Case Studies — Concord Naval Weapons Station
The site of the former Concord Naval Weapons Station is one of the largest remaining developable areas in the San Francisco Bay Area. Consisting of more than 5,000 acres, much of the former weapons station is relatively pristine rolling hills visible from Highways 4 and 242. In addition, Mount Diablo Creek, the last freely flowing creek in Contra Costa County, flows right through the heart of the military base. The cold clean water of this stream attracts salmon and trout, among many other species.
There are a number of competing ideas about how to develop the property and the U.S. Navy has even proposed bypassing the city and trading the land to a consulting company to be developed without public input.
EnviroJustice is working with a coalition of environmental and faith-based organizations to fashion a sensible development that would address the location and amount of open space, the type and number of new houses, the transportation system, and many other factors.
Historical Timeline
Here are some of the significant milestones in the drama that was and still is the Concord Naval Weapons Station:
1942 — Although planning for a munitions base had begun as early as 1927 in what would come to be called Port Chicago, after the bombing of Pearl Harbor by the Japanese and the beginning of World War II, the Concord Naval Weapons Station was quickly created by the U.S. Navy as an annex to the Mare Island Naval Shipyard in Vallejo to supply munitions for the Pacific theater of operations.
1944 — On July 17, explosions ripped through two ships that were being loaded with bombs, killing 320 and injuring 390. The bursts broke windows in San Francisco, some 30 miles away, and marked the largest domestic tragedy of World War II and the biggest disaster in Contra Costa County history. About two-thirds of those who died were black, and when fifty black sailors later refused to return to work to protest work conditions they called unsafe and unjust, they were convicted of mutiny. The convictions fueled political pressure on President Truman to desegregate the military and the Port Chicago incident has the subject of books and movies.
1942 - 1991 — The station would continue to play an instrumental role in delivering munitions during the Korean War, Vietnam and the 1991 Persian Gulf War. During the height of the Vietnam War in the 1960s, as many as 3,000 were employed at the station.
1952 — The town of Port Chicago grew up around the weapons station. Wanting to ensure the safety of the citizens of Port Chicago should another explosion occur, the Navy made the first of several attempts to dismantle the town of 3,000 to enlarge its blast zone. The tight-knit town rallied against the Navy takeover, and for more than a decade, the area's veteran congressman, John Baldwin, fought military officials, saying the only way they would get Port Chicago was "over my dead body." Baldwin died in 1966 and two years later, the Navy resumed its efforts to disband the community.
1987 — The 1980s marked a time of increased anti-war protests around the base. On September 1, Vietnam veteran Brian Willson was run over by a munitions train and lost both legs, turning into a national symbol for the peace movement. The protesting continued when the Department of Energy announced that starting in 1998 ships would offload spent nuclear fuel rods at Concord before trains took them to an Idaho repository. During the 1990s, the station's civilian work force dwindled to a few hundred.
1999 — The 12,800-acre site, which includes an inland area and a tidal area, was an active ammunition storage and shipping port until the Navy mothballed the inland area. The inland area lies entirely within the Concord city limits and occupies 5,200 acres (approximately 8 square miles) and makes up nearly one quarter of the City’s total 31 square mile area. The port, located in the tidal area, continued to operate under the command of the Army.
2005 — The inland area was approved for closure in November through the Department of Defense’s Base Realignment and Closure (BRAC) process. The Concord City Council was selected by the Department of Defense as the Local Reuse Authority (LRA), the sole point of contact for planning of the site. The city prepared an amendment to its General Plan proposing the construction of approximately 13,000 homes to be built on the site. Notice of the proposed General Plan amendment was only given to residents living within 300 feet of the site.
2006 — Concerned by the size and scope of the proposed development and by the lack of adequate notice to the public of the proposed General Plan amendment, the Concord Naval Weapons Station Neighborhood Alliance was formed in mid-February 2006 by local residents Kathy Gleason and Bev Marshall. The grassroots organization quickly grew and was able to convince the Concord City Council to postpone and then ultimately remove the CNWS property from the overall general plan review and undergo a separate planning process.
2006 — Phase 1 of the site planning sought to gather comments, suggestions and opinions about the civilian reuse of the base from a broad spectrum of residents, business owners and other stakeholders. The community responded with hundreds of comment cards, e-mails, and letters. Information was distributed and verbal comments were heard at working sessions and additional information was obtained through a community-wide, 600-person telephone survey, stakeholder interviews, focus groups, City Council drop-in sessions, and an information booth at local community events. The project’s Goals and Guiding Principles were approved by the LRA at an August 1 meeting and the Concord City Council appointed a 21-member Community Advisory Committee to assist the City Council in preparing the Community Reuse Plan.
2007 — The Navy had been expected to declare the CNWS property surplus on November 9, 2006 and thereby trigger the next step of the community-based BRAC process by authorizing the city to prepare a reuse plan for the property. However, the Navy extended the timeframe for the notice of surplus for 30 days from November 9 to December 21, 2006 after the Navy received an unsolicited proposal from the Shaw Group interested in acquiring the property in exchange for equivalent value in military construction services under the Navy’s exchange authority. After other extensions to February 6, the City Council denied any further extensions at a hearing attended by Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy Wayne Arny, and the Navy finally issued the notice of surplus on March 6.
On Thursday, October 9, 2007, the Concord City Council approved a broad range of alternatives for study in the EIR. In a significant victory for those seeking a safe, sustainable and just community, the draft EIR will study a broad range of alternatives, including two lower-intensity additions to the original staff recomendations.One alternative called for as many as 13,000 homes and 7.9 million square feet of commercial development, bringing 30,600 residents and employment of an additional 29,000 to the project. The alternative supported by EnviroJustice calls for 6,250 homes and 5.2 million square feet of commercial development. At least 15,000 people would be employed in the new development, even under the lower-intensity EnviroJustice alternative.
In a letter to the Mayor and City Council, EnviroJustice urged support for the additional alternatives. "This is an opportunity for the citizens of Concord and the surrounding region to come together," said Gregory Hile, EnviroJustice founder and president, "and begin to use our common goals and perspectives to support a reuse plan that is safe, sustainable and just." A copy of the letter, is available for download and distribution. EnviroJustice will be actively involved in preparing analysis and comments on the draft EIR.
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2008 — The draft EIR was released by the city on May 12 and the 60-day circulation period for public comment began. The June deadline to complete the entire reuse plan process has expired and the Navy has granted a three-month extension, while the city has requested a one-year extension.
The Future
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August 8, 2008 — Public comments on the draft EIR are due (following an extension from July 21 due to the size and complexity of the document), following which the city will consider the legal sufficiency of the EIR and adoption of the Reuse plan by the City Council. Of particular concern is the pressure being placed on the city by the Navy to approve a plan within the timelines mandated by the Navy. The city has missed its deadline to act and is seeking a one-year extension, while the Navy has only granted a three-month extension. EnviroJustice is concerned that the city will shortchange the environmental review process in seeking to move quickly.
References:
City of Concord Community Reuse Project
Concord Historical Society
Contra Costa Times Special Report on the Concord Naval Weapons Station (including Audio Slideshow: Remembering the past)