Emeryville's Worthless General Plan: Overturned on a Whim

Emeryville's Former & Current General Plan:

98 Pound Weaklings They

News Analysis/Opinion
The trials and travails of Emeryville's weak and pathetic General Plan have been well documented by the Tattler over the years, including last week's piece highlighting the destruction of the architectural gem formerly known as the First National Bank Building on San Pablo Avenue.  That iconic piece of Emeryville history in brick and stone was destroyed to make way for the post-modernist architectural pablum that now opprobriously occupies the same site.  The General Plan didn't have the legislative or moral authority to secure what Emeryville residents have declared as sacrosanct; part and parcel of progressing is remembering.  We wish to save some of our older buildings.

Emeryville's General Plan
Not up to the task.

The problem comes when developers seek permission to construct projects that involve tearing down our historic and architectural buildings of merit.  The General Plan expressly forbids that but we've yet to see an instance where the Plan has been strong enough to ward off such an attack.  It's clear to all; our General Plan, so democratically vetted it won an award from Sacramento, is no match for any developer seeking to make a buck in our town.
But what about Emeryville's former general plan?  How did that plan fare against developers also so inclined?

As it turns out, Emeryville's previous general plan was no better than what we've got now.
The previous general plan, encoded some 25 years ago was not nearly as vetted by the citizenry as the current iteration.  The City Council simply paid a city planning firm to write it up and then the public was given a few chances to comment before it became the central guiding document for the City.  However even without the current Plan's democratic bona-fides, the old plan also recognized the value in retaining Emeryville's historic architectural legacy, especially in the Park Avenue core.  Vernacular nineteenth and early twentieth century brick factories and warehouses were identified as a specific protected class of buildings by the plan.  These buildings were to be retained and converted for new uses.  The idea was not only to save Emeryville's architectural legacy but also to keep Emeryville as a place for start up entrepreneurial businesses, owing to the cheaper rent in these existing buildings versus new construction.

Consider the Disney/Pixar campus site.  The Emeryville General Plan was unequivocal; The old nineteenth century brick cannery row Del Monte factory on Park Avenue, its many buildings torn down in 1996 (mistakenly reported 1992 by the SF Chronicle), should have been saved.  But it wasn't that our General Plan lacked the cajones to stand up to Pixar...it wouldn't have, but it wasn't Pixar that demolished this massive site.  It was actually torn down for no reason at all.

At first, Kaiser Permanente wished to tear down the old Emeryville cannery row to build a hospital.  The General Plan needed to be amended to specifically allow hospitals to be built on that parcel and that was quickly done by City Hall to accommodate Kaiser in 1994.  The beautiful Del Monte buildings were to be torn down, the General Plan be damned.  But then suddenly Kaiser pulled out of the deal, presumably returning the buildings to their protected status afforded by the General Plan.  But that was not to be the case.  Instead the Redevelopment Agency took it upon itself to demolish Emeryville's historic legacy on Park Avenue with no proposed construction project even in the pipeline.  The General Plan was overturned so Emeryville could clear 20 acres of land in the center of our town to search for a developer to buy it.  It wasn't until later, 1998 with the site cleared, that Pixar bought the land and finished their first building in late 2000.
In a case of governmental hubris, Emeryville City Hall is now claiming on their official website, the land was cleared before Kaiser backed out of the deal...probably because the truth about a General Plan not even worth the paper it's printed on is embarrassing for City Hall.  

One gets a visceral sense of the people's wisdom reflected in their General Plan by gazing at the before and after pictures below:

Park Avenue (Before) 
Cannery Row: part of the old Del Monte Canning factory.
The General Plan said save this building (and others on the site).

Photo used with permission 

Park Avenue (After)
Same site, same camera angle.  Cannery Row today...
Large street trees and a security fence.

Emeryville's Worthless General Plan

General Plan:

Stuck in a Wet Paper Bag, Can't Get Out

News Analysis/Opinion

Emeryville has a really impressive General Plan...outwardly impressive but alas, essentially worthless.

It's the premier planning document that directs how our town is to develop over time.  It's impressive because among other things, it was forged democratically by the people of Emeryville.  Indeed, our General Plan was so democratically vetted, it has received an award from the state for that, lending it a voice of authority.  More than 25% of Emeryville residents took part in developing the General Plan...an enviable percentage other cities would love to have to lend credibility to their general plans.  The full community engagement allows us to say with confidence our General Plan represents what the people collectively want for our city. 

Nevertheless, after having spent some $4 million on the General Plan several years ago, the Plan has become increasingly known by developers as having no value.  It's worthless because it has proven to have a total lack authoritative force regardless all the public buy-in.   For instance in every single contest between a developer that wanted to tear down a building in Emeryville and the protections afforded to it against demolition as mandated by the General Plan, our feeble Plan has buckled under the strain.  And then the walls of the building buckled under the developer's wreaking ball.  

This remarkable disconnect between what the people want and what actually gets delivered has existed because of a hidden pro-developer agenda by the City Council majority for many years.  The agenda has caused us to lose our architectural heritage among other social ills.

Twenty five years ago, Emeryville was primarily a place of 19th Century factories and warehouses.  Vernacular and handsome historic brick buildings were abundant. The General Plan identified many specific buildings as being 'architecturally significant' and protected them from demolition.  The current iteration of the General Plan as well as earlier editions of it were clear: historic brick buildings were catalogued and suggested be saved and rehabilitated for new uses.  Besides the historical legacy and all the documented social good tidings such buildings provide, another benefit is realized when older buildings are retained; entrepreneurial start-up businesses and locally serving businesses are given a place to thrive owing to the cheaper rents older buildings allow. 

In November 2014, Emeryville finally turned a corner and elected a progressive City Council majority.  We like to think the hidden agenda deference to developers died with the old guard Council majority.  We like to imagine the wreaking ball will henceforth only be swung against buildings without historic and architectural merit.  Unfortunately though, that November day of people power came too late for vast swaths of our town and we're going to have to live with the new 'any town' built Emeryville for generations to come.

Consider the pie shaped building at 3850 San Pablo Avenue.  The Emeryville General Plan was unequivocal; this building, 100 years old and torn down in 2000, should have been saved.  One gets a visceral sense of the people's wisdom reflected in their General Plan by gazing at the before and after pictures below:

3850 San Pablo Avenue, early 20th Century (photo used with permission)
Note the 'Key System' street car rails on the street.
This building was destroyed in 2000 in order to build...

3850 San Pablo Avenue today

:
:

Before....

After
(the trees are nice)