[CPEO-IRF] Contamination still delays Alameda (CA) redevelopment

[Lenny Siegel <lsiegel@cpeo.org>]

Banking on Tainted Ground
The Navy balks at cleaning up its old Alameda base, but if it accepts
the city's latest plan, houses may bloom there yet.

By John Geluardi
East Bay Express (CA)
June 29, 2005

Last month when the Pentagon recommended closing the Concord Naval
Weapons Station, Mayor Laura Hoffmeister was pictured in the San
Francisco Chronicle sucking cake frosting off her index finger. There
was good cause for her to celebrate. If Congress approves the closure,
Concord hopes to oversee the development of 13,500 new homes on the
site, plus schools, business parks, and open space. 

But if the experience of other Bay Area cities is any indication,
Concord officials should temper their excitement. Before ground is
broken, they are in for a tedious process of compromise, toxic
assessments, and cleanup negotiations. 

At least that has been the case in Alameda, which has been itching to
build on the former Alameda Naval Air Station since 1993. The base
boasts 1,600 acres of developable waterfront property right in the
center of the Bay Area. When the area now known as Alameda Point was
chosen for closure, the community was terrified by the proposed loss of
four hundred jobs that had helped sustain the island's economy since
World War II. The city immediately mobilized and began working on a
redevelopment plan. It was approved in 1996, but the project is still on
hold. 
...

For the entire article, see
http://www.eastbayexpress.com/Issues/2005-06-29/news/cityside.html

-- 


Lenny Siegel
Director, Center for Public Environmental Oversight
c/o PSC, 278-A Hope St., Mountain View, CA 94041
Voice: 650/961-8918 or 650/969-1545
Fax: 650/961-8918
<lsiegel@cpeo.org>
http://www.cpeo.org
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