On Monday, December 12, the Madison Plan Commission will decide whether to approve conditional use zoning so developers from Santa Monica, CA can build 550+ units of dense “affordable” and senior housing on top of land poisoned for decades by corporate giant Kraft Heinz and its predecessor Oscar Mayer. In 2020, the city’s Oscar Mayer Special Area Plan designated this area as appropriate for affordable housing, even though many community members have been questioning this for years.
The city claims to use the “Racial Equity and Social Justice” (RESJI) lens in all decisions, but did not do so in deciding to zone for dense “affordable” and senior housing right next to a toxic factory, on top of poisoned land and groundwater.
In summer 2020, after many months of advocacy by MEJO and Northside residents, and with Alder Syed Abbas’ support, Common Council approved environmental justice language in the OMSAP– the city’s first environmental justice policy: “To address racial justice and social equity during the OMSAP redevelopment process which must include assessing and preventing human exposures to toxic chemicals at the site and/or released from the site among all people and particularly at-risk low income people and people of color.”
Now, the first OMSAP development (at Hartmeyer) is going forward based on the pretense that people living there will not be exposed to any toxic contaminants–based on woefully inadequate investigations by consultants hired by the polluter and developer, and DNR’s approval of these inadequate investigations (as described here). The current plan is primarily to cover up or “cap” these contaminants, mostly with housing.
MEJO strongly urges the Plan Commission to vote NO on these developments (Items #14, 15, 16), in line with the environmental justice policy in the OMSAP and the city’s much-touted RESJI approach. “Assessing and preventing human exposures to toxic chemicals among all people and particularly at-risk low income people and people of color” is not possible without first adequately assessing the contaminants at the site.
We are asking Plan Commission that this vote be delayed until adequate investigations are done on the site and based on that, exposures to people who will live at the site (as well as workers who build it and the needed infrastructure) can be fully assessed. At this point, there is not enough data to do so.
To express your opinion on this, write the Plan Commission at pccomments@cityofmadison.com before 3pm on Monday, Dec. 12. Copy your alder. Register to speak here. The Agenda items related to the Roth Street developments are #14, 15, 16. Links to watch the meeting are here.
