Help Stop Wildlife Destruction And Toxic Gentrification In San Francisco

On Tuesday, July 27, the San Francisco Board of Supervisors will cast one of the most important environmental votes in City history. At stake is a vital San Francisco wildlife habitat, and the public health and safety of all San Franciscans, especially those in the City's most ecologically and economically vulnerable community, the Bayview Hunters Point.

Recently, Miami based mega developer Lennar corporation was fined over $500,000 for repeatedly violating air safety regulations in a huge condo development project in the Bayview. Yet even though Lennar was found liable for stirring up toxic chemicals and asbestos in the area, creating serious health and cancer risks to Bayview residents and the entire City, it is on the verge of being allowed to more than double its toxic operations! Lennar's new project would also replace large areas of San Francisco's Candlestick Point State Park wildlife habitat with high-end waterfront condos and a yacht harbor.
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Condo And Waterfront Project Also Sits Directly On Toxic/Radioactive Navy Dump

Outrageously, the City has ignored Lennar's history and rubber stamped an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for this expansion of its condo projects in the Bayview. In the new project area, not only are the same problem toxins present, but there is also a far more dangerous U.S. Navy toxic and radioactive dump which has been designated as a an extremely hazardous Superfund site by the U.S. EPA.

The environmental approval will not only allow Lennar to continue its dangerous, shoddy construction practices in this even more toxic area, but it will unacceptably permit the Navy dump site to be covered over with an unsafe 'cap' rather than requiring that all of the toxic and radioactive materials be completely removed from the site. Once this 'cap' is put in place, homes, businesses and parkland will be built on top of it.

Potentially Drastic Earthquake Hazard Vastly Amplifies Project Danger

Most alarmingly, because the Bayview Hunters Point was built on artificial and loose bay fill soils, any large earthquake could result in a liquefaction disaster in the area, in which the toxins and radiation in the 'capped' zone will not remain contained, but will freely escape and outgas into the Bayview, into the remaining wildlife habitat, into the San Francisco Bay itself, and throughout the entire City.

Strong Opposition From Environmental And Social Justice Organizations

Scores of environmental groups, social justice organizations, workers rights advocates, and individuals, including EPA scientist Wilma Subra, who specializes in analyzing such dangerous sites, have written hundreds of pages of comments stating that because of these serious dangers, and poor transportation and economic plans, the project is critically flawed and must be drastically amended before it is allowed to proceed.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Successfully amending the project plan will depend on the crucial swing vote of Board of Supervisors President David Chiu.

Call Supervisor Chiu and his staff at:
415-554-7450, with the following comment:

"Please amend the Candlestick, Hunters Point project plan, so that all parcels are fully cleaned to unrestricted residential standards before any construction goes forward, and to ensure that no construction is done on current or former State Park lands."

If you call during the weekend or evening, or get a recording, just leave your comment as voice mail.

For more on Lennar's history of corporate abuses see page 3 of our Fall 2007 Update.