[CPEO-MEF] Granite Management Flyer

[jancg@webtv.net]

The following letter was written to the Department of Toxic Substances
Control (DTSC) from the Committee for Public Advisory Consensus on
Tourtelot (ComPACT) to inform DTSC of a city-wide mailing from a
developer (Granite Management Corp., subisidary of Ford Motor Co.) that
attempts to discredit ComPACT's policy paper for the cleanup of  UXO and
hazardous waste site where the developer wants to build 420 homes.

ComPACT wants the cleanup of the site to be separate from the housing
development plans -- the developer wants to "bundle" the project by
combining cleanup with massive cut and fill for housing plans.  ComPACT
wanted DTSC to be aware of the developer's tactics.

ComPACT's policy paper can be found on the URL below.

jlcg


http://community.webtv.net/jancg/HealthyBeniciaTask

http://community.webtv.net/jancg/ComPACTCommitteefor


From: jancg@webtv.net (Jan Cox-Golovich)
Date: Sat, 20 Nov 1999 16:42:35 -0800 (PST)
To: elowry@dtsc.ca.gov
Cc: smith.bobbye@epa.gov, balbert@dtsc.ca.gov, bhandel@spk.usace.army.mil,
	cts@rb2.swrcb.ca.gov, ddiebert@dtsc.ca.gov,
	Helen.Thomson@assembly.ca.gov, jhwaugh@aec2.apgea.army.mil,
	JMarcott@dtsc.ca.gov, jaustren@hw1.cahwnet.gov,
	lehr.james@epamail.epa.gov, JMarxen@dtsc.ca.gov,
	jtaylor@spk.usace.army.mil, kathy.hoffman@mail.house.gov,
	LMcmaha1@dtsc.ca.gov, lsiegel@cpeo.org,
	LFinley-Miller@spk.usace.army.mil, parkerma@aol.com,
	mwalsh@spk.usace.army.mil, NLantzer@aol.com,
	pmadsen@spk.usace.army.mil, greendr@hqda.army.mil,
	sphillip@dtsc.ca.gov, Walter.J.Cunningham.COL@HND01.usace.army.mil
Subject: Granite Management Flyer


Dear Mr. Lowry,

As you are aware, the Committee for Public Advisory Consensus on
Tourtelot (ComPACT) has issued a Policy Paper for the clean-up of
unexploded ordnance and hazardous waste on the Tourtelot property.  We
advocate a four phase approach:
        Emergency/Interim UXO Clearance
        Clean-up of Hazardous Waste
        UXO Clearance to Residential Stan.
        Tourtelot Development EIR

ComPACT has been informed that DTSC has accepted Granite's proposal in
which a comprehensive EIR would lump all of these phases together and
inextricably link the clean-up of UXO and hazardous waste to the
development of housing.  We do not know when, how or why this decision
was made by DTSC to accept this approach, but after ComPACT learned of
it,  we worked diligently to put forward an alternative that we believe
is superior to Granite Management's.  We continue to hope that your
department will seriously consider our alternative.

The actual intent of this letter, however, is to inform you of a recent
flyer that Granite Management mailed to all households in Benicia in an
effort to discredit ComPACT's proposal.  ComPACT believes the content of
the flyer is of extreme importance to DTSC's internal deliberations
regarding proper procedure on both the Rose Drive and Tourtelot
clean-ups.  Granite Management clearly shows their hand after many
months of claiming that "safety" was their first priority.   First,
Granite links the Rose Drive clean-up with development of homes on
Tourtelot. Secondly, Granite offers us the all or nothing approach
---either we allow homes on Tourtelot or we get no clean-up at all - at
either site.   Up until this time,  Granite Management and City of
Benicia officials have strenuously denied any link of the Rose Drive
clean-up to a development "deal" on Tourtelot, and both entities have
stated on numerous occasions that housing will only be built if
Tourtelot is deemed "safe"  (although they have yet to give us a
definition of this term).

The following is the content of their flyer:
Granite Management Corporation THOUGHT YOU WOULD LIKE TO KNOW

We thought you would like to know that a handful of activists calling
themselves ComPACT are threatening the legitimate cleanup of the
Tourtelot property.  Their most recent attempt to derail the project is
nothing more than a wolf dressed in sheep's clothing.  Make no mistake.
ComPACT's purported Policy Paper for the cleanup of the Tourtelot
Property is a fiscally-irresponsible and socially reckless plan and
serves only to delay and undermine the cooperative efforts of the City
of Benicia, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and Granite Management
Corp.

ComPACT will delay the cleanup and jeopardize safety.
The legitimate cleanup process, which has Department of Toxic Substances
Control regulatory oversight, is already underway and will result in a
scientifically-based cleanup of 100 percent of the property sooner
rather than later.  ComPACT's plan is completely contrary to responsible
environmental planning.  It would greatly increase paperwork and red
tape, add years to the process, fail to clean up the entire site, and
result in less, not more safety.

ComPACT will cost the City and property owners millions.
ComPACT's plan will cost the City millions in lost development fees that
would be used for much needed infrastructure and lost property tax
revenue for public services.  ComPACT's plan will also jeopardize
Granite's approximately $420,000 per annum payment into Benicia's
assessment districts.  The result could be an immediate increase in
property taxes for homeowners in Benicia.

ComPACT will impact property values.
ComPACT's plan will delay the cleanup and leave the property less safe.
Homeowners need only look at what happened to property values during the
Rose Drive years to see what ComPACT's style of tactic did to real
estate prices there.  By delaying the cleanup, ComPACT will force
current and future homeowners to continue living next door to a property
surrounded by chain link fence and posted with frightening signs.

ComPACT will strip the City of Benicia of land use planning authority
ComPACT's plan will result in the State dictating land use decisions to
the City of Benicia, in essence, the Winterhawk case all over again.
This will establish unwarranted outside intrusion and diminish the local
municipality's ability to make land use decisions.

ComPACT will cost all Benicians community benefits.
Community benefits such as a public golf course, affordable housing,
religious assembly site, and improved cleanup measures at Blake Court
all flow from the development of the Tourtelot Property.  ComPACT's plan
will jeopardize these community benefits.

For more information about the legitimate Tourtelot Property Cleanup
Project, please contact Jason Keadjian at (707) 745-2112   (11/16/99)
****************************************

ComPACT has no illusions about the uphill battle we face to inform the
public and regulatory agencies about the true nature of our policy
paper/clean-up proposal in the face of an extremely well-financed public
relations campaign backed by a Ford Motor Company subsidiary.   However,
we will continue to strive to participate in the process.  We only ask
that the process be fair, just and that as many decisions as possible be
made in the public domain.  We appreciate DTSC's efforts to make the
playing field as level as possible.

Sincerely,

Jan Cox-Golovich
ComPACT

jlcg




http://community.webtv.net/jancg/HealthyBeniciaTask

http://community.webtv.net/jancg/ComPACTCommitteefor




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