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Home Resource Center In the News Home Greenbelt Alliance in the News |
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Greenbelt Alliance In the News
May 18, 2008 Long-awaited Naval Weapons Station environmental documents released Maps: Seven development
alternatives (pdf): hen it's finally developed, the shuttered Concord Naval Weapons Station could have between 14,700 and 30,600 new residents and between 2,400 and 6,725 new houses, which will push more cars onto streets and freeways and more pollution into the air, according to a new environmental study. A monstrous document detailing how the community could develop 5,028 acres at the former military base — and the impact it would have on the rest of the city — is out this week. Through the detailed environmental impact report, residents for the first time can get a close look at seven land-use alternatives and how they will affect the surrounding environment. They range from intense development in Alternative No. 1, with the most new residents, to little development and 80 percent open space in Alternative No. 7. The city hired consultants to put together the document, which took almost seven months to complete. Residents will have until July 11 to read it and submit comments to the city. " There aren't any big surprises," said Mike Wright, Concord's reuse project director. " We've got some traffic issues that everyone knew would be key but I don't think there's anything extreme or that we didn't expect," he said. Initially, the city was going to try to get its ultimate land-use plan to the Navy, which still owns the base, by June. Instead, that will likely happen in January. To accommodate that longer timeline, the city has asked the Navy for a six-month extension. " We're asking for more time so that we can have a good, thorough dialogue with the community and build a consensus on what we want to see out there," Wright said. In the study, all of the alternatives preserve the Los Medanos Hills where the slope is 30 percent or greater and include a 300-foot-wide buffer along Mount Diablo Creek. They also include biking and hiking trails, youth and adult sports complexes and fields, a relocated golf course and green "transition zones" between existing, built-out parts of Concord and any new building at the weapons station site. Room has also been made for schools, police stations, performing arts centers, museums and other things. The study says that all seven alternatives would result in extra traffic on Concord Boulevard west of Denkinger Road. There are also traffic snarls likely at the Olivera Road/Port Chicago Highway intersection and the Bailey Road/Concord Boulevard intersection, but a new lane would fix that, according to the report. Here are some of the other development effects contained in the study: New development would add cars on Highway 4 and Interstate 680 during peak commuting hours. To combat that, the city would require future developers at the weapons station to pay for improvements. All seven options would result in more car emissions than what the Bay Area Air Quality Control Management District allows. To fix this, the city would plan to include public transit, peak-hour shuttle services and bike lanes. There could be an effect on migratory birds, the Western pond turtle, the California tiger salamander, Western spadefoot toad, American badgers, Golden eagles and other animals. Development would lead to an effect on wetlands of Mount Diablo Creek and surrounding ponds and could lead to the introduction of invasive species to the wetlands. The Navy or a developer will have to pay to remove any hazardous materials left behind by the military, which is required by law. Traffic and rail noise along BART lines, Highway 4, and Willow Pass and Bailey roads would increase significantly with all seven alternatives. To fix this, the city would require developers to conduct noise studies and use setbacks and grading or other noise insulation. Ultimately, city leaders and the community will choose one of the alternatives, or a mixture of several, and that will become the base reuse plan submitted to the Navy. Mayor Bill Shinn said the Navy hasn't signed off on the six-month extension but he doesn't expect problems. And the community, he said, seems to be on the same page. " No one's come in yet and said that our heads are someplace they shouldn't be," Shinn said. Initially, there were five alternatives, but Concord leaders in October added Alternatives 6 and 7 after pressure from the Greenbelt Alliance and Save Mount Diablo. Those are the most open-space-friendly options, with Alternative 7 offering 80 percent open space. Alternative 1, which has the most intense development, calls for 47 percent of the land to be set aside for parks and open space. Shinn said he sympathizes with concerns about open space and the potential for overdevelopment, but worries that too much open space would be too costly. City leaders have said all year that they're making a potent effort to build consensus among the diverse interests in the region — and that's partly the reason for the extension, Wright said. A public hearing in early July will be held for entering comments into the formal record. Congress voted in November 2005 to close the weapons station and open it to development as part of a cost-cutting measure. The Navy bought the inland portion of the base in June 1944, which up until then had been home to a dairy and granary and other farming utilities. In the past, Wright has said residents could start seeing development at the base as early as 2009. Whatever alternative is chosen, the most intense development will likely happen near the North Concord BART station and along Highway 4. Each scenario has differing levels of intensity on the west side of the property. ### |
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