Public Trust Group Press Release Part II

[Myrna Hayes <myrnahay@pacbell.net>]

The Public Trust Group
P.O. Box 11520
Oakland, California 94611

For Immediate Release

Friday, May 8, 1998

Contact: Eve Bach,President
415 495 1786
510 524 1800

Myrna Hayes
707 557 9816

Lt. Governor Gray Davis Meets with Navy's
Deputy Assistant Secretary Cassidy

Davis Defends California's Public Trust Lands at Mare Island
Public Wants More Involvement in Process

Mare Island, Vallejo, CA - Opportunities for public access to Mare
Island is the cause of conflict between the Navy and California's State
Land Commission that has dragged on for three years. Commission Chair
(and gubernatorial hopeful), Lieutenant Governor Gray Davis met with
Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Navy William Cassidy on Thursday, May
7, 1998 in an effort to negotiate a settlement of Mare Island title
problems that could seriously set back redevelopment of the former Naval
Shipyard if the issues cannot be resolved without litigation.

The dispute between the Navy and State Lands Commission concerns the
edge of Mare Island that fronts on the Napa River. It is land created
when the marshes and shallow waters were filled in to build the naval
base. The California Constitution requires this land to be available
over the long term to meet water-related public needs, including
port-related commerce, navigation, fisheries, ecological habitat
protection, and water oriented recreation. These requirements are based
on a legal doctrine known as the Public Trust. The State Lands
Commission is the trustee of these lands.

According to Public Trust Doctrine, these filled areas will
automatically belong to the people of California when the Federal
Government disposes of them. Davis has explained that State Lands would
lease this land at no cost to the City of Vallejo, which would in turn
sublease to private businesses. The City would retain all income.

Navy officials want to reduce the amount of acreage covered by the
Public Trust, increasing the acreage that the City of Vallejo would have
to buy from them. The Navy's position is based on their interpretation
of 19th century surveys, laws, and property transactions; key documents
were destroyed in the 1906 earthquake.

The State Lands Commission has proposed adjustments to Public Trust
boundaries to ensure that Public Trust requirements do not conflict with
Vallejo's Reuse Plan for Mare Island. They have formally offered to
release some acreage near the river from the Public Trust in exchange
for hilltop land designated by the Plan as a park (a Public Trust use).
For Public Trust lands that are not needed in the short term for Public
Trust purposes, the State Lands Commission permits long term leases
(typically the term of a mortgage loan plus five years) for other types
of businesses.

Members of the public have requested an opportunity to attend the
negotiations as observers. So far, only representatives of certain
interest groups, such as the local Chamber of Commerce and large real
estate development companies, have been allowed to sit in on meetings
involving the City of Vallejo and State Lands Commission.

Sylvia McLaughlin, President Emeritus of the Public Trust Group stated
her concern. "We believe the State Lands Commission has been extremely
reasonable. The Navy needs to negotiate an agreement that respects the
rights of the people of California and does not force the citizens of
Vallejo to buy land they already own because of the public trust. Public
oversight of the process should be a public right."

The Public Trust Group is an organization dedicated to promoting an
ecologically and socially healthy San Francisco Bay region through the
application of Public Trust Doctrine. McLaughlin is best known for her
success some forty years ago in halting the filling of San Francisco
Bay. State law that her group advocated and California Supreme Court
decisions based on Public Trust Doctrine continue to protect the waters
of San Francisco Bay.

Myrna Hayes, Community Co-Chair of the Mare Island Restoration Advisory
Board, has also expressed strong reservations about closed door
negotiations. "I understand that the Navy is putting a lot of pressure
on the City, saying they won't pay agreed-upon amounts for police, fire,
and other services if they don't get their way." Hayes warns that
failure to maintain Public Trust boundaries could undermine the job
creation goals set out in the Reuse Plan. "Vallejo officials have
already announced their intention to change the Reuse
Plan, to convert light industrial areas to luxury housing which is not
allowed on Public Trust lands. Without Public Trust protection,
permanent jobs in industrial businesses would be at serious risk.

"Substituting luxury housing for job-producing industries will not
benefit the citizens of Vallejo. It is well known that housing does not
generate enough taxes even to pay for its Police and Fire services."

Another major issue created by the Navy's position is public access. The
State Lands Commission's proposal includes a 150 foot wide band along
the river, making possible a continuous landscaped pedestrian and
bicycle pathway (even though it is far smaller than the 500 foot wide
band in San Diego). It appears unlikely that the counter-proposal for a
much narrower band could provide a continuous pathway, especially if
housing preempts the riverfront.

Hayes summed up her concerns about closed door negotiations. "After the
i's have been dotted and the t's have been crossed, the public will have
a purely formal opportunity to comment before the State Lands
Commission. We are not aware of a single instance where comments
introduced at the 11th hour have altered negotiated agreements. This is
not open government. The people of Vallejo and the rest of California
need to know what is happening while there is still time for them to
influence the outcome."

More than 30 environmental organizations in the San Francisco Bay Area
have also indicated their support for open negotiation of Public Trust
issues through their endorsement of the Environmental Principles for
Military Base Closures. (See attachment)

The following organizations have endorsed the Environmental Principles
for Military Base Closures:

African American Development Association
Architects, Designers, and Planners for Social Responsibility
Asian Pacific Environmental Network
Arc Ecology
Baylands Conservation Committee
California Network for a New Economy
Career Pro
Citizens for a Better Environment
Center for Economic Conversion
Citizens Committee to Complete the Refuge
Clean Water Action
Conservation Science Institute
East Palo Alto Historical and Agricultural Society
Ecology Center
Global Vision 20/20
Golden Gate Audubon Society
Greenpeace
International Brotherhood of Boilermakers Local 6
Mount Diablo Audubon Society
National Economic Development and Law Center
Natural Resources Defense Council
Northern California Recycling Association
Pacific Studies Center
Rose Foundation for Communities and the Environment
San Francisco Baykeeper
Shipyard and Marine Shop Laborers Union Local 886
Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition
Sierra Club - Northern California/Nevada RCC
Sierra Club - San Francisco Bay Chapter
Sustainable Systems
Urban Ecology
Urban Habitat Program