SEA Action Alert: Turtle Bay Proposed Land Sale
PUBLIC LANDS AT TURTLE BAY MAY BE SOLD
As many of you know, a proposal to buy City of Redding land at Turtle Bay is being considered by the City Council following an offer to purchase the lands by Populous, The McConnell Foundation, K2 Development and Turtle Bay Exploration Park. Their proposal contains no statements of environmental concerns or habitat protections.
This proposal has several steps for the City Council to consider before any sale of land will take place, however it is important to get involved in the process as early as possible as once the ball gets rolling, it will be hard to stop. It is extremely important that each of you sends an email in opposition to this purchase for intensive commercial development purposes – unless you want to see this jewel of Redding destroyed by development including:
Excerpts from Populous proposal:
“Children’s play areas, ziplines, beer gardens and dog parks… viewscapes along the water’s edge to design boardwalks for strolling… variety of restaurants, cafes and other unique retail experiences along the water… and art installations in and around the water… An artful river’s edge will be complimented by access opportunities deep into the site to further extend the positive attributes of the Sacramento River… floating boardwalks and viewing platforms,”
(So much for the environment, and there goes the bird sanctuary. While the Bird Sanctuary may or may not be sold, the land could be leased or allowed to place many environmentally destructive structures and encroachments in the area. Ed) More details are below.
The stated offer to purchase is the property that includes the Redding Rodeo grounds and the Civic Auditorium. Also of concern are the other parcels, including the Bird Sanctuary east of Turtle Bay Exploration Park and the city-owned parcel that includes Turtle Bay. All of these parcels have been included in reports sent to the City Council by City Manager Barry Tippin. At the meetings Tippin has stated that these parcels will not be sold. The Bird Sanctuary does have some protections, but nothing SEA has discovered would prevent development in the area even if the parcels are not sold.
It is very important that you comment even if it is as short as ”Don’t sell Turtle Bay properties” however, be polite but emphatic. If the Council doesn’t receive objections, they will assume that people do not oppose the development.
Selling this land is in direct contradiction of the General Plan and stated reasons by the Council when the land was purchased in the 1960s, as well as the 2000 General Plan, as evidenced below.
Page 22-23 of the Community Development and Design Element of the 2000 General Plan
GOAL CDD4 PROTECT AND ENHANCE THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE CITY AND THE SACRAMENTO RIVER.
“Policy CDD4B Continue acquisition of key lands along the river and the other area waterways to provide passive, nonmotorized public access and to preserve important ecological values and sensitive habitats. This may be accomplished by a combination of public and private land purchases, donations, dedications, granting of public easements, the use of life estates, and similar mechanisms.”
Below are more detailed plans from Populous included in its written presentation to purchase the land that it envisions developing. These include:
“The proposed area of study includes existing assets such as the Redding Rodeo Grounds, the Redding Civic Center, Turtle Bay Museum, the Sheraton Hotel and the Sundial Bridge. The northern riverfront holds tremendous opportunity for community engagement, as well as additional events infrastructure to activate the site. With the City’s approval, Populous intends to explore “dream big” possibilities for the northern riverfront including what it would take to build a top-tier conference center, multi-use sporting venues, outdoor entertainment destinations, as well as mixed-use residential, restaurants, and public space opportunities.”
“We believe this site can be the future home of a world-class conference center working in conjunction with an expanded Sheraton Hotel to create an environment conducive to business, meetings, innovation and collaboration. A best-in-class amphitheater will embrace the natural setting to provide concert goers with views of the Sundial Bridge, the riverfront and the bluffs beyond to create an idyllic setting for artists and performers to connect with their audience.”
“We will locate a variety of restaurants, cafes and other unique retail experiences along the water to fully maximize one of Redding’s most valuable natural assets.
“We will embrace the cooling qualities and beautiful viewscapes along the water’s edge to design boardwalks for strolling, bike trails for connection, overlooks and plazas for events opportunities and live music, and interactive moments of art to draw people to the water and together as a community. An artful river’s edge will be complimented by access opportunities deep into the site to further extend the positive attributes of the Sacramento River. By designing elements of play, active engagements and casual open space, we will provide many opportunities for people to connect to nature, …”(sic)
“Children’s play areas, ziplines, beer gardens and dog parks are just a few examples of active elements we will bring to the site to draw people to and from the river’s edge, creating a constant level of activity to build a sustainable community. We will explore memorable features that take visitors into the water itself – floating boardwalks and viewing platforms, architectural pools for kids to get their feet wet, and art installations in and around the water are all powerful opportunities to create a truly unique experience one can only find in Redding, California.”
Once again, it is important that you send your feelings on this project to the Redding City Council before this land is lost. You may comment via email if you don’t wish to go in person. Send your email to Mayor Erin Resner at eresner@cityofredding.org. Include a note in the subject line such as “Turtle Bay Comments to Redding City Council” and it will be cc’d to all Council members.
November 18 Meeting, 5:15 pm.
(1) Presentation on the various available options for the subject properties and the steps required for each.
(2) Presentation of Unsolicited Proposal Received to Develop Land Around the Civic Auditorium.
At a future meeting, the City Council will decide the future of the area. Please comment now!
For a detailed PDF map of the proposed sale, click on the image below.