Impacts of 'New Neighborhood' Questioned

Newark residents Tuesday night questioned various factors of a proposed transit-oriented development being considered by the city.

More than a dozen individuals crowded council chambers to participate in a community discussion regarding the Dumbarton Transit-Oriented Development, or Dumbarton TOD, a proposed project that would transform approximately 200 acres of land into a new neighborhood in west Newark.

The meeting was originally set to be a planning commission workshop but was held as a community discussion because proper official notice wasn't given, as required by California law. (A public notice was not displayed at City Hall three days before the planned workshop.)

According to the project’s Specific Plan, the development would include 2,500 residential units on approximately 150 acres.

About 14 acres would be designated for retail and commercial businesses, 16 acres would be allocated for parks and open space, 22.95 acres would be for miscellaneous use and about 6 acres would be dedicated for a future transit station.

The proposed development earmarks part of the land for a train station. That train station, however, would be a built by a different entity than the developers overseeing the Dumbarton TOD.

TruMark Companies and Integral Communities are the developers of the parcel. Both companies have the proposed community listed on their websites.

Several residents raised concerns about the environmental impacts of the suggested development, which is located west of Willow Street between Thornton Avenue and Enterprise Drive, with Hickory Street to the west.

The City of Newark received 16 letters of responses to its Draft Environmental Impact Report released in May.

Eleven were from public agencies and five were written by private residents about concerns ranging from increased traffic conditions to groundwater pollution.

The land, which was once home to industrial companies, was designated for potential residential use in 1999.

Community Development Director Terrence Grindall said the city does not regulate clean-up of lands. That is the responsibility of the land owners, he said.

The Dumbarton TOD Final Environmental Impact Report sys that the health hazards are significant "but mitigable with implementation of specific measures identified in the Draft EIR."

Questions were asked about the increase of population and how it would impact schools, with the assumption that the neighborhood would bring an additional 8,150 residents with about 3.26 persons per unit, at least 1,000 of them school-aged.

Grindall said that three surrounding elementary schools — , and  — would accommodate the elementary school-aged students. He also noted that those schools, and the school district overall, has seen a decline in enrollment in recent years.

In 2010-11, Lincoln, Schilling and Snow had 380, 541 and 400 students enrolled, respectively, according to the state Department of Education. The district as a whole had 6,654 students enrolled in 2010-11, compared with 7,241 students in 2005-06.

Jan Crocker, who sits on the Newark Unified Board of Education, noted that the school district would benefit from an increased population, since a majority of school funds are dependent on the Average Daily Attendance of the student population.

Public hearings that were scheduled for a July 29 planning commission meeting and an Aug. 3 city council meeting have been canceled. Grindall said those public hearings will be rescheduled.

While the date is unknown, he said the hearings could be held as soon as late August or early September.

Grindall said questions and comments are still welcomed regarding the project. He emphasized that the specific plan, which was drafted by Pleasanton-based Dahlin Group, Architecture-Planning, acts as a guideline for what the land can be used for.

More detailed plans would come from the developers. Dahlin has designed several similar developments, including the 225-acre Rivermark neighborhood in nearby Santa Clara, according to the company's website.

To read the Dumbarton TOD Specific Plan, click here to download the PDF. Click here to download the Dumbarton TOD’s Final Environmental Impact Report.

For questions or concerns, contact Grindall at (510) 578-4208 or terrence.grindall@newark.org