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Board approves Mission Rock street vacation; public speakers raise Superfund and public-trust concerns
Summary
The board approved an ordinance on first reading clearing title for Seawall Lot 337/Mission Rock. During the committee hearing several members of the public and environmental advocates raised concerns about soil contamination, Superfund-status history and public-trust obligations of port land.
The Board of Supervisors convened as a committee of the whole on Sept. 3 to hear the street and easement vacation order for Seawall Lot 337 and related parcels at Mission Rock, part of the Port of San Franciscoproject with the San Francisco Giants.
Port staff described the vacation as administrative: the Port told the board it had not located evidence of an accepted public street on the property and sought a blanket vacation of the site to avoid future right-of-way claims and to clear title prior to development. Phil Williamson, a senior project manager with the Port, said the vacation "is really just a belt and suspenders effort to clear any title issues from this site before it goes to development later this year." The staff presentation and project packet, he said, list public benefits including open space, affordable housing and waterfront parks.
Public commenters raised multiple concerns. One speaker said the project had not met redevelopment rules requiring 15 percent of units be set aside for very-low and low-income households and accused project backers of misleading the public during campaigns. Environmental advocates and a representative of the Libertarian Party said Mission Rock overlies a Superfund site and that soil testing cited in the environmental record dated from the mid-1990s; speakers named contaminants including arsenic, dioxins, lead and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and urged the Department of Toxic Substances Control to re-evaluate the site.
Several speakers said port property is held under the public trust for maritime uses and urged the board to consider public-trust constraints and the Port's responsibilities before approving the vacation. The Port replied that affected parties like PG&E had come forward during the public process and that the Port had worked to accommodate utility equipment and maintain service.
After the presentation and public comment, Supervisor Aaron Peskin moved approval of item 14 and Supervisor Safa Yi seconded. The board took the ordinance up and, without objection, passed it on first reading as administrative vacation order.
Ending: The board adopted the street vacation on first reading. Opponents and environmental commenters asked state cleanup authorities and the board to reexamine contamination data and public-trust obligations as Mission Rock moves toward final approvals and development.
