The Barron Park Association

Zero Waste Living

 Environment  No Responses »
Jun 122016
 
–By Vickie Martin, Barron Park Zero Waste Block Leader

 

We all want to be good stewards of our resources.  Zero Waste Palo Alto can help! Have questions about what goes where: black cart, green cart, blue cart? Would you like to borrow a “party pack” with reusable napkins, silverware, and plastic plates, cups, & bowls? (One party pack has enough for 24 place settings, but it is possible to borrow from multiple neighborhoods for larger events.) Want tips for reducing junk mail? Curious about how can you safely dispose of hazardous wastes or old prescriptions? For answers to these questions and many more, visit the Zero Waste Palo Alto website:http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/gov/depts/pwd/zerowaste/.
Or contact one of your neighborhood Zero Waste Block Leaders:
1. Annette Puskarich     annettepuskarich@yahoo.com
 (Zero Waste/Recycling Questions)
 
2. Karen Saxena     heypalermo@aol.com
(Party Pack Reservations)
 
3. Vickie Martin martin108vw@gmail.com
(Zero Waste/Recycling Questions & Party Pack Reservations)

CPI Risk Assessment Report Available – and Upcoming Public Meetings

 City Actions and Activities in Barron Park, CPI Toxic Fumes and Hazardous Chemicals  No Responses »
Sep 172014
 
CPI :  Risk Assessment Report & Possible Zoning Strategies 

October 6: The Palo Alto City Council will review and discuss the the AECOM consultant’s Risk Assessment for Storing and Handling Hazardous Materials at Communications & Power Industries, LLC (CPI), 607‐811 Hansen Way, and supplemental materials, including an analysis of possible zoning strategies to establish adequate separation between plating shop uses and residences.

Staff Report: • CPI Risk Assessment Report and Zoning Direction

Consultant Report and other Attachments:• Consultant Report and Attachment

From the Staff Report: Recommended Motion 

“Direct staff to prepare a draft ordinance for review by the Planning and Transportation  Commission (PTC) and consideration by the City Council in early 2015. The ordinance should  amend the list of uses in the zoning code to explicitly identify plating shops, prohibit plating  shop uses within a specific distance of residential uses and residential zoning districts, and incorporate an amortization schedule based on updated information on the value of affected  investments.”

October 2:  City staff and consultants will be available to answer questions about the Risk Assessment and the staff report at a pre‐meeting scheduled for October 2, 2014 from 5:00 to 7:00 p.m. at the Barron Park Elementary School, Multipurpose Room, 800 Barron Avenue.

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Risk Assessment for Storing and Handling Hazardous Materials at CPI

 City Actions and Activities in Barron Park, CPI Toxic Fumes and Hazardous Chemicals, Environment  No Responses »
Feb 172014
 

Community Meeting

Thursday, Feb. 20th at 6:00 PM
Creekside Inn; Top Floor Tower Room
Presentation of Risk Assessment
By the City’s Consultant
http://www.cityofpaloalto.org/cpi

Please attend this Important Meeting

Some background:

  • A series of spills and releases of toxic materials starting in 2006 alerted Chimalus residents that large quantities of cyanides, acids, and other extremely hazardous materials are used on a daily basis right behind our homes.
  • CPI maintains a plating shop on the second floor of Building 2. This is particularly dangerous in an earthquake environment.
  • CPI was allowed to vastly increase the amounts of hazardous materials on this site without any notice to the neighborhood or any public review.
  • The City of Palo Alto ordered a study of the toxics, possible amortization, and zoning updates that was to have been completed by December of 2012. Now, over a year later, the report will be presented.

What can WE do? What can the City do?

  • Hazardous Materials and Plating Shops should not be near families and children.  Safety requires Distance between toxics and people.
  • We, the residents, MUST DEMAND Zoning Changes – Amortize the CPI Plating Shop – Move it AWAY from our homes!
  • Fire Department oversight is NOT ENOUGH: Accidents and unexpected events occur.

Residents have followed this for 8 long years  – since the nitric acid fume release in February 2006.  Here is the timeline of events and actions.  Click for a clearer, enlarged view.

Water is back in Matadero Creek by the Park

 Environment, Groundwater Contamination  No Responses »
Aug 072012
 

As evidenced by this picture, taken August 7th, water is back in the upstream section of the Creek alongside Bol Park, but the surface is dry by the time the Creek passes under the Tippawingo bridge.

Matadero Creek near Bol Park, August 7, 2012

The flow of water in Matadero Creek normally falls off during the summer months as runoff from rains up in the hills vanishes and natural springs dry up. Yet, in recent years, as Matadero Creek winds its way through the Barron Park neighborhood, water flow has been visible even during the summer months.

This year the water level has been particularly low. On top of this, several residents reported a sudden, overnight drop in the water level at the end of June. So, the questions are:  in these dry months, why is there any flow at all in Matadero Creek:  and why was there a sudden drop in the water level?

The answer to the first question is that water is continually discharged into the Creek from five separate treatment systems in the Research Park. These pumping stations  have been operating for over a decade, as part of the program to clean up the underground contamination caused by years of  leaks into the subsurface from underground tanks that held chemical solvents. The tanks were removed long ago, but the contamination they caused remains.

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City Council Directed Study of CPI Hazards

 CPI Toxic Fumes and Hazardous Chemicals, Emergency Preparation, Environment  No Responses »
Jul 302012
 
Curtis Williams (Director of Planning) has released the Request for Proposals (RFP) the City prepared to secure the services of a consultant to implement the City Council motion of June 4. The motion had two parts: 1) conduct an independent evaluation of CPI Hazardous Materials, and 2) provide input on Zoning and Fire Code issues. The RFP was issued on July 13th
  
Summary of key features –  
…..schedule – work would start at the end of August, and be completed by next February. Adherence to the schedule requires the full cooperation of CPI ; their legal representative at the June 4th meeting promised this; we shall see if they follow through and agree with the terms required for full disclosure of their materials to the consultant within the confidentiality clauses of the contract.
…..work involved  – two tasks: one to assess the risks associated with the hazardous materials at CPI (to be completed within 90 days of start of work), and the second to advise the City on Zoning and Fire Code issues.
…..meetings with residents –  first task involves at least 2 meetings with residents.
…..independence from industry and a track record working with public groups  : The qualifications state: “….The City of Palo Alto is seeking an experienced hazardous materials consultant who can demonstrate his/her technical competence to complete the required analyses and his/her impartiality and independence from local industries (and industry in general) that use  such materials.” The proposal response is to ”  Include a list of clients and/or related projects completed during the past five  years….AND…List experience working with public agencies and in public communications, such as neighborhood or community meetings, and advising Planning Commissions,  City Councils, and or other local government policy-makers.”
Here is a reference for some background on the 2006 toxic fume release and risks to residents from the  extremely hazardous materials at CPI.