Big Wave letter: Email the County Planning Dept, by Thurs, Dec 24

San Mateo Co.Planning Dept.
Attn: Camille Leung, Planner
455 County Center, 2nd Floor
Redwood City, CA 94063
[email protected]

Re:  Big Wave Project Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR)
 
While I support the needs of the developmentally disabled, I have the following concerns about the adequacy of the DEIR for the Big Wave Project:

•  Visual Impacts:  Without story poles showing the potential visual impacts of the project, it is impossible to determine the project’s impacts on scenic views.  Four 50-foot tall office buildings would be grossly out of scale with the surrounding natural setting and nearby buildings.

•  Traffic: The DEIR defers any traffic mitigations caused by the project’s 2,123 daily trips to some time after full occupancy.

•  Water and Sewer: There is no guaranteed source of water and no guaranteed disposal of sewage, even though the site is served by public water and sewer agencies.

•  Geology:  The DEIR defers analysis of potentially significant impacts of violent shaking during earthquakes, liquefaction, and differential settlement under the buildings until future studies.

•  Hazards: The housing for developmentally disabled people would be located in a Marine Industrial zone, where all but the most hazardous chemicals are allowed.  Additional hazards from flooding, tsunami inundation, and adjacent airport operations make this a problematic site for an at risk population.

•  Affordability and Economic Viability: There are no enforceable income or affordability restrictions on purchase of housing co-op shares or condos.  The project relies on shaky financial assumptions to support the “affordable” housing.

•  Phased Development: The Office Park’s estimated construction period of 30-36 months in the DEIR is not realistic, given the developer’s intent to phase each building’s construction after rental or sale of each previously constructed building.  Wetlands restoration would not be done until after all construction is complete, which would allow stormwater runoff to carry sediment and other pollutants into the Pillar Point Marsh.

•  Isolation and Employment: Wellness Center residents would be isolated from community resources with reduced opportunities to mingle with the community at large.  Many of the Big Wave programs such as raising organic crops do not depend upon this site being developed.

•  Wetlands destruction: The owners of the property have destroyed wetlands under the guise of agriculture. Over 90% of the State’s wetlands have been lost.  The wetlands at Big Wave should be restored.
 
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