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Press Release
August 30, 2007
Contact:
Dennis Linsley, Save Our Hills, (925) 261-1812
Christina Wong, East Bay Field Representative, Greenbelt Alliance, (925)
932-7776, (916) 601-3110 (cell)
Christina Armor, Field Organizer, Sierra Club, (510) 848-0800 x306, (925)
487-3516 (cell)
Pittsburg Planning
Commission Listens to Developers Instead of Constituents
Tuesday night
vote by planning commissioners opens hills to development instead of
protecting them –
Ordinance will increase traffic, increase landslide risk, and pave hills,
say advocates
Pittsburg—Residents watched in dismay on Tuesday night as their
Planning Commission ignored their requests and gutted the city’s
ordinance intended to protect hills from development. After months of
public input in favor of hillside protection, Planning Commissioners
instead systematically followed the recommendations of a landowner and
developer who stands to make millions of dollars from the changes.
The changes to the ordinance included:
* Eliminating limits on grading steep slopes and hilltops; these limits prevent
the hills from being flattened and protect against landslides.
* Eliminating vertical setbacks from ridgelines; these setbacks preserve views
and ridgelines that can be seen from Martinez, Concord, and Walnut Creek—including
the ridgeline above the Concord Naval Weapons Station.
* Allowing massive development in "visually sensitive" areas, including
all the areas visible from Highway 4.
* Eliminating a slope-density calculation that is in existing law for hillsides
zoned Hillside Planned Development District; this also helps to prevent landslides.
"The vote last night reveals that the entire community involvement process
was
a sham," said Dennis Linsley, a Pittsburg resident and leader of local
group Save our Hills. "Hundreds of citizens have taken time to express
their concerns about rampant development in the hills and its effects on our
community. The commissioners ignored the last eight months of thoughtful input
by citizens and organizations in favor of the input of one company, whose only
interest is in making money. Rather than strengthening the proposed ordinance,
their decisions eviscerated any protection it would have contained."
The above-mentioned company is "Discovery Builders," a development
company owned by Albert Seeno, who spoke up at the meeting and owns much of the
hillside land at stake.
"This vote was shocking. It completely ignored the public’s input
and opened steep hillsides to massive grading and paving, without even a thought
for landslides.
This will dump more traffic on Highway 4 and mar the unique beauty of the East
Bay hills. Every other city in the East Bay has a hillside ordinance to protect
ridgelines and limit development on unsafe steep slopes; it’s astounding
that these commissioners thought they didn’t need one," said Christina
Wong, East Bay Field Representative for Greenbelt Alliance.
Pittsburg began a process to create a Hillside Development Ordinance in January
of this year and has held a series of public workshops and meetings. This meeting
changed the contents of the ordinance; the Planning Commission will take a
final vote on the ordinance in late September, and the City Council will vote
on it in October.
"It is very disappointing that the commissioners put the interests of the
Seeno development company ahead of the interests of the people of Pittsburg,
and showed
such a disdain for the citizens they purport to represent," said Christina
Armor, Sierra Club Conservation Organizer. "It is our hope that the Commission
reconsiders this bizarre decision."
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For 50 years, Greenbelt Alliance has been the San Francisco Bay Area's advocate for open spaces and vibrant places, with offices in San Francisco, San Jose, Walnut Creek, Fairfield, and Santa Rosa. www.greenbelt.org
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