HOMES Newsletter: April, 2005
1. Next Alameda Point Community Meeting – May 7th,
9:30 a.m., Tower Building, 2175
Monarch St. at Alameda Point.
2. Great Turnout at March 23rd
Community Transportation Workshop
3. Sign On to Support Good Community Planning
and Design!
4. Measure A and Measure A
5. Homes Notes - We’ve Redesigned our Web Site!
6. Historical Perspective – Residential Developments and Community
Next Alameda Point Community Workshop
The next community workshop
will take place on Saturday, May 7th
at 9:30 a.m. at the historic Tower Building, 2175 Monarch St. at Alameda Point. It’s urgent that you attend! The community’s input should show up on the
new drawings. To ensure our comments are “on the map”:
Map to the Tower Building
Come spend the morning in this
fascinating building and discuss what type of community we want at Alameda
Point. Your voice counts! Then, with map in hand (available at the
meeting), take a tour of Alameda Point to imagine its potential.
This 4th workshop
will refine and expand the plans developed by the consultant ROMA resulting
from input of citizens at the last Community Workshop. The framework of streets with locations of
major and neighborhood transportation nodes will show possible distribution and
density of housing as it relates to housing types and income, and the location
of business and retail including possible locations of a supermarket and
hotel/conference center.
We are closing in on the
Preliminary Development Plan. Only one more workshop to go which will be
in early June. Your input does make
a difference.
Great Turnout at March 23rd Community
Workshop
At the March 23rd
Community Workshop, a large number of citizens learned about public transit
alternatives and land use plans resulting from those proposals. Short and long term solutions were considered. Short term included a care-share program,
enhanced ferry service, a BART shuttle and an “EcoPass,” a pass paid for by
residents of Alameda Point good for rides on bus services. These improvements would be in effect with
the first construction of housing.
The long term plans addressed
the needs of the whole Island and included an aerial tram, a BART extension
with a station under the Estuary serving both Alameda and Jack London Square in
Oakland, bus service in medians similar to light rail but with rubber tires
which could be converted to rail, and dedicated bus lanes on city streets to
enable busses to skip queues and have preferential treatment over regular traffic. The most expensive was the BART extension to
the Oakland 12th Street station with a new station under the
Estuary, at a cost of from $280 million to $400 million. The aerial tram came in at a cost that made
it feasible to construct, but based on public comment other solutions are under
study.
Sign On to Support Good Community Planning and Design
HOMES is asking for
signatures to the attached letter to the mayor and city council asking for
support of good community planning and design.
To “sign-on” to this letter, simply respond to this email – homesalameda@comcast.net – with your
name, occupation and/or organizational affiliation, and address. To those of you who have already supported
this effort, THANK YOU. Please also
feel free to distribute this letter.
We’re trying to collect signatures by April 26th.
Measure A and Measure A
Much of our discussion
around Alameda Point involves Measure A, Alameda’s 1973 charter amendment
prohibiting the building of multiple dwelling units. HOMES and many others in the community feel that this Measure A
prevents many of Alameda’s values and traditions from being reflected at
Alameda Point.
However, this spring there
is discussion of a very different Measure A – the parcel tax supporting our
public schools. HOMES urges its
supporters to thoughtfully consider the parcel tax Measure A and its impact on
the quality of education we can provide in our community.
Homes Notes
We have a redesigned web
site! We encourage you to visit it to
learn more about us and, more importantly, about the issues and opportunities
surrounding Alameda Point. Visit us at www.homesalameda.org
HOMES is a grassroots
organization. So far, our efforts have
been supported almost entirely by our members.
But as we get closer to finalizing plans for Alameda Point, we need to
embark upon a larger educational campaign than our members can support by
themselves. If you support our efforts
to see that Alameda Point is developed to include a variety of housing types,
support historical preservation, and reduce the traffic impact on the rest of
Alameda, please help us out with a financial donation. Tax-exempt
donations may be made to HOMES and sent to 816 Grand St., Alameda, CA 94501.
Thank you!
Historical Perspective – Residential Developments and
Community
Alameda has gone through
many changes throughout its history.
Originally a place for gaming and fishing, Alameda quickly became known
largely as a residential community. Yet,
even how we’ve provided neighborhoods for our residents has gone through
changes.
Early incorporated Alameda
was a combination of residences and local shops. People relied on walking or public transportation. There was unique character to our
neighborhoods and neighbors knew each other.
The rapid population growth era of the 1950’s brought a different
concept to fruition, that of a sea of residences separated from “old” Alameda
and that of the “one-stop shopping center” where one drove, parked and did all one’s
shopping at one time. The result of
this concept was the development of South Shore. Although developed with the best intentions in mind – to provide
housing and convenience to residents – we’ve learned a lot since then. A lot from history.
Turns out “old” Alameda knew
a thing or two about community. The
convenience of the corner market; the liveliness of streets filled with
neighbors, not cars; the ampleness of open space for recreational activities
right where we live were valuable concepts in “old” Alameda. That’s the type of Alameda we’d like to have
reflected at Alameda Point. And unlike
South Shore, whose development still evokes controversy today, Alameda Point is
being planned by and with Alameda residents so that it can be place we all can
be proud of.
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Please feel free to pass this e-newsletter along. To subscribe or unsubscribe, email: homesalameda@comcast.net
Tax-deductible contributions are always welcome! Make checks payable to: HOMES
816 Grand St.
Alameda, CA 94501
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HOMES Steering Committee:
Helen Sause, Co-Chair –
510-521-3940
Joan Konrad, Co-Chair –
510-522-3789
Doug Linney, Strategic
Advisor, The Next Generation