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Riverwalk opponents tell council draft EIR contains 'significant shortfalls'; ballot initiative to restart
Summary
Two members of the public urged the Riverbank City Council to reject or reconsider the Riverwalk project, saying the draft environmental impact report contains multiple inaccuracies and noting organizers have resubmitted ballot initiative paperwork to restart an anti-Riverwalk measure. Speakers said over 100 comment letters were submitted on the EIR and that signs and a ballot campaign are underway.
Several members of the public used the meeting’s public-comment period on June 11 to voice opposition to the proposed Riverwalk development and to describe organized opposition activities.
A resident identified by the mayor as 'Miss Conrada' told the council she "continue[s] to oppose the proposed Riverwalk project" and said the city had received ‘‘over 100 comment letters’’ detailing what she called "many significant shortfalls" in the draft environmental impact report (EIR). She asked the council to consider the effects the proposal would have on Riverbank residents and surrounding communities.
Jamie Ager, who identified a Modesto address and said they live just outside the City of Riverbank but inside the proposed Riverwalk project area, told the council the group behind Access Riverbank had "resubmitted our ballot initiative paperwork last week," and that they would restart the initiative after the city attorney issues a ballot title and summary. Ager said the group had launched a sign campaign and alleged that the draft EIR repeatedly describes the targeted property as "fallow" even though crews had recently prepared the ground for planting. "So, again, one of the many inaccuracies in the EIR," Ager said.
No staff responses that changed the staff recommendation are recorded in the transcript for these specific claims; the statements appear in the record as public-comment assertions. Ager said the organizers "will be coming back bigger and stronger" in their ballot effort.
The council did not take immediate action on the project at the June 11 meeting; public commenters and their claims were recorded in the public record and on the city website, according to speakers.
