Monday, January 2, 2012

The Redevelopment Agency: A Tribute

A Photograph Of The Former Emeryville Redevelopment Agency

Opinion
The forgone
Redevelopment Agency

RIP

The best photograph from the cadaverous erstwhile Redevelopment Agency we could find.
The developer Rich Robbins of Wareham Development, lavished with millions of subsidy taxpayer dollars from his benefactor and friend, Redevelopment Agency member Nora Davis, the sovereign of the agency.  Over the years Ms Davis helped clear away many small businesses located in historically significant buildings for Wareham by hostile Eminent Domain.  As the monarch of the city council, Ms Davis overturned the General Plan and overruled the Zoning Ordinance to facilitate Mr Robbins' development aspirations.  We're not sure what Mr Robbins did for Ms Davis but we hope it was something really nice.

2 comments:

  1. There was a period, wasn't there, when it seemed like almost every project asked for, and got, a waiver from zoning and/or general plan requirements?

    Seemed like the official "road map" for development in Emeryville was largely ignored for years.

    Well I for one am glad that Jennifer West and Jac Asher are on the Council now. It made me happy to see them both vote against the "shove it down their throats" approach to "undergrounding" the power lines - where the City decided not to try to build consensus for forming a special assessment district to pay for the costs of undergrounding, since two large property owners (who thereby had the necessary voting power) were already in favor of it. (IMHO a democracy isn't the blunt exercise of majority power, it's building consensus so even the protesting minority has an opportunity to buy-into the decision that they initially opposed.)

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  2. HELP
    All of Emeryville should be Beautiful!!
    The Industrial Light fixtures installed in the old historic neighborhoods must be changed for LED street lamps. . Our disregarded neighborhood communities must be preserved and improved.
    Are you a property Owner? Do you want your property value to double? Or forever stay at the bottom of the real estate market?
    Do you want Your neighborhood to be beautiful, lovely and safer? Or do you want to live in what will forever be the ugly, bad, dangerous part of the city? Back to the”The Hood”?
    That is what will happen if these ugly glaring Industrial light fixtures stay. These lights are the same as the ones on the San Mateo Bridge, They do not belong on our residential neighborhood streets. Look Around. These fixtures are not being installed in new city development projects. These fixtures are blindingly bright but create many more dark pockets. LED street lamps are safer and will beautify our neighborhoods. The city has not funded even minor improvements and repairs in our neighborhoods. Our tax revenues are not improving our neighborhoods. 2.5 million dollars were given to a developer of a future office building. Funding must be diverted to improve our neighborhood communities.
    Tell the Mayor jwest@emeryville.org or call the City Council at (510)596-4376
    " All of Emeryville should be beautiful. You do not want this freeway lighting in your historic neighborhood. You want your neighborhood improved with LED street Lamps like the rest of Emeryville" Funding must be diverted from other projects now!”

    Please Help , Ask your community for support. Get the word out, Email, call ,use the media. Get all your friends, family and neighbors to complain individually. All residents, residential and commercial property owners may complain. Each complaint counts. Make that complaint today.
    Let's make all of Emeryville Beautiful and improve the Quality of our lives. Thank You - Frances Carty- Emeryville resident and property owner francescarty@sbcglobal.net

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