What you need to know about the project:
"May the character of your elected officials who certified the Final Environmental Impact Report reflect the outcome
of their vote in using their power entrusted by the people. May this give you the insight to remove the mask tailored by their
hands and glean into their spotted soul". Deanna
The authors of the Final Environmental Impact Report point out all feasible mitigation measures have been imposed
to lessen project impacts to a less than significant level where feasible and furthermore, all alternatives of the project
are either infeasible, because they have greater environmental impacts, or otherwise socially or economically infeasible.
The following facts are correct pertaining to the North Lake project:
1. The only goal this project has is to erase an entire community to limit blight and attack the heart of progress
in San Bernardino. The project as approved by the City and Muni is flawed. In it's present form it is nothing more than a
suburban style lake accompanied with a plan to plunk down three commercial pads and 72 isolated homes in the middle of distressed
neighborhoods. The Environmental impact report does not report why the alternatives was laid aside. It only tells us all the
properties need to go for the sake of development and reducing blight.
2. There is a fatal fiscal flaw which puts the City of San Bernardino in a very vulnerable situation. This is
because the Municipal Water District alone will be acquiring the 82.4 acre site.
3. The City of San Bernardino approved a plan for the Municipal Water District, a public entity, to use 44 1/2 acre
site for a reservoir and the 25 acres of excess land on the premise that it is needed for construction activities.
4. The City of San Bernardino authorized the Municipal Valley Water District to hold the title to 25 acres of land.
The 25 acres owned by the Municipal Valley Water District is held for redevelopment purposes until some date in time when
the City of San Bernardino comes up with a huge source of funding to compensate the Municipal Valley Water District.
5. The Final Environmental Impact Report merely states, quote, "certain remnant lands may be transferred to the Redevelopment
for reuse as redevelopment". The Environmental Injustice is in fact that there is no guarantee that there will be any redevelopment
in those 25 acres. Further, the financial analysis that was completed for the joint powers authority clearly states, quote,
"cleared residential land would need to be offered to a developer at or below market value with backbone infra-structure and
utilities". The project would require substantial public tax increase in order to achieve desired development because the
cost of delivering the developable land to private developers will substantially exceed the potential resale market and the
value of the land.
6. The redevelopment activities in San Bernardino are financed by the Community Development Commission based on the
project's ability to generate an equal or greater amount of future revenues. The Final Environmental Impact Report failed
to point out the proposed redevelopment project is not capable of generating adequate revenues in future years that
would justify a massive investment of public redevelopment funds.
7. The Final Environmental Impact Report failed to address the 72 upscale single family homes and 12 acres of
commercial development space proposed in the North Lake project would be grossly incapable of generating future revenues from
either tax increment or sales tax to repay the massive public subsidy of redevelopment funds in a reasonable period of time
to sustain on going redevelopment elsewhere in the City.
8. The Final Environmental Impact Report desire is to limit blight; however, the issue of Blight exceeds to other neighborhoods
who becomes the recipient of affordable multi-family units since many neighborhoods are adamantly opposed to construction
of new low-income apartments.
9. The Final Enviromental Impact Report failed to address the replacement cost of affordable units since the 72 upscale
homes in the North Lake project will not be affordable units. Municipal Valley Water District will purchase all the properties,
but who will fund the 437 affordable units that is required by law to replace?
10. The City of San Bernardino repeatedly oppose the construction of low income housing projects.
