Court shuns opponents of big Treasure Island development
By Bob Egelko
sfgate.com
Thursday, October 23, 2014
A $1.5 billion residential and commercial development on San Francisco’s Treasure Island moved closer to construction Wednesday when the state Supreme Court turned aside an appeal of the city’s environmental review of the project.
City supervisors approved plans for the former Navy base and adjoining Yerba Buena Island in 2011. The project, scheduled to take 15 to 20 years, includes up to 8,000 homes, 25 percent of them classified as below-market affordable housing, along with commercial and office buildings, 500 hotel rooms, a ferry terminal, and 300 acres of parks, playgrounds and open space.
A group called Citizens for a Sustainable Treasure Island, led by former Supervisor Aaron Peskin, filed a lawsuit claiming San Francisco’s environmental study was inadequate. The suit said the study lacked details of street layout and building design and failed to spell out plans to remove the many hazardous materials in the soil, groundwater and existing buildings.
But a state appeals court upheld the study in July. The First District Court of Appeal said the city had examined and reported all available information about the project “while providing for flexibility needed to respond to changing conditions and unforeseen events.”
The court also said the Navy is required to remove all toxic substances — including oil, pesticides, asbestos, lead paint and low-level radioactive material — from each parcel before transferring the land to developers. The environmental report details the locations of known hazards and the procedures the city and the developers would use for any further cleanups, the court said.
Opponents appealed the ruling to the state’s high court, which unanimously denied review Wednesday.
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