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Home Resource Center In the News Home Greenbelt Alliance in the News |
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Greenbelt Alliance In the News
April 12, 2006 Group sues to stop housing project OAKLEY: Greenbelt Alliance says that, under city's plans, the homes would be built below sea level By Paula KingThe Greenbelt Alliance filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the city of Oakley over its plan to annex more than 2,500 acres and build 4,300 homes along the East Cypress corridor. The land conservation and urban planning nonprofit group argues in its lawsuit that the city didn't meet California Environmental Quality Act requirements. They say that the area's specific plan, which was adopted by the Oakley City Council last month, fails to meet state standards and would negatively impact the environment and public health and safety. "Oakley's city leaders are proposing new houses in an area that is below sea level, behind old levees and surrounded by water. It's a recipe for disaster," said the alliance's East Bay field representative David Reid. Calling the site "inherently risky," Reid added that they are suing the city to make sure it addresses potential hazards such as flooding. The proposed project, which would take 10 to 15 years to build, includes enhancements to the existing levees as well as a system of new levees. "The issues at the site are so deep that there are limited opportunities to work with the city on crafting another plan," Reid said. "This is a fundamentally unsound place to build houses. The city is determined to go ahead with this despite the concerns." The alliance's attorney, Perl Perlmutter of San Francisco's Shute, Mihaly & Weinberger, said the lawsuit could stop the project if the court orders the city to rescind its former approvals and set aside the environmental reports. Oakley's Community Development Director Rebecca Willis said the city has been comprehensive in its environmental documents and the project provides a better quality of life and major improvements. It involved an 18-month planning process with infrastructure, public utilities, services, parks and open space. "The project site is complicated and we recognized there is existing residents out there, and what the city has done is taken those givens and tried to do good planning and gone the extra mile," she said. The project includes a new engineered levee, which will meet FEMA standards, and at least $700,000 annually that will pay for ongoing maintenance of existing levees. Transportation enhancements paid for by a handful of major developers include making East Cypress and Bethel Island roads into four-lane arterials. "Any sort of legal challenge doesn't make sense," Oakley City Manager Bryan Montgomery said. "To me, it is a huge offer. These enhancements wouldn't happen without the annexation offer." The annexation has been divided into three areas and the next step is for the Local Agency Formation Commission to hold two hearings in May or June on the city's proposal. If 25 percent of affected registered voters protest the annexation in writing, a special election will be required, and if 50 percent protest, the boundary change from the county to the city will be halted. According to Reid, the city's plans violate the concepts of good planning and the alliance plans to appeal to LAFCO to closely examine the proposal. The area is already within the city's sphere of influence. The Sierra Club's Bay Area chapter also supports the Greenbelt Alliance's efforts, calling the plans "ill-advised," according to spokesman Mike Daley. The alliance's communications director, Elizabeth Stampe, said the group has been referring to the proposal as the "Atlantis plan" to create an underwater city. "It is unnecessary and dangerous. It takes California further down the road of unsustainable and unwise development," Stampe said. "They need to focus growth in our already urbanized areas."
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