Hillcrest site remediation will bring needed housing

Much has been discussed regarding the Hillcrest Estates proposed development in Watsonville, which would provide desperately needed housing to help address Santa Cruz County's housing crisis. Not only does the Hillcrest proposal achieve this meaningful community goal, but the development plan includes another key objective: removal of contaminated soils and remediation of an existing environmental threat.

Hillcrest Estates – which will provide 144 housing units, 29 of which will be sold under Watsonville's Affordable Housing Program – is being developed on an old industrial site, which left behind contamination that would otherwise continue to sit unmitigated were it not for the housing development. Converting these lands into productive use is an important public policy goal, and is overseen by a process that has been used countless times within California and beyond – including within Santa

Cruz County – to assure that the highest public health standards are applied while renewing these sites for public benefit.

The 11-acre site along Watsonville Slough has seen several uses over the years, including residential uses. However, for years it was used for automotive wrecking, dismantling, and vehicle storage, which left behind lead, diesel, motor oil and to a lesser extent naphthalene, a by-product of petroleum.

Finding these chemicals in soil is common on land with a history of automotive-related uses, and addressing the contamination is not new or complex. The work will be performed under the oversight of county environmental health applying state pollution authority and will meet or exceed strict standards meant to protect the environment and human health and safety.

For the Hillcrest Estates property, 17,000 cubic feet of soil will be stripped and transported for safe disposal elsewhere. Some soil left behind will exceed strict screening levels – levels so low they would not need to be taken to a hazardous disposal site. Instead, they will be buried underground, with an impervious cap constructed of several layers to isolate the soil. As approved, the cap would be located on a lower tier of the sloped property and requires a much smaller retaining wall than an earlier design.

These kinds of solutions are already in place throughout the county, including at the Tannery Arts Center in Santa Cruz. It was formerly one of the most contaminated sites in the county, but now provides multiple community benefits including housing and vibrant hub for arts and entertainment. A similar cap was also used at the site of what is now Jalisco's restaurant in Watsonville.

Within the Hillcrest Estates development, these caps will be located beneath streets and parking lots – not housing -with deed restrictions in place to assure they are not disturbed without further study. As part of the design, a large retaining wall will keep the soil from migrating into the adjacent slough, a concern that would go unaddressed without the development. The county will require a thorough analysis of the cap as well as the retaining wall, including fiveyear reviews submitted to the county. The county requires financial assurances for the maintenance of the cap and will be working with the city and the developer to put those in place before ownership of the land is transferred to a future homeowners' association.

Also known as brownfields, these formerly contaminated sites are important development opportunities in communities throughout the U.S. Last year, Gov. Gavin Newsom signed into law SB 158, which sets aside additional funding to convert brownfields to productive housing to help address the statewide housing crisis. There are an estimated 200,000 brownfields in California alone. Neglecting them would be a public policy failure.

The remediation at Hillcrest Estates is guided by science and overseen by authorities who enforce some of the toughest environmental rules in the U.S. Urban infill developments like this are necessary to provide needed housing while preventing urban sprawl, with the added benefit of remediating some of the past environmental mistakes we have made as a society.

The remediation plan for Hillcrest Estates represents an important opportunity. It is good for the environment, and good for our community. Most importantly, it will be safe for future residents lucky enough to call it home.

The 11-acre site along Watsonville Slough ... for years it was used for automotive wrecking, dismantling, and vehicle storage