News
Court deals blow to salt pond development in Redwood City
San Mateo Daily Journal, October 6, 2020
By Zachary Clark Daily Journal staff
A federal district court on Monday determined the Cargill salt ponds in Redwood City are covered by federal Clean Water Act protections, adding another barrier to any future effort to develop the site.
The decision by the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California overturns a determination made in 2019 by the Environmental Protection Agency under the Trump administration, which claimed the salt ponds are not actually “waters of the United States,” but “fast lands” exempt from CWA protections.
“This is an important victory for protecting clean water in our communities. And it’s a good reminder to the Trump administration that it can’t use the San Francisco Bay as its political playground,” said Attorney General Xavier Becerra in a statement.
California, environmental groups sue EPA over protection of SF Bay salt ponds
San Francisco Chronicle , September 24, 2019
Peter Fimrite San Francisco Chronicle
Sep. 24, 2019
California Attorney General Xavier Becerra and Bay Area conservation groups sued the Environmental Protection Agency Tuesday for failing to protect Redwood City’s salt ponds under the Clean Water Act, a decision they say will harm the San Francisco Bay ecosystem.
The lawsuits, filed separately in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, claim the Trump administration’s decision to halt protections of many waterways, including the 1,365 acres of salt ponds, under the Obama-era Waters of the United States rule was illegal.
Speier blasts Trump over Cargill decision
San Mateo Daily Journal, March 13, 2019
EPA determines salt ponds exempt from protection, development talks restart
By Zachary Clark Daily Journal staff
March 13, 2019
U.S. Rep. Jackie Speier took to the House floor Tuesday to admonish the Trump administration for declaring the Cargill salt ponds in Redwood City exempt from certain federal protections — a move that has reopened the door to development of the site.
“I’m outraged, but not surprised the political appointees in the EPA’s Washington office have decided that the Redwood City salt ponds in my district do not include waters of the United States under the Clean Water Act,” she said in a video of her floor speech. “[The EPA determination] is completely in line with this administration’s record of gutting environmental protections in the name of corporate interests.”
Speier, D-San Mateo, described the EPA’s determination, announced earlier this month, as a “180-degree political flip flop” from the agency’s 2016 determination on the site. That determination was made by EPA Region 9 and is outlined in a 66-page draft document that hasn’t been available to the public until Tuesday when Speier published it on her website.
Harbor View office complex moves forward
San Mateo Daily Journal, July 26,2017
How Redwood City will protect its industrial zones, accommodate an influx of office workers and change with some $70 million in community benefits promised to the city by the Jay Paul Company were top of mind for Redwood City officials Monday as they reviewed the developer’s proposal to build a 1.2-million-square-foot office complex east of Highway 101 at the vacant site of the former Malibu Grand Prix.
The council voted 4-2, with Councilwoman Diane Howard absent, to initiate a study of the plan to build laboratories and offices at the 27-acre site east of Highway 101, which require an amendment to the city’s general plan designating the site for light industrial and port-related uses. It was the second time the plans, dubbed the Harbor View project, had come before city officials, following the Planning Commission’s rejection in November out of concerns about the project’s fit with the area’s existing zoning and density.
Redwood City Council Hearing on Harbor View Project - July 24, 7 pm, Council Chambers
The Redwood City City Council will be hearing a request by Jay Paul Company to initiate a General Plan amendment for the Harbor View Project on:
Monday, July 24, 2017 at 7:00 p.m.
Council Chambers, City Hall
1017 Middlefield Road, Redwood City
The public will have an opportunity to provide comments at the meeting. Meeting materials can be found here (click on item 8B).
Jay Paul Company has been seeking permission to build a massive technology office complex on the former Malibu Grand Prix and Lyngso properties, just across Seaport Blvd. from the Cargill salt ponds. The project will consist of four 7-story office towers, totaling nearly 1.2 million square feet (more than double the office capacity allocated for downtown Redwood City), an amenities building, and two parking structures with capacity for more than 3800 vehicles. If the Council decides to let the project move forward, a project review process will begin, which will include preparation of an Environmental Impact Report with public review and comment, and future consideration by the Planning Commission and City Council. If the Council decides not to approve Jay Paul's request, the project cannot be built, because the proposal is inconsistent with the General Plan's Light Industrial land use and associated zoning for the site.
