his life is almost over and he wants to protect the future of his children by ensuring them that the living conditions in Susupe remain safe.
