ENU filed a letter in support of the community appeal of project (PL24-0067) and urges Council to support the appeal and deny the project as currently proposed.
ENU is always concerned when significant land use changes are proposed in the community that may have unintended negative effects that could hinder the remedial actions; or result in increased risks to public health and/or the environment.
As stated in the Snyder Geologic Hamilton Lane Report there is currently insufficient information about site conditions to allow the City to make an informed decision concerning how this project will impact the ongoing groundwater remediation and/or human health and the environment. A comprehensive site investigation is needed to adequately design project features, and/or mitigation measures to protect community health and the environment.
The Hamilton Lane appeal should be supported with direction for developers to implement and reflect the findings and recommendations made the in the Snyder report prior to any reconsideration.
ENU strongly supports the City’s goal to increase the available, affordable housing units in our city, however this project is unique due to its proximity to the Chatham Barrel Yard site. The Chatham site is a complicated site which has been subject to massive amounts of contamination. It has been under remedial activity and oversight for over 30 yearsand has yet to reach the designated cleanup levels. The City Council must have current and robust data before you can make a determination to find this Hamilton Site would have no impact on the Chatham contamination, and that it is appropriate for housing development. Currently, that information is not available.
ENU opposes the project due to the many data gaps and lack of information and mitigation sufficient to protect the health of the residents, the integrity of the groundwater site, and the interests of the city.
Previous posts can be found Expert Report Shows Deficiencies and Media release Appeal of Housing near Chatham.
The issue will be heard by the City Council on August 5 at 5 PM. Item #9.
We urge comment in support of the appeal and opposed to the staff recommendation to deny the appeal.
File a comment here For Agenda item 9, August 5 City Council meeting. ENU recommends an oppose position which would support the appeal and deny the project approval.