475 E San Francisco Avenue

The property at 475 East San Francisco Avenue (Property) is approximately 1.5 acres in size. It is located approximately three blocks east of State Highway 101 and one mile northeast of the former Remco Hydraulics Facility.  Its closest neighbors include residences and a lumber mill and storage yard.
Remco Hydraulics, Inc. (Remco) conducted gun barrel manufacturing on the property for the U. S. Government from June 1973 to June 1978. Currently, gardening supplies are stored on the property. The Property usage history follows:

• Prior to 1960, the Property was used by the neighboring lumber mill for storage.
• From the early 1960s to 1966, watercraft toilets were manufactured on the Property by Microphor, Inc.
• From June 15, 1973 to June 14, 1978, Remco manufactured 90 mm and 105 mm recoilless rifles for the U.S. Government.
• Some time after 1978, a fire destroyed the southern portion of the warehouse.  The graphic at the top of the page shows the current layout of the Property.
• No information was found regarding activities at the Property from 1978 to 1991.
• From 1991 until 1999 the Property was used for recycling of household products such as glass, plastics, and paper products.

Remco’s manufacturing activities included: machining of raw metal with lathes, milling machines, and a broaching machine; quality control inspections; and rifle assembly without the firing mechanism. No chrome plating was conducted at the Property.  According to former employees, chemical handling and storage at the Property included:

• Chlorinated solvents including 1,1,1-trichloroethane (111-TCA) were used at the property for cleaning purposes;
• Coolants and lubricants used in the machining process

Since 2001, the Willits Trust has conducted several environmental investigations at the Property, culminating in a 'No Further Action' designation letter on March 5, 2008.