FAIRFIELD — The Solano County Board of Supervisors voted 3 - 2 to postpone approval of legislation backed by California Forever related to shipbuilding and maritime manufacturing development in Collinsville, pending further review and clarification.
Supervisor Monica Brown and Supervisor John M. Vasquez voted no. The board plans to revisit the issue well before the legislature opens again in January.
Collinsville is a small unincorporated community at the mouth of the Sacramento River — a deep water ship channel — about 14 miles south of Travis Air Force Base and eight miles southwest of Rio Vista. California Forever owns or controls 69,000 acres of land in the area and has been pushing for the development of a shipyard at the site.
A previous attempt to establish a Collinsville shipyard foundered in July when negotiations were delayed and the proposed developer, Saronic, backed out and chose a site in Texas.
The legislation under consideration would streamline the approval process for potential new developers. It would exempt the Collinsville parcel from new environmental impact reports prior to development, instead deferring to the 18-year-old environmental impact report from the 2008 Solano County General Plan as sufficient for full compliance with the California Environmental Quality Act.
Solano County designated part of that area as a “water dependent industrial” land use in the 2008 General Plan.
Board members cited concerns about being given only 24 hours to review the proposed legislation, its vague language, the lack of opportunities for public review and stakeholder involvement, and the lack of guarantees for good wages and labor standards for long term workers.
The board was under pressure from Gov. Gavin Newsom, California Forever, and building trade groups to submit their final version of the legislation by the end of the day on Friday in order to be approved by the closing date of this legislative session on Monday. The State legislature doesn’t meet again until January.
California State Senator Christopher Cabaldon and Assemblymember Lori Wilson each phoned into the board meeting and pushed for passage of the legislation, while emphasizing that the final decision is up to the citizens of Solano County.
The proposed easing of the environmental review requirements alarmed many community members and environmental groups, who pointed out that voters have continued to support the amendment to Solano County's Orderly Growth Initiative that was passed in 2008. The amendment prevents piecemeal amendments to the Solano County General Plan that would allow development on agricultural and open space lands.
Over 100 public speakers weighed in, both in person and over the phone.
Rio Vista City Manager Christina Miller said that additional amendments are necessary before the legislation should be passed. She said the city was assured in writing by the Governor's Office of Business and Economic Development that Rio Vista would have meaningful opportunities to participate in the development of this legislation. “That has not occurred. It's been rushed,” she said.
Several union members spoke in support of the legislation, which they said would provide good local jobs so they wouldn’t have to drive to San Jose for work.
Joshua Arce, executive director of the California Alliance for Jobs, said that they have hundreds of members in Solano County who are looking for good union construction jobs and who are desperate to go to work.
“You’ve got the highest unemployment rate in the Bay Area. We salute you. Please say yes and endorse this legislation," Arce said.
But many other union members said they could not support the project in its current form because it lacks labor protections for long-term workers.
Thomas Brandon, the Secretary Treasurer of the California Conference of Machinists, which he said has over 100,000 members in California, said that they “oppose any bill without the existence of agreements guaranteeing enforceable labor standards that are legal, meaning binding on California Forever, the shipyard operators, and the third-party contractors or subcontractors engaged in ship operation at the site.”
A handful of Solano County residents spoke in favor of passing the legislation to bring jobs to the county, but the majority of speakers were opposed. They cited mistrust of California Forever, concern about the environmental impacts to the land, and the fact that the proposed changes to land use were being considered without a pending project — the reverse of how things are usually done.
Jenny Leilani Callison, candidate for California State Assembly District 11, phoned in and urged the board to vote no. “We should not excuse an environmental impact review for a group that can hire high paid lobbyists if we wouldn't also excuse an environmental impact review for a mom and pop business,” she said.
“How can we call ourselves responsible decision makers with a less than 24-hour review of mandated advanced manufacturing legislation in Collinsville?” said Aiden Mayhood, a founding member of the group Solano Together, which formed to oppose California Forever. “The only advanced manufacturing California Forever has produced thus far is manufactured urgency.”
Jasmine Westbrook, a fifth generation Solano County resident, said, “I'm here and we are all here because California Forever is billionaires. No other landowner would be offered such a sweetheart deal. It's also disgraceful that we would consider a 2008 program-level environmental impact review instead of a project-level environmental impact review for the conditions that are currently on site. Do not support this.”
Several speakers also questioned why Collinsville was being considered for a new shipyard instead of upgrading the existing shipyard at Mare Island.
“We have Mare Island. Why are we even talking about Collinsville? Oh, we're talking about Collinsville because California Forever owns the property,” said resident Anne Griffin. “Stick with Mare Island, please, and leave California Forever out of it.”
Jim Wunderman, head of public affairs for California Forever, said that Saronic has a big contract funded by the U.S. Navy to build autonomous naval vessels. “The United States is investing heavily in restoring the Navy and in the commercial vessels that support the Navy,” he said. “A lot of money is in the Defense Department and other areas to support this, and there's a chance to bring that legacy industry back.”
Wunderman pushed hard for the board to find a way to submit the legislation by Friday, but ultimately said that “we'll work with this community, no matter what” after Supervisor Mitch Mashburn asked if they would be willing to move forward on some form of legislation if the board delayed approval.
Brown expressed doubt that any federal money or contracts with the U.S. Navy would be coming to California because of the “political stuff that's happening, and how a certain person feels about California.”
“I think we're rushing into something and listening to something that I don't think is going to meld in to bring in any kind of extra jobs without destroying the land,” Brown said. “And I don't want the land to be destroyed.”
Mashburn said he also did not anticipate money from Washington, D.C. and the Trump Administration. “I'm looking at the potential that the state gives us the money to do some of this work. Or there is a Korean company or somebody else who comes here and says we want to build a shipyard,” he said, adding that at this moment, “we don't have the legislation ready in order to help them do it in a timely fashion.”
Mashburn made the motion to put off supporting this legislation for now, and to direct staff to continue working with the state and California Forever on similar legislation for the next legislative cycle. “Three days ain’t gonna cut it,” he said.
Newsom expressed frustration about the board’s decision the next day at a press conference on Mare Island about revitalizing the shipbuilding industry there. “I would have voted for that in a nanosecond. I don't understand it,” he said.
Congressman John Garamendi was more forgiving. He said that he’s been telling California Forever that they owe it to California, the county, and the citizens in the region to deliver detailed information about what it is they intend to do on the land.
“Apparently, they're not listening,” he said. “ And my experience over all of these years is, if you're rushing into something, chances are pretty good it's going to be badly done. So take the time. Understand all of the elements.“
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