A very valid point and heartfelt as one reads through the hundreds of pages that make up this initiative! As one who has been involved with Measure A and its affect on Alameda Point’s future through years of work with HOMES
The question is, will the public approve simply exempting Alameda Point from the Charter Amendment that prohibits building any type of multifamily housing (think condos, apartments, retirement homes)? Or to achieve agreement, does one have to provide the plan that will be built without Measure A?
The community vision for Alameda Point calls for a mixed-use, walkable, economically vibrant new neighborhood with plenty of open space. To achieve this vision means being able to include townhomes, condos, small cottages and apartments in the plan. Apartments or condos over retail make for vibrant neighborhood centers. Pockets of compact housing centered around transit nodes help de-emphasize reliance on the automobile and leave open space for parks, fields and trails.
So, on the idea of changing Measure A and coming up with the Plan later, those of us at HOMES have come to realize that Alamedans are simply not going to give a blank check to change Measure A. The campaign recognized this and provided a plan with the modification of the City’s Charter. Alamedans want to know and understand what the change will look like at Alameda Point and how it will impact the rest of Alameda. Having the entire Plan as part of the initiative provides Alamedans with the detailed plan they desire. It also provides Alamedans with the security that the exemption to Measure A is just for this Plan and just for the Point and will not lead to any erosion of Measure A for the rest of the Island.
Believe me, the Developer couldn’t possibly be in this position by choice! The millions of dollars they have spent using superb professionals to prepare a plan that incorporates the City’s General Plan and the public goals without any assurance the initiative will be successful is an awesome risk, especially in this economy. We should all have our good luck totems out and fingers crossed that they will actually go forward and submit the signatures! That is the first step to revitalize the deteriorating, blighted tax dollar sinkhole that Alameda Point now is and turn it into a new neighborhood built for the 21st century.
