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Supervisors hear community calls to restore Hunters Point Restoration Advisory Board, move resolution to full board
Summary
After hours of public testimony, the Government Audit & Oversight Committee agreed to move a resolution urging the U.S. Navy to reinstate the Hunters Point Shipyard Restoration Advisory Board to the full Board of Supervisors; residents and RAB members repeatedly called for full community oversight and removal (not capping) of the most contaminated areas.
The Government Audit & Oversight Committee heard extensive public testimony on the Navy's intention to dissolve the Hunters Point Shipyard Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) and voted to send a resolution urging the Navy to reinstate the RAB to the full Board of Supervisors.
Supervisor John Avalos, who chaired the special meeting, said the hearing was scheduled after residents raised concerns at earlier board meetings about the RAB's status and about proposed "early transfer" of Navy parcels to the city. Avalos said the committee would continue examining monitoring and developer oversight in follow-up hearings.
Michael Cohen, director of the Office of Economic and Workforce Development, and Amy Brownell of the San Francisco Department of Public Health explained the city's position on early transfer of Parcels B and G and the role city agencies would play if remaining remedies are implemented as part of redevelopment. But the bulk of the meeting was public comment.
Community speakers representing long-time RAB members, neighborhood groups, scientists and clergy urged the supervisors to take a public stand. "We are formally requesting your position on the recent recommendation by [Navy officials] to dissolve the RAB," said Leon Mohammed, a former RAB co-chair, arguing the recommendation was politically motivated and warned dissolving the board would limit community oversight. Multiple speakers recounted a history of contamination, described high asbestos monitor readings and alleged health harms in Bayview Hunters Point.
Speakers raised technical concerns about parcel E/E2, liquefaction risk, and monitoring. "We do not support a half-hearted cleanup effort," one RAB member said, urging that the city insist on full remediation rather than capping particularly hazardous areas.
Amy Brownell, the city's environmental engineer, confirmed she is an appointed government representative to the RAB and described the Navy's May 22, 2009 letter of intent to dissolve the RAB. Brownell summarized the Navy's stated reasons in that letter as failures of the RAB to focus comments on Navy cleanup documents and a reportedly unproductive meeting atmosphere; she also said the U.S. EPA and state agencies remain lead overseers for remedy approval.
After the public comment period, Committee members agreed to move the draft resolution urging the Navy to reinstate the RAB to the full Board of Supervisors for consideration on November 17. Supervisors indicated the resolution language would be adjusted for accuracy (the Navy's notice is characterized in the record as a notice of intent to dissolve). The committee also agreed to continue the separate early transfer hearing to the call of the chair for additional hearings on monitoring (including HV12), Lennar, and other technical issues.
The committee did not record a formal roll-call vote in the transcript for sending the resolution to the full board; supervisors said they would cosponsor and move the resolution forward. The meeting adjourned after the committee set the next steps.
Next steps: the resolution urging the Navy to reinstate the RAB will be placed on the full Board of Supervisors agenda on November 17; the committee will schedule follow-up hearings on early transfer, monitoring and contractor/developer oversight.
