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Honorable Menlo Park City Council Members:
I am writing to thank you for your draft resolution of October 20 voicing your concerns regarding Cargill Corporation's proposed construction of a major housing complex on the current site of the salt evaporation ponds in Redwood City. While the response of several Redwood City Council members to your draft resolution was less than civil, rest assured that many residents of Redwood City (myself included) were very glad that you took that step.
It seems to many of us that over the past several years the Redwood City Council and the Redwood City Planning Commission have been very receptive the Cargill's development proposal, but have largely ignored the clearly-voiced input from residents stating that they would prefer to see the salt ponds converted to open space, parks, and playing fields rather then being developed for housing. Most other Bay Area city governments have long since come to understand the importance of preserving the last remaining Bay wetlands and protecting the health of the Bay, but during the past several years the Redwood City Council and the Redwood City Planning Commission have seemed to be out of touch with this new reality. I think we all agree that more housing space is needed on the Peninsula, but there is plenty of acreage available along the Caltrain / El Camino corridor for redevelopment and infill housing. The need for more housing is no justification for paving over the last undeveloped Bay wetlands.
Thanks again for speaking out on this matter. It was a great relief to hear that our neighbors will join us in opposing Cargill's proposed development.
Best Regards,
P.S. In case you are interested, here are a couple of my letters on these topic that were recently published in the local press and are available on the RWC Saltworks website
http://www.redwoodcity.org/cds/planning/saltworks/news.asp
1.) Letter to the Editor: Why is Menlo Park’s draft resolution causing a
stir?
The Daily Journal, 11/04/09
2.) Letter to the Editor: Amnesia in Redwood City The Daily News, 10/21/09 Received on Tue Nov 10 2009 - 20:12:16 PST
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