Opposition to Cargill erupts in Redwood City

By Stephen Knight, Political Director

Cargill & DMB developed a very big headache at the Planning Commission meeting in Redwood City last Tuesday night. Redwood City asked for their residents' input on the proposed salt pond development, and that is exactly what they got - over three hours of it. The overflow crowd lined the walls, sat on the floors and spilled into the hallway, where a TV and portable speakers had to be set up to accommodate everyone. Not swayed by the developers' slick and expensive presentation, the podium was packed with opponents to the project throughout the night - vastly outnumbering development supporters.

From the neighborhood associations to the mobile home parks and the garden clubs, Redwood City residents made it clear that they're deeply concerned about this destructive development and will be fighting it at every step of the way.

You can watch the meeting here; public comments start with Joel Jensen’s great statement at 01:10 here.

Sadly, despite a September presentation by consultants emphasizing that CEQA was democracy in action, Redwood City actually suggested that “advocacy” would not be tolerated, and that “there shall be no debating the merits of the project.” Residents protested, their city attorney corrected them, and they put out edited slides crossing out the offending provisions.

What the slide seems to suggest is that unless you favor the project, Redwood City doesn’t want to hear from you.

That is unfortunately consistent with the 99-page "Notice of Preparation of Environmental Impact Report for proposed Saltworks Project" released by Redwood City which is reminiscent of the project that it purports to describe: fundamentally evasive about core environmental issues, numbingly large, and preferring to distract attention by emphasizing irrelevant details.

The NOP makes no mention of:

--> the SF Bay Water Board’s recent letter to Redwood City stating the salt ponds to be "an important biological resource” providing “foraging and nesting habitat for a variety of birds." (June 2010)

--> the US EPA’s recent statement that Cargill's Redwood City salt ponds are "critically important aquatic resources that warrant special attention and protection." (Jan. 2010)

The NOP is clearly trying to advance the developers' interest, not the public interest. City Councilmembers insisted in 2009 that the salt ponds be removed from Redwood City's General Plan process at the explicit request of DMB, and their promise that this EIR would evaluate a broad range of visions for the property is now clearly broken.

GO Giants! GO AWAY Cargill!

The Phillies weren’t the only out-of-towners that were dealt a blow yesterday. As Giants fans were filing into AT&T Park, just before the Giants/Phillies NLCS game on the beautiful Bay shoreline, a banner was flying over the stadium telling Cargill and their luxury developer, DMB Associates, not to pave our precious San Francisco Bay. Fans were reminded that while our very own SF Giants are fighting for the National League title, corporate "giants" from Minnesota and Arizona are scheming to pave over and develop the very Bay that defines our region.

Check out some pics from the flyover!

If the fact that Minnesota-based agribiz giant Cargill has the gall to try to build a city on the Bay enrages you as much as it does us, sign the petition and learn more at DontPaveMyBay.org.

Dead End Ahead for Cargill

By Josh Sonnenfeld, Campaign Manager

Sign the petition to stop Cargill and help us meet the goal to get 5,000 signatures by spreading the word to your friends!

Things keep getting worse and worse for Cargill and their Arizona-based luxury homes developer in their attempt to fill in 1,436 acres of San Francisco Bay salt ponds.

Not only have more than 140 elected officials from around the region come out against the project, but so have the San Francisco Chronicle and San Jose Mercury News. An editorial in today’s San Mateo Daily Journal describing Cargill’s “overambitious plan” warns of “a long and contentious road ahead” if they continue on their current path.

This follows recent statements from the Army Corps of Engineers, the Water Board, and the EPA – three of the agencies Cargill would need permits from for their project to be approved – noting the importance of protecting and restoring the Redwood City salt ponds.

And today Save the Bay is proud to announce our new website – DontPaveMyBay.org – to ratchet up the pressure on Cargill and the Redwood City Council. While the support of elected officials, newspapers, and strong statements from regulatory agencies are big boosts to our work – we know that to beat America’s largest private company, we need everyone in the Bay Area on board. Will you help us?

NOW is the time for you to stand up to stop Cargill from paving our Bay! We need 5,000 signatures by August 16 to show Redwood City Council there is widespread opposition to Cargill's proposed development and convince them to stop this project in its tracks. Please sign the petition and spread the word at www.DontPaveMyBay.org! Please promote this on your Facebook and Twitter pages also.

Cargill’s development is 17 times bigger than any other bay fill project approved in the past 50 years. It is, by far, the largest proposal on the San Francisco Bay since the introduction of environmental regulations in the early ‘60s. Now is the time for the entire region to show that our bay is not for filling – but for the health and enjoyment of all.