More information is on their website, and an application to the city council is available here.
Friday, October 24, 2014
Got Mosquitoes?
I hope you don't have mosquitoes... but in Alameda County there is a Mosquito Abatement Agency that monitors and responds to mosquito problems because it is a public health issue. Emeryville's member who represented us on that agency no longer lives in town, and the Council is looking to appoint a new resident to serve. The monthly meeting pays $100/meeting, and you would be greatly appreciated. This is for a person who enjoys serving the community and is interested in these issues.
Affordable Units at Parc on Powell
My family and I have watched with anticipation as the scaffolding came down from in front of the huge construction project down the block. Yes, the first portion of the new apartments at Doyle/Stanford/Powell/Hollis are nearly done. The second phase should be near completion by 2015.
There are 21 affordable units included in this project, and those units are available to household that qualify based on income. The applications for these units are due next Friday, October 31. Generally, there is a lottery system after all applications are received.
For more information, please go to the Parc on Powell website which also has the application and the qualifications.
There are 21 affordable units included in this project, and those units are available to household that qualify based on income. The applications for these units are due next Friday, October 31. Generally, there is a lottery system after all applications are received.
For more information, please go to the Parc on Powell website which also has the application and the qualifications.
Monday, October 20, 2014
Vote YES on Measures U and V!
Measures U and V are critical for the financial well-being of the City of Emeryville going forward. We are still adding residents and workers with newly constructed apartments and new commercial spaces in town, all with a reduced budget due to the loss of redevelopment (in 2012 we lost our $30 million/year redevelopment funds). Emeryville was unusual in losing such a significant part of our budget as 95% of our town was in a redevelopment agency.
By voting YES on Measure U, we will make Emeryville a Charter City, which will keep our town exactly the same, except for ONE THING - the ability to put in place a Property Transfer Tax when a property is sold/bought.
By voting YES on Measure V, we can collect from each property sale a one time tax -- $12.00/$1,000 value plus the current $1.10/$1,000 that is currently assessed and split with the county -- less than what Berkeley or Oakland collect, but significantly more than what we are currently allowed to collect as a General Law City. Most of the funds will come from commercial property sales. We are losing out on this revenue now. It will vary year to year, but we missed out on nearly $10 million over the past few years, not having this one time tax in place. Large developments sold can mean potential improvements to parks, streets, or other capital projects -- Bay Street recently changed hands as well as Novartis.
Please help Emeryville to maintain police and fire services, maintain our parks and think about how to pay for public works projects for our streets, sewers and other projects going forward. This money cannot be taken by Sacramento.
And the realtors are the ONLY organization opposing these two measures.
The Chamber of Commerce supports them; every council member supports them, every city council candidate supports them. You can support our town, too!
Don't let the outside lobbyists buy your vote or fool you. Wow. They sure do have a lot of money to spend on our little city. (More than $85,000 I heard.)
For more info and facts, go to the City Website and read up on Measure U and Measure V.
Also, I simply have to refute the inaccurate information on the mailer I got this week:
By voting YES on Measure U, we will make Emeryville a Charter City, which will keep our town exactly the same, except for ONE THING - the ability to put in place a Property Transfer Tax when a property is sold/bought.
By voting YES on Measure V, we can collect from each property sale a one time tax -- $12.00/$1,000 value plus the current $1.10/$1,000 that is currently assessed and split with the county -- less than what Berkeley or Oakland collect, but significantly more than what we are currently allowed to collect as a General Law City. Most of the funds will come from commercial property sales. We are losing out on this revenue now. It will vary year to year, but we missed out on nearly $10 million over the past few years, not having this one time tax in place. Large developments sold can mean potential improvements to parks, streets, or other capital projects -- Bay Street recently changed hands as well as Novartis.
Please help Emeryville to maintain police and fire services, maintain our parks and think about how to pay for public works projects for our streets, sewers and other projects going forward. This money cannot be taken by Sacramento.
And the realtors are the ONLY organization opposing these two measures.
The Chamber of Commerce supports them; every council member supports them, every city council candidate supports them. You can support our town, too!
Don't let the outside lobbyists buy your vote or fool you. Wow. They sure do have a lot of money to spend on our little city. (More than $85,000 I heard.)
For more info and facts, go to the City Website and read up on Measure U and Measure V.
Also, I simply have to refute the inaccurate information on the mailer I got this week:
- Becoming a Charter City means it will be harder for citizens to put charter amendments on the ballot than it currently is for putting ballot initiatives on the ballot. Charter cities require 15% of voters' signatures when gathering, rather than a 10% of voters' signatures threshold in place as a general law city.
- The Council deliberately put a very narrow and simple charter together so that only one thing is changed by Measures U and V - the Real Property Transfer Tax. We think our current form of government is working nicely, and there is no need for salary increases for council members beyond what is allowed as a general law city. Excluding and legalizing businesses may require a charter amendment and any amendment would have to go to the voters. Now, as a general law city, the city council can do much more just by ordinance... Council members and residents can place ballot measures on the ballot now, it will only be harder when we are a charter city.
- Most residents will be completely unaffected by Measures U and V. About 66% of residents are renters. Only those who own property will pay a portion of the new Real Property Transfer Tax, and that will only be at the time a property is sold.
- If you do not own property in Emeryville, these measures will not impact you at all, except that your city will continue to be able to fund the valuable services and maintenance that you enjoy.
- More sales in terms of numbers might be residential in Emeryville, but in terms of the amount of the Real Property Transfer Taxes collected, most of the funds will be from the larger commercial properties, but only when they change hands. Most residential properties are lower in value than the commercial properties -- after all, about 75% of land use in Emeryville is commercial.
- These funds are critical if Emeryville is to keep our streets maintained, our police and fire first-rate, our parks nice and if we are to be able to pay for capital improvements. I know you value Emeryville for these reasons. We just need to find new ways to keep our standards and pay for improvements now that redevelopment is gone.
Thanks for your attention to this very important set of ballot measures. Vote YES on U and V!
Let me tell you why I support Scott and Dianne...
I have been honored to serve the City of Emeryville for the
past 5 years as a council member. I have worked hard to ask tough questions and
communicate with you, my constituents. I have sent regular email updates, asked
for your opinions, chatted with you at the grocery store, come to your
communities, and responded to emails. I
have valued public participation and transparency, raising the expectations for
our city to respond to your needs. We have accomplished a lot, but there is
more to be done. It is time for me to pass the torch to folks I trust.
I endorsed both Dianne Martinez and Scott Donahue for city
council because I am impressed with the skills and talents they would bring to
the city council. They have different skills, and I would like to highlight how
they would balance each other as leaders in town.
Dianne is an intelligent and personable candidate with
common sense. I think Dianne will follow my path of bringing people together,
creating and strengthening partnerships that are so essential in our ever more
regional world. Spanning business and resident interests, Dianne will continue
to create an environment for strong collaboration and connection. She will be a
person who will work well with all council members.
Scott has been my advisor while I served on council. He has
a strong history of all things Emeryville that I have relied on, and he is
willing to listen and thoughtfully consider other people’s ideas, and share his
own. He is passionate about quality of life issues, since he has seen the
growth Emeryville has achieved, and values the possibilities for smart
development with a practical side.
Better bike connections, parks and public works projects will be priorities for both candidates.
The two candidates complement each other well, and as a team,
both in their campaign and on the council, will bring a cohesive, dynamic
energy that will carry on the work I have done.
Thursday, October 2, 2014
Election recommendations
Absentee ballots will be coming your way soon. I wanted to share my recommendations on the various measures and candidates you will find on the ballot.
Vote Yes on Measure U
Vote Yes on Measure V
Vote Yes on Measure K
Vote Yes on Measure BB
Vote for Scott Donahue for Emeryville City Council
Vote for Dianne Martinez for Emeryville City Council
Vote for Christian Patz for Emery Unified School Board
Vote for John Affeldt for Emery Unified School Board
Vote Yes on Measure U
Vote Yes on Measure V
Vote Yes on Measure K
Vote Yes on Measure BB
Vote for Scott Donahue for Emeryville City Council
Vote for Dianne Martinez for Emeryville City Council
Vote for Christian Patz for Emery Unified School Board
Vote for John Affeldt for Emery Unified School Board
Horton St. Bike Boulevard thoughts
Tuesday morning, September 30, was the second community meeting to hear from residents and businesses about the proposed temporary and experimental traffic calming on Horton St. bike boulevard. The goal of traffic calming on Horton is to reduce the number of cars and reduce the speed of cars.
It was great to see 30 people turn out at 9:00 am, and we had a lively hour and a half of sharing points of view. I listened and learned from the people who came. Here are my take-aways.
Follow the Bike/Ped Plan. At this time, what is called for is Level 4 traffic calming. Level 4 means that there are additional measures put in place to slow car traffic down, with either horizontal (meaning side to side, weaving) traffic calming, like chicanes or narrowing, or vertical (up and down) traffic calming like speed humps. By slowing cars, we can hope some drivers will choose other more efficient routes, and avoid Horton. How many of you avoid roads with speed bumps when possible?
Provide more data. We don't really know where all the cars are coming from and where they are going. We are not trying to trick drivers or add to their frustration levels at traffic congestion in town, but we are trying to say this street is being protected for bicyclists. Staff suggested putting up speed signs by Thanksgiving that tell drivers what speed they are going, and will also record the number of cars and their speeds. Sherwin Williams' Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which is on the October 7 city council agenda, will be completed over the next 9 months or so, and will provide additional data on this area and the impacts that that development project will bring, including on traffic. It includes a traffic study.
Don't pit neighborhood against neighborhood. I think that some feel that a Level 5 diverter (which would close Horton to through car traffic either at 45th/Sherwin and/or at Stanford) would benefit some and hurt others. I disagree, in that the overall goal is to reduce ALL traffic on Horton, and I think that it would be effective in that, but I heard very clearly that others are concerned about "dumping" confused cars into the Park Ave district. With proper signage posted, we would hope to alert drivers to any closures or otherwise persuade them to find another route.
Safety is critical. This is one of the reasons I have been concerned about the proposed Level 4 traffic calming possibilities. Some of the Level 4 options narrow the road and put cars in conflict with each other, rather than with bikes. There are other options for Level 4 that I think would be safer options.
There is history here. Apparently, when the Chiron/Novartis/Grifols campus was being approved, Horton was considered an alternative route and pressure release for the traffic impacts on Hollis St. Now, we are reversing that goal by putting the Horton cars back on Hollis. There is no doubt that Hollis will be impacted.
Do it right and don't chicken out. Let's think this through and NOT repeat what happened in the Triangle neighborhood a few years ago. In that case, diverters were put in and then taken out within a few weeks, as the neighborhood reacted. The Level 4 traffic calming in the Triangle has NOT decreased vehicle counts on their streets, but it has decreased speed. As critical as it is to get some kind of traffic calming put in (since Horton has long had more than 3,000 vehicle trips per day, the maximum for a designated Bike Boulevard in Emeryville), it is o.k. to gather this kind of input and plan it out accordingly.
The real goal is to decrease vehicle trips in Emeryville in general, in my opinion. I think we will have to look at this overall for the city, not just for one street. Making driving in Emeryville less attractive is important, along with improving alternatives to driving. This includes looking at parking, Emery-Go-Round, bike and pedestrian connectivity, and thinking more globally about how these policies interact.
Keep access for local use. We need to look carefully at the places people need to get to and how they can get there now and with new measures put in place.
The Plan calls for Level 4 traffic calming now and in two years, Level 5 diverters, if the numbers are not sufficiently reduced. That coincides with the Sherwin Williams development - with construction starting in 2016 or so. We can plan for that and decide not to go that route if Level 4 has the impacts we hope for.
Please stay engaged on this topic, as it is an important part of our city's overall plan for changing the dominance of the car in town, at least on one street. When some asked why we need to worry about this at all, I put forward my ideas about the need to recognize "complete" streets, that support all modes of travel, and the "bike boulevard" which elevates the bicycle over the car in terms of priority and treatment.
Horton is a special street in many ways. It is not predominantly residential now. It is wide and has long blocks between stop signs. There is not parking on much of it. All of this contributes to fast driving, without the "natural" traffic calming that comes with greater pedestrian activity or narrowing.
One person bravely said, and I agree, that this is not something that can be worked out by studying alone. There is a certain amount of trial and error with these attempts to change behavior. I am glad that we have a grant to pay for the engineering and design work, and that it will be relatively inexpensive to put in "temporary" and "experimental" measures, so that we can really try out a few things. Let's be open to ideas.
When I was in Minneapolis last week for a national conference (RailVolution) on public transit and bike/ped issues, I was very impressed with that city's bike supportive culture. They are trying things that other places have not tried. Let's be bold and try something on Horton, and let's make it Level 4 traffic calming for now. Thanks again to all who have attended a meeting, or sent in an email with your thoughts. There will be more opportunities to engage!
It was great to see 30 people turn out at 9:00 am, and we had a lively hour and a half of sharing points of view. I listened and learned from the people who came. Here are my take-aways.
Follow the Bike/Ped Plan. At this time, what is called for is Level 4 traffic calming. Level 4 means that there are additional measures put in place to slow car traffic down, with either horizontal (meaning side to side, weaving) traffic calming, like chicanes or narrowing, or vertical (up and down) traffic calming like speed humps. By slowing cars, we can hope some drivers will choose other more efficient routes, and avoid Horton. How many of you avoid roads with speed bumps when possible?
Provide more data. We don't really know where all the cars are coming from and where they are going. We are not trying to trick drivers or add to their frustration levels at traffic congestion in town, but we are trying to say this street is being protected for bicyclists. Staff suggested putting up speed signs by Thanksgiving that tell drivers what speed they are going, and will also record the number of cars and their speeds. Sherwin Williams' Environmental Impact Report (EIR), which is on the October 7 city council agenda, will be completed over the next 9 months or so, and will provide additional data on this area and the impacts that that development project will bring, including on traffic. It includes a traffic study.
Don't pit neighborhood against neighborhood. I think that some feel that a Level 5 diverter (which would close Horton to through car traffic either at 45th/Sherwin and/or at Stanford) would benefit some and hurt others. I disagree, in that the overall goal is to reduce ALL traffic on Horton, and I think that it would be effective in that, but I heard very clearly that others are concerned about "dumping" confused cars into the Park Ave district. With proper signage posted, we would hope to alert drivers to any closures or otherwise persuade them to find another route.
Safety is critical. This is one of the reasons I have been concerned about the proposed Level 4 traffic calming possibilities. Some of the Level 4 options narrow the road and put cars in conflict with each other, rather than with bikes. There are other options for Level 4 that I think would be safer options.
There is history here. Apparently, when the Chiron/Novartis/Grifols campus was being approved, Horton was considered an alternative route and pressure release for the traffic impacts on Hollis St. Now, we are reversing that goal by putting the Horton cars back on Hollis. There is no doubt that Hollis will be impacted.
Do it right and don't chicken out. Let's think this through and NOT repeat what happened in the Triangle neighborhood a few years ago. In that case, diverters were put in and then taken out within a few weeks, as the neighborhood reacted. The Level 4 traffic calming in the Triangle has NOT decreased vehicle counts on their streets, but it has decreased speed. As critical as it is to get some kind of traffic calming put in (since Horton has long had more than 3,000 vehicle trips per day, the maximum for a designated Bike Boulevard in Emeryville), it is o.k. to gather this kind of input and plan it out accordingly.
The real goal is to decrease vehicle trips in Emeryville in general, in my opinion. I think we will have to look at this overall for the city, not just for one street. Making driving in Emeryville less attractive is important, along with improving alternatives to driving. This includes looking at parking, Emery-Go-Round, bike and pedestrian connectivity, and thinking more globally about how these policies interact.
Keep access for local use. We need to look carefully at the places people need to get to and how they can get there now and with new measures put in place.
The Plan calls for Level 4 traffic calming now and in two years, Level 5 diverters, if the numbers are not sufficiently reduced. That coincides with the Sherwin Williams development - with construction starting in 2016 or so. We can plan for that and decide not to go that route if Level 4 has the impacts we hope for.
Please stay engaged on this topic, as it is an important part of our city's overall plan for changing the dominance of the car in town, at least on one street. When some asked why we need to worry about this at all, I put forward my ideas about the need to recognize "complete" streets, that support all modes of travel, and the "bike boulevard" which elevates the bicycle over the car in terms of priority and treatment.
Horton is a special street in many ways. It is not predominantly residential now. It is wide and has long blocks between stop signs. There is not parking on much of it. All of this contributes to fast driving, without the "natural" traffic calming that comes with greater pedestrian activity or narrowing.
One person bravely said, and I agree, that this is not something that can be worked out by studying alone. There is a certain amount of trial and error with these attempts to change behavior. I am glad that we have a grant to pay for the engineering and design work, and that it will be relatively inexpensive to put in "temporary" and "experimental" measures, so that we can really try out a few things. Let's be open to ideas.
When I was in Minneapolis last week for a national conference (RailVolution) on public transit and bike/ped issues, I was very impressed with that city's bike supportive culture. They are trying things that other places have not tried. Let's be bold and try something on Horton, and let's make it Level 4 traffic calming for now. Thanks again to all who have attended a meeting, or sent in an email with your thoughts. There will be more opportunities to engage!
Saturday, August 2, 2014
Development Impact Fees
Emeryville has put in place new fees to be charged to development projects as they get permits to build. These impact fees will pay for three things: transportation improvements, parks, and affordable housing. The staff report from our July 15, 2014 city council meeting are available for you to read here. These fees help to replace some of the funds we lost when redevelopment was dissolved. Some redevelopment funds (20%) were required to be used for affordable housing before 2012.
Putting these fees in place first required nexus studies to be done, showing how new development will create an additional need for transportation improvements, parks and affordable housing. The nexus studies took a year and a half to complete, and they are available for you to read. They are very interesting, both in the methodology and the statistics shared. All are available on the city website at http://emeryville.org/index.aspx?NID=971.
Transportation Impact Fees
The transportation impact fees are supported by this study completed by Fehr & Peers. Originally established in 1998, the transportation impact fees have already paid for many improvements from our previous list, and are based on new trips generated by different land uses. There is a new list of approved projects that the fees can go toward on pages 11-15 of the report, totaling approximately $100 million. Many of these projects will improve transportation not only for cars, but for transit, pedestrians and bicyclists as well, as we continue to improve our multi-modal transportation elements. The fee can be adjusted by the council from time to time. We set the transportation impact fee at 20% of the maximum allowed by the study.
Park and Recreation Impact Fees
The park and recreation impact fees are supported by this study completed by Willdan. These fees cannot pay for facilities that fix our existing deficit of parks, but can pay for new parks needed based on the new development. Right now Emeryville has park acreage of 1.32 acres per 1,000 service population (which includes people who work in town and use the parks now, but at a weighted or reduced number). Parks are very expensive to develop in a place like Emeryville, with limited open space, often requiring the removal of other uses first. We set the park impact fee at 25% of the maximum allowed by the study.
Affordable Housing Impact Fees
The affordable housing impact fees are supported by this study of residential development and another study of non-residential Jobs-Housing nexus for development, both completed by Keyser Marston. These fees will go toward new affordable housing units developed in Emeryville, recognizing the need for units affordable to all who work in our community. Every new market rate unit in Emeryville increases the need for affordable housing as well, since the future residents will eat at restaurants, buy things at retail stores and get their cars fixed. Each new unit will cause a fee of $20,000 per unit to be paid toward future affordable housing, well below the $35,600 allowed by the study. For commercial, the council established the fees at $4/sf, instead of the $66.00 to $244.00/sf fee maximum allowed by the study.
Here is a table showing projected fees from future developments in town.
This table compares Emeryville's proposed fees with other nearby cities.
The fees adopted for affordable housing were higher for commercial and office use than the staff had initially proposed. Instead of $2/square foot, the council voted to raise it to $4/sf.
Putting these fees in place first required nexus studies to be done, showing how new development will create an additional need for transportation improvements, parks and affordable housing. The nexus studies took a year and a half to complete, and they are available for you to read. They are very interesting, both in the methodology and the statistics shared. All are available on the city website at http://emeryville.org/index.aspx?NID=971.
Transportation Impact Fees
The transportation impact fees are supported by this study completed by Fehr & Peers. Originally established in 1998, the transportation impact fees have already paid for many improvements from our previous list, and are based on new trips generated by different land uses. There is a new list of approved projects that the fees can go toward on pages 11-15 of the report, totaling approximately $100 million. Many of these projects will improve transportation not only for cars, but for transit, pedestrians and bicyclists as well, as we continue to improve our multi-modal transportation elements. The fee can be adjusted by the council from time to time. We set the transportation impact fee at 20% of the maximum allowed by the study.
Park and Recreation Impact Fees
The park and recreation impact fees are supported by this study completed by Willdan. These fees cannot pay for facilities that fix our existing deficit of parks, but can pay for new parks needed based on the new development. Right now Emeryville has park acreage of 1.32 acres per 1,000 service population (which includes people who work in town and use the parks now, but at a weighted or reduced number). Parks are very expensive to develop in a place like Emeryville, with limited open space, often requiring the removal of other uses first. We set the park impact fee at 25% of the maximum allowed by the study.
Affordable Housing Impact Fees
The affordable housing impact fees are supported by this study of residential development and another study of non-residential Jobs-Housing nexus for development, both completed by Keyser Marston. These fees will go toward new affordable housing units developed in Emeryville, recognizing the need for units affordable to all who work in our community. Every new market rate unit in Emeryville increases the need for affordable housing as well, since the future residents will eat at restaurants, buy things at retail stores and get their cars fixed. Each new unit will cause a fee of $20,000 per unit to be paid toward future affordable housing, well below the $35,600 allowed by the study. For commercial, the council established the fees at $4/sf, instead of the $66.00 to $244.00/sf fee maximum allowed by the study.
Here is a table showing projected fees from future developments in town.
This table compares Emeryville's proposed fees with other nearby cities.
The fees adopted for affordable housing were higher for commercial and office use than the staff had initially proposed. Instead of $2/square foot, the council voted to raise it to $4/sf.
Friday, August 1, 2014
Emeryville Center of Community Life (ECCL)
At our special council meeting on Wednesday, August 6, 2014, the city council will be considering our agreement with Emery Unified School District (EUSD) to move forward on the Emeryville Center of Community Life (ECCL) project you can see starting construction on San Pablo Ave at 53rd. This project is the culmination of years of planning, and will create a single K-12 school with a Recreation Center, Library and health and community services, all under one roof. The staff report for this item is here. The supporting resolutions and contracts are quite long, but can be found on the agenda, item number 6.1.
The council has two items to consider:
The council has two items to consider:
- the Joint Occupancy Agreement, which covers
- Project Lease
- Finance Agreement
- Governance
- Operations, Maintenance and Shared Use Agreement
- Design and Construction Agreement
- General Conditions
- The construction contract with Turner Construction, which came in at $58.6 million.
Please attend the meeting if you can make it to hear updates on the project and share your opinion on the ECCL project. City Hall is at 1333 Park Ave.
Minimum Wage
At our special meeting this coming Weds, August 6 (starting at 6:00 pm), the council will be considering whether to direct staff to bring back an item on setting a minimum wage for our city. You have likely heard lots about this topic recently, as Oakland and Berkeley both are in the process of considering this as well -- Berkeley by ordinance, and Oakland by ballot measure. The Bay Area is an expensive place to live (just look at our recently submitted Housing Element), and workers earning the lowest permissible wages are not able to get by. A report analyzing the Lift Up Oakland ballot measure that will be on the ballot in November said that the measure would bring an raise to 40,000 workers in Oakland alone, 79% of whom are Latino or African American workers, with a vast majority in their twenties or older (not just teenagers). This is a social justice issue.
I am eager to hear the staff presentation and listen to my colleagues discuss this important issue as well. Please join us and bring your thoughts and comments!
Wednesday, August 6, 2014 at City Hall, 1333 Park Ave. starting at 6:00 pm!
I am eager to hear the staff presentation and listen to my colleagues discuss this important issue as well. Please join us and bring your thoughts and comments!
Wednesday, August 6, 2014 at City Hall, 1333 Park Ave. starting at 6:00 pm!
Charter City Update August 2014
On Weds, August 6, 2014, at 6:00 pm at City Hall, the City Council has a special meeting and one of the items is considering placing a Charter City ballot initiative on the ballot for November 4, 2014. There are many good reasons to vote for this ballot initiative, which I will explain further below. The Council is considering funding measures to diversify our revenue sources.
First of all, a Charter City is not the same as a Charter School. Charter cities (as distinguished from General Law cities) have the opportunity to enact charter amendments. Our drafted Charter is very short and simple, no tricks or big changes. The only amendment that the Emeryville City Council is interested in enacting at this time is a Real Property Transfer Tax (which will also appear on the November ballot, and will be considered next Weds, August 6 as well). This tax at the time of sale of a property will provide funds to partially replace those we lost when redevelopment agencies were dissolved two years ago. The tax is being considered at $12 per every $1,000 of valuation at the time of sale. This is lower than both Berkeley and Oakland's $15 per $1,000.
Taken together, these measures would create a guaranteed source of local funding for vital city services that, by law, cannot be taken by Sacramento, ensuring our tax dollars stay local for the benefit of Emeryville residents.
Emeryville residents enjoy the benefits of our clean, safe, and well-maintained city. Because our police and fire services are top-notch, Emeryville is a desirable place to live and do business. These measures help the city to maintain excellent public safety services.
These measures help support the services that make Emeryville a great community and are important to our local quality of life, such as neighborhood parks and open space, youth and senior services, and clean, safe streets and roads.
Please share your thoughts on these ballot measures, and help Emeryville by supporting them this Fall!
First of all, a Charter City is not the same as a Charter School. Charter cities (as distinguished from General Law cities) have the opportunity to enact charter amendments. Our drafted Charter is very short and simple, no tricks or big changes. The only amendment that the Emeryville City Council is interested in enacting at this time is a Real Property Transfer Tax (which will also appear on the November ballot, and will be considered next Weds, August 6 as well). This tax at the time of sale of a property will provide funds to partially replace those we lost when redevelopment agencies were dissolved two years ago. The tax is being considered at $12 per every $1,000 of valuation at the time of sale. This is lower than both Berkeley and Oakland's $15 per $1,000.
Taken together, these measures would create a guaranteed source of local funding for vital city services that, by law, cannot be taken by Sacramento, ensuring our tax dollars stay local for the benefit of Emeryville residents.
Emeryville residents enjoy the benefits of our clean, safe, and well-maintained city. Because our police and fire services are top-notch, Emeryville is a desirable place to live and do business. These measures help the city to maintain excellent public safety services.
These measures help support the services that make Emeryville a great community and are important to our local quality of life, such as neighborhood parks and open space, youth and senior services, and clean, safe streets and roads.
Please share your thoughts on these ballot measures, and help Emeryville by supporting them this Fall!
Sunday, May 4, 2014
Charter City and Property Transfer Tax
The City Council has directed staff to prepare a ballot measure for the November 4, 2014 election making Emeryville a Charter City, as most of our neighbors already are. Only charter cities can increase their Property Transfer Tax. As a general law city, we are restricted to follow state guidelines for how to organize and run our city. A charter city has greater autonomy, in that we can set our own guidelines through charter amendments passed by the electorate. More info on the city website here.
Because redevelopment went away two years ago, Emeryville has had to adapt, as 95% of our city was inside a redevelopment area, and we received significant funding for our budget and capital improvements from redevelopment as a result. Today, the council is looking at ways our neighboring cities have traditionally paid for these things, and one of those tools is the Property Transfer Tax. The Property Transfer Tax is a fee paid at the time of a property sale or transfer. Our current fee, which is the maximum allowed under general law, is about 5% of what Alameda collects and about 4% of what both Berkeley and Oakland collect. If we become a charter city and increase this tax, we have a lot of room to gain funds for critical capital improvements, and will still be competitive compared to our immediate neighbors.
The Property Transfer Tax is not going to be a consistent source of funds for the city, as it depends on how many parcels change hands year to year, and on what those parcels' value is according to the market. Looking back over the past several years, if we had had in place Alameda's higher rates, Emeryville could have collected between $800,000 - $13 million/year, instead of the current $38,000 - $600,000/year. These fees are paid when a property is sold, and are often split by the seller and buyer as closing costs.
March 18: City Council directed staff to bring back a charter city ballot measure. Staff report is here.
April 22: City Council approved the "narrow" or limited charter city idea, and directed staff to engage a consultant to poll on this ballot measure, along with the range of Property Transfer Tax we would consider. Staff report is here.
I hope you will support the charter city measure and the property transfer tax to help Emeryville find new funds to continue to improve our city.
Because redevelopment went away two years ago, Emeryville has had to adapt, as 95% of our city was inside a redevelopment area, and we received significant funding for our budget and capital improvements from redevelopment as a result. Today, the council is looking at ways our neighboring cities have traditionally paid for these things, and one of those tools is the Property Transfer Tax. The Property Transfer Tax is a fee paid at the time of a property sale or transfer. Our current fee, which is the maximum allowed under general law, is about 5% of what Alameda collects and about 4% of what both Berkeley and Oakland collect. If we become a charter city and increase this tax, we have a lot of room to gain funds for critical capital improvements, and will still be competitive compared to our immediate neighbors.
The Property Transfer Tax is not going to be a consistent source of funds for the city, as it depends on how many parcels change hands year to year, and on what those parcels' value is according to the market. Looking back over the past several years, if we had had in place Alameda's higher rates, Emeryville could have collected between $800,000 - $13 million/year, instead of the current $38,000 - $600,000/year. These fees are paid when a property is sold, and are often split by the seller and buyer as closing costs.
March 18: City Council directed staff to bring back a charter city ballot measure. Staff report is here.
April 22: City Council approved the "narrow" or limited charter city idea, and directed staff to engage a consultant to poll on this ballot measure, along with the range of Property Transfer Tax we would consider. Staff report is here.
I hope you will support the charter city measure and the property transfer tax to help Emeryville find new funds to continue to improve our city.
Impact Fees: Transportation, Housing and Parks
The City Council is considering Impact Fees to help Emeryville maintain and improve roads, parks and create affordable housing. These fees would be levied on any new residential or commercial developments in town.
These three fees will help to replace some of the redevelopment funds that we no longer have. There are three types of fees we are considering, and all funds that come in are designated to each type of improvement, as their adoption is based on studies that show how new development in town needs to pay for the impacts associated with that development. All studies we conducted justify the maximum fees that could be collected. What the staff is recommending is something far below that cap. Finding the right mix of fees so that we are not discouraging development is important.
Transportation Impact Fees
We have had a Traffic Impact Fee in place since the 1990s. This means that what we are doing is updating the reasonable amount that can be collected on each unit or by square footage (for non-residential). It also means that we have a new list of projects that can be funded through this fee. Most of the projects are improvements for bicycles and pedestrians. Car infrastructure improvements have been the focus in the past, and now we need to encourage fewer cars and more alternative transportation modes to reduce the traffic in town.
Affordable Housing Impact Fees
Every new development, even market rate developments, directly create an increased need for affordable housing in our region. A new unit brings people who will buy groceries, eat out, shop at clothing stores, use housecleaners -- and all of these actions require staff who are not paid adequately to live in the expensive Bay Area. As housing costs go up (and they are doing so in Emeryville), we have to make sure there is good affordable housing. I think this is critical, and one of my biggest jobs as a leader here.
These fees will help, but will not cover the cost of adequate affordable housing. We will continue to find other sources of funds to ensure we are creating a "just" Emeryville where all incomes are welcome.
Parks and Recreation Impact Fees
Emeryville is a dense 1.2 square mile urban village, and we need open space to make it a desirable place to live and play! Particularly for families, but for all residents and employees, we need more open space. These new fees cannot pay to remedy the historic lack of open space, but can pay for more parks that are required to support new development. Building parks in infill locations is very expensive, as it can mean relocating tenants and tearing down buildings. But look at how many people were enjoying the Movie in the Park at Doyle Hollis on Friday night! This is a critical need as well, and we must have a way to pay for new parks.
Please see additional information in the staff report from the April 1 study session (special city council meeting). This will be coming back to council at the May 20 or June 3, 2014 meeting. The impact fees have gone to various committees in April for input.
These three fees will help to replace some of the redevelopment funds that we no longer have. There are three types of fees we are considering, and all funds that come in are designated to each type of improvement, as their adoption is based on studies that show how new development in town needs to pay for the impacts associated with that development. All studies we conducted justify the maximum fees that could be collected. What the staff is recommending is something far below that cap. Finding the right mix of fees so that we are not discouraging development is important.
Transportation Impact Fees
We have had a Traffic Impact Fee in place since the 1990s. This means that what we are doing is updating the reasonable amount that can be collected on each unit or by square footage (for non-residential). It also means that we have a new list of projects that can be funded through this fee. Most of the projects are improvements for bicycles and pedestrians. Car infrastructure improvements have been the focus in the past, and now we need to encourage fewer cars and more alternative transportation modes to reduce the traffic in town.
Affordable Housing Impact Fees
Every new development, even market rate developments, directly create an increased need for affordable housing in our region. A new unit brings people who will buy groceries, eat out, shop at clothing stores, use housecleaners -- and all of these actions require staff who are not paid adequately to live in the expensive Bay Area. As housing costs go up (and they are doing so in Emeryville), we have to make sure there is good affordable housing. I think this is critical, and one of my biggest jobs as a leader here.
These fees will help, but will not cover the cost of adequate affordable housing. We will continue to find other sources of funds to ensure we are creating a "just" Emeryville where all incomes are welcome.
Parks and Recreation Impact Fees
Emeryville is a dense 1.2 square mile urban village, and we need open space to make it a desirable place to live and play! Particularly for families, but for all residents and employees, we need more open space. These new fees cannot pay to remedy the historic lack of open space, but can pay for more parks that are required to support new development. Building parks in infill locations is very expensive, as it can mean relocating tenants and tearing down buildings. But look at how many people were enjoying the Movie in the Park at Doyle Hollis on Friday night! This is a critical need as well, and we must have a way to pay for new parks.
Please see additional information in the staff report from the April 1 study session (special city council meeting). This will be coming back to council at the May 20 or June 3, 2014 meeting. The impact fees have gone to various committees in April for input.
Wednesday, February 19, 2014
Joshua Simon leaving the school board
Joshua Simon has served on the Emery Unified School District's Board of Trustees for 12 years. He and his family are moving to Oakland, and March 26, 2014 will be his last meeting. EUSD is looking for applicants to fill his position, with a process that will be announced soon. I encourage any interested folks to reach out to me and I will put you in touch with someone on the School Board. As my neighbor, I will greatly miss Josh and his family! I thank him for his dedication and years of service.
The school district is also in the process of hiring a new superintendent. More information on that is here.
Josh's letter is below:
The school district is also in the process of hiring a new superintendent. More information on that is here.
Josh's letter is below:
Dear Neighbors,
It has been a privilege to serve the
Emeryville community as a member of the Emery Unified School District Board of
Trustees for over 12 years. Unfortunately, my professional
responsibilities as the newly hired Executive Director of a nonprofit community
development corporation and the needs of my family, have combined to require
that I resign my position as School Board Trustee effective March 31st.
With two teenage daughters, we are
moving from our two bedroom, one bathroom condominium to a much larger
condominium in downtown Oakland. Our new
home will accommodate our family's needs, and has room for our parents in
the future. We continue to own property in Emeryville and we intend to move
to Emery Bay Village after the Center for Community Life is completed. In the meantime, I will remain involved as a
tax payer and future neighbor of the Center of Community Life.
I am grateful to my colleagues on the school board for
their dedication to supporting the work of our teachers, students, families,
guardians and the community. I feel honored to have had the
opportunity to work with School Board members John Affeldt, Miguel Dwin and Joy
Kent. The sound leadership of Board
President Melodi Dice has been a rock of stability in the changing tides of
school funding. The dedication and
professionalism of these board members over many years has been inspiring.
I am also grateful for the
thoughtful partnership of the Emeryville
City Council whose work has demonstrated that “partners power student
success.” Closer integration of City afterschool programs with school
programs has enhanced work in the classrooms and teachers have been able to buy
homes in Emeryville through the City’s first time homebuyer program. Under the leadership of City Manager Sabrina
Landreth, I have no doubt that Emeryville will continue to improve as an
“Age-Friendly City”.
I have been impressed by the many
ways that business leaders have stepped
up in support of education in Emeryville.
Consistent partners who have worked to power student success include Pixar,
Madison Marquette, Expressions Center for New Media, 45th Street
Artists Cooperative, the Townhouse Restaurant, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Jamba
Juice, Wereham Development, the Emeryville Chamber of Commerce and many others.
The Work of the Emery Ed Fund to
coordinate these efforts has been invaluable.
Most of all, my family is grateful
for the twelve years of excellent education that our daughters received at both
the Emeryville Child Development Center and Emery Unified School District. My daughter Sarah was well prepared for her
current interest in engineering by the teachers at Anna Yates and my daughter Maya
continues to be inspired by the work of the Anna Yates Elementary School Theater Club. (Don’t miss their next
performance at the Emeryville Senior Center on Salem Street on March 28th
at 6pm and March 29th at 3pm.
Call the Anna Yates Elementary School office at 601-4917 for more
information.)
The School District has made great
progress toward becoming a model full-service community school. Our
integration of healthcare, parent resources, after school activities and
community resources into our schools, has reduced barriers to education and supported
teachers to do their best work.
I am particularly thankful to Congresswoman Barbara Lee for her
support of the Family Resource Center and her work to upgrade our High School
Gym to be a safe shelter in times of crisis.
I am also thankful for Alameda County Superintendent Sheila Jordan
and Alameda County Supervisor Keith
Carson who have provided invaluable guidance throughout our transformation
process.
The District’s strong relationship
with Peralta Community College to bring college level courses to our High
School is very exciting, and I must thank Superintendent
John Sugiyama, Superintendent Debbra Lindo and School Board member Miguel Dwin
for their leadership of this work.
State Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner and State Senator Loni
Hancock have been great partners in
fighting for the needs of children and families in Emeryville. Without their hard work at the state level,
our efforts to improve Emeryville’s school district might not receive the
critical attention that we require from the California Department of Education
and other State Agencies.
With the community’s support, we
have started construction on our new community school and will now have
adequate facilities for the District’s partnerships and collaborations. Funds
are now available to build the facility required to house the combination of
recreation, health and pre-k through grade 16 education services that comprise
our community school partnerships. I am proud that the Measure J Bond
Oversight Committee recently reported that all Measure J funds are being spent
appropriately and responsibly, and that Moody’s recently gave us a very high
bond credit rating.
I am confident that the District’s
transition dream team of past superintendents John Quinn and John Sugiyama will support our extraordinary
professional staff and teachers to continue building on our progress to date.
With the support of EUSD’s amazing staff, I have great confidence in the
continued improvement of our school district.
The board intends to discuss the process for filling my
position at the February 26th School Board meeting. I regret that I will
not be at that meeting due to work travel, but I look forward to continuing to
serve the community until the end of March.
Most of all, thank you for being a community
that consistently supports safe quality schools for the Emeryville community.
Joshua Simon
Monday, February 17, 2014
Capital Improvement Program 2014
It is time to weigh in on what larger capital improvement projects you think are the top priority for the next 5 years. We have limited funds to spend and lots of projects that are deserving. Please help us out by attending a committee meeting (which are listed on p.11 of this packet), coming to the community meeting on Saturday, March 1, 10:00 am - noon (at City Hall, 1333 Park Ave.), or reading over the projects and sending your opinion to me and the rest of the council members.
This CIP process has been a long time in coming. We started this process once before in 2011, just before redevelopment was dismantled in 2012, and are just now ready to tackle it again. The total amount we have to spend is approximately $95 million. The number of projects is about 75. Read through the list of projects staff have identified. Some are in your neighborhood, some will improve traffic circulation in town, or help improve bike/ped facilities. There is something for everyone. Please get informed and share your opinion.
Background: Now that Redevelopment is gone, the City of Emeryville is trying to figure out how much money we can use toward capital intensive projects. For the past 35 years, these projects have been paid for by redevelopment funds (at between $12 million and $51 million per year), which were based on the growth of property taxes over the years. As properties were improved, tax revenues went up and that gain was put into redevelopment (and was borrowed against). We will be paying off those redevelopment loans for a number of years still.
This CIP process has been a long time in coming. We started this process once before in 2011, just before redevelopment was dismantled in 2012, and are just now ready to tackle it again. The total amount we have to spend is approximately $95 million. The number of projects is about 75. Read through the list of projects staff have identified. Some are in your neighborhood, some will improve traffic circulation in town, or help improve bike/ped facilities. There is something for everyone. Please get informed and share your opinion.
Background: Now that Redevelopment is gone, the City of Emeryville is trying to figure out how much money we can use toward capital intensive projects. For the past 35 years, these projects have been paid for by redevelopment funds (at between $12 million and $51 million per year), which were based on the growth of property taxes over the years. As properties were improved, tax revenues went up and that gain was put into redevelopment (and was borrowed against). We will be paying off those redevelopment loans for a number of years still.
Sunday, February 16, 2014
Only one more year... are you ready to join the council?
In December, I announced that I will finish my city council term in the Fall of 2014, and that I will not be seeking re-election. I have announced my intention this early because I would like to encourage anyone who is concerned about good policy decisions in Emeryville to run. I would love to find two great candidates to support!
When I ran in 2009, I expected a four year term. With our change of elections to even years (to align with County, State and Federal elections and greater voter turn-out), I ended up with a 5 year term (as did all other sitting council members and school board members). I will spend my fifth year working hard on furthering my initiatives, but will leave the council at the end of 2014. If you are a person who is interested in local issues, from small details to larger policy, please consider talking with me about the city council race and the position!
Some of the things I have learned:
Thank you to all of you who have shared opinions with me, served on committees, met with me, supported or challenged my ideas! I truly enjoy making sense of our opportunities, and correcting wrongs. Here is to big accomplishments in 2014!
If you are interested in running, please be in touch with me directly at emeryvillewest@gmail.com. In April or May, I will participate in a forum to discuss what serving on the council means in our town, with Jac Asher, sponsored by Residents United for a Livable Emeryville (RULE). Details will follow.
When I ran in 2009, I expected a four year term. With our change of elections to even years (to align with County, State and Federal elections and greater voter turn-out), I ended up with a 5 year term (as did all other sitting council members and school board members). I will spend my fifth year working hard on furthering my initiatives, but will leave the council at the end of 2014. If you are a person who is interested in local issues, from small details to larger policy, please consider talking with me about the city council race and the position!
Some of the things I have learned:
- This work is very gratifying, and an individual with community support can make a real difference in our urban village.
- It is hard to balance family commitments and a demanding job with this important work. The pay is not worthy of the position, but there are good health benefits provided.
- I know that the changes we are seeing in Emeryville for the better (more attention paid to bike/ped facilities, more family friendly units in projects) are not because of me, but may be a result of increased public participation and a shift in priorities. This is about a group effort, not one individual.
Thank you to all of you who have shared opinions with me, served on committees, met with me, supported or challenged my ideas! I truly enjoy making sense of our opportunities, and correcting wrongs. Here is to big accomplishments in 2014!
If you are interested in running, please be in touch with me directly at emeryvillewest@gmail.com. In April or May, I will participate in a forum to discuss what serving on the council means in our town, with Jac Asher, sponsored by Residents United for a Livable Emeryville (RULE). Details will follow.
Stopwaste in 2014
I serve as Emeryville's representative on the Alameda County Waste Management Authority, also known as Stopwaste. I greatly appreciate all that this government organization has done to make Alameda County a national leader in terms of how much of our waste goes back into the economy through recycling and compost (food scraps and plant debris). We (Stopwaste) are also responsible for banning single use plastic bags at most retail stores county-wide. We also have required commercial businesses and multi-family residences to offer recycling.
But we still find that people need an additional nudge or more education to further reduce the amount of "good stuff" that is going to landfill. You may have received a mailer recently that gives a snapshot of how well our community of Emeryville is doing on this, in comparison with other cities in the county. This mailer is paid for by a "benchmark" fee, that also pays for additional data collection, so we can measure how well we are doing. the fee is $1.51/year for most accounts, more for larger trash generators. Questions you may have can be answered here, or you can email me directly at emeryvillewest@gmail.com.
Another challenge that we face in Alameda County is how to fund disposal of Household Hazardous Waste -- materials that cannot safely be put in a landfill. Over the years, our money to fund this has gone down (as it is based on fees on landfilled materials, which have been decreasing -- yeah!), so Stopwaste is finding new money to support HHW disposal, while also making it easier for households to take HHW to the facilities (making the hours more frequent and more regular). Ideally, someday, we will be able to phase out more of these toxic substances from our store shelves, or charge the person buying it at point of sale to cover these costs, but for now, we are proposing a fee on all properties in the county to support these services. You may have received a letter recently informing you about this fee and how you may protest it, if you choose. It will be $9.55/year for all properties, added to property tax bills. It will only be in place for 10 years, and will be reduced if the cost of services is reduced or other funding sources are more than projected. Go here to see answers to frequently asked questions.
I have asked for an information item on the March 4 council agenda to be sure we have a chance to discuss these fees at council. You may also contact me directly to get more information on these programs.
But we still find that people need an additional nudge or more education to further reduce the amount of "good stuff" that is going to landfill. You may have received a mailer recently that gives a snapshot of how well our community of Emeryville is doing on this, in comparison with other cities in the county. This mailer is paid for by a "benchmark" fee, that also pays for additional data collection, so we can measure how well we are doing. the fee is $1.51/year for most accounts, more for larger trash generators. Questions you may have can be answered here, or you can email me directly at emeryvillewest@gmail.com.
Another challenge that we face in Alameda County is how to fund disposal of Household Hazardous Waste -- materials that cannot safely be put in a landfill. Over the years, our money to fund this has gone down (as it is based on fees on landfilled materials, which have been decreasing -- yeah!), so Stopwaste is finding new money to support HHW disposal, while also making it easier for households to take HHW to the facilities (making the hours more frequent and more regular). Ideally, someday, we will be able to phase out more of these toxic substances from our store shelves, or charge the person buying it at point of sale to cover these costs, but for now, we are proposing a fee on all properties in the county to support these services. You may have received a letter recently informing you about this fee and how you may protest it, if you choose. It will be $9.55/year for all properties, added to property tax bills. It will only be in place for 10 years, and will be reduced if the cost of services is reduced or other funding sources are more than projected. Go here to see answers to frequently asked questions.
I have asked for an information item on the March 4 council agenda to be sure we have a chance to discuss these fees at council. You may also contact me directly to get more information on these programs.
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