Police Department Relocation Moves Forward Despite Opposition

San Ramon City Council members gave the green light to purchase a Canyon Park office building for police administrative operations two weeks ago, but a handful of residents at last night's City Council meeting continued the struggle to stop plans by pushing for a yellow light.

"We're not asking you to kill the decision—we're simply asking for a reasonable delay," said Andrew Pryfogle, who owns a home in nearby Enchanted Way, during the public hearing yesterday. "Let's relax, take a breath and delay a decision so neither of us are rushing to judgments or perhaps into a really bad idea."

Since City Council members, who also serve as the Redevelopment Agency, held a joint meeting on March 9 and voted 3-1 in favor of buying the 61,270-square-foot building on a seven-acre lot at 2401 Crow Canyon Rd., residents of the immediate and surrounding neighborhood have expressed outrage at noise and safety issues they perceive will result from the police station relocation and consolidation.

These concerns and many others were addressed in a two-hour meeting on Thursday that City Manager Herb Moniz, Police Chief Scott Holder and Economic Development Director Marc Fontes held with approximately 38 residents, mostly from the Canyon Park Homeowners Association.

"There are still residents that have serious concerns but we're hopeful that we can continue to work with them to mitigate those concerns," Fontes said following the Thursday meeting.

In his report on the issue, Moniz confirmed that the purchase agreement is being processed and will be decided on within a week. Residents of Canyon Park, Thomas Ranch directly across from the building and other concerned neighbors will be contacted about a second meeting with homeowners associations, he added.

Brian Mulry, a Gagen McCoy attorney representing the Canyon Park HOA, hand-delivered a letter to the council citing insufficient notice to neighbors and California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) exemptions as the main central reasons for the residents' opposition. Residents also submitted petitions totaling about 330 signatures.

The sole dissenting vote on March 9, Mayor H. Abram Wilson reiterated his reservations on moving forward.

"I would like to consider postponing the purchase agreement until we can address the concerns of the citizens," he told the council.

Though public comments remained largely diplomatic, tensions stirred as Councilmember David Hudson, who voted for the purchase, reminded the public that the police station relocation was receiving much attention for an item that was not on the agenda and could not be ruled on. 

No decision was made in closed session.

Residents said a major reason for their discontent was that they did not receive notice of the March 2 Planning Commission hearing, in which found the city's acquisition of the building in conformance with the General Plan and CEQA.

Sandy Wechsler, who lives 500 feet from the proposed police criminal booking area, said she and most residents first learned about the plans through an anonymous letter from  "a concerned fellow neighbor" three days before the the council voted on March 9.

Another branch of the Police Department, located in the San Ramon Dougherty Station Community Center, would not be moved to the new location.

"We believe the environmental review should take place prior to the purchase, that addresses neighbors' concerns, traffic, noise, child and pedestrian safety," she said.

Meeting with with half a dozen citizens several hours yesterday afternoon before the council meeting, Holder explained that there would be no jail and that arrested individuals are booked and sent immediately to the Contra Costa County jail in Martinez.

Police Department Captain Joe Gorton said the police department is operating out of four locations as a result of tight space at its Camino Ramon headquarters adjacent to City Hall.

"We're bulging at the seams, we've way outgrown it," he said. "We had an opportunity to walk through the building itself and saw it would also allow us to consolidate some of our central functions for the police department that are now spread out throughout different work locations."

Hudson said "the economics are unbelievably in favor of the city" because the city would be purchasing the property for $7.1 million when the appraised value was $8 million, and would spend another $1.85 million needed for improvement, all coming from redevelopment funds.

The building is intended as a temporary police station until a 25,000-square-foot police station is constructed at City Center, San Ramon's downtown civic and retail district, a project put on hold because of the economic downturn.

If the building is sold at a later date, the money would go to the city's accounts.

Some citizens including Jane Jennings, who lives about a mile away from the building in Twin Creeks, said the city has taken strides efforts to mitigate and it is the citizens who refuse to compromise.

"I'd pick a police station instead of an office space, walls look better than parked cars in an office space," she said of residents' concerns of the view. "I value what (city officials) are doing and I want to ask (council members) to continue the responsible management of the city."