HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-15-2013 Item PH1 - Vujovich-La BarreNovember 17, 2012Cc ay
RECEIVED
Bill Almas —Project Manager for Chevron Land Development NOV 202012
Chevron Corporation
276 Tank Farm Road SLO CITY CLERK
San Luis Obispo, California 93401 -
Dear Mr. Almas,
On behalf of Cal and Rosemary Wilvert, Alan Thomas and Jorja La Barre, I wanted to thank you
for the time you took to meet with us at the Chevron site on Tuesday, November 13, 2012.
It is so wonderful to know that it is Chevron's intent to be a responsible community partner and
that Chevron will remain stewards of the land once the remediation process is over.
Although each of the meeting attendees may weigh in later informally or during the draft EIR
phase for the Chevron Remediation Plan, with their sentiments about the information you and
your team presented, I wanted to offer some comments now while they are fresh in my mind.
In addition, I wanted you to have the 46-page document that was sent to Mayor Jan Marx and
copied to other entities prior to our meeting.
At the group meeting in the Chevron conference room before the actual tour, Rick Williams, the
local Chevron Public Relation director Juliet Don, Maggie Cox of Barnett Cox and Associates and
you addressed several of the questions I had about the area to be remediated, what land is
destined to be open space and what area is destined to be built upon.
Your power point presentation was very educational. Prior to the draft EIR of the Chevron
property, I will take some time to research the fascinating methods for capping toxic crude oil
in comparison to extraction, and research to what extent these methods have been effective in
remediation and preservation in other locales in the United States.
In touring the land, it was interesting to be able to see evidence of the toxic crude that is on the
surface in contrast with land that has transitioned into viable wetlands. It was also good to see
the land that will be donated as "open space" with the understanding that the actual land
should not be too close to human or animal contact.
It was also most heartening to again stand on the area known as the "flower mounds" that are
adjacent to where Industrial Way dead -ends. I had first ventured out to that very site on the
City -sponsored tours prior to the construction of the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields. To now know
that those large mounds are finally going to be leveled to a 3% grade in the early phase of the
remediation was fabulous news. Then, to look east, from the soon -to -be -leveled flower
mounds, toward the signalized Industrial Way intersection, my belief was reinforced that if
Prado Road needs to be connected to Broad Street to fulfill the City's commitment to the
Damon and Garcia families, it should go to Industrial Way. The Prado Road Northern Alignment
that is currently earmarked on City plans for the four- lane thoroughfare is not sound planning
with a new stop light on Broad Street and the road being upwind and only 30 feet from the
sports fields. Alignment at Industrial Way would also erase the need for a pedestrian tunnel,
underneath the four -lane road, that is part of the plan for the Northern Alignment of Prado
Road.
Since it appeared that you and Maggie Cox are open for input now, I am going to share with you
a few other observations so that they may be considered as this project moves forward.
From a public relations perspective, I would hope that you widen Tank Farm Road as soon as
possible. It appears from your plans that the road is going to have to be widened during the
remediation to allow for traffic flow during the clean up. When Tank Farm Road is widened to
four lanes with appropriate, preferably Class 1, bike lanes, and turn lanes for the aligned Santa
Fe and Broad Street, the public will applaud Chevron for making that road safer and more
functional for thousands of vehicles daily.
My other concern after taking the tour is seeing the plans for the 800,000-square-foot
commercial office building that is planned and that is to be built by Chevron on part of the
contaminated land, and then eventually sold to an interested buyer. On Wednesday, I called
the County Government Center personnel to find out a comparison, to sense how big that
proposed building would be. The County Government Center on the corner of Santa Rosa and
Monterey in San Luis Obispo is 98,000 square feet, including the parking garage. To place a
building nine times that size on the corner of the realigned Santa Fe and Tank Farm seems
beyond the scale of the neighborhood character established by the surrounding buildings.
Having investigated the sales price of a building that size and in its location, it seems that
Chevron could still make a substantial profit by scaling that building size down by 50%.
Also, on your preliminary plans, there is an area slated for recreation on the west side of the
proposed Chevron office- building complex. Since you are in the planning stages of the
development, it seems that that 15-acre recreation area, which is to be used for baseball fields,
should be moved closer, if not adjacent, to the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields. Any parent or
athlete will tell you that it will make more sense in the planning of the Chevron recreation area
to have it be within a safe walking or biking distance from the existing recreation area. With the
baseball field closer to the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields, the athletes, young and old, would also
be farther away from the airport flight path and Tank Farm Road. Chevron could also design a
parking configuration that could be used by both the Damon -Garcia Sports Fields and the
Chevron baseball fields.
In our conversation, I alluded to my concerns about the lack of planning on Prado Road. Certain
City officials say it "has been studied." As a teacher, I am reminded of my students who state
that they "studied for the test" -- and then failed it. The "studying" that the City officials have
been doing to date is not serving the community well in my opinion. Prado Road needs a
comprehensive EIR from Broad Street to Madonna Road to avoid the charge of "illegal
segmentation." The best options for Prado Road's alignment will be more obvious once
Chevron's remediation is taken into full consideration.
From our meeting Tuesday, it is apparent that there is a bit of a stalemate going on between
those who favor the extension of Prado Road to Broad and those who favor an alignment with
Tank Farm. Tank Farm is the far superior thoroughfare for a four -lane truck route. It is straight
and is absent of roundabouts that are planned on Prado Road.
In addition, the intersection of the newly aligned Santa Fe Road will give motorists and bicyclists
the option of turning south towards the Country Club which will alleviate congestion at the
intersection of Broad Street and Tank Farm Road.
You also addressed our concerns about the fiscal responsibility of Chevron and what Chevron is
requesting from the City and/or other development interests. Your remarks helped to clarify
the concerns that many people had after the initial presentation at the City Council meeting in
September. It would behoove you to have RRM, the architectural firm being used for your
development, and for other developments in that area, to clarify what fiscal responsibility
Chevron is willing to bear, what you are asking from other developers in the area, and what City
residents may be asked to pay.
Alan Thomas and I both reached the same conclusion without having talked to each other.
From all of the information to date it seems that City residents are being asked to contribute
financially to Chevron's clean-up efforts. There also does not seem to be any clause in place
for a scenario in which the Chevron clean-up would cost more than you have allotted. You
stated that Chevron is prepared to pay $11 million, with another $6 million in costs that
Chevron is willing to cover as an interest -free loan, with the caveat that Chevron will be paid
back after the fact. It appears vague to me what party will be responsible to pay Chevron back.
If it is other developers, that should be stated upfront. If it is the residents of the City of San
Luis Obispo, that should be revealed. Thus, the fiscal charts are still not clear to me.
It is very clear that Chevron's remediation and proposed street construction is critical to any
new development in the surrounding area.
As mentioned, we really appreciated the small -group meeting you were able to facilitate. So
often at a City Council meeting, the Council and City staff members can ask questions but the
members of the community cannot. The generosity of your invitation to have a meeting
promoted the spirit of transparency and good logic.
As a layperson and community member concerned about "smart growth," I thank you again for
being open to input and for succinctly explaining Chevron's plans with maps, graphs, dialogue
and, of course, the personal tour.
Cordially,
§IlLIujovi7La Barre
650 Skyline Drive
San Luis Obispo, California 93405
Cell: 805-441-5818
E-mail: milavu@hotmail.com
Cc. San Luis Obispo City Council
San Luis Obispo Board of Supervisors
San Luis Obispo Council of Governments
Land Use and Circulation Committee Members
San Luis Obispo Local Agency Formation Commission
Regional Water Quality Control Board
Cal and Rosemary Wilvert
EugeneJud
Alan Thomas
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