Letter: BCDC softens to developers

Editor,

The Bay Conservation and Development Commission was formed in 1965 to stop further filling in of the San Francisco Bay. BCDC has a crucial vote Oct. 6. It is voting to amend its regulations to reflect current findings on sea level rise.

However, Cargill, the behemoth from Minnesota, and its developer, DMB from Arizona, have spread almost half a million dollars in lobbying efforts to insert an exception to allow new Bay fill developments if these include assistance to cities for their levee expenses.

Since all cities will need new levees to accommodate sea level rise, this exception would open up the possibility of new development filling in all around the Bay.

For Cargill in particular, this change would open up its vast salt ponds in Redwood City as well as all along the East Bay for high density development. Currently its "Saltworks” proposal slams a new high-rise, high-density town the size of Foster City onto the Redwood City salt ponds. East Bay salt ponds will be next.

If the BCDC board goes for this, it will be an Obama-style compromise — the loser being San Francisco Bay itself and all of us. For what? Bottom-line thinking about how cities could allow filling the Bay to developers in exchange for levee improvements.

It is a very slippery slope to allow filling in the Bay again.

We count on BCDC to take a "no compromises” stance on filling in the San Francisco Bay and keep the long term needs of Bay health as their guiding vision.

Gita Dev

Woodside