GP Site tour

August 2nd, 2003
By TONY REED Of the Advocate

Over 220 people were given a guided bus tour of the now idle Georgia-Pacific Mill site Saturday before around 100 attended a meeting at Dana Gray School auditorium. According to G-P spokesperson Melodie Ruse, the tour was arranged to provide the community an opportunity to "see what's behind the fence," and for the G-P officials to get feedback on the subject. Ruse said that G-P has always been planning to hold meetings, but wanted to have ample information to provide before setting a date.

On the bus tour, G-P employee Paul Johnson identified buildings and spoke of the mill's operations as the bus made its way around the property. The coastline appeared to have been of the most interest to riders, many who had never been on the property. Some who had not seen the ocean from the site stood on the bus or switched sides to get a better view as it approached the coast.

According to Johnson, all but one of the water ponds that existed on the site have been allowed to dry up, leaving the last for fire suppression on the site. Johnson also explained that Lowes remained at the site, but that all other operations had shut down, and that remaining power at the site came from Pacific Gas and Electric company.

Since the closure of the Fort Bragg mill site in October, 2002, community members have come together to express concern for possible uses and future development of the property. A community based organization called North Coast Action also formed, holding several meeting to discuss potential uses, and visions for the 400-acre property. Although many ideas have been brought to light at meetings, community and city officials continue to stress that it may be too early to predict what development will occur on the property. At one NCA meeting, Community Development Director Linda Ruffing explained that the entire process of redeveloping the property could take as much as a decade to get underway.

Site studies

Tim Margerum, of Sedway Group, a Bay Area based consulting firm hired by G-P, reported that several studies of Fort Bragg had recently been completed, providing a basis for examining future possibilities for development at the site.

"Since we announced the closure of the mill, we have been very busy," said Carol Stevens, Senior Director of Corporate Real Estate for G-P, "I know to a lot of you it doesn't seem like a lot has been happening, but be assured, a lot has been happening,"

Stevens said that G-P began, following the closure of the mill, by assembling a team that would analyze all issues surrounding future use of the property. Margerum said that it was the goal of the team, and G-P to maximize the value of the property, while being consistent with the city and Coastal Commission's goals and policies, as well as with Fort Bragg's community vision for the site.

According to Margerum, the process is in what Sedway and G-P were calling Phase 1, which began by analyzing opportunities for developing the site. Through community meetings, and regular reports to G-P officials, Margerum said that Sedway was in the process of refining what he called a "general plan."

"We are [very] early in the game, in the sense that there is no rezoning project application in to the city," he said, noting that currently, analysts are looking into basic potentials for the property and will begin the legal planning process once those are identified.

Margerum reported that an analysis was also made of the Fort Bragg Community, which showed of how recent industry losses have prompted a shift to tourism as a primary revenue base. According to the Sedway report, the remote nature and lack of accessibility to the city were constraining to future development, and that the search for future industry must take that into consideration. Also affecting the exploration of new industry potential was the lack of affordable housing in the area, as well as a strong demand for coastal vacation property, he said. Sedway analysts also recommended that a range of residential uses for parts of the site existed, including apartments, townhouses, and single family homes.

Non traditional, potential uses for the site were listed as higher education, marine research, fine arts and museums and cultural facilities. "Generally we concur with the city's 2002 general plan conclusion that future growth in local economy is projected to occur in the retail tourism and service sectors. The report went on to predict that a well researched recruitment effort would need to take place to attract job generating industries.

The land

Land Planner with SWA group, Nancy Fleming described the physical characteristics of the site, saying that it was analyzed to see how future development may be laid out.

"This is a site that has undergone over 100 years of industrial use," said Fleming, "so at this time, to the greatest degree, this is a man-made site." After looking at the planning and geographical factors, Fleming said analysts began to diagram "obvious opportunities for the site," which were very large in comparison to the areas of constraint.

Segmenting a map of the property, Fleming gave suggestions, based on analysis, as to what development the four parts of the property might best utilize. From residential to educational campuses to retail, each part of the property was shown to have its own area of potential, said the report.

According to analysis, the infrastructure and roads to the site were in good condition, and could be reused during development. Also, the current water supply was adequate for use by the city and the mill site. Limiting factors to attracting businesses to the site were listed as a potential need to incorporate telecommunication infrastructure to the site, as well as a need to carefully look at internal circulation and traffic needs.

Soil and water impacts

Mohammed Bazargani, of Sedway Group said that Phase 2 activities were beginning, designed to identify areas of interest at the site, partly through soil sampling and testing.

According to the report, the site was tested at over 150 individual locations, which found some impacts to soil and ground water at the site. "What we found is that the soil impacted areas are mostly petroleum hydrocarbons," said Bazargani, comparing them to diesel fuel, " and they are typical of what you would find at a gas station, [but] actually more benign than what you would find at a gas station." The study found that the impacts were limited to the shallow soil and shallow ground water, at around five to seven feet deep, and that the contamination is not spreading. "The impacts are pretty limited at the site," said Bazargani, noting that the studies were conducted under the oversight of the Regional Water Quality Control Board. "What I wanted to summarize is that based on the work that Nancy [Fleming] has done, we are reaching the conclusion that the environmental impacts on the site are not going to propose a major concern for future development," he said. "In fact, we can actually develop residential properties on this project."

According to the Sedway analysis report, no special or threatened wildlife or plant species were found to exist on the site, but further studies are planned.

Kay Wilson told attendees that it was intended that a two-way forum be created for communication between the community and G-P, to allow participation throughout the development process.

Along with planned publications and updates on the site progress, Wilson said that G-P planned to coordinate with the city and various agencies.

A short question and answer period took place at the close of the meeting, and Wilson said that detailed written questions would be answered or addressed at the next meeting, in the fall, 2003. No official meeting date has been set for the fall 2003 meeting, and MCCET reported that the prerecorded meeting will air soon, following editing.