Vallejo Waterfront Project Dominates Local Elections

By Joel Williams

Published: November, 2016

The reaction to last month’s story about the proposed cement plant and deep water shipping terminal (Orcem/VMT) on Vallejo’s waterfront was swift and unprecedented. In fact, Bay Crossings has never received as many letters and emails on a single subject as we did with this. None of the responses that we received were in favor of such a project, and we agree with that sentiment. Here are a couple of the most noteworthy responses we received:

Thank you so much for publishing the article “Faeries Against Dust” that ran in the October Bay Crossings.

A growing majority of Vallejoans are committed to protecting and restoring our waterfront and our neighboring communities from polluting heavy industrial development.

Nature has been quietly recovering our Napa River waterfront for two decades. Ever since the U.S. Navy stopped dredging the river and left Mare Island 20 years ago, wildlife has been returning to the lower Napa River.

As you my already know, Osprey are now nesting along both sides of the waterfront for the first time in 150 years (and the first time in recorded history), and endangered coho and steelhead salmon are running through the mouth of the river to spawning grounds up river along restored shallows in Napa and above. Because the river is cleaner, there are more fish. Because there are more fish, we are seeing bald eagles and California sea lions take up residence. We can now see what is possible if we regard our river as the living system that it is.

Coming up with clean, 21st century reuse plans for Sperry Mill is a challenge we look forward to in order to move ahead with an exciting updated Vallejo general plan and revitalization of Vallejo’s wonderful waterfront.

We aren’t Nimbys. If anything, we are the new Nimfy front—not in my FRONT yard. Happily more and more California waterfront communities are turning to face their formerly industrialized, now neglected waterfronts—Petaluma, Napa, Sacramento. I am confident that in a decade or so, Vallejo will be recognized as the Bay Area jewel that it has always had the potential to be.

Thank you for bringing focus to our mission to lead Vallejo into the 21st Century with such a well-researched, fact-based piece. We all benefit from excellent journalism.

Sincerely,

Susan Schneider

 

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We, the undersigned student organizations at Touro University California, oppose the VMT/Orcem project proposal to repurpose the Vallejo waterfront into a shipping terminal and build an industrial cement mill at the historic Sperry Mill site. These projects carry heavy public health risks that would outweigh their economic benefit to the city of Vallejo.

Touro University trains hundreds of students to be clinicians and health professionals. Many students and faculty actively serve the health needs of Vallejo residents through the student-run free clinic, Solano County public health clinics, Vallejo Unified School District school-based clinics and other faculty and student-initiated efforts. Therefore, we understand how important it is to call attention to any developments that would worsen the community’s health.

Cement dust and diesel emissions from the VMT/Orcem project would exacerbate the already serious mortality rates from heart disease, cancer and stroke among Vallejo residents. In addition, significant evidence is emerging about the connection between environmental toxins and increasing rates of autism and ADHD. This problem has recently been featured in two of the most preeminent medical journals (The Journal of the American Medical Association and The Lancet). This growing research reveals a recurring problem in chemical exposures in the United States: new chemicals are released without sufficient research on their safety and found to be toxic years later. Essentially, the safety of the product relies on very limited evidence, most of which is provided by manufacturers of “green” cement. The lack of data regarding the chemical composition of their raw materials and the presence of carcinogens, such as crystalline silica, reveals much about Orcem’s disregard for its project’s lasting impact on public health.

Operation of the shipping terminal and Orcem cement mill would involve five weekly train trips and 590 daily truck trips across Vallejo. The emission of nitric oxide, reactive organic gas and particulate matter would disrupt lung function of children and adults living near these streets, especially those in the underdeveloped neighborhoods of South Vallejo.

There are several schools and health care facilities within two miles of the project site. An elementary school is within one-quarter mile from the factory site property line. With all their rhetoric about job creation and economic growth, VMT/Orcem seems blind to the fact that these benefits will mean very little in the face of prevalent chronic illness, increased health care costs and the toll on quality of life for future generations of residents growing up in Vallejo. With this in mind, VMT/Orcem’s recent attempt to charm Vallejo residents with a $1 million investment in community programs is insultingly insincere.

The VMT/Orcem proposal would bring additional health burdens to Vallejo residents, and it is certainly not the only solution to the city’s economic struggles. The Sonoma Specific Plan, for example, would attract small businesses and facilitate foot traffic on Sonoma Boulevard by reducing traffic lanes, adding bike lanes and expanding the sidewalks. The proposed waterfront expansion also promises to bring a wealth of new opportunities to Vallejo. These plans would create more jobs than the cement mill while promoting community health. It is doubtful the visitors the waterfront hopes to attract are interested in noisy rail traffic and the potential of toxic dust being blown into the area.

The recent, and yet unexplained, odor that engulfed Vallejo on September 20-21 and sent many to the hospital further brings to light the hazards in this proposal. The site’s designation as a “marine terminal” would allow ships carrying oil and other potentially dangerous products to dock there, exposing the city to the health hazards of any spill. With this port designation, there are next to no restrictions on the use of this space, allowing many chemicals that Orcem is currently not discussing to arrive at the port.

We call on the Vallejo Planning Commission to reject the VMT/Orcem proposal.

We believe Vallejo City Council members who served on the Mare Island Straits Economic Development Committee (MISEDC) have demonstrated impermissible bias towards this project and call on them to recuse themselves from deliberation on the project in the possible event that the planning commission’s decision is appealed and brought to city council.

We call on election candidates who do not currently sit on the city council to explicitly state their position on the project so that voters can make an informed decision this November.

We urge voters to consider the health of the Vallejo community when casting your ballots, and to be cautious of candidates associated with this project, especially members of MISEDC and certain members of the planning commission.

Signed,

Public Health Club at Touro University California

Pediatrics Club at Touro University California

American College of Osteopathic Family Physicians at Touro University California

California Health Professional Student Alliance at Touro University California

 

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With many in Vallejo seeing this as single-issue election, finding out where a candidate stands on this matter has been very frustrating. As we reported last month, candidates and existing council members were advised by the Vallejo City Attorney Claudia Quintana not to speak about the project or face possible recusal when it comes time for a vote.

We received a statement from Elizabeth Patterson, mayor of Benicia, regarding this practice:

 

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“Does the constitution stop at Benicia boundaries?” was my question asked in 2014. As mayor of Benicia, I took a leadership role in informing the public about health and safety issues associated with the Valero crude by rail project. But I was “cautioned” by the city attorney’s outside counsel to limit sending information out about train accidents, air pollution and even meetings and hearings regarding the Valero project. In fact the entire council thought I should stop. How can this be? They said it was a “conflict of interest” issue.

Now it’s time for Vallejo to decide if it’s constitutionally correct to suppress your council and mayoral candidates from being clear in public about the public health, safety and welfare issues of the proposed Orcem/VMT project.

Everyone is familiar with the material conflict of issue laws that require decision makers to recuse themselves when they have either a positive or negative interest in a project. This is to avoid corruption.

So how do my email alerts that I have been sending on a variety of topics since 2003 create a conflict of interest? A council member complained that by sending information about the Valero crude by rail, fossil fuels, air pollution, train wrecks, other states’ actions, along with my testifying at a state senate hearing on safety and the need for first responder training and catastrophic fund resources, I was in “conflict” with “due process.”

Not only was I certain I had freedom-of-speech rights that did not end at the city boundary, I was also convinced that the public needed to have an understanding of the issues and how to participate in the process.

I hired a Sacramento law firm to research the law, look at all my email alerts (not the cherry picked ones by the city attorney) and provide a legal brief and letter on my behalf to the city attorney. My attorney’s advice and direction was “stay the course,” and that I was well within my rights as established by the only California Supreme Court case on this issue, which was decided in 1977 (Fairfield of all places). That case that shows two things: 1. candidates and electeds do not give up constitutional rights by running for office or being elected, and 2. very few places actually question these rights.

I have been called by a few Vallejo residents about my case and similar issues for candidates and incumbents about talking about the Orcem/VMT project.

So here is what the law says:

As a candidate you can discuss your concerns and the criteria you would use to vote on a project.

As an elected official you can discuss your concerns and issues. You need to be sure to indicate your mind is not made up and that you will wait for the project hearing. This is the critical part because at the end of the day, the project has a right to a “fair hearing” without undue bias and prejudice in conflict with a fair hearing due process.

As mayor I need the public to be informed with all the information available to make future decisions. I wouldn’t vote for somebody who didn’t believe that and not uphold their freedom of speech rights.

In Benicia we are well aware of the complex issues Vallejo faces in regard to a cement factory on your waterfront.  We struggled with many of the same issues of air pollution, traffic and safety when the controversial project to ship explosive Bakken crude oil by rail was proposed—and ultimately denied—here in Benicia.

I believe as public officials, Vallejo’s candidates certainly have a right and an obligation to discuss issues of vital concern to their constituents and to state their concerns publicly on the Orcem/VMT proposal.

Equally important, Vallejo’s candidates have First Amendment rights to communicate freely with constituents and the public in general on any and all issues of public policy and concern, and any attempt by the city or city officials to curb those rights would be an unlawful restraint of speech under the United States and California constitutions.

Censoring candidates weakens democracy by limiting public discourse on the issues that citizens care most about.

Trust me, I have been through this and fought successfully for my freedom of speech rights. Serving the public’s interest is never easy and on issue of public health and safety it is paramount that candidates and incumbents affirm this publicly.

Elizabeth Patterson

Mayor, City of Benicia

 

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The Vallejo Times-Herald reported last year that council member and vice-mayor Jess Malgapo has expressed apparent support for the project on numerous occasions. “This project is like a square peg we are trying to fit into a square hole,” he once wrote in an email. “It is such a perfect project for this particular site. It will be [a] sad day for our city if we can’t bring this project to fruition. It will certainly hurt MISEDC’s goals.”

MISEDC is the Mare Island Straits Economic Development Committee that Malgapo chairs. He claims it was formed in April 2014 to explore dredging the strait for economic development. However, many contend that, as the group includes representatives from VMT and Orcem who held meetings in private with up to three members of the city council without the knowledge of other council members (and in one case including the mayor), it was actually acting as a “shadow government.” (If four members of the city council attended, such a private meeting would violate state law.)

According to the Times-Herald, Malgapo wrote that one of the reasons for the creation of the MISEDC was to “gain traction” for the Orcem/VMT project. Malgapo also claimed the committee has no power or authority and was not created by the city so there was no foul. However, it was later disclosed that the header on one of the committee agendas read: “fully supported by the Vallejo City Council.” Councilmembers Bob Sampayan and Katy Miessner have stated that they hadn’t heard about the committee at the time and council member Robert McConnell said that he learned of the committee in 2015, well after it was formed.

So, how should you decide whom to vote for in this election if you are interested in candidates who do not support heavy industry along Vallejo’s waterfront? Bay Crossings attempted to get candidate statements specifically regarding the Orcem/VMT project, with understandably limited results. We also do not want to jeopardize the candidates’ ability to vote on this project by publishing comments that can be used against them in the future.

All of the current council members associated with MISEDC: Jess Malgapo, Rozzana Verder-Aliga, Pippin Dew-Costa were backed by the JumpStart Vallejo PAC, which was launched in 2013. The JumpStart websites states: “In 2016, we must retain and expand the council majority JumpStart worked so valiantly to achieve in 2013.” The candidates supported by JumpStart this year are: Rozzana Verder-Aliga, Latressa Wilson Alford and Hermie Sunga for city council and Landis Graden for mayor. In our opinion, Bay Crossings cannot endorse any candidate backed by the JumpStart PAC.

Bay Crossings has chosen to stand with the Solano Group of the Sierra Club and their endorsements for Bob Sampayan as mayor and Liat Meitzenheimer for city council. We further endorse Robert McConnell for reelection to city council based on his non-association with MISEDC or JumpStart and Mina Diaz for the remaining city council seat based on her positions regarding transparency in government, equal representation of Vallejo citizens and positive change.