Last modified on: July 30, 2010 1:07:37 PM PDT

Bufferlands

Rebuilding the Plant is a land use opportunity to shape 2,600 acres along the southern Bay.

The current Plant site includes a 175-acre wastewater processing area, a 750-acre sludge-drying area, and an 850-acre former salt production pond (A-18). The remaining acreage is open land that buffers adjacent communities from odors and hazardous operations.

With rebuilding, the Plant site becomes available for new land uses. Imagine what's possible: water recreation, a clean tech center, a living museum, jobs-based development, trails, habitat areas, retail, and more.

The 2,600-acre site can accommodate a balance of economical, environmental, and social uses.

The site is more than twice the size of San Francisco's Golden Gate Park.
To the north, the site shares a two-mile border with one of the nation's largest urban wildlife refuges - the 30,000-acre Don Edwards San Francisco Bay Wildlife Refuge, a vast area of salt marsh and wetlands that rings the Bay from Fremont to Redwood City.
To the south, the site is bordered by Highway 237 and the commercial and industrial zone of northern San José. There is potential for industrial, clean tech, and/or research facilities on this part of the site.
The site includes an 860-acre former salt production pond (A-18) with potential for algae production, water recreation, and other interesting uses. Coyote Creek, which demarks the site's eastern border, provides riparian habitat that could potentially be enhanced for wildlife benefit.
No housing is being considered.

New land uses are subject to constraints.

Constraints for future uses include predicted rising sea levels, habitat and endangered species, and regulatory requirements. As a water body of the state, uses proposed for Pond A-18 are subject to additional regulations.

Land uses will be funded separately from Plant rebuilding costs.

Public input is sought to define the land use vision. The Plant Master Plan will include a funding plan as sewer fees can only be used for the sewer system. A collaboration between public, corporate, developer, and philanthropic entities could possibly result in funding for new land uses.

Participate in the Plant Master Plan process: