Tuesday, February 7, 2012

Facebook Relocation Will Significantly Impact Air Quality and GHG Emissions


You’ve probably heard about Facebook’s recent IPO, but you may not have heard about their plan to relocate to the former Sun Microsystems campus in Menlo Park, at the foot of the Dumbarton Bridge. Since this is an already-developed site, CGF did not oppose the plan, but due to the projected increases in traffic and potential impacts on the Don Edwards Wildlife Refuge (which borders the new Facebook campus on two sides), we did submit comments on the EIR for the project. Here is an excerpt from our comments:

By far the greatest impact the Project will have on the surrounding area is the increased traffic and associated effects on air quality and greenhouse gas emissions. In spite of Facebook’s mitigation measures with regard to supporting bicycling amenities and other alternative modes of transport, which the Committee recognizes and appreciates, these impacts will significantly impact the environment and the surrounding community, especially taken in conjunction with increased traffic resulting from other projects already approved or planned in the vicinity. It is vitally important for the City of Menlo Park, as well as other local and regional agencies, to recognize the cumulative effect of more and more development occurring in this area, which is isolated from public transit options that could reduce car traffic if the projects were more centrally located. The Committee strongly urges the City to focus future development in underutilized and already-developed areas nearer to public transit corridors.

We will be keeping an eye on future development proposals in this area, including Cargill’s proposal to build a city of 30,000 people on the Redwood City salt ponds.

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