Let’s Talk Solutions
Wetlands Restoration
There are more than tens of thousands of acres of former salt ponds already in public ownership around the San Francisco Bay awaiting restoration.
Current estimates report that it will take $1.5 billion and 50 years to restore these ponds.
The 50/50 Balanced Plan proposed by DMB Associates is the single-largest, privately funded restoration project in the history of the San Francisco Bay.
Under the 50/50 Plan, DMB proposes to convert hundreds of acres of the Saltworks site into a dynamic tidal marsh area with all costs borne by the development.
Taxpayers around the Bay Area shouldn’t be hoodwinked by single-issue advocacy groups; the only alternative to the 50/50 Plan for this site is ongoing salt-making.
Climate Change Caused by Greenhouse Gases
For every gallon of gasoline burned by a car, 25 pounds of carbon dioxide are spewed into the atmosphere.
According to the Bay Area Air Quality Management District, the transportation sector is responsible for more than 40 percent of the region’s greenhouse gas emissions, the leading cause of global warming.
More than 40,000 people commute into Redwood City each weekday for their job. Some from towns like Tracy, Manteca, Stockton and Rohnert Park. Think about how much pollution each one of these cars is emitting.
Given the Saltworks site’s immediate proximity to San Mateo County job centers, a variety of transit options, and the Bay, its development as a transit-oriented, mixed-use, and sustainable community would change the current development paradigm and would result in a significant reduction of regional miles travelled and greenhouse gas emissions.
Local Flooding / Sea-Level Rise
Neighborhoods along East Bayshore Boulevard and in the Friendly Acres area are routinely flooded each year because Bay front Canal (a City-owned and maintained facility) doesn’t have enough capacity to store the huge volume of water that flows into it from the multiple watersheds that drain into this canal.
The Atherton Channel in particular brings huge amounts of water into the area from Menlo Park, Atherton and other areas. Those communities have no plans to solve this problem.
The 50/50 Plan proposes to use a significant portion of the Saltworks site to create a muted-tidal restoration area that could also accept overflow waters in major rain events. This basin would give those flows of water someplace to go other than your neighborhoods, even if there is a 100-year flood event. Saltworks would build and maintain this basin at no cost to existing taxpayers.
According to a report called “Living with the Rising Bay,” sea levels are expected to rise by up to 55 inches by the end of this century as a result of global warming. If this estimate is correct, large portions of Redwood City could be inundated by rising Bay waters well beyond the Highway 101 corridor and into Downtown.
Rising seas will force the community and elected officials to determine whether to retreat from these developed urban areas or protect them from rising seas.
The 50/50 Balanced Plan proposes a levee that could help protect this area of Redwood City from rising seas even under the most aggressive sea level rise projection. The 50/50 Plan will pay for this portion of the levee without adding new costs to current taxpayers or businesses.
Active Park and Recreation Facilities
Redwood City has a shortage of active park and recreation facilities.
The city is below statewide standards for parks, which has forced youth and adult sports teams to compete over limited fields and facilities.
The 50/50 Balanced Plan will reduce the shortage of parks and make Redwood City a leader in parks and recreation lands on the Peninsula.
The Saltworks 50/50 Balanced Plan includes a 50+ acres of improved, multiple use sports complexes with more than a dozen new soccer and baseball fields as well as basketball and other facilities. It also includes more than 100 acres of Bayside recreation parks.
This expansion of city park and recreation lands will be funded by the 50/50 Balanced Plan — at no cost to current city taxpayers.
The Saltworks site, because of its scale, can satisfy this important community need.
Livable Communities
Only about one-quarter of Americans get the recommended amount of exercise daily. This lack of inactivity has contributed to the obesity epidemic.
Yet, our society continues to build communities in ways that discourage everyday physical activity like walking and bicycling.
The Saltworks site employs many techniques that not only make it an attractive place to live, it also makes it a healthy place to live. Its streets are designed to be a safe and comfortable for walkers and bikers and to encourage people to get more exercise as part of their daily routines.
The Saltworks site, by simply providing transportation options and services within closer reach, will significantly reduce local vehicle trips more than a typical American neighborhood, which means less smog and other air pollution.
Children are especially susceptible to respiratory problems like asthma, which can be worsened by air pollution. With over 9 million children in the U.S. suffering from asthma and millions more Americans who die each year due to high levels of air pollution, communities – like the Saltworks – that are designed to reduce traffic and encourage healthy options like walking and bicycling are crucial.
