Housing Advisory Commission City of Berkeley
L A Wood, December 6, 2001

Public Hearing for Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency 711 Harrison, Ursula Sherman Village Project

Dear Commissioners:
I write this letter to express my concerns over the proposal to fund permanent housing at the Seventh Street Harrison house known as the Ursula Sherman Village. I am unable to give oral testimony tonight because I have commission duties across town. I request that this testimony be made part of the Public Hearing record.

As the Commission may know, the City of Berkeley has developed the adjoining site as soccer fields and a skate park. The city is nearing completion of a process that has included a zoning change to accommodate recreational use, and a public discussion about the site's air quality. As yet, the questions about air quality remain unresolved as testing has just begun. However, much of what has surfaced in that discussion has direct application to the proposed BOSS project Please consider the following:

Air Quality

The City of Berkeley's concern over air quality at the 4th Street and Harrison property dates back to at least 1997 and was first raised in the site rezoning process. A two-day air sampling was conducted at the site at that time. Although the "study" was a very limited, the sampling did manage to identify possible problems, including that of airborne particulate matter, and specifically PM 10s.

Nearly two years later, this question of air quality resurfaced during the 1999 Soccer Fields/Skate Park California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) review. Another study was made public in the process regarding asthma and the incidence of hospitalization by zip code in Alameda County. It showed that the 94710 area, which includes the site of the proposed housing units at 711 Harrison Street and the city's soccer fields, was the most impacted area in Berkeley.

In response to this new asthma report and to the Soccer Park Project use permit, the City of Berkeley's Public Health Officer reviewed the issues, including the asthma report, and then released a written statement. (See Attachment 1.) The statement goes far in recognizing the air quality problems in that part of West Berkeley. However, the Public Health Officer concluded that the health risks from those air quality problems are outweighed by the benefits of recreation, given the limited time children would spend on site

Currently, most of the residents of Harrison House are limited in time they are allowed on site (out by 8 AM and in after 5 PM). The proposed project at 711 Harrison, Ursula Sherman Village, would be different in that it will allow children and adults to remain in permanent housing twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week, and up to an eighteen-month stay. This, I think, will radically change the health risks for those who would occupy the proposed new residences, especially the children.

Another problem directly associated with the poor air quality at the Harrison site is the presence of diesel fumes and soot. You may not be aware that more than a year ago, the State of California and its Air Quality Management Districts set new priorities on the reduction of diesel emissions. The proposed residential units are to be located adjacent to the railroad tracks and downwind from the nearly three dozen daily passing trains, the City of Berkeley's Transfer Station (dump), and many other operating diesel vehicles. I believe that these diesel emissions would be a serious problem for residents of the proposed 711 Harrison units.

Presently, the Harrison soccer fields are being air sampled in a year tong study for both PM 10 and PM 2.5 emissions. This monitoring began about six months ago and has generated more information regarding the high levels of particulates at the Harrison site. Last month, Berkeley's Community Environmental Advisory Commission requested that city staff post the city's soccer park, which is next door to the proposed 711 Harrison housing units, with an air quality advisory notice regarding particulate levels recorded on site. (See Attachment 2.) This follows the posting of the site (and the noticing of local residents) last year with a Chrome 6 notice when Hexavalent Chromium was found in the groundwater beneath the Harrison site. (See Attachment 3.)

Environmental Justice

Commissioners should be aware that the rezoning of the city's soccer fields and skate park, adjacent to the proposed 711 Harrison housing units, requires that parents whose children come to the site MUST sign an environmental waiver in order to participate at the facility. (See Attachment 4.) This special mitigation was required by Zoning for the use permit of the soccer fields because the surrounding area is still zoned for light industrial. It should be remembered that the 711 Harrison site is in this light industrial area as well. The proposed site is even less suited for residential housing than for park use. Will residents be required to sign a waiver to occupy the 711 Harrison units?

The issues of air quality and environmental waivers raise questions about the proposed 711 Harrison Housing project's location and that of environmental justice. I am well aware that there is no justice in being homelessness. However, it is important to afford fair treatment to people of all income levels with respect to housing, including the development, implementation and enforcement of laws, regulations, and policies that safeguard people's health. The development of residential housing at 711 Harrison location speaks directly to this point. The site is simply inappropriate for long-term residential housing.

Conclusion

There is no question that the project's location is riddled with serious problems concerning environmental, quality-of-life, and health issues. Unquestionably, the air quality has degraded at the site in the last four years and promises to become more polluted because of the expansion of Interstate 80. There are no mitigations in place to reduce the air pollution present at the site or to protect the proposed project's residential population. Although I support the BOSS program and feel its work is crucial to Berkeley and our homeless population, I cannot support the residential housing project at 711 Harrison.

Finally, I believe our housing policies need to more closely reflect West Berkeley's environmental reality. New locations, like the proposed residential project, are problematic when constructed in such close proximity to industrial facilities and uses that contain or produce material that, because of its concentrations or physical or chemical characteristics, pose a significant hazard to human health.

Attachments

1. Assessment and Recommendation Re: Air Quality at the Harrison Playing Fields Project, Poki Namkung, Berkeley Public Health Officer
2. Poor Air Quality Notices wanted at West Berkeley Soccer fields, Daily Planet Nov. 3, 2001
3. Public Notice re: Hexavalent Chromium Pollution -Northwest Berkeley
4. Use Permit #99-10000112, Page 7, "Special Conditions"

Cc: Berkeley City Council