3A Public Hearing 2008 1006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Planning Commission Meeting Minutes August 28, 2008 Agenda No. 08-16 Page 8 of 11 Ms. Aborashed said studies are planned for the next six to eight months on health impacts today versus what they would be with the project proposed. She said she called Bay Area Air Quality Management, which she says has a program recommending "no more building alongside the freeway because of the data we have now." "What are we doing?" she asked. "1'm glad you're going to bring in retail. 1 think it's a great idea to bring a hospital if you don't open the windows. But putting more housing in that area is going to impact the people's health. They're right next to the freeway, and we can't continue doing that. It is really incumbent upon you to study the health impacts once you put these buildings on there." She also urged studying the hazardous materials issues (page 16, Initial Study -Environmental Checklist Form); she is concerned about several of them but speaking time did not permit bringing each one up. She said that NRDC and Bay Area Air Quality Management will weigh in on this matter, and she will ensure that other environmentalists do so as well, "because we can't continue building housing next to freeways." Rich Penny is General Manager of a company that has 275 frontage feet on Merced (2401/2525 Merced Street) directly across from the proposed site. The property includes a brand new building, another building of about 55,000 square feet, two parking lots, and three exit/entry points from Merced. He raised two items of concern: traffic and contamination. "The traffic is horrendous right now, and with what you're going to put in -even though you propose to expand Merced -the 18-wheelers are going to be a bear... I really believe you're asking for a problem." He wonders about the possibility of preventing 18-wheelers from coming down Merced and redirecting them down Marina Boulevard to Doolittle Drive to Fairway Drive and back into the industrial belt that they might be servicing. He pointed out that even a signal at Merced and Republic Avenue, which is among the traffic improvements included in the proposal, won't help alleviate the problems posed by combining existing truck traffic with the new traffic generated by the proposed development. An additional signal at Merced/Republic would mean two signals perhaps 200 feet apart; "it's just going to be a jam-up." As to the issue of contamination, Mr. Penny said that his company was considering the purchase of the old foundry across the street from 2401 Merced Street, but shied away from it because there was some underground contamination that had to be checked periodically via tubes placed in the ground. The residential portion of the proposal, he noted, is right on the curve of the proposed development's property in that same area, in what he believes is the northwest corner. The environmental scoping's geo-survey on hazards, he said, should involve checking for underground seepage. Even though the contamination may not be on the proposed site per se, the water level is low enough to be concerned about seepage of contaminants across the property line. Vice Chair Dlugosh invited additional comments. No one came forward. Motion to Close Public Hearing Ponder /Abero; 5 Aye, 0 No, 2 Absent Vice Chair Dlugosh invited comments and questions from Commissioners.