Excerpt:

Development battles are as much a part of Alameda as poplar trees, kids on bikes and restored Victorians.

First there was the fight over bay fill in the 1950s that led to South Shore Shopping Center. Then, in 1973, came Measure A, which banned multiunit homes. And now, Alameda's development battleground has shifted to the western edge of the island, where the city, developers and residents are brawling over the former Navy base.