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| West Park opponents move forward |
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| Written by Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Wednesday, 02 July 2008 | |
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“I'm no longer discouraged. I’m heartened that there are a lot of things (developer Gerry Kamilos) has to do.” — Ron Swift, WS-PACE president After plans for a proposed 4,800-acre industrial park in Crows Landing received 4-1 support in April from county supervisors, one might expect mourning from a group opposed to the project. But leaders of the PCCP West Park opposition group WS-PACE.org seemed even-tempered Monday during the group’s first public meeting since the April 22 vote. A lawsuit the city of Patterson filed against the project and an extensive environmental review process were both good omens for opponents, said Ron Swift, WS-PACE president. “I’m no longer discouraged,” Swift said. “I’m heartened that there are a lot of things (developer Gerry Kamilos) has to do.” Leaders of the group, which is an acronym for West Side-Patterson Alliance for Community and Environment, announced Monday that they had gained more than 1,200 members since forming a little more than a year ago. “Now, when I say we have 1,200 members, (people) do listen,” Swift said. Burta Herger, treasurer for WS-PACE, said the group has received $24,178 and spent close to $21,000 on items including office supplies, advertising, labor and brochures and letters. Board members said much more money will be needed in the future, though they did not elaborate about the reason. Swift said issues surrounding West Park have become political and indicated WS-PACE likely would get involved in the re-election races of supervisors Dick Monteith and Jeff Grover, both staunch West Park supporters. Swift said West Side Supervisor Jim DeMartini has supported the group’s cause, but it has not received support from other supervisors. “The one thing that we’ve learned over the past year is that nobody is going to stand up for the West Side or Patterson except us,” Swift said. Members also discussed being involved in talks about the disbursement of money for a proposed half-percent sales tax measure for county roads projects. The measure, which would be on the November ballot, would provide $117 million for a road connecting Highway 99 in Turlock to Interstate 5. Swift advocated that the bypass should connect to Zacharias Road north of Patterson, as proposed by the Patterson City Council, rather than passing to the south near Crows Landing. He said he did not want public money supporting a project that would tie into a freeway interchange for West Park. West Park, which would be built in and around the 1,527-acre county-owned former U.S. Navy airfield in Crows Landing, would include an inland port that would be linked to the Port of Oakland by a short-haul rail line. Cargo containers would be the moved to and from there and the Oakland port. Proponents say that the project would provide 37,000 jobs and reduce regional traffic and air pollution by shipping some goods by rail rather than by truck. Opponents, including WS-PACE, reject the size of the project and the consequences of more trains going through Patterson and say the project would worsen local traffic and air quality. Attendees of the Monday meeting also suggested other ideas for strategies. One woman urged WS-PACE to have more outreach in some of Patterson’s newer neighborhoods. However, WS-PACE board member Sandy McDowell warned that might not be effective with residents there. “All they know is 37,000 jobs,” McDowell said. “They’re exhausted when they go home, and they feel it’s someone else’s problem to take care of.” Members also discussed at least one specific concern about the proposed industrial park. WS-PACE Vice President Claude Delphia criticized a proposed underpass for vehicles at Las Palmas Avenue and Highway 33, where trains headed to and from the industrial park would cross the road. Delphia, who has also criticized past proposals for an overpass and a trench at the intersection, said turning Las Palmas Avenue into an underpass would require tearing out parts of the city’s North and South Parks. It also could interfere with operations at Patterson Vegetable Co., he said, which is directly east of the railroad tracks on East Las Palmas Avenue. “It really kills our parks,” Delphia said. “It ruins the town as we know it.” He said he thought the proposed underpass was a concession to the city of Patterson, after the city sued the county, West Park and Union Pacific Railroad. The suit alleges that a vote the board of supervisors made to move forward with the project on April 22 violates the California Environmental Quality Act because it took place before an environmental impact report was complete. County officials contend that an EIR was not needed at the time, because there was no binding agreement with the developer. Councilwoman Annette Smith, who is not a member of WS-PACE.org but is sympathetic to the group’s cause, said after the meeting that she had similar worries about the underpass. As a result, she suggested that a railroad crossing be placed elsewhere. Kamilos said by phone Tuesday that the Las Palmas and Highway 33 intersection would have to be addressed regardless of the city’s lawsuit. He said his technical team had worked on designs for the underpass, and it appeared it would not interfere with Plaza Circle, the downtown parks or Patterson Vegetable Co. “Obviously, there’s more work to be done, but the preliminary engineering work to date says it’s doable,” he said. He also said lots of people have come out in support of the project, and many of them signed a petition that was submitted to county supervisors during their April 22 meeting. “We have a lot of support, and there are a few folks that may think differently,” he said. “Regardless, we want to listen to everyone.” Meanwhile, WS-PACE members seemed to be preparing for a lengthy battle ahead. “We are committed to this thing for the long run,” Delphia said. To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it
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