United States
Environmental
Protection Agency
Washington, D.C. 20460
Solid Waste
and Emergency
Response (5101)
EPA 500-F-98-256
November 1998
www.epa.gov/brownfields/
&EPA
Brownfields Showcase
Community
East Palo Alto, CA
Outreach and Special Projects Staff (5101)
Quick Reference Fact Sheet
Brownfields are abandoned, idled or underused industrial and commercial properties where expansion or redevelopment is
complicated by real or perceived contamination. In May 1997, Vice President Gore announced a Brownfields National Partnership
to bring together the resources of more than 15 federal agencies to address local cleanup and reuse issues in a more coordinated
manner. This multi-agency partnership has pledged support to 16 "Brownfields Showcase Communities"—models demonstrating
the benefits of collaborative activity on brownfields. The designated Brownfields Showcase Communities are distributed across
the country and vary by size, resources, and community type. A wide range of support will be leveraged, depending on the
particular needs of each Showcase Community.
Community Profile
BACKGROUND
The Brownfields National Partnership has selected
the City of East Palo Alto as a Brownfields Show-
case Community. East Palo Alto is a small city com-
prising only 2.5 square miles, with an ethnically di-
verse population of 25,000; 41% of the population is
African American,
and 36% is Latino.
The city's unemploy-
ment rate of 6.6% is
nearly three times
higher than the
county's unemploy-
ment rate of 2.6%.
Although surrounded
by the affluent and
high-powered Silicon
Valley, East Palo Alto
has never enjoyed the prosperity of neighboring com-
munities. The East Palo Alto area has traditionally
been used for agriculture, heavy manufacturing,
chemical manufacturing, and auto wrecking.
East Palo Alto plans to reverse its fortunes by be-
coming a true partner in the region's high-tech
economy. The city's aggressive efforts toward re-
developing its brownfields has left the Ravenswood
Industrial Area (RIA), the city's most significant
brownfield, poised to take advantage of a tight real
estate market, and to provide the catalyst for the city
to join in the prosperity of the booming regional
economy. East Palo Alto targets the 130-acre RIA,
awarded an Environmental Protection Agency
Brownfields Pilot in 1997, for cleanup and redevel-
opment. Two other brownfields sites are already well
on their way to redevel-
opment: the Gateway
101 area is targeted for
a large retail center;
while a hotel, confer-
ence center and retail
complex are planned
Easf Palo Alto, California
East Palo Alto is an historically
agricultural community with an
ethnically diverse population of
approximately 25,000. Restoration of
the 130-acre Ravenswood Industrial
Area, a city-designated brownfields
site, will provide space for high-tech
industryemploying nearly 4,000
workers.
for University Circle.
The RIA is planned to
be the employment cen-
ter of the city, slated for
office and light indus-
trial uses. The site is bordered to the north and east
by wetlands which are home to two endangered spe-
cies; an abandoned railroad spur and adjacent resi-
dences form boundaries to the south and west.
CURRENT ACTIVITIES AND ACHIEVEMENTS
In addition to progress in redeveloping two of its three
brownfields target areas, East Palo Alto has enjoyed
other successes in its efforts to revitalize the com-
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munity. One of its most significant accomplishments
is the creation of the Brownfields Environmental
Job Training program, the first training program of
its kind in the nation. Of the seventeen students
who graduated from the first training class in 1997,
nine have full-time positions, and most of the others
are working through temporary agencies. Further,
with $25 million anticipated to be spent on redevel-
opment activities in the city over the next two years,
this training will give local residents access to new
job opportunities that previously would have been
unavailable to them. This program underscores the
value of partnerships between local governments,
non-profits and federal agencies.
Other highlights of East Palo Alto's brownfields
program include:
• Conducting aten-month sampling study ofthe RIA
which revealed much lower levels of contamination
than previously thought, reducing cleanup estimates
forthe site from $30 million to $2-5 million;
• Sponsoring an Environmental and Home Financing
Fair to heighten environmental awareness and
encourage safe, decent and affordable housing.
Participants included government agencies, a
medical center, private businesses and other
organizations, and the city conducted extensive
outreach to encourage residents to attend; and
• Creating alocal environmental information brochure
in English and Spanish, which has been widely
disseminated throughout the community.
East Palo Alto's success is due in large part to the
many partnerships it has fostered with federal, state,
and local agencies, non-profit organizations, commu-
nity development groups, academic institutions, and
business interests. The city's extensive community
outreach activities have ensured that the community's
goals for the revitalization of the area are incorpo-
rated into final redevelopment plans.
SHOWCASE COMMUNITY OBJECTIVES AND
PLANNED ACTIVITIES
East Palo Alto's partnerships with EPA and the De-
partment of Housing and Urban Development have
been extremely important and successful. They pro-
vide a model for collaborative effort for smaller, eth-
nically diverse, low-income communities throughout
the country where redevelopment of brownfields will
address not just a portion of a community, but will
bring self-sustainability to the entire community. East
Palo Alto's brownfields program serves as a model
for small cities with small budgets, where federal and
state partnerships make the critical difference.
Strategic planning for redevelopment involves eco-
nomic, environmental, housing, public health and trans-
portation issues; as a Showcase Community, East
Palo Alto will leverage its increased access to fed-
eral resources and assistance to address these is-
sues comprehensively.
Contacts
City Manager's Office
City of East Palo Alto
(650)853-3100
Regional Brownfields Team
U.S. EPA- Region 9
(415)744-2237
For more information on the Brownfields Showcase Communities,
visit the EPA Brownfields web site at:
http://www.epa.gov/brownfields/showcase.htm
Brownfields Showcase Community
November 1998
East Palo Alto, California
EPA 500-F-98-256
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