Rail yard housing

Housing can be built on Brisbane’s former rail yards. Whenever redevelopment of a contaminated property is proposed, stakeholders should raise questions about the environmental issues surrounding it and project proponents must demonstrate what steps will be taken to ensure the safety of the public and the environment, both during and post-redevelopment.

Land use decisions are local; however, remediation of brownfields is governed by state agencies with strict requirements. Once environmental approvals are granted, stakeholders have a clear message that site reuse is safe. Over the past two decades, there have been thousands of successful brownfield developments nationally that demonstrate this approach, including San Francisco’s former rail yard, Mission Bay, with 6,500 housing units and the UCSF Medical Center. The Brisbane Baylands proposal calls for housing on the rail yard portion of the site. Brisbane’s Sierra Point is an example of commercial development on a former landfill. Similarly, commercial use is proposed on the landfill portion of the Baylands site.

Regulatory agencies and brownfield developers are skilled at land recycling, ensuring that public health and the environment are not just protected, but enhanced. Brownfield redevelopment, including housing, has been done successfully across the country, and it can be done at the Brisbane Baylands.

Mary Hashem, Oakland