[GPSCC-chat] Fwd: Stop historic BAREC Building Demo on 4-19-10 by State

[Wes Rolley]

Since the GPSCC formally voted to support BAREC,. I think we should all 
pay attention to the follow-up from Kathryn, who had appeared at the 
meeting when we voted that support.

Please follow up on this.  The state is so anxious to raise money that 
they will ignore any and all restrictions on a property just to get some 
more $$ in the CA Coffers.

-------- Original Message --------
Subject: 	Stop historic BAREC Building Demo on 4-19-10 by State
Date: 	Sat, 17 Apr 2010 13:03:12 -0700
From: 	Kathryn Mathewson <kmathewson at secretgardens.com>
To: 	<kirk at aSliceOfNY.com>



Dear BAREC Friends:
On Thursday I received a "Work Notice" form from the State Department of 
Toxic Substances Control (DTSC).  It stated that the week of April 19th 
(next week) they will be demolishing the BAREC historical buildings and 
installing a 6 foot dust fence around the entire site.  From March 6 
through May 24 they will be removing 5000 to 6000 of contaminated soil 
from the site.  From May 25th through June 8th they will backfill the site.
Because I did not see anyone responding to this Work Notice, yesterday I 
sent the DTSC an email which is below. One thing for sure which would 
stop this building demolition is the fact that HUD will NOT GIVE MONEY 
for any housing which is built on anything that looks like a 
historically important building site.  This was stated in the EIR and 
CEQA reports by a historical attorney and by myself.  The County 
Historical Commission declared that BAREC was a historical site and 
should be placed on the National Historical Registry but the state and 
city refused to do so.
The BAREC EIR/CEQA plans included senior housing built with HUD funds 
through the Redevelopment Agency.  IF THE STATE DEMOLISHES THE BAREC 
HISTORICAL BUILDINGS, THEN HUD FUNDS WILL NO LONGER BE AVAILABLE FOR THE 
SITE, BAREC SENIOR HOUSING WILL NOT BE POSSIBLE, AND THE EIR WILL HAVE 
TO BE REWRITTEN WITH DIFFERENT PLANS.
Note:  The Work Notice states that removal of the buildings will include 
abatement of lead, asbestos, and removal of wastes.  They can do this 
without demolishing both historical buildings.  In the EIR record there 
is a letter from the last BAREC Director which reports that the State 
took excellent care of these 1920s buildings until the site was closed 
in 2002.  We have pictures of them at this time in excellent condition.  
It is clear that the developers and City of Santa Clara have made 
efforts to make these buildings look like derelict buildings since its 
closing.
Please let your legislators, historical friends, community activists, 
and historical and environmental organizations know about these issues 
and conflicts as soon as possible and let them know what you think about 
this issue.
Following is the State contact information for the demolition and soil 
clean-up:
Karen Toth, DTSC Unit Chief: 510-540-3834; KToth at dtsc.ca.gov 
<mailto:KToth at dtsc.ca.gov>
Richard A. Perry, DTSC Public Participation Specialist: 510-540-3910; 
RPerry at dtsc.ca.gov <mailto:RPerry at dtsc.ca.gov>
David Perry, Dept. of General Services General Manager: 916-375-4907; 
David.Perry at dgs.ca.gov <mailto:David.Perry at dgs.ca.gov>
On a side note:  There has been a neighborhood lawsuit against the 
State, Regents, the City of Santa Clara, and the pesticide companies 
which did tests on the property.  Since I am not part of this lawsuit, I 
do not know what is happening with it.  However, I do know that the 
attorneys went onto the site and were able to test the site's soil.  In 
so doing they found more pesticides than the state had claimed in their 
reports.
I am sending this email only to people who have been the most actively 
interested in BAREC.
Kathryn Mathewson
408-292-9595
kmathewson at secretgardens.com
------------------------------------------------------------------------
*From:* Kathryn Mathewson [mailto:kmathewson at secretgardens.com]
*Sent:* Friday, April 16, 2010 3:59 PM
*To:* 'KToth at dtsc.ca.gov'; 'RPerry at dtsc.ca.gov'; 'David.Perry at dtsc.ca.gov'
*Cc:* Mark Wolfe ; 'Susan Brandt Hawley'; Sharon McCray 
(Samccray at aol.com); 'kirk at aSliceOfNY.com'; Yolanda Reynolds 
(yolandar at att.net); Bob Walker
*Subject:* Stop BAREC Building Demo on 4-19-10 if site is to get HUD funds
*Importance:* High
RE:  Halting the Department of General Services BAREC Building 
Demolition on April 19, 2010
To:  Karen Toth, Richard A. Perry, and David Perry:
I just received your letter stating that you plan to demolish the 
historical BAREC buildings on April 19, 2010. This is to inform you 
that if any developer plans to obtain HUD funds to build future 
buildings on the BAREC (Bay Area Research Extension Center) property on 
Winchester Blvd. in the future, you cannot demolish the historical 
buildings on this property.  This information has been placed in the 
BAREC CEQA in several places.
The current housing plans for BAREC have been approved for senior 
housing which will require HUD funds through the Santa Clara City 
Redevelopment Agency.  This will no longer be possible because the HUD 
funds will no longer be available.
Please contact the attorneys who made CEQA comments in the BAREC CEQA 
regarding this (their emails above):
Susan Brandt Hawley

707-938-3908

Mark Wolk

415-369-9400

Kathryn Mathewson
408-292-9595
kmathewson at secretgardens.com
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