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2005-05-03 Oral Communications SubmittalHonorable Mayor Beverly Johnson Vice Mayor Marie Gilmore Council Member Tony Daysog Council Member Doug deHaan Council Member Frank Matarrese Honorable Mayor and Members of the City Council: The future development of Alameda Point will have a profound impact on Alameda. Done correctly, this new development will seamlessly integrate with the rest of the island, providing new shops and restaurants, exciting recreational opportunities, and new housing for future generations of Alamedans. Done incorrectly, however, Alameda Point could become a faceless Livermore -style subdivision, exacerbating Alameda's traffic woes and diminishing our unique historic character. We are Alameda residents, homeowners and business owners that are concerned with the current plans for Alameda Point. We applaud the City's efforts to involve the community in this planning process, and together we have made good progress towards creating a plan the entire community can stand behind. However, more must be done. We call upon the City to incorporate the following suggestions into the Community Plan: • Integrate Land Use and Transportation - We believe the City must do more to identify and plan for transit routes during the initial design phase, to ensure that housing, retail and jobs are located and designed in a manner that supports transit Planning transit routes without supportive design strategies in place (e.g. transit- oriented retail and housing, reduced residential parking) will make transit service less frequent, convenient and user- friendly, and will result in more traffic. • Provide a Variety of Housing — The current plan includes homes for people at two ends of the economic spectrum: those who can afford million dollar houses and those who meet strict criteria for low - income housing. Alameda Point needs to include a range of housing types that will allow for people from all economic strata to find a home here. "Affordable" housing strategies currently being pursued allow affordable stock to become market rate after a set number of years. Building a variety of housing types, including condos, apartments, townhouses, and smaller single - family homes and dispersing them throughout the development will create a community that is affordable to all Alamedans, and mirror Alameda's historic neighborhoods. • Incorporate Mini - Transit Nodes — The current plan proposes a land use pattern across Alameda Point that is uniform in its design and density. We suggest that mini - transit nodes, which would also function as neighborhood centers, should be planned throughout the development. These nodes should be designed to serve as the hub of each neighborhood, with neighborhood retail (convenience stores, coffee shops, etc), public amenities (libraries, community centers, parks) and higher- density housing clustered around each node. One of the nodes should be near the already existing Alameda Point Collaborative, as the APC residents have a clear need for transit and services within walking distance. • Invest in Effective and Cost - Efficient Transportation - Transportation solutions that benefit the entire city of Alameda should take priority over Alameda Point -only projects. Proposed transit programs that are `point -to- point," such as a gondola to downtown Oakland, are more Submitted by Rob Siltanen at the 5 -3 -05 Council Meeting under Oral Communications expensive and less effective at reducing traffic than other programs, such as buses, that pick up and drop off at numerous points on a route. Studies show that once people have to use more than 2 different transportation methods, they are unlikely to use public transportation. A gondola (or similar point -to -point system) will require most commuters to use several transportation methods (e.g. bus - gondola - BART), making transit inconvenient and expensive. This will result in more traffic across Alameda. We support a variety of transportation choices to reduce traffic generated by new development at the point. Buses, ferries, and bicycle and pedestrian routes are all key components of reducing traffic, and should be prioritized. • Walkable Neighborhoods — Clusters of neighborhood retail , with coffee shops, convenience stores, barbers, etc. should be integrated into the development design. Examples of this type of development are found throughout Alameda at the historic "stations" as well as neighborhoods like the Fernside district. Walkability is not just sidewalks and walking paths, it is a community design that encourages walking as a part of daily routine and creates vibrant, safe communities, where neighbors interact with each other on the street. • Minimize impacts to Alameda's existing residents — Any development is going to have impacts on the city's existing neighborhoods and streets. Land -use and transportation strategies should minimize traffic impacts on the rest of the island by investing in transit solutions that reduce the number of new cars on the roads. • Historic preservation — We support saving the Al Dewitt Club (formerly the 0' Club), the Flight Control Tower and Alameda Naval Air Museum. Other existing structures should be preserved if it is economically feasible to do so. By incorporating the above suggestions into the alternative design concepts currently being studied, the city will make great strides toward creating a plan for Alameda Point that reflects the will of the community, as signaled by the hundreds of Alameda residents that have participated in the Community Plan workshops, as well as previously- adopted plans for the Point. We feel strongly that if the spirit of these planning principles is met, the community that will grow at Alameda Point will be one that will flourish and will continue Alameda's historic and much -loved community design. Respectfully, Rob Siltanen Teacher, Alameda high Santa Clara Ave Imam Musa Balde' Muslim Clergy/Director, Islamic Center of Alameda 901 Santa Clara Ave. Kevin Farrell Board Member, City of Alameda Health Care District The Rev. Ted Thompson Rector, Christ Episcopal Church 1700 Santa Clara Jill Octaviano Sgt. Alameda Police Dept. Fountain Ave Gregg Cevallos Alameda Parent Small Business Owner 2814 Lincoln Ave Mi'Chelle Fredrick West End Resident & Business Owner West End Workshop Former WABA Board Member WABA Design Committee Chair 338 Santa Clara Ave. Rev. David Borglum Member, Alameda Ministerial Association First Congregational Church Alameda Peace Network 20 Wellfleet Bay Barbara Kahn Active Member, Democratic Club, Member, Board of National Women's Political Caucus Member, Board Alameda Education Foundation and Member, Steering Committee for school parcel tax 467 Central (43 years at that address) Kevin Reilly, BSN, RN Staff Nurse II, Alameda Hospital Member, Region 11 Board, California Nurses Association Member, Alameda Point Restoration Advisory Board Christine Buck Christine Buck Communications Member, Marketing Committee, West Alameda Business Association Volunteer, Washington School 1131 Bay Street Gail VanWinkle Coordinator, "You Otter Be Safe" program, Edison Lincoln Ave Rev. Laura Toepfer Associate Rector, Christ Episcopal Church 1700 Santa Clara Ave. Daniel Sykes Senior Park Planner East Bay Regional Park District Member, Association of Environmental Professionals 1808 Cambridge Dr. Loel Solomon, PHD Nat'l Dir., Community Health Initiatives, Kaiser Permanente Edison Parent Fountain Ave Steve Irwin First Vice President Servicing Operations Financial Freedom Senior Funding Corporation 1541 8th Street Eric Antebi Communications Professional 1539 Verdi Street, #A Lara Weber Educator 2426 Lincoln Ave., Condo H Cara A. Watkins Journalist 915 Pacific Ave. Jane Shiber Teacher Court Street Michelle Cave Nutritionist and stay at home mom 447 Lincoln Ave. Andrea Pook Public Information Representative 3271 Central Ave. Jacqui McClure Back to Life Wellness Center 1505 Webster Street #3 G N Uchida Board member, Girls Inc of the Island City Encinal Avenue Andrea Carlise Attorney co -owner of Barcelona Restaurant 2835 Johnson Ave. Lynette Lee Administrator 3916 Loma Vista Ave. Kitrena Swanson Alameda teacher parent and homeowner Marshall Way Susan Decker Alameda Transit Advocates 2145 Santa Clara Ave., Apt. E Joanna Bianchi Architect 3013 Santa Clara Aveu Angie Klein Architect Lincoln ave. Alexandra Sheets Saikley Architect, self - employed Garfield Avenue Barbara Krummel At -home Mom and Edison and LMS parent 3258 Liberty Ave. Bill Shiber Attorney Court Street Rodney Pimentel Civil Engineer Moreland Drive Melinda Hayes Attorney Former AUSD Teacher resident/homeowner for 37 years 1041 Mangrove Lane Rob McClure Back to Life Wellness Center 1505 Webster Street #3 Lucy Gigli BikeAlameda laurel Street Allan J. Zenos BikeAlameda/East Bay Bicycle Coalition 527 Central Ave. John Knox White Chair, Alameda Transportation Commission 3239 Central Ave Deborah D. Palmer Brain Injury Connection 433 Sand Beach Road Rev. Michael Yoshii Buena Vista United Methodist Church 2311 Buena Vista Ave. Brandon Luce Builder 1446 Sixth Street Sam Featherstone Businessman 1122 Union St. Mark L. Ulrey Businessman Versailles Ave. Kathryn Hill AUSD Teacher Multigenerational Alamedan 3206 Sterling Ave. Robert McFarland Civil Engineer/Transportation Commission 2811 Fernside Blvd. Audrey Lord - Hausman Community Volunteer Clay Street Mark Irons Contractor Oak Street Christian Fritze Director, biotech 2160 Santa Clara Ave Jennifer Knox White Editor 3239 Central Ave Rachel Boyce employee of Sybex, Inc. in Marina Village 1474 University Ave Ann Blake, Ph.D. Environmental and Public Health Consulting 8 Decelle Ct. Gwen Meyer Facilitator /Group Leader, New Parent Groups, Smart Healthy Babies (Xanthos) Santa Clara Avenue S. Rowan Wilson Finance; Mortgage broker, Real Estate and stock market investor 1100 Pacific Marina #201 Susan Gavrich Financial Planner 1517 Fountain St. Anne Bevan Flight Attendant 2909 Lincoln Ave. Jan Greene Freelance journalist Mound St. Laurie Nemzer Genetic Counselor Harvard Drive Norah Foster Graduate Services, UC Berkeley 2522 Webb Ave Suzan Kaplan Graphic Designer Buena Vista Avenue Robert Gavrich Investment Adviser 1517 Fountain St. Kim Soskin K. Soskin Communications 1526 Fountain Street Lauren Eisele Land Use/Environmental Planner College Avenue David Cave Mechanical Designer 447 Lincoln Ave. David Forbes member, Board of Education Catherine Atcheson John McNulty Molecular Biologist/Edison Parent Realtor 2160 Santa Clara Ave. 2500 Noble Ave. Rick Weber Mortgage Broker 2426 Lincoln Ave., Condo H Susan C. Tajima National Board Certified Teacher Pearl St. Marla Kolman Non -Profit Director Verdi St Cindy Elwell Owner, Divorce With Dignity 1138A Ballena Blvd., Ste. 2 Carol Lynn Featherstone Parent/Homemaker 1122 Union St. Vicki Sedlack Parent; Non -Profit Consultant 1950 Kofman Pkwy Connie Slattery-Hanna Realtor Associate, Harbor Bay Realty 885 Island Drive Pat Colburn Realtor, Kane & Assoc Park Avenue David Gunderman Realtor, Kane & Associates Member, Alameda Association of Realtors Registered Foster Parent Santa Clara Avenue Zach Kaplan recumbent cycle dealer 1518 Buena Vista Ave Tom Matthews Renewed Hope 2450 Central Ave. Kelly Farrell Resident Ron Mooney President, Alameda Education Foundation Joan Visser 1421 San Antonio Ave. retired 154 Oak Park Dr. Kris Venturini President, Edison PTA Donna B. Vaughn 3008 Fernside Blvd Retired Harbor Light Rd. Linda Hudson Principal, Linda Hudson Writing Stan Schiffinan 1037 San Antonio Avenue Retired Norwich Rd. Aiesha Balde' Public Outreach Coordinator, Islamic Miriam Schiffman Center of Alameda Retired 901 Santa Clara Ave. Norwich Rd. Helen Sause Retired, San Francisco Redevelopment Agency Alameda Chamber of Commerce League of Women Voters 816 Grand St. William J. Smith, Ph.D., P.E. Sierra Club 2822 Bayview Drive Anne Cevallos Small business owner Lincoln Ave Linda Rutherford Small Business Owner Chamber of Commerce Member Xanthos/Head Start Board Member Park Ave. David R. Esposito Software Engineer 1123 Holly St. Michael J. Krueger Software Engineer 2145 Santa Clara Ave., Apt. E Scott McKay Software Engineer, Chemist, Student Laurel St. Alison Luce Stay at home mother 1446 Sixth Street Malia May Tailor, Mother, Homeowner, Alamedan 2837 Adams Street Sara Fairchild Teacher Fountain St. Janet Waring Retired nurse 3317 Constance Circle Ann Casper Teacher, Alameda High Oak Street Jon Spangler Writer/Editor 1037 San Antonion Ave. Amir Rashad Youth Program Coordinator, Timbuktu Educational Foundation 1138 B Ballena Blvd The Jackson Family/Bill Jackson 1024 Trellis Lane Judith Grant 1053 Fair Oaks Ave. Geraldine Kierse -Irwin 1541 8th Street Jane Pimentel 1703 Moreland Drive Daniel Hoy 314 Pacific Ave. Andrea Hoy 314 Pacific Ave. Bruce King 3273 Central Ave. Arnold G. Fong 734 Palmera Ct. Jean S. Fong 734 Pabnera Ct. Irene Dieter Calhoun Street Sarah Noble AUSD Teacher Eastshore Drive Multigenerational Alamedan 3206 Sterling Ave. Anna Martin, PHD Research Scientist Betsy Weiss Alameda Point Collaborative Board Business owner Member Public school teacher Fountain Ave 1340 Versailles Avenue Dennis J. Hanna, Esq. Haight Avenue Dan Wood Laurel Street Andrew Raskopf Santa Clara Avenue Lena Gilbert Santa Clara Avenue Glenda McDowell Santa Clara Avenue Patty Osborne William Holloway Utility Trainer Walnut St. Ken C. Johnson Tom Miro Science Teacher 340 Versailles Ave. The Rev. Fran Sweet Deacon, Christ Episcopal Church 1700 Grand Street Doug Limey EBMUD Boardmember, Ward 5 Bailey Bay Ct Jackie Patterson Cathy Dubose Doug Biggs Rochelle Reed Software Training Manager BiikeAlameda Oak St. Dore Sandoval Johnson Barbara Bolton Realtor Elaine Gin Louie 556 Kings Rd Founder, Alameda Community Music for Babies and Children Rev. Laura Rose Board of Directors, Alameda Multi - Pastor Cultural Community Center Chestnut St. Jonathon Soglin Attorney Eve Pearlman Peter Hill