Toxics and Environmental Restoration:

Clearly we should not be building housing on land that is unsafe. As a councilmember, I will work diligently to ensure that development throughout the island, not just Alameda Point, is appropriate for a given site.

I will work to ensure that the city has appropriate, independent representation in negotiations with the US Navy regarding clean up standards.

Clearly in locations where housing currently exists, it is advisable that deed restrictions limit activity that poses a danger to occupants or community health.

Regional Development:

Typically, regional issues are Alameda issues too. Alameda has a jobs/housing imbalance and housing affordability issues. Any transportation system, to be effective, must connect into and rely on regional systems.

For 15 years, the citizens of Alameda have identified mixed-use development as a priority at Alameda Point. The size and scope of this development has varied, but the vision itself has remained consistent. An appropriate development will meet these goals in a financially sustainable manner, providing new public space opportunities along with housing, jobs and uses compatible with the community vision.

I not only support Alameda’s revised, and recently approved Housing Element, I have strenuously advocated doing this during my entire Planning Board tenure. Experience and good planning principles dictate that higher residential densities, including affordable housing, will support transportation hubs. Future development, especially at Alameda Point, must incorporate these principles.

Fauna, Flora, Open Space and Recreational Land Management:

I support the refuge. The decision to continue to include it must involve a decision about whether it can be appropriately managed. I tend to believe that the more local the management, the better, but a discussion on who that should be needs to be a part of a public process.

So far, the City has made no determination as to what will be built in the Northwest Territories, though I certainly support the idea of a regional park on that land. Measure WW specifically lists $6.5 million for the creation of trails and recreation at Alameda Point, so it’s clearly appropriate to ask for money, but the discussion and negotiations will determine whether or not the final deal includes money for the land. Depending on what deal is struck, it’s possible that requiring funding is appropriate. The park is not being created in a vacuum and I would want to ensure that whatever decision was made regarding it did not preclude other aspects of the project.

A park has been identified in this location [Enterprise Park] in just about every plan that has been created for Alameda Point. The planning of Alameda Point cannot carve out specific pieces and just hand them out. I would work to honor the vision of the community, which includes park and open space which will require discussions about trade-offs to ensure that amenities, like new parks, can be built and sustained.