Riverbank council approves 40-year lease extension for former Army ammunition plant
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Summary
The Riverbank council voted 4–0 to authorize a supplemental lease amendment allowing the interim lease for the former Riverbank Army Ammunition Plant to be extended through March 31, 2066, with environmental safeguards and a required compliance plan for the lessee.
The Riverbank council on March 31 approved a resolution authorizing the city manager to execute Supplemental Lease Amendment No. 6 to Army Lease DACA05051-21-508, extending the interim lease for the former Riverbank Army Ammunition Plant through March 31, 2066. The measure passed on a 4–0 roll-call vote.
City Manager said the amendment would add a 40-year term to the current interim lease and remain subject to federal environmental supervision. “So our recommendation today is to authorize myself, the city manager, to execute this supplemental lease agreement number 6 with the U.S. Army for the continued reuse of the former Riverbank Army ammunition plants,” the city manager said.
The vote clears the way for continued reuse of the site under the Riverbank Local Redevelopment Authority and the existing master development agreement with Aemetis, which the presenter said was executed on Dec. 14, 2021 and began operations in April 2022; Aemetis purchased Parcel B in July 2022 under that agreement. The presenter summarized the site’s history (original construction in 1943, reactivation in the 1950s, and base-closure action in 2005) and noted the LRA adopted a reuse plan in 2008 and pursued an economic development conveyance with the Army in 2010–2013.
Council members limited their questions to environmental oversight details. One council member noted a concern about transformers that appeared to be leaking and asked whether state regulators would still oversee such issues if the property conveyed; staff responded that state environmental regulators would continue to have oversight of leaking transformers and similar matters.
An online commenter asked whether the facility is currently using well water and whether a county moratorium tied to a nearby Superfund designation remains in effect. The city manager responded that the site is not using its wells for potable water, that the listed wells (identified in the lease inventory as wells 1, 5 and 6) would need rehabilitation before potable use, and that the county moratorium on new wells remains in place as of the meeting.
The lease amendment includes an updated inventory and condition survey as an exhibit, requires the lessee to submit an environmental compliance plan within 180 days of the lease, and states that lessee obligations survive foreclosure or transfer for obligations that arose during the predecessor’s period of ownership. The presenter said the premises will remain subject to supervision by the Army’s environmental offices and the Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) directorate; a closeout survey will be required prior to conveyance.
The motion to approve item 6.1 was made by a council member and seconded by another council member; the roll-call recorded four affirmative votes and no dissent. After the vote, the chair closed the special meeting and adjourned.
