The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and the Navy jointly
issued their final Environmental Assessment on November 18, 2013 for the VA’s
proposed Alameda Point outpatient clinic, offices, and columbarium
cemetery. The report found that
the 112-acre project on the northern part of the former Naval Air Station
airfield would cause no significant impacts to the environment. The environmental review culminates
years of debate over the project’s potential impacts on the endangered California
Least Terns that nest on the nearby runway, and paves the way for the Navy to
transfer 624 acres of the airfield to the VA in 2014.
Background
The VA began looking at the Alameda site in 2004 for
expansion and consolidation of services from undersized and scattered
facilities, which are currently leased by the VA until 2018. More than 9,000 veterans are enrolled
in clinical services in the Oakland/Alameda area, with patient visits up 50% in
the last five years. Approximately
543 veterans will be seen at the Alameda Point outpatient clinic each weekday
and 70 on Saturday and Sunday. The
VA anticipates employing a staff of 250, including 26 physicians and 34 nurses.
The VA will also establish a new national cemetery at
Alameda Point. The two closest
national cemeteries in San Bruno and San Francisco’s Presidio no longer accept
new interments. Currently the
closest burial options for Bay Area veterans are San Joaquin Valley National
Cemetery in Santa Nella and Sacramento Valley National Cemetery in Dixon. The new columbarium cemetery will
initially be 20 acres, with the remaining 60 acres built out in increments
until completion in 2116.
Approximately six services will take place Monday through Friday.
Traffic and Transportation
The VA and Navy evaluated seven intersections in Oakland and
four in Alameda, as well as the Posey/Webster Tube and segments of I-880, for
traffic impacts. The report noted
that two Oakland intersections and the Atlantic/Webster intersection would be
performing at unacceptable levels regardless of the VA project because of other
Alameda Point development. The
assessment states, “The minimal additional traffic resulting from the Proposed
Action would not, cumulatively, make the already unacceptable intersections
significantly worse.”
The VA plans to operate a 24-person shuttle bus service
between Alameda Point and the 12th Street Oakland City Center BART
station every half hour, seven days a week. Extending AC Transit bus line 31 to the clinic would provide
additional service if the transit agency decides to add service.
Wetland Mitigation
Several acres of seasonal wetland will be impacted by the
VA’s project and will need mitigation, either through on-site replacement or
paying into a wetland mitigation bank.
The VA has not reached agreement yet with the Regional Water Quality
Control Board and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) on a mitigation
plan. However, the VA has stated that
their preference is to “enhance and expand existing conditions” at the Runway
Wetland on the southeast corner of the runway area. Plans will be finalized before issuance of any permits for
the VA’s project.
Nature Reserve, Least Tern Management
Most of the VA’s runway area will remain undeveloped. Initial plans allowed for periodic
emergency preparedness training on the undeveloped area. The new plans allow training exercises
only in the VA’s developed area about every 14 months between mid-August and
April 1 when the terns are gone.
The influence of years of lobbying by the Golden Gate
Audubon Society and open space advocates for wildlife stewardship in the
undeveloped area is reflected in the VA’s final report. The VA states, “The remainder of the
512 acres of the Transfer Parcel will remain as a preserve for the California
Least Tern or open space, with no plan for development, and will be available to
wildlife for future generations.”
The VA will construct a 2,500-square-foot Conservation Management Office
(CMO) near the entrance to their property. The CMO will provide office space for the U.S. Fish &
Wildlife Service, meeting space for educational programs and volunteers, and
public restrooms.
Public Access
As part of their project, the VA will construct a
pedestrian/bicycle/vehicle roadway along the northern border of their property
all the way to a public viewpoint on the western shoreline. The roadway will include power, water,
and sewer utilities that will be available for the city or a region-serving public
park operator on the Northwest Territories to make connections to. The city will be granted a shoreline
easement for constructing the Bay Trail.
The VA will also be constructing a new north entryway to Alameda Point
and laying oversized infrastructure, which the city can use, along Redline
Avenue out to their site.
Raising Elevation
The VA plans to bring in over 400,000 cubic yards of clean
fill material to raise the elevation of their site by as much as three feet,
bringing the highest elevation to 13.5 feet above Mean Sea Level. Plans are based on a 2009 Bay
Conservation and Development Commission sea level rise prediction of 16 inches
by 2050 and 55 inches by 2099. The
18-month construction project is expected to begin by 2016 and be completed in
2017.
The VA is made up of three administrations: Veterans Health Administration,
Veterans Benefits Administration, and National Cemetery Administration. All three will have offices at the
Alameda Point VA.
