From: SF Business Times

Wednesday, July 14, 2010
San Francisco Supervisors approve Hunters Point EIR
San Francisco Business Times - by J.K. Dineen

An emotional and contentious showdown over the $8 billion redevelopment of the Hunters Point Shipyard and Candlestick Point ended with the Board of Supervisors signing off on the project's environmental impact report.

The vote was 8 to 3 with supervisors Chris Daly, Eric Mar, and John Avalos voting to uphold the appeal of the EIR.

The redevelopment plan, led by master developer Lennar, calls for creating a neighborhood of 10,500 homes, plus parks and amenities on the 720-acre site of the former shipyard. The development also includes 3.5 million square feet of commercial space -- the planners envision a center of green technology -- as well as 800,000 square feet of retail and 320 acres of open space and parks.

During more than 10 hours of testimony, supporters evoked the vision of a green, dense and economically vibrant neighborhood that would address decades of neglect in the city's poorest corner. As midnight approached, dozens of carpenters, pile drivers, electricians and laborers - many of them Bayview residents -- urged the board to pass a development that would create thousands of construction jobs.

"I've watched two communities get built while I've waited for something to happen in this one," said Angelo King, a contractor and Bayview resident. "You have done it in Mission Bay and South of Market, now you have a golden opportunity to do something in Bayview Hunters Point."

Critics argued that the plan should not go forward until the shipyard, one of the U.S. Navy's most polluted bases, has been 100 percent cleaned up. Stephen Volker, an attorney for Californians for Renewable Energy, said the project posed “human health risks bourne by the adjacent minority community.” “I encourage you to separate the remediation phase from the development phase,” he said.

Both federal and state environmental agencies, as well as the San Francisco Department of Public Health, would have to approve any transfer of the property from the Navy, said EPA Remedial Project Manager Mark Ripperda.

"We are not going to allow any transfer unless we are convinced it is safe," he said.

Another controversial topic was the proposed 900-foot bridge across the Yosemite Slough. The bridge is opposed by the Sierra Club and other environmental groups, who argue it would harm one of the Bay Area's last remaining wetland areas. Supporters said the bridge would be needed for the green-technology center city officials hope will create thousands of jobs.

Michael Cohen said the project faced "much greater financial risk" without the bridge because it would more difficult for employees and residents to travel between the isolated Candlestick Point and the rest of the city.

"It is the primary job-generating heart of the shipyard for the major employers we hope to have there; having that direct connectivity to BART, Caltrain, and T-Third is going to be important," he said.

Cohen stressed that House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein have brought more money to clean up the site than to any other decommissioned military site in the country. More than $700 million has been spent on the cleanup so far. Failing to certify the EIR could jeopardize future federal cleanup money.

"Not only will not certifying the EIR do nothing to help the cleanup, it could set it back significantly," Cohen said. "It is central that we are able to show that the cleanup is going to yield real public and economic benefits."

Supervisor Chris Daly, who voted to reject the EIR, argued that the environmental documents didn't take into account the impact the project would have on the existing residents. Just before 2 a.m., Daly gave a speech outlining his belief that "proposal doesn't work for the majority of the residents of Bayview Hunters Point." He called labor's support of the project "the sellout of the union bosses" Another opponent of the project, District 11 Supervisor John Avalos, quoted 1980s pop singer Thomas Dolby, saying the EIR had"blinded us with science."

But District 10 Supervisor Sophie Maxwell, who represents the shipyard, said the environmental study was "comprehensive and exhaustive" and went "well beyond its required scope."

"I too want the community to be healthy. I believe we can have both, either and or," she said. "Jobs and health. Jobs and parks and health."