The Island: Candidate Questionnaire

What do you think needs to be done with Alameda Point – and what steps
would you take to make that happen?

We need to carefully pick out a
quality master developer and private capital financier who will work with
the community -- ones that gets we’re not just another cookie-cutter
community which can be steamrolled. It would be my hope to move
forward with a Peter Calthorpe-like, transit-oriented development plan. I
also think any project approved must also come with a serious and
effective traffic mitigation plan. No project will get my vote without such a
traffic management plan in place well ahead of time.

What do you think is the most pressing issue you would face if elected and
what would you do to address it?

...

The second most pressing issue is the redevelopment of Alameda Point.
For 13 years now existing council and staff have botched any movement
forward on this vital property. In my opinion, the only way we will be able
to pay the Navy’s $108.5 million asking price, the estimated $400 million in
vital infrastructure repairs (roads, water and sewer lines, etc) and the
estimated $100 million in public amenities will be through the use of
private investment capital managed by a master commercial developer.
Municipal self-development, an idea being promoted by some
candidates and a few senior staff members recently, is pure political feel-
good folly. There are no viable examples of a city redeveloping a former
military base on its own.