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<br />b. Open public hearings; <br /> Mayor Gasparini opened the public hearings at 8:44 p.m. <br />c. Hear public comments; <br /> Mayor Gasparini advised that speakers would be allowed five minutes each. <br /> Laverne Atherly, 515 Cringle Drive, Redwood City, President of the Redwood Shores <br /> Homeowners Association, Appellant, used an overhead of the Redwood Shores <br /> neighborhood to point out the former dump site now known as Westport and the <br /> "mound area or capped area." Mr. Atherly stated that the Association was not opposed <br /> to development of the site, but wanted a development that would enhance Redwood <br /> Shores, and he believed there were solutions to the existing problems. Mr. Atherly <br /> advised that the Association was distressed at the lack of adequate testing of the capped <br /> area, and reminded the Council that there were never any restrictions on what kind of <br /> materials could be deposited in the former dump site. Mr. Atherly stated he had been <br /> surprised to hear County officials state at the Study Session last week that the cap had <br /> been placed on part of the area to keep water and rodents out, not to keep gases in. Mr. <br /> Atherly disagreed with that statement, and advised that the site had been an unrestricted <br /> industrial dump for the chemical and electro plating industries for all of San Mateo <br /> County for about 25 years. The site was used by a battery manufacturer in Redwood <br /> City; and heavy metal sludges, toxics and carcinogens, and large amounts of chromium <br /> from Frank's Tannery were also deposited. Mr. Atherly stated that the EPA study done <br /> in 1979 did not contemplate development of the site for industrial nor commercial uses. <br /> Mr. Atherly said that the health risk assessment for the development only took prior <br /> studies and evaluated them as if there were no changes concluding that currently there <br /> was no health risk to the people living and working in the Redwood Shores area. Mr. <br /> Atherly added that building over a former gas station site would require more permits <br /> than the Westport project. Mr. Atherly stated that Mr. Dean Peterson, Health Officer <br /> from the County Health Services, provided test sites results which Mr. Atherly deemed <br /> inadequate because most of the heavy dumping was actually done outside the capped <br /> area. Mr. Atherly asked the Council to review the case that Mt. View just lost because <br /> their golf course was built on a dump site and the suit cost the City ofMt. View $4.1 <br /> million. <br /> Carol Ford, 360 Bowsprit Drive, Redwood City, Chairperson of the Westport <br /> Committee of the Redwood Shores Homeowners Association, Appellant, spoke mainly <br /> about the traffic impacts that would result from the Westport Development in the <br /> Westport area, Redwood Shores neighborhood, and on the peninsula as a whole. Mrs. <br /> Ford stated that "we have not just a major traffic impact, we have a critical traffic <br /> crisis." Mrs. Ford advised there was inadequate notification about the whole Westport <br /> issue as the traffic will impact all of Redwood Shores. Mrs. Ford used the overhead to <br /> show traffic patterns, quoted the 1987 Crane study and its predictions, described how <br /> alternate routes would be blocked and traffic would back up into residential areas, and <br /> Regular Meeting Minutes <br /> January 16, 1995 <br /> Page 9 <br />