West Park advocates seek bond money now that criteria is set
Proponents of a proposed 4,800-acre industrial park at the Crows Landing Air Facility say they are pleased with trade corridor funding guidelines approved by the California Transportation Commission on Tuesday in Sacramento.
The Bay Area and Central Valley could get as much as $840 million in trade corridor money under the guidelines, following an 8-1 vote.
Stanislaus County Council of Governments hopes to get $26 million for a short-haul rail link between the Port of Oakland and the proposed PCCP West Park industrial center on and around the Crows Landing airfield.
“I think it’s very encouraging,” Stanislaus County Supervisor Dick Monteith said of the guidelines. “I would say we’re still on the list.”
In addition to $2 billion in trade corridor bond funding approved by state voters in November 2006, the commission allocated another $1 billion it hopes to get from a state highway account, federal funds and other fees. As a result, Northern California projects could receive $200 million more than they would have received from state bond money alone.
“As far as allocations, it looks like there is enough to fund the project,” West Park developer Gerry Kamilos said this week.
Still, Commissioner Larry Zarian of Glendale did not like the uncertain chance of obtaining the extra money, leading him to cast the lone dissenting vote.
“I don’t want to live in a dream land, and that’s what’s being proposed,” he said.
In the money
If that “dream” money comes through, Northern California would come only $14 million short of the $854 million in top-priority projects recommended by Bay Area and San Joaquin Valley planning agencies. Those projects include buying track right-of-ways for the Altamont Commuter Express train service and short-haul rail, extending Highway 4 to the Port of Stockton and creating a short-haul rail link between West Park and the Port of Oakland.
At least some of the approved criteria on Tuesday seemed tailor-fit to West Park. Freight rail system improvements and port capacity-related projects both would qualify for money. In addition, applicants are evaluated in part on having “multimodal strategies.”
Screening criteria include
job growth and air-quality improvements.
Kamilos has said West Park will provide 37,000 jobs and will lead to cleaner regional air quality by shipping some cargo via rail rather than by truck.
Conditions attached to the money also require that projects be ready to begin construction by Dec. 31, 2013, and receive matching money from federal, local or private sources.
Clearing the air
The commission decided to reinstate the air-quality criteria, which previously had been removed, after hearing representatives from the California Air Resources Board and several environmental groups. The commission will meet again next month to decide how to implement the environmental portion of the guidelines.
Many speakers said projects should address local air quality impacts in addition to regional impacts.
Patterson Mayor Becky Campo and City Attorney George Logan told the commission that they hoped impacts to communities near approved projects would be mitigated. Patterson’s City Council has opposed West Park because of its size, concerns about potential impacts on traffic and because it would bring more trains through town.
Logan and Campo also asked that the criteria clearly state that the value of leased land should not be included as a funding match for approved trade corridor projects — a request that was ignored. Their plea was in direct reference to West Park, as Stanislaus County plans to use the value of 170 acres of runway at the Crows Landing airfield as part of its matching amount.
Campo, who said she was pleased to see the environmental amendment, said Friday she plans to continue pushing for mitigation measures and for preventing leased land from being used as matching money.
Watching and waiting
Vince Harris, executive director of StanCOG, said the selection criteria is stringent, and his agency will work with county and West Park officials as it completes the application for trade corridor funding.
Projects must be nominated for trade corridor bond funding by Jan. 17, according to the guidelines, and the transportation commission will adopt an initial list of projects that will receive funding on April 10.
In the process, some of the Northern California applicants that are working together will likely have competing priorities. The Metropolitan Transportation Commission, which oversees transportation planning for the Bay Area, has continually questioned aspects of West Park’s plan, such as how it will be paid for and what the demand is for it.
A slew of Los Angeles-area legislators, who told the commission they want a bigger piece of the pie, also will continue to work to get more money for projects down south.
Meanwhile, the county will wait to hear what will happen with $1 billion in environmental trade corridor money. The county and Kamilos hope to get environmental bond money for West Park, saying that the industrial park will take more trucks off the road by providing access to short-haul rail. However, a representative from the Air Resources Board on Tuesday said that staff recommends that the environmental money not be used on infrastructure. The board will decide on the criteria in January.
To reach Jonathan Partridge at the Irrigator, call 892-6187 or e-mail him at
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