Help stop the move to fast-track approval of a 2,000-4,000 unit mixed-use project on the contaminated Richmond South Shoreline. This coming Thursday, the developer-friendly Richmond Planning Commission will vote on the Zeneca/Campus Bay Project Development Agreement, for which they are being asked to review 500 pages of documents released less than a week before the meeting (agenda report here). The item will then go to the City Council on December 1.
The Zeneca site, where former owner Stauffer Chemical dumped toxic waste for decades, has been described as one of the most contaminated sites in the state. The community has been demanding a complete clean-up for more than 17 years. However, its concerns were overruled last year, when the council voted to allow massive quantities of hazardous waste to remain permanently, reversing a previous unanimous council vote to support full remediation.
More than 100 chemicals of concern—heavy metals, pesticides, and PCBs—remain after several incomplete remediations. Many of these chemicals, “the dirty dozen,” are known to cause cancer, reproductive damage and other health problems. The synergistic effect of mixing these chemicals of concern, as was done here, leads to unknown consequences and health impacts. Anticipated sea-level rise will only exacerbate the danger. Areas just across I-580 from the site are burdened with multiple sources of pollution, and residents there suffer from high levels of asthma, low birth-weight, and cardiovascular disease.
In what feels like a local version of what we are seeing nationally, voters in Richmond demonstrated their values and ideals clearly on Election Day: the Richmond Progressive Alliance candidates for city council swept all three open seats. However, politicians are subverting the will of the voters and the needs of the environment by rushing approval of this development before the new council takes office in January.
Please join with the community coalition working to reverse the 120-year history of a community overburdened with industrial pollution. Email action@sunflower-alliance.org for information on how you can help.
WHEN
Thursday, November 19, 6:30 PM
WHERE
Zoom link in agenda