The Sun Sunnyvale's Newspaper Environmental protest won't stop Lockheed subdivision By Justin Berton Lockheed Martin can now restripe its 100-acre campus and sell small parcels of land--one of which overlaps federally protected wetlands--after City Council members approved Lockheed's amended use permit at the Sept. 15 meeting. The move angered a small group of environmentalists, who argued that the new subdivision would invade nearby wetlands and interfere with habitats of migratory burrowing owls. The group, made up of a lawyer from the Santa Clara Valley Audubon Society and two citizens, pressed the council to nix Lockheed's project at the Tuesday meeting. Los Altos resident Libby Lucas forced council to hold a public hearing on the issue by filing an appeal on the project last month. Lucas was out of state for the meeting and requested a continuance, which council denied by a 5-2 vote. Councilmembers voted 6-1 to allow Lockheed Martin to amend its use permit. Council cited a still-active 1994 environmental impact report on the land to support its vote, and laced its approval with conditional measures. Audubon lawyer Craig Breon--who apologized to council for not being more familiar with the project--called the conditions of approval "legally inadequate" and said council's actions could "doom the wetlands." Lockheed Martin will split its land into five pieces and sell three of the new parcels for office space development. One of the parcels for sale, parcel No. 3, includes a portion of manmade wetlands. The 16-acre parcel on the north Sunnyvale campus abuts the San Francisco Bay National Wildlife Refuge. A portion of the parcel, possibly 10 to 20 percent, is marked as federally protected wetlands. The precise amount of wetland space on parcel No. 3 is still being disputed by environmentalists and Lockheed Martin officials. By spring of next year, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers plans to release its official findings as to the wetlands' official boundary line. Since the wetlands are constantly moving, the Army's engineers must review their boundaries periodically. According to Lockheed Martin project manager Curt Gordon, wetlands reach 275 feet into the borders of the parcel that's for sale. Gordon said the Army's engineers have twice set the line at this point. According to research done by Lucas, wetlands reach 1,000 feet beyond the parcel's borders, greatly increasing the percentage of wetlands on the parcel. Breon argued that if the line is re-marked after a developer purchases the land--and perhaps as much as 70 percent of the land is determined wetlands--it could allow the developer to claim "financial hardship," and therefore, allow the wetlands to be filled in and paved over. Jeff Johnson, a lawyer for Lockheed Martin, refuted that claim, saying a developer could only claim financial hardship if he was misled as to the status of the land. Gordon assured council that the potential developer is well aware that the wetland delineation line has not yet been marked by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers. "The buyer is very excited about providing open space," Gordon said, adding that the parcel included wetlands to provide the future office with "a nice view, to have wildlife close to you." Gordon said the elevated wetlands serve as flood control for the campus, and to fill them in would put the future office buildings at risk. Some councilmembers questioned why Lockheed Martin included the acreage of unusable wetlands inside a parcel that was for sale, and wondered if the marking was intended to get around the city's density laws. Up to 35 percent of a parcel's space can be occupied by buildings. By inflating the size of the parcel with acres of unusable wetlands, developers could build a larger structure than is suitable for the land. Environmentalists fear a building could run up to the borders of the wetlands and still be within its 35 percent guidelines for the parcel. City attorney Valerie Armento reminded council it has the final decision to accept or deny the size of future buildings on the new subdivision. The amendment to the use permit was also laced with conditions of approval by city staffers. According to the amendment, developers must conduct a survey of burrowing owls on parcels 30 days before construction begins. A planning commission report said owls were recently sighted just east of the project, at the city's landfill. Lucas and Breon feared new construction in the area would have a negative impact on the habitat of the burrowing owl. "You can't put up a sign that says, 'Owls aren't allowed on Lockheed's property,' " Sunnyvale resident Tom Esprersen told the council. Lockheed Martin spokesperson Katherine Strahl said last week if surveys concluded owls were nesting on the land, developers would be forced to wait until the owls moved on before construction could begin. The city must also receive verification on the delineation line from the Army's engineers before any construction begins. Before voting with the majority, councilmember Jack Walker requested staff mark its legislative calendar to consider a study on the status of burrowing owls in December. Councilmember Stan Kawczynski cast the lone dissenting vote. [ Back to Contents Page | Sunnyvale Sun Home Page | Archives ] This article appeared in the Sunnyvale Sun, September 23, 1998. ©1998 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.