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New Group Blasts Port Plans

Published in the Stockton Record on 03/28/04

By Reed Fujii and Bruce Spence

Mar. 28--In the past three years, some residents of Riviera Cliffs -- an upscale Stockton neighborhood on the north bank of the Stockton Deep Water
Channel -- have twice sued the Port of Stockton over ship operations at what had been long-neglected, and quiet, docks.

Now a new group has joined the fray, though not the lawsuits, over the renewed use and development of the former Rough and Ready Island naval base.

The Brookside Concerned Citizens Group, which petitioned the city to hold a hearing on the development plans, claims that expanded activity along the
channel is more than just a light-and-noise cacophony that upsets waterside residents.

The ship movements -- and massive growth poised for the island over the next decade -- poses major future problems for the whole city, the group charges.

Development will generate air and water pollution, Delta levee erosion, traffic congestion, noise and vibrations, and stadium- style lights, and
that's a concern for everyone in Stockton, said Brookside resident Matt Jones, one of the petition organizers.

Even if the city isn't directly involved in expansion plans, it should hold the project up for thorough examination and stand against the many negative impacts, he said.

Perhaps, there should be a city referendum on expansion plans, he suggested.

"I would like to think the city would give it a fair look," Jones said.

Thus far, the city and port have orchestrated the future development while the community is mostly ignorant to potential negatives, he said.

The group has even gone before the mayor and City Council to ask that the city hold hearings on port expansion plans, which are now undergoing
environmental review.

City officials said the Port of Stockton is solely responsible for the Rough and Ready expansion and it's not the city's role to step into the issue.
While Stockton's mayor and City Council do appoint four of the seven port commission members, that panel is an independent governmental agency.

"I think there is a misconception on the interrelationship (between the city and the port)," said James Glaser, Stockton Community Development director.
"Generally, the city has no jurisdiction. ... It's solely within their domain, not the city's."

As such, there are no plans for the city to hold public hearings, he said.

"That's a bunch of baloney," said Brookside resident, Scott Drzewiecki. "That's like saying if a school district is going to transport toxic waste
or nuclear materials that the city isn't going to do anything about it. That's stupid."

Glaser said that as a matter of policy, the city supports economic development, so the city isn't neutral on the port expansion plans.

Mayor Gary Podesto has suggested a study session to better understand the issues, and the city will have comments for the port's environmental impact report.

"This is a real tough one," he said. "It's economic development. The port's a separate agency, and they do have to do the EIR. As a city, we can comment
on it ... but we can't vote."

Jones said even if the city has no direct say in port development, city officials have a responsibility to stand guard against projects that pose harm to the community.

"I think they've been remiss in not even looking at it."

Luzanne Conrad, another petition organizer, said she has sent many e-mails to officials expressing concerns about port activities and its expansion plans, and she's disturbed that she's never received a response.

"That scares me."

Jones and Conrad said they're unsure about the basis for the jobs projections tossed out by port officials. All in all, the deck seems stacked between the port and the city to bring in jobs regardless of the consequences to the community, they said.

"The dollar is the bottom line," Conrad said.

Indeed, port officials hope to convert the 1,433-acre former U.S. Navy base into a regional hub for transportation and commerce, generating 15,000 to 20,000 new jobs over the coming decade.

But that economic boon does come at a cost, according to the port's environmental impact report -- a two-volume monument to mind- bending detail -- that covers overall development of Rough and Ready in the coming decade. The EIR also covers two specific improvement projects -- improving truck access and a major dredging program -- considered key to the project.

The study identifies a number of detrimental environmental changes, primarily due to a potential increase of 50,000 vehicle trips per day and a jump in marine activity from about 20 ship calls per year to 150 ship calls: Those include:

--Traffic clogging three major intersections near Rough and Ready Island, as well as putting additional pressure on already crowded freeway systems, particularly on Interstate 5 at Charter Way and the Crosstown Freeway.

--The additional vehicle and ship traffic, as well as trains, forklifts, cranes and other heavy equipment every year would pump more than 400 tons of smog-producing emissions into the region's air.

--Neighborhoods along the north bank of the Stockton Deep Water Channel and roadways leading in and out of the port would be subjected to higher levels of noise and vibration from ship and vehicle traffic.

--Ships will generate nighttime light pollution affecting river- side homes. While the port can control lighting on its own dock facilities, it cannot restrict ship operations.

--Additional ship traffic will carry more risk of invasive exotic species arriving and displacing native plants and animals.

--The loss of 272 acres of prime farmland from about 500 acres of open land slated for development.

--Development will mean the loss of many of the original Navy buildings and the historic and cultural values they contain.

Port officials are now preparing the EIR for possible certification by the Board of Port Commissioners within the next few months.

"I don't have any set time except that I'd like to make a presentation to the board before the end of spring," said Richard Aschieris, port director.

That would be a public hearing, of course, and citizens would be able to pose additional comments and questions about the effects of Rough and Ready
development, he noted.

Drzewiecki said he's concerned that port officials are playing loose with EIR numbers in order to boost their cause, underestimating air pollution projections or using current noise levels as a baseline for noise projections instead of those from several years ago, when the west docks were unused.

"They also have pooh-poohed all the alternatives except for heavy maritime uses," he said.

Conrad, whose Brookside home sits behind a levee on the north bank of the Calaveras River with Riviera Cliffs sitting between it and the port, said that perhaps twice a month, port activity intrudes.

One quiet night, she and her husband even heard cursing coming from workers on port docks. Otherwise, in the early morning hours they have felt vibrations from port activities, she said.

That, and the potential for much more disruption, makes Conrad, a 4-year Brookside resident, worry about property values, especially when the port begins expanding west along the river, closer to Brookside.

There are no plans to berth ships further west, Aschieris said. In fact, he said port officials want to try to move more of the activities toward the east, away from Brookside and Riviera Cliffs.

"We've committed to use the docks that are away from the neighborhoods first."

That effort is restricted, however, because much of the old Navy wharf has silted in over the years and a minor dredging project a couple of years was enough only to allow ships to berth in the deepest areas, about 30 feet, at the western end of the docks.

"I get the feeling that some people think if they stop the environmental impact report ... that they'll stop the ships from coming in. That is not true," Aschieris said. "The ships will still come and the only docks they'll be able to use are the ones that are directly across from Riviera Cliffs and are closest to Brookside.

The major dredging project covered by the pending EIR would deepen berths along the full length of the wharf to a depth of 35 feet.

Aschieris is well aware of opposition to the port's development plans. However, he argues the port has taken every practical step to try to address the neighbors' concerns while still pursuing its mission of serving as an economic engine generating good-paying jobs for area residents.

"We've already spent more than $300,000 addressing light, noise and visual complaints," he said.

Besides, Aschieris said he would be the first person to want to avoid affecting property values in Brookside, where he bought a home in November.

"I wouldn't have done that, if I even thought there was a remote chance of affecting the quality of life of my family or the value of my property," he said.

Stockton officials do want to include Rough and Ready Island as part of a planned city redevelopment area, Glaser said. That would open up possible tax incentives otherwise not available to help develop the area's infrastructure.

Even so, the city's role would still be extremely limited, he said, and the city wouldn't have a say in the operation or regulation of the area, any more than it does over other property in, say, in its downtown redevelopment efforts.

Councilwoman Leslie Martin, whose district includes Brookside, said the city should coordinate communication between area residents and port officials.

She shares the same concerns as the residents and she wants people to be satisfied the port is addressing their needs. She said she's coordinating a meeting between port officials and Brookside residents as soon as possible.

"We're not going to ignore their concerns."

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