tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post3265214311824552657..comments2024-03-28T16:54:44.319-07:00Comments on The Emeryville Tattler: Emeryville Closes Out Year With Lots of 100% Rental DevelopmentUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger15125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-24979624809352467462014-01-01T04:27:52.751-08:002014-01-01T04:27:52.751-08:00Emeryville's elected officials have absolutely...Emeryville's elected officials have absolutely no power over the Planning Director here. He does and says anything with full immunity. It will be a great day for Emeryville when he leaves.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-41146352966294138452013-12-31T09:38:41.133-08:002013-12-31T09:38:41.133-08:00planners are typically told to refer all calls to ...planners are typically told to refer all calls to the planning director, who typically refers calls to the city manager, who typically does not return calls.<br />Dumbocracy inaction.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-37347293815202215822013-12-31T00:55:40.947-08:002013-12-31T00:55:40.947-08:00They're a lot less forthcoming than you think....They're a lot less forthcoming than you think. We don't do fluff pieces here. The Tattler is a nightmare for most of them. They generally can't countenance it and it's a "no comment".Brian Donahuehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12705682112476904502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-61381222021164442782013-12-30T20:23:29.794-08:002013-12-30T20:23:29.794-08:00It would be useful to get comments from the key st...It would be useful to get comments from the key staff and council members that make these decisions as well as Chair of Planning Commission. As a member of the "press", they should be willing to go on the record with the Tattler.<br /><br />Try to do this each time you write a developer story.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-63905185163276822562013-12-30T18:08:58.756-08:002013-12-30T18:08:58.756-08:00Thanks for this Richard (and everyone else)
I'...Thanks for this Richard (and everyone else)<br />I'm getting lots of comments from renters like you that are politically active and community minded as you can see. To that I say...Bully! You're my kind of people! To be politically active and a community supporter is to be a full citizen. It's a feather in your cap and no one can take that from you.<br /> <br />The point of the story is whereas before in Emeryville developers were interested in building loft condos, now they're only interested in building apartments. It's a change. Should we simply allow the whims of the market dictate how we develop our town or should we plan our development here? There is a difference, in the aggregate, between condos residents and apartment residents. We need a mix. But what's the proper mix? We don't know because we're not having that conversation. We're too busy reacting to the council reacting to the developers reacting to the market.Brian Donahuehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12705682112476904502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-52503780704729172962013-12-30T17:55:09.761-08:002013-12-30T17:55:09.761-08:00Have we lost this battle already? What is the perc...Have we lost this battle already? What is the percentage of occupant ownership vs. occupant renters today in Emeryville? What is the percentage of family renters vs. family ownership in Emeryville? How can we expect a meaningful debate IF the eligible voters don't care, are commuters. and are single generation commuter, transient renters? What do the most recent US Census data tell us about Emeryville residents? <br /> <br />I am a long-time single occupant renter of 25+ years who does care and who feels part of neighborhood. However, there are other long-time resident renters in my neighborhood many with families.. who don't get involved... ? Why? Is the all-White City Council the problem? Frankly, I am frustrated and fearful that the straglehold of the pro-Developer City Council will have transformed Emeryville into the Town they want... faceless one-generation commuter renters... and not an Emeryville made up of healthy, family-oriented and school-oriented, local-serving neighborhoods, that I'd like to see. RENTERS are NOT the Problem.... The problem remains the Developers and the pro-Developer City Council majority.<br /> <br />Is it too late?Richardnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-47623853631834670622013-12-30T16:22:43.707-08:002013-12-30T16:22:43.707-08:00I think you are too harsh on renters. Before I blu...I think you are too harsh on renters. Before I blunt in Oakland, ibrented for years. I cared very much about he neighborhood and spent the majority of my monthly outfkiw in the community(s) I lived in. Renters are not a bad thing. I'd be ecstatic to have these developments in upper west Oakland, and can't wait until emeryville is out of room and the development if forces southward. EddieGhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10440589409629623884noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-23375824393219202972013-12-30T13:51:58.572-08:002013-12-30T13:51:58.572-08:00This huge increase in the housing stock will have ...This huge increase in the housing stock will have a big a impact not only on Emeryville, but also on the East Bay generally. I’m really glad to see it covered here. <br /><br />However, I’d take exception with this statement: <br /><br />“Rental residents tend to be different from homeowner residents. They aren't as vested in their towns and they tend to be less civically minded.”<br /><br />I suspect it’s true that renters invest less money in their properties than home owners, but I don’t think they are necessarily less civic minded. For instance, around 65 percent of the population San Francisco rents and yet San Francisco has a fantastically vibrant civic culture. <br /><br />What type of city do we want? What is civic? I suspect that Emeryville’s city government cares primarily about generating revenue, but you can’t build a city around that. Right now Emeryville has as much identity as parking garage and that’s a true waste. <br />CWMhttp://www.project-oakland.org/noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-61204828518311770292013-12-30T09:41:23.173-08:002013-12-30T09:41:23.173-08:00These developments are being created as rentals, b...These developments are being created as rentals, but in ten years, once the statute of limitations on construction defect litigation expires, they will be converted to condos. This is done by builders to avoid costly lawsuits, some frivolous, and allows builders to do repairs without a drawn out and costly legal battle.<br />I spent 42 years of my life without owning property. That fact did not make me a criminal or less engaged politically.<br />The problem with the council's philosophy of 'unrestrained growth' is the refusal to prepare transportation infrastructure to accommodate that growth. The foresight and wisdom of the push 15 years ago to construct a light rail line through Emeryville and over the New Bay Bridge (linking these new residents to Caltrain and the Transbay Terminal) will soon become evident. <br />The same can be said for efforts 20 years ago to use the abandoned Spur Alley right-of-way as the basis for an off street bike path is also quite evident.<br />Because Nora Davis and her council cronies are pathologically opposed to criticism, ideas, however good and prescient, presented by those perceived as political enemies are universally ridiculed and quashed.<br />The council may worship the progress of its' 'Edifice Complex' with all the new construction, but in the human body, unrestrained growth is called cancer. Edifice Wrecks indeed. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-54462237722531244612013-12-29T21:59:46.920-08:002013-12-29T21:59:46.920-08:00Insofar as ignoring constituents is gutsy I'd ...Insofar as ignoring constituents is gutsy I'd have to say they're gutsy all right. In fact they're a lot gutsier than you're giving them credit for: they tend to ignore huge chunks of the population wholesale. The one constituency they don't seem to ignore is the one that doesn't even vote. That constituency tends to reside in Piedmont or Marin County or other wealthy Bay Area enclaves. Gutsy indeed.Brian Donahuehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12705682112476904502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-70717758969019243512013-12-29T21:31:45.285-08:002013-12-29T21:31:45.285-08:00Yawn. There's a city for NIMBYs, it's acr...Yawn. There's a city for NIMBYs, it's across the Bay. Good for the city council for having the guts to just plain ignore this noisy minority. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-65901199457659266742013-12-29T20:57:04.605-08:002013-12-29T20:57:04.605-08:00Thanks for the kind words, Berkeley.
Renters you...Thanks for the kind words, Berkeley. <br />Renters you and your cohorts may be but the copious civic engagement you and yours have displayed over the years makes you outliers, not the norm as it were. But still, we love outlier renters! Brian Donahuehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12705682112476904502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-59460882641935230292013-12-29T20:52:02.560-08:002013-12-29T20:52:02.560-08:00I should butt out and so should you...and everybod...I should butt out and so should you...and everybody else in town! So says the City Council. We're supposed to just let them do what they do; debate is not helpful. After all, they're politicians and only have the public's interests at heart, right?<br /><br />OBW, the "tax roll" is not benefitted by residential construction; rental OR condo. Emeryville actually LOSES money on residential development. But still, we must remember, the Council knows best...right?Brian Donahuehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12705682112476904502noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-46579928277817723862013-12-29T20:40:17.106-08:002013-12-29T20:40:17.106-08:00You are wrong this time, Brian. I suggest you but...You are wrong this time, Brian. I suggest you butt out. Rental housing that might eventually be converted, like Watergate was converted, is the future. Either way, it is the Tax Roll that benefits. And, correspondingly, so does the City of Emeryville. It is not your call.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8394711926853801811.post-71945814401248931382013-12-29T20:37:45.017-08:002013-12-29T20:37:45.017-08:00Brian ~ I really get where you're going with t...Brian ~ I really get where you're going with this, but there IS a sizeable minority<br />of "renters" in Emeryville (like US) who don't own because we don't have the<br />means (down payment and showable income) to do so. We're "weird" because<br />we look educated and rich, but are NOT. Whereas most of those other renters<br />are low-income folks. <br />But still, I "get it" ~ developing for short-term rentals (very profitable) is NOT the same as developing for sake-holding owners. Only, I'm VERY involved in our town, as are some of the very cool low-income RULE members (notably black) who can't "own." Just saying. <br />And by the way, I LOVE the Tattler. So ballsy. And so "The Emporer's New Clothes." BerkeleyAnonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/06492730905633921739noreply@blogger.com