Concord City Council meetings on Naval Station redevelopment: 2/9 and 2/23

from the Greenbelt Alliance

Now is the time to set the foundation for a world-class smart growth project in Concord that will ensure people won’t need to rely on cars to get to work, school, or shopping. The current plan for the redevelopment of the Concord Naval Weapons Station gets it about half right, and we need your help.

Greenbelt Alliance and the Community Coalition for a Sustainable Concord want to see the city take a stronger approach to addressing climate change, affordable housing, and natural resource protection.

Take Action! Let the Concord City Council know that you support removing the low-density zoning for estate homes, strengthening the guidelines for the Climate Action Plan, protecting Mt. Diablo Creek, and committing to good policies for affordable homes and local jobs.

What: Concord City Council meetings
When: 6:30 p.m., Tuesday, Feb. 9 and Tuesday, Feb. 23
Where: Council Chamber, Concord Civic Center, 1950 Parkside Drive, Concord
Info: Read more at the Grow Smart Bay Area blog or contact Campaigns Director Melissa Hippard at mhippard@greenbelt.org or (415) 543-6771 x311


and from the CNWS Neighborhood Alliance

The city of Concord released the FEIR (Final Environmental Impact Review) on Jan. 15th. We will have an opportunity to comment at the Feb. 9th and 23rd city council meetings, with their decision expected on the 23rd.

Please visit www.concordreuseproject.org to review the report. Go to Responses to comments Draft EIR Revised (August 2009). The CNWSNA’s 16-page comment letter is #25 in the list of letters the city received in response to the DEIR. The city/consultant’s response to our letter follows our letter and that of Thomas & Associates.

Just two design plans are now being considered for the Concord Naval Weapons Station; the Clustered Village Alternative and the Concentration and Conservation Alternative. However, the City’s Final Environmental Impact Report (FEIR, Jan 2010) did award the Concentration and Conservation Alternative as the superior alternative in the last paragraph of Chapter 17:

“As shown in Table 17-21 both alternatives have relatively the same number of significant environmental impacts and the same number that cannot be mitigated to a level that is not significant. Given that the potential significant impacts of the two alternatives are relatively equal, the quantitative and qualitative differences between he two are marginal. Because the Concentration and Conservation Alternative results in a smaller footprint, less traffic, and lower GHG emissions than the Preferred Alternative, however, it is judged to be the environmentally superior alternative.”

The Steering Committee for the CNWS Neighborhood Alliance supports the smaller Concentration and Conservation alternative. The C & C footprint on the ground is noticeably smaller and offers more environmental benefits, but this plan is still very similar to the Clustered Village alternative in number of jobs, new homes, population, with a slightly smaller increase in traffic. There is one more opportunity to express your views at the City Council hearing on Feb. 9.

The CNWS Neighborhood Alliance will comment at the Feb. 9th City Council meeting as we feel our very legitimate comments and questions regarding traffic, air quality, health, hazardous materials, biological impacts and more were left unanswered.

The city received 46 letters in response to the DEIR. We recommend reading all of the letters but if you were to pick a few due to limited reading time, we recommend reading ours as well as #22 Carpenters, #31 Greenbelt Alliance, #33 Human Impact Partners, #37 Save Mount Diablo, #38 Sierra Club.

Regarding the CNWS Tree cutting, our steering committee members have been in contact with the city and the US Forest Service. Due to these efforts, we were able to save some of the trees scheduled for removal. After talking with a local biologist who has toured the site, we understand that for the long-term health of the plantations, some trees need to be removed.