Help Stop Wildlife Destruction And Toxic Gentrification In San Francisco

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 southeast San Francisco. Yet even after being found liable for stirring up toxic chemicals and asbestos, creating serious health and cancer risks to Bayview Hunters Point residents and the entire City, Lennar is on the verge of being allowed to double its toxic operations!

Lennar's new project would also replace large areas of San Francisco's Candlestick Point State Park wetland wildlife habitat with high-end waterfront condos and a yacht harbor.
Click Here To Take Action Now

Project Sits Directly On Toxic And Radioactive Navy Dump

Outrageously, the City has ignored Lennar's history and rubber stamped the expansion. 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 an extremely hazardous Superfund site by the U.S. EPA.

Lennar may soon be allowed to continue its dangerous, shoddy construction practices in this even more toxic area, and the City might even permit the Navy dump to be covered over with an unsafe 'cap' rather than requiring that all toxic and radioactive materials be completely removed. Once this 'cap' is put in place, parkland, homes and businesses will be built on top, and adjacent to it.

Earthquake Hazard Vastly Amplifies 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, the project is critically flawed and must be drastically altered before it is allowed to proceed.

WHAT YOU CAN DO

Successfully changing the project will depend on the intervention of Board of Supervisors President David Chiu. In July 2010, Chiu led the Board to approve this terrible plan.

But after experiencing high pressure from grassroots organizations, Chiu has promised to work for fundamental changes in the project, and we must now demand that he follow through on that commitment.

Contact Supervisor Chiu and his staff at:
415-554-7450, or David.Chiu@sfgov.org with the following comment:

"Please make absolutely certain that the Candlestick, Hunters Point project will not proceed until all parcels are fully cleaned to unrestricted residential standards, and all current or former State Park lands and other wildlife habitat restoration areas are a made off limits to development."

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.