City of San Rafael Planning Commission has postponed the Merits of the Airport Sports Complex Project public hearing.
New date is May 29 at 7 pm at the SR City Council Chambers. This is where anyone can and should bring up objections to this plan.
Please attend and show your support for the Gallinas Watershed.
The hearing was rescheduled due to new safety regulations that might prohibit the soccer fields near the airport. The Division of Aeronautics for the California Department of Transportation has sent a letter to San Rafael advising them that recreational usages are prohibited near airport runways, according to the recently revised (2011) guidelines in the Airport Safety Handbook.
The safety issues of locating playing children so near an active runway where planes still fly using leaded gas have been addressed before by concerned parents and residents and airplane pilots. It is very encouraging to see a state official make this point to San Rafael officials, who have been inclined to shrug off this issue, along with the threats posed to endangered species, significant increases to ambient noise, and the poor planning of allowing additional infrastructure on property so near the bay with sea levels rising. Such a low-lying area that is in the direct path of sea level rise would require the community’s resources to continue repairing and rebuilding and maintaining the county owned levees that protect one third of this private development far into the future, while other local infrastructure needs lose out.
Write a letter!
Click here to contact City of San Rafael
Letters written will be given to the PC members if they are in by May 24.
Letters should be sent to: Kraig Tambornini: [email protected].
Personal letters are the best. They don’t have to be long or complex but we will need many letters to counteract this proposal. Bullet points you can use:
This is the wrong site for this sort of facility; alternatives should be explored
Facility should be closer to where kids live and play
LIghts, noise and traffic will impact endangered marsh species and other wildlfe
Area is behind levees and in the path of sea level rise and is not where we should be building more structures
Safety of kids is being compromised. The facility is in a prohibited area according to the 2011 Airport Handbook.
Liability for city should an accident happen.
Historic bayland properties should be returned to tidal marsh as recommended by BCDC, SFEI and other bay conservation agencies.
Vehicle traffic will generate greenhouse gasses
Obstruction lighting will impact marsh and dark skies and neighborhoods
Parking lot, cars, and plastic turf will put more pollution into the marsh as the area needs to be pumped out or it floods at every rainstorm
Building and cars impact air space making it more dangerous for pilots using the airport
Incompatible usage to have sports and kids this close to an active airport; not safe.
What is the Airport Sports Complex?
The 2.5 acre San Rafael aiport project is a proposed two-story, Walmart-size indoor and outdoor sports complex.
This would bring noise and light pollution, toxic runoff, increased traffic and excessive disturbance to the marsh and creek next door. This project belongs nearer to transportation and far from fragile wetlands.
What can you do?
Tell San Rafael leaders that this facility should be located elsewhere!
Note: please add your own points to the letter. This makes a MUCH bigger impact on officials (letter sponsored by Center for Biological Diversity).
