Site Used to Be an Exxon Gas Station
Point Loma residents are waving the red flag and trying to get everyone’s attention about the proposed development at Rosecrans and Talbot.
The planned development of 56 units at the corner lot is under way but residents are calling attention to a hazard on the lot that no one seems to be dealing with or appreciating. Especially the City of San Diego — and the developer.
The lot used to be an Exxon gas station and currently sits on contaminated land. (See the attached documented benzene groundwater survey of this project’s site.)
One resident emailed one representative of local government who responded with: “Thank you for your email. Please note Environmental remediation is under the purview of the County.”
The email statement from locals about the contaminated land contained the following:
It used to be a gas station and now the developer plans to put a 22′ deep basement/garage on this lot with zero setbacks under the guise of High-Density and Low-income housing. This location abuts very high severity fire zones (our Navy Submarine Base) at the tip of Point Loma where up to 22,000 people work. Point Loma is a peninsula. Is this project by-passing environmental health and safety review? Structural review? Engineering review? Grading review? Any review???
These concerns and questions were also raised:
Since the developer does not need a grading permit for a basement, does he have a plan reflecting how he is going to shore up the giant hole he will be digging as it is being dug? I would hate to see the historical Jennings House, that abuts this lot, or the elementary school that abuts the other side, fall into it since there are no setbacks which are normally required.
It ended with a plea:
We, the residents of Point Loma need your help to stop this project from moving forward as it is planned right now. This project needs all crucial codes enforced under the zoning that exists. 14 Units, not 56 with no coastal height restrictions, no setbacks, no tenant parking, located on a two-lane portion of Rosecrans (and Talbot) that is the only primary road egress and ingress for the Navy Sub Base and local residences. God forbid a fire or natural disaster occurs. Everyone will be trapped.
PLEASE HELP US!!!
They also announced a Town Hall Meeting on Feb. 21 at 5:00 pm at Point Loma Assembly (across the street from Cabrillo Elementary).
Developers are endangered. They cannot be subjected to any type of scrutiny and accountability. They need to make maximum profits in minimum time. Make Development Great Again!
There is a gold rush happening now (actually past 3 years)in the construction field. I am a union electrician and I make $98.60/hr. plus killer benefits, with OT last month my gross was $21,873.44. My brother-in-law easily makes double that amount each month slamming together ADU’s, easily will gross over $500k this year, just stupid money and he is 32.
The City also allowed Military housing to be built across the street from the City Water and Transportation Depts. field crews and equipment on top of an old City dump. The old Water Dept. shop buildings were sinking due to underground fires in the now underground dumping grounds. And in the old Water Dept., was a wall of several feet long and approx. 4′ high of gauges and meters monitoring the methane gas the old buried dumps were producing. So in my opinion, the City will allow anything that puts money and/or perks in their pockets.
It’s fairly easy to remediate soil under a former gas station but removing the contaminated soil as well as digging of a 22′ deep basement parking garage will require the closure of one traffic lane of southbound Rosecrans and the only traffic lane of westbound Talbot from Rosecrans, effectively paralyzing that intersection.
And once the city grants the permit to close those traffic lanes they will stay closed for the duration of the building project.
And the shadow cast on the Jennings House to the north by the new building will truly suck.