The historic landmark Claremont Hotel is under attack by developers!
Claremont Hotel developers & investors relaunch plans that will endanger community lives and welfare:
- 43-unit condominium complex with underground parking directly atop the Hayward fault, a stone’s throw from private residences, abutting historic public footpath.
- 7,000 square feet of new and expanded club buildings, 250 more club memberships (600+ new members), an additional tennis court, and an illuminated basketball court facing private homes.
Highly vulnerable location downhill from 1991 conflagration that incinerated 3,000+ homes and killed 25. Recurrence of fire or serious earthquake would:
- Threaten emergency ingress and egress, causing deadly traffic backups onto Tunnel and nearby streets and footpaths.
Proposed development exacerbates existing congestion and pollution by:
- Adding to already traffic-choked Tunnel Road and surrounding streets.
- Increasing air, noise, and light pollution.
Overwhelming opposition unheeded by developers:
- Attorneys, preservation & community groups, and neighbors united to call out developer’s false claims to justify selling off protected acre for condoplex.
- Every local, state, and national agency concurs, asserting the need to protect hotel and 12 acres of the grounds.
Sound and safe alternatives exist.
Serious threats to public safety can be avoided.
Together we can build a beautiful and livable future for the neighborhood!
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1991 Oakland Hills firestorm—3,000 homes & 25 lives lost.
SAVE OUR CLAREMONT--SAVE LIVES!
Owners of the beloved and irreplaceable Claremont Hotel are proposing major alterations to the venerable historic landmark that would permanently compromise the site and threaten lives. Plans for the Tunnel Road side of the property include building a multi-story luxury condominium complex with underground parking directly atop the Hayward Fault, an access road joining Claremont Avenue and a single-family home. An estimated five years of construction, with massive excavation above the Hayward fault, would just mark the beginning of the destruction. Rezoning the property to excise and sell off the protected acre slated for condominiums would benefit investors and Accor Hotels. Significant expansion of club membership and the addition of multiple new or larger facilities are planned on the south side of the property. The development would have huge negative impacts on the Bay Area community both near and far. There is a reason that every local, state, and the national agency has concurred in asserting the need to protect the hotel and 12 acres of the grounds.
The proposed development will endanger guests, residents, nearby businesses, and schools, as well as all who travel, recreate, or shop in the area. The expansion poses serious threats to emergency ingress and egress, something many residents recall only too vividly during the 1991 firestorm that ignited just uphill from the hotel, destroying more than 3,000 homes and taking 25 lives. Tunnel Road and nearby streets will return, post-pandemic, to the “stand-still” parking lot experienced during commute hours. The development and years of construction will bring increased air, noise, and light pollution; loss of open space and habitat; and compromised views throughout the Bay Area. Sensible, safe, and appropriate alternatives are plentiful.
BUILDING A CONDO COMPLEX NEXT TO THE HAYWARD FAULT ENDANGERS OUR COMMUNITY!
Unfortunately for prospective buyers of the luxury condos, the best data available (USGS Geologic Map of the San Francisco Bay region) shows an active fault line lying directly beneath the planned structure.
Alquist-Priolo requires that “a structure for human occupancy cannot be placed over the trace of the fault and must be set back from the fault, generally 50 feet.” Fault lines are subject to surface rupture, and placing a dwelling across a fault places its occupants at risk for both loss of property and loss of life.