Monday, December 01, 2008

By JEFF JARDINE
jjardine@modbee.com

last updated: April 24, 2008 02:36:00 AM

One by one, they paraded to the podium.

They spoke passionately and, in some cases, very eloquently.

Some folks supported Gerry Kamilos' proposal for West Park, a 4,800-acre industrial and rail complex centered on the former Crows Landing Naval Air Station. They pleaded with the Stanislaus County supervisors to approve the so-called "inland port" project, which promises 37,000 jobs and $5.4 million a year in tax revenues to the county over a 30-year buildout.

Each time, West Park supporters clapped.

Others opposed Kamilos' humongous development plan. They cited traffic congestion, train traffic, air quality and numbers they said just do not add up. They pleaded with the supervisors to prevent Kamilos from destroying life as they know it on the county's West Side.

Each time, West Park opponents clapped.

Board Chairman Tom Mayfield seemed amused by this political serve-and-volley folly after listening to four hours' worth Tuesday.

I say amused because, while I certainly don't believe Mayfield intended to mock either side, he knew all along those opposing the project wasted their words. The hearing -- as is the case at so many board or council meetings -- simply represented their legal right to be heard and the supervisors' obligation to uphold that right before the elected proceeded to formalize a foregone conclusion. There was absolutely nothing spontaneous or surprising about the 4-1 vote to allow Kamilos to proceed to the next stage of the project.

Only Supervisor Jim DeMartini, whose district includes the West Side and who has opposed the project all along, voted against it.

It wasn't even surprising that Supervisor Bill O'Brien, who joined DeMartini in voting against Kamilos' plan 14 months ago, changed his mind and voted for Kamilos this time around.

The West Park project is too big and too important to think the supervisors' individual decisions would be made at the last minute -- you know, like a coin-flip -- and based on the comments of citizens.

If Kamilos ultimately is right, West Park could become the greatest economic engine the valley has ever known.

If DeMartini is right, it could become the biggest migraine imaginable.

Or it could fail to survive the environmental review, and the county will have to start all over again.

So to think O'Brien reversed his position on West Park solely on what he heard said Tuesday from the proponents and opponents is naive.

I suspect he based it on months of discussions with Kamilos, county staff members and others as information became available. Friday, the supervisors all received copies of the staff report carrying a recommendation from county Chief Executive Officer Rick Robinson to proceed to the next stage of the project.

As generally happens, the supervisors had three days -- Saturday, Sunday and Monday -- to review the staff report before Tuesday's meeting. But they've been kept abreast of Kamilos' progress throughout the year.

Shortly before voting to follow Robinson's recommendation, O'Brien said Kamilos eased his greatest concern by getting a $22.4 million grant from the state -- something O'Brien said a year ago he doubted could happen. West Park received the grant April 10 -- nearly two weeks before Tuesday's meeting.

Because Kamilos succeeded in addressing that and other concerns, O'Brien decided the developer deserves the opportunity to continue. He joined Supervisors Jeff Grover, Mayfield and Dick Monteith in voting for the nonbinding memorandum of understanding -- which isn't the final approval but still represents a major step. Grover, Mayfield and Monteith all supported the project a year ago, Monteith and Grover most strongly.

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