East Bay Express: Alameda Point Deadline Looms

Excerpt:

Having failed to enact its plan via the ballot box, the developer's last shot at the 770-acre former Naval Air Station is to take the more traditional route of applying to the city for things like zoning changes and entitlements. It also must find a legal way around Alameda's strict charter amendment, Measure A(1973) The actual text of what is known as Measure A is article 26 of the Alameda City Charter. It reads as follows: "Sec. 26-1. There shall be no multiple dwelling units built in the City of Alameda. Sec. 26-2. Exception being the Alameda Housing Authority replacement of existing low cost housing units and the proposed Senior Citizens low cost housing complex, pursuant to Article XXV of the Charter of the City of Alameda. Sec. 26-3. The maximum density for any residential development within the City of Alameda shall be one housing unit per 2,000 square feet of land. This limitation shall not apply to the repair or replacement of existing residential units, whether single-family or multiple-unit, which are damaged or destroyed by fire or other disaster; provided that the total number of residential units on any lot may not be increased. This limitation also shall not apply to replacement units under Section 26-2." , which prohibits building anything bigger than a duplex.