Join hundreds of Bay View residents and environmental justice advocates
in calling for a halt to the construction at the Hunters Point Shipyard
and ending the exposure of residents to asbestos and other toxic elements.
Tuesday, July 31 at 3 PM
Board of Supervisors Meeting
City Hall -- Room 250
Supervisor Chris Daly is introducing the legislation, which is posted
below. Please come to testify at the meeting, and demand environment
justice for all of San Francisco!
[Temporarily Halting Construction at the Hunters Point Shipyard]
Resolution urging the Department of Public of Health and Lennar
Corporation to temporarily halt construction at the Hunters Point
Shipyard and to contract with an independent entity to conduct a health
assessment of the residents of Bay View Hunters Point.
Whereas, Pursuant to Environmental Code Section 101 of the City and
County of San Francisco, all officers, boards, commissions and
departments shall implement the Precautionary Principle in conducting
the City and County affairs; and
WHEREAS, the Precautionary Principle requires public servants to take
anticipatory action to prevent harm and through exploration and careful
analysis select courses of action that present the least threat to all;
and,
WHEREAS, The Hunters Point Shipyard redevelopment undertaken by the
Lennar Corporation has raised broad community concern regarding the
negative effects of toxic contaminants and asbestos exposure to the
residents of Bay View Hunters Point; and
WHEREAS, An April 2000 environmental impact report on shipyard reuse
raised that there are asbestos-containing serpentinite rock at the
Hunters Point Shipyard and that construction-related excavation
activities could cause chrysotile asbestos associated with serpentinite
to become airborne thus affecting public health and safety; and,
WHEREAS, DPH has issued three Notices of Violations to Lennar for not
following their own dust mitigation plan and for problems in monitoring
airborne asbestos; and,
WHEREAS, Since the beginning of construction at the Hunters Point
Shipyard, there has been a progressive increase in reports of nose
bleeds and hospitalization due to asthma attacks; therefore, be it
RESOLVED, That the Board of Supervisors urge the Department of Public
Health (DPH) to contract with an independent entity to do a health
assessment testing for toxic exposure of residents living in proximity
to the Hunters Point Shipyard; and,
RESOLVED, The Board of Supervisors urge DPH to exercise it's power
under Article 31 of the Health Code to shut down construction
activities temporarily until the effects of this exposure can be
accurately assessed.
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How can removing auto lanes for bicycle lanes threaten the environment?
Why do you have to cross the street three times in SOMA just to get to the
other side? LOS, that's why.
WHAT: An important hearing at the SF Planning Commission
WHERE: City Hall, Room 400
WHEN: TOMORROW, Thursday, July 12, 10AM
WHY: Pedestrians and Cyclists are as important as Autos
The hearing will consider changing the environmental review standards on
which street configuration decisions are made from supporting the
incumbency of the automobile by privileging automobile Level of Service
(LOS) towards standards which value safe and efficient movement of
pedestrians and cyclists as well.
City Traffic engineers must seek an expensive and time consuming
environmental impact report any time a change to the streets would cause
traffic to slow to certain levels because standards written in the 1970s,
when autos belched leaded fuel emissions at rates 8 times of today's
cleaner vehicles, are still applied. San Francisco has not seen auto
related emissions "hot spots" for 30 years, yet bike lanes and safer
traffic treatments are assumed to cause air quality impacts if autos are
slowed.
This is an obscure technical issue which Greens such as Supervisor Ross
Mirkarimi and Planning Commissioner Christina Olague have taken a
leadership role in order to conform environmental practice to San
Francisco's Transit First policies and which impacts on street livability
citywide.
For more information on auto LOS, CEQA, and transportation planning, see
information from the San Francisco Bicycle Coalition (SFBC) at
http://sfbike.org/los.
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