Opponents to one of the Bay Area’s largest proposed developments are not taking a back seat, despite months of silence from the developer.

Since early November, developer DMB Associates has been undergoing what it calls an “internal review” for its Redwood City Saltworks proposal.

“The applicant has asked the city to hold off on reviewing the proposal further until they make some determinations on their end, as to how they want to proceed with the project,” said Blake Lyon, acting planning manger for Redwood City. “So we’re currently awaiting further direction from the applicant.”

The most recently publicized proposal for the Saltworks development, on the east side of U.S. 101, would encompass 2.2 square miles of land that is currently being used to harvest salt. The plan would preserve half the property for open space, recreation and restoration, while developing the other half for a multi-use community with housing. The nation’s largest privately held corporation, Cargill Inc., owns the land.

The proposal recently underwent a major “scoping,” or in-depth review process, and continues to generate controversy and opposition from environmentalists and advocacy groups.

David Lewis is executive director of Oakland-based advocacy group Save the Bay, an organization that has been a vocal opponent in the public discussion surrounding the project since the beginning. Empowered with thousands of Bay Area supporters, Lewis and his staff have led a very public charge against developing the land.

The group’s grievances range from the claim that the Saltworks community would worsen traffic woes on already congested roads, to concerns about building near a shoreline that, over time, could be subject to an expected rise in sea-level. They would rather see the 1,436-acre property restored to wetlands and not developed at all. But Lewis said the primary issue is that his group does not believe the site is suitable for housing because the land is not currently zoned for that purpose.

“A proposal like this should be dead on arrival,” Lewis insisted.

In 2008, Redwood City voters struck down Measure W, an initiative pushed by Save the Bay, which would have required a majority of voters to approve certain city Council land-use decisions. In effect, the measure likely would have made it much more difficult for proposed developments like Saltworks to move forward.

Despite the measure’s failure more than three years ago, Lewis said “the project is creating its own opposition,” and he sees no evidence of new support.

The project also hits close to home for Lewis, a Bay Area native who grew up in Palo Alto. He said regional support for protecting San Francisco Bay is something Cargill and DMB underestimate. The Saltworks project would reach into the Bay, similar to existing developments, like Redwood Shores and Foster City.

“It’s just part of the regional identity, and this project is a direct — not just a direct threat to that — but an affront to it,” Lewis said. “And I think that’s why, when people learn about it, the opposition only grows.” 

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