A Community Success Story
 
March 2011

The Oak Knoll Coalition is pleased to report that tangible progress has been made toward addressing demolition, security, safety and fire hazards at the abandoned Oak Knoll site. We believe this would not have occurred without strong community activism and significant media attention. Neighbors not only lobbied politicians, city and county staff, but also filed a claim with the bankruptcy court--all without cost to the Coalition.
 
Final Phase of Demolition--Hospital to be Imploded April 8, 2011
 
In January 2011, Judge Erithe Smith approved $1.7 million in additional funding for the final phase of demolition at Oak Knoll. According to SunCal’s Chief Operating Officer Frank Fay, all the remaining masonry buildings at the site (including the 11-story hospital, bachelor’s quarters and warehouses) will be down by the end of the year. Club Knoll, a Spanish Mission revival building that is visible from Highway 580, will be preserved. In 2009, the bankruptcy court released nearly $4 million in an initial round of funding for demolition, security, and vegetation management at the site.
 
Despite this new round of good news, the Oak Knoll Coalition became concerned about the announced plan to implode the hospital. Minimizing long-term noise and other impacts continues to be a priority, and neighbors want assurance that the concrete structure does not contain asbestos—a known inhalation health hazard that would be widespread if implosion occurs. After working with local officials including the Bay Area Air Quality Management Board, the Coalition learned that approximately 50 concrete samples were taken from throughout the building- walls, roof and basement- and all came back with no trace of asbestos. Therefore the planned hospital implosion will go forward on April 8.

Members of the Coalition will continue to monitor other ongoing public safety, health and noise issues at Oak Knoll. Among these is the continuing need for brush clearance and weed abatement to reduce fire hazards.
 
What Lies Ahead
 
There is currently no timetable for restarting the planning process.
 
In January 2011, SunCal announced it will return to court with the goal of completing the "entitlement" or planning process. At this time, however, it is not possible to predict an outcome since the property owner, SunCal Oak Knoll LLC, is part of the huge Lehman Brothers bankruptcy case.
 
In the future, the bankruptcy courts are likely to approve the sale of the property to a new entity or release it to SunCal, at which point the planning process will resume.

The Coalition remains committed to the community's long-standing goals for Oak Knoll:
* Advocating for reasonable density
* Monitoring environmental mitigations during demolition and construction
* Securing adequate traffic mitigations
* Supporting the daylighting and restoration of Rifle Range Creek
* Preserving Club Knoll for public use
* Protecting the namesake knoll and oak woodlands from development
* Ensuring that active recreation areas and natural open spaces can be enjoyed by the entire community

Last updated 3/25/2011