During the Bay’s recent King Tides (the highest tides of the year), our field team used Osprey the drone to monitor the shoreline. We were surprised to find the site of a proposed new housing development in Pittsburg under water. It was also under water when we checked it out again during low tide. What’s worse, the area is known to contain toxic legacy contamination from a former PG&E power plant.
It’s a bad idea to build housing on land that’s under water much of the year, and on toxic ground to boot. It’s also unjust for anyone who might live on the site in the future. We only need to look at the Bayview–Hunters Point neighborhood in San Francisco to know the serious public health consequences of living in a housing development on toxic land.
Instead of housing, Baykeeper views the Pittsburg site as an ideal location to restore wetlands, which would help protect the city’s existing neighborhoods from climate-driven sea level rise.
Baykeeper’s attorneys put the City of Pittsburg on notice last week when we filed objections to the city’s preliminary analysis of whether to build housing on the land. We’ll be watching the city closely going forward to protect the Bay and future generations from a potential toxic disaster. This site is no place to build homes.
Photo: Baykeeper
