Deal reached in suit over shipyard homes
east, is a historically Black neighborhood laden with industrial sites that emit pollution. The city’s public health department has found that residents suffer from abnormally high rates of asthma and other ailments.
“The Southeastern neighborhoods of San Francisco provide a case study in environmental racism,” plaintiffs’ attorney Joe Cotchett said in a news release announcing the settlement. “Most San Franciscans have no idea that HPNS was ground zero in the atomic era, or that it was very purposely the dumping ground for nuclear waste, nor do they understand the deepseated politics that continue to value economic development over human life.”
Under the terms of the proposed settlement, current homeowners could receive from $228 to $29,931 per unit, depending on when they purchased and how much they paid. Former homeowners could receive from $716 to $29,746. The average perunit payout is expected to be $12,000.
FivePoint and Lennar denied any fault or wrongdoing. Representatives for Lennar
and Tetra Tech declined to comment. Representatives for FivePoint did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
“We are really thrilled to be making progress and seeing a light at the end of the tunnel,” said
Linda Parker Pennington, one of the lead plaintiffs, who bought a townhome in the hilltop development in 2015.
Developer Fivepoint announced in midMarch that the Navy plans to transfer another area of the shipyard,
Parcel G, to the city in 2023, and that the remaining nine parcels would be transferred by 2026.
At the same time, Tetra Tech EC is being sued for fraud by whistleblowers and the Department of Justice. Federal prosecutors say the firm cut corners and falsified radiation tests, and the Navy decided that its data was suspect and areas of the shipyard should be retested. Tetra Tech EC has denied any wrongdoing, blaming any problems on a handful of “rogue” employees.
A hearing on final approval of the settlement with Lennar and FivePoint is scheduled for Oct. 14.
“There wasn’t enough care paid to whether the cleanup was done properly and thoroughly,” said attorney Anne Marie Murphy, a partner at Cotchett, Pitre & McCarthy, the firm representing the homeowners. “This whole case is about the toxic stew that we have out at the Hunters Point Naval Shipyard.”