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| West Park gets regional support, criticism |
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| Written by Jonathan Partridge / Patterson Irrigator | |
| Wednesday, 31 October 2007 | |
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The group that hopes to develop the Crows Landing Air Facility has contended for close to a year that its project would cut down on air pollution. Now, project officials hope to get a portion of $1 billion in infrastructure bond money for environmental improvements based on that claim. PCCP West Park representatives have met with San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District officials the past several months about the potential to cut nitrous oxide emissions. So far, air district officials appear to favor the project. “This is a new category that we haven’t really explored in the past,” said Rick McVeigh, deputy air pollution control officer of the San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District. Traditionally, the state Air Resources Board has looked at curbing air pollution from trucks by retrofitting trucks, placing new engines in them or replacing them with newer, more environmentally friendly vehicles. West Park’s proposal, which aims to take some of those trucks off the road, is a new approach to the problem, he said. West Park hopes to turn the Crows Landing Air Facility and surrounding land into an industrial park, with a rail link to the Port of Oakland that would allow containers to be shipped between the port and Crows Landing. The development group, headed by Gerry Kamilos, is negotiating with Stanislaus County to come up with a full proposal to be considered by county supervisors in April. The case for clean air West Park officials say the Crows Landing project would dramatically reduce air pollution emissions by replacing truck traffic from the Port of Oakland with trains. One train could eliminate 115 truck trips, cutting down nitrous oxide emissions by close to a third and PM-10 emissions by more than half, according to West Park officials. In addition, the project would use clean-fuel-powered trucks, possibly have an on-site truck engine retrofitting center and send clean-fuel buses to pick up West Park workers in cities such as Los Banos and Tracy, Kamilos said. He said the project’s master transportation plan would look at West Park’s traffic impacts on the entire region. Both that and a technology plan would be completed during the environmental review process, which would happen if county supervisors approve West Park’s plan next year.  File photo McVeigh noted that the district typically deals only with stationary sources of pollution, not mobile sources. However, the district has expressed interest in West Park’s plans to keep trucks off the road, so there’s been talk about supporting the developer’s efforts to get money for infrastructure for the mobile project. McVeigh said the bond application process has yet to be determined. However, in the past, the air resources board has given the valley air district money to disperse, and various groups have applied for those funds. He said West Park could apply for money after it completed its state-mandated environmental review process. Kamilos said he intends for the county to be the lead agency in applying for I-bond money — both for emissions reductions and for infrastructure investment. The $19.9 billion state infrastructure bond approved by California voters in November 2006 includes $2 billion for infrastructure investment and $1 billion for trade corridor emissions reductions. County Supervisor Jim DeMartini, a consistent critic of West Park’s project, said the environmental money is not supposed to be for infrastructure but for replacing dirty engines. “What (Kamilos) is tryng to do is change the rules to subsidize his project,” he said. DeMartini said he will state his objections to the funding mechanism when the Stanislaus County Council of Governments policy board discusses being the lead agency for West Park for bond money during its Nov. 14 meeting. Supervisor Dick Monteith, an avid project supporter, said the environmental money is yet another option for the project in addition to the I-bond money. Other methods also could be considered, such as West Park coming up with private financing, even if that extends the project timeline another eight years, he said. “If West Park somehow came up with its own money, … I don’t see where there would be any objection to that,” he said. Making the list In regards to the $2 billion pool of infrastructure investment money, a group of local governments listed PCCP West Park’s proposed inland port project on a rail corridor “hot list” earlier this month. The list, sent to the state Business, Transportation and Housing Agency on Oct. 5, requested $248.5 million for five Tier One projects, including $26 million for the Crows Landing project. Tier One projects involve the movement of goods along nationally significant trade corridors with local matching funds for at least half of the project and an identified delivery date. Other projects on the list are a Highway 4 extension to the Port of Stockton, a train that would serve as a freight and shuttle between the Altamont Pass and Central Valley, an intermodal facility in Shafter near Bakersfield, and double-track rail through the Tehachapi Pass. Kamilos said the air facility project’s placement as a Tier One project is consistent with the Stanislaus council of governments’ designation for it. Andrew Chesley, the executive director of the San Joaquin Council of Governments and sender of the letter, could not be reached for comment after repeated calls. Criticism from the south As the project has garnered regional acclaim, it recently has received criticism closer to home. A draft letter from the Newman City Council last week stated opposition to the project, saying the council felt Stanislaus supervisors had ignored a previous letter in February that expressed concerns about West Park’s proposal. City staff said Friday that the board decided to hold off on approving the letter because Councilman Ted Kelly was not present at its Oct. 23 meeting. The letter asked for mitigation measures for the West Side and expressed worries about West Park’s size and its appearance, in addition to fears that homes would be built along with it. “The city is concerned that a rail yard will have a negative impact upon the area and deter future investment in our community,” the draft letter states. “The city will not support a plan that transforms west Stanislaus County into a rail yard with stockpiles of graffiti-laden storage containers and rail cars.” The letter also said the project was more than four times larger than the city of Newman and more than 30 percent larger than the city’s sphere of influence. It said the project should stay within the footprint of the Crows Landing Air Facility — a total of 1,527 acres — and stated opposition to any residential component. Kamilos has said homes will not be a part of the project, and project maps show no houses. Newman Councilman Bob Martina said by phone last week that the council supported a business park at the airfield, just not West Park’s proposal. “We’re restating what we said before the supervisors,” Martina 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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