Kingston project stirs controversy
Terry Tye, Bishop resident and apparently apt researcher, had an armful of documents to support his claim that the Initial Draft Mitigated Negative Declaration for the proposed Kingston Housing Tract is flawed and must be tossed. The Kingston project would place 15 homes on the current site of Bishop Nursery on Home Street. Bishop City Council heard public comment on the proposal Monday before a crowd of 50.
The study is the inital phase of the proposed project and there are many steps before it is approved or not, said Bishop Public Works DirectorGary Schley.
The project is in its infancy but has stirred a hornet’s nest in a town unable to grow; landlocked by Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and publicly owned lands and yet in desperate need for affordable housing. But the development may create traffic and safety problems, disrupt wildlife, impact its neighbors’ viewshed and, according to its opponents, is planned in haste with the best interests of the developer, not potential homeowners, in mind.
Speakers were allowed only three minutes to comment, but Tye’s wife and neighbors gave their time to him and he used every second to argue his case. Tye had three major points: biological elements, variances, and hazardous materials.
Tye had a letter from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife (CDFW) dated July 6 stating that the City did not give public notice of the comment period with sufficient time for governmental agencies to respond. The letter came one week before the study’s author, the City, published the project’s Negative Declaration.
Tye noted the potential loss of wildlife habitat due to the project. Citing the Declaration, the project would require removing 31 of 60 tress at the site.
“This would have a devastating effect on Rome Drive,” Tye said. Rome Drive is the street nearest to the nursery to the south. The trees provide habitat for birds and mammals and supply shade in the summer and wind break in the winter.
The developer, Bob Kingston, owner of the nursery for more than 15 years, has asked for eight variances for the project. These include street widths, dead end turn around widths, private streets, street curve radius, lot size and frontage for two units, front yard setback for two other units, planter strips between the curb and sidewalk, and sidewalks at the edge of the roadway.
According to the Declaration, 11 of the 15 homes would be on a lot less than 7,500 square feet, the minimum allowable lot size by the city. Tye said there is one reason to “cram as many homes in as possible,” and that’s so the developer can make as much profit as possible. There will be six lots without sidewalks, six without street side parking on an already busy street, which becomes a major thoroughfare when school is in session. Home Street accesses three public schools, one private school and three preschools.
Larry Clarke, who lives on Home just south of the nursery, said the road is already heavily used and neither the children nor the residents need the extra traffic. Bishop resident Mary Baker said the project could bring an additional 35 cars to the already busy street.
Tye said Council should reject the Negative Declaration based on evidence of hazardous materials at the site. The LADWP had conducted site studies in 2009 of the land it recently sold at auction to Kingston. Tye said both tests concluded that the historic use of the land has been that of a nursery where hazardous materials such as fertilizers were stored without secondary containment, allowing those materials to leech into the soil. The LADWP studies support evidence that materials such as beryllium, chromium, cobalt, nickle and zinc are in the soil.
Bill Taylor, former Deputy Director of Community Development for Mammoth Lakes, had been asked by the City to help consult on environmental issues associated with the project. He said he had not seen the LADWP papers.
Some supported the project. Julie Faber said one of the city’s biggest needs is for modern, affordable housing. Many of the homes in Bishop are decades old and 62 percent are rentals, with an average rental vacancy of zero percent.
Real estate agents Jake Rasmuson and Karen McCoy both expressed the need for housing in Bishop. Rasmuson said there has not been a housing development in the city in 15 years, since the project behind the bowling alley was built.
McCoy offered a slightly different take. She did agree that Bishop had a need for housing, but that better planning is needed. She said that while she is not against any kind of development, this proposal would make the residents live very close together, in high density in an area zoned for medium density.
Liz Merrill, current Bishop Nursery manager, said that Kingston has been unduly vilified. She said she could not speak for Kingston or his reasons to want to develop. If the project gets shot down, the nursery will remain, she said.
According to Merrill there are plans to relocate the nursery should the project get the green light. Schley explained that if the project is rejected by any one of the hurdles, Kingston can always propose a new plan.
Kingston was unavailable for comment.
City Administrator Jim Tatum explained that all comments would be collected, reviewed, and addressed in the draft initial Negative Declaration, which could take six to eight weeks to complete. If the Council approves the Negative Declaration, the study will move to the Planning Commission for conditional use permits for the variances. The public will have opportunity to comment before the Commission at that time as well.
“This is all in the draft stage,” Schley explained. “There’s still a long way to go.”
The Declaration can be viewed at the City’s website, cityofbishop.com in the Planning Department environmental documents section. Public comments will be accepted until Aug. 15.
