Emeryville's Poet Laureate, Now in Richmond, Excoriates Emeryville's Lack of Housing Affordability

Sarah Kobrinsky
Emeryille's Poet Laureate
Formerly of Emeryville
Artists and others not in the
Information Technology field
increasingly are being
priced out of Emeryville.

Emeryville's poet laureate, Sarah Kobrinsky, chased out of town by rising rents, has moved to Richmond  where she has successfully appealed to the city council in her new hometown to institute rent control.  This week Ms Kobrinsky, increasingly drawn as a bellwether and who's plight has come to be seen as emblematic of all that is wrong with Emeryville and its lack of affordable housing policy, joined with her new neighbors in the grassroots push to avoid the Emeryvilleazation of their town.

"Overnight our stability was taken out from under us," Ms Kobrinsky told the Richmond city council of her time in  Emeryville, "I urge you to do the right thing and protect the people of Richmond."

From the San Jose Mercury News:

Richmond becomes first city in Contra Costa to approve rent control

By Karina Ioffee

kioffee@bayareanewsgroup.com

POSTED:   07/22/2015 01:32:51 AM 

RICHMOND -- In a raucous meeting that lasted more than six hours and drew hundreds of people, the Richmond City Council has passed rent control, making Richmond the first city in Contra Costa to enact such an ordinance.

The meeting, which was filled to standing room capacity, was the culmination of nearly six months of discussion about how to best protect low-income residents from displacement. Rents have increased by an estimated 30 percent over the past four years, although housing prices are still much lower than in many surrounding cities.

 Read the rest of the story HERE.

Emeryville Chief of Police Press Conference in Support of Gun Bill

From the San Jose Mercury News:

East Bay leaders support gun violence restraining order bill

Bay City News Service

EMERYVILLE - East Bay elected officials and law enforcement leaders today rallied in support of a bill that would allow for the temporary removal of firearms from people who are at risk for committing acts of violence.

The legislation, authored by Assemblywoman Nancy Skinner, D-Berkeley, and two other state legislators was introduced after an incident in Santa Barbara earlier this year in which a troubled young man went on a shooting spree, killing six and wounding 13, after his parents tried but were unable to get help for him.

Speaking at a news conference in front of the Emeryville Police Department, Skinner said Assembly Bill 1014 establishes a process for obtaining a gun violence restraining order that would temporarily limit a person's access to firearms when there are warning signs or indications that the person is at risk for violence.

Skinner said, "When someone is in crisis, the people closest to them are often the first to spot the warning signs, but almost nothing can now be done to get guns out of the hands of someone in crisis. Parents, like the mother who tried to intervene in Santa Barbara, deserve an effective tool to help prevent these tragedies."

Emeryville police Chief Ken James said, "AB 1014 fills an important gap in the law that prevents law enforcement from acting to prevent violence before it happens. This need has been obvious to law enforcement for years but the time to act is now. The tragedy in Santa Barbara makes that obvious."

Skinner said the legislation is modeled on California's domestic violence restraining order laws and would create a mechanism to intervene and potentially prohibit the purchase of firearms and/or remove firearms already in possession. Law enforcement or family members would have the right to ask a judge to grant an order prohibiting the purchase or possession of firearms, she said.

The bill also provides guidance to courts for evaluating whether to issue a gun violence restraining order based upon a person's prior acts of violence or threats to commit acts of violence toward themselves or others, as well as other risk factors for future violence, Skinner said.

Assemblyman Rob Bonta, D-Alameda, said, "This bill would allow family members to petition the courts to temporarily prevent loved ones from owning guns and would allow law enforcement to search their homes" to make sure they don't have firearms in their possession.

Skinner said AB 1014 was approved by the state Senate's Appropriations Committee last Thursday and will now go to the Senate floor.

She said she hopes the bill will be approved by the Senate and the Assembly by the end of the month and then go to Gov. Jerry Brown for his signature by the end of September.

Emeryville Solar Permits Top Third Most Expensive in Bay Area

From the San Jose Mercury News:

East Bay cities announce streamlined process for solar permits

By Dana Hull dhull@mercurynews.com

POSTED:   08/06/2013 02:43:32 PM PDT | UPDATED:   ABOUT 10 HOURS AGO

OAKLAND -- For years, the solar industry has complained about wide disparities in the permitting fees California cities charge for solar installations on homes, schools, churches and retail stores, not to mention the amount of red tape and time associated with getting a permit processed.

Now nine East Bay cities -- Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, El Cerrito, Emeryville, Hayward, Oakland, Richmond and San Leandro -- have joined forces to streamline the permitting process, a move expected to save contractors and homeowners $850 to $3,500 per solar installation by reducing the need for outside engineering.

The collaborative effort, three years in the making, could serve as a blueprint for streamlining other sustainable energy permits, from home charging stations for electric vehicles to plumbing for graywater systems.

"In Germany, there's a two-page form to get a solar permit," Andrew Birch, CEO of solar installer Sungevity, said at an event announcing the new permitting plan Tuesday. "But in the United States, each city has different rules. Our customers typically experience a three- to four-month wait from the time they sign up to go solar to when they get the system installed. Standardizing the process will remove 25 percent of that time delay."

Birch noted that if customers get their solar systems installed more quickly, they will be more likely to refer friends and neighbors, which in turn will drive more solar adoption in the region. Sungevity, based in Oakland, has more than 300 employees and serves customers in nine states, the Netherlands and Australia.

The East Bay cities are all part of the East Bay Green Corridor, established to create a thriving region of green-tech innovation through the East Bay. Mayors of the nine cities first began talking about a regional solar permitting initiative in 2010.

"This was a collaborative effort involving nine cities, building departments, solar companies, the (Lawrence) Berkeley (National) Lab, the Governor's Office, and the U.S. Department of Energy," said Carla Din of the East Bay Green Corridor. "We're hoping this can be scaled statewide and then nationally."

The price of solar panels has plummeted in recent years. But consumers must pay not only for the panels but for so-called "soft costs" such as permit fees and installation charges.

Solar permit fees vary widely. Many cities in California charge a flat fee based on the time and effort city staffers spend reviewing them because building departments are often funded by the fees they collect.

The nine East Bay cities have solar permit fees ranging from $100 in El Cerrito to $615 in Richmond.

Under the new system, which will be rolled out in coming weeks, the fees charged by individual cities will not be reduced but six of the nine East Bay cities will have rapid, over-the-counter permitting while the other three promise a three- to seven-day turnaround. Solar contractors will use a "structural checklist" that includes items such as roof slope and rafter size, which will help city code officials determine if proposed solar installations are structurally sound. The checklist should remove the need for contractors to bring in structural engineers to review many residential projects.

In San Jose, most residential solar permits are already handled over the counter, with an average permit fee costing $310. In Milpitas, the average cost is $141.

"We issue between nine to twelve solar permits a month," said Keyvan Irannejad, building director for the city of Milpitas. "But there is no turnaround time: You can get the solar permit on the spot. The solar checklist and all of the necessary technical information is online."

Contact Dana Hull at 408-920-2706. Follow her at Twitter.com/danahull.

Current average fees for Residential solar permits
Alameda: $104
Albany: $211
Berkeley: $127
El Cerrito: $100
Emeryville: $250
Hayward: $300
Milpitas: $141
Oakland: $248
Richmond: $615
San Jose: $310
San Leandro: $170
Source: East Bay Green Corridor and Mercury News reporting

Grocery Outlet to Move to Hollis Street

From the San Jose Mercury News:

Grocery Outlet plans move to Emeryville

By Heather Somerville

hsomerville@bayareanewsgroup.com

POSTED:   07/03/2013 01:29:26 PM PDT | UPDATED:   23 DAYS AGO

BERKELEY -- Grocery Outlet will move its longtime Berkeley headquarters to Emeryville, the latest sign of the discount grocery chain's rapid expansion.

The retailer plans to move its headquarters from Fifth Street in Berkeley, which has been home for about two decades, to an office building at 5650 Hollis St. in Emeryville, which currently houses pharmaceutical company Bayer, said Marc Drasin, vice president of real estate for Grocery Outlet. More than 125 employees will move to the new office by early spring 2014, and within four years, the company will occupy the entire 54,000-square-foot building, Drasin said.

Grocery Outlet, a full-service grocer that sells band-name groceries for as much as 50 percent less than conventional supermarkets, is in the midst of a growth spurt, adding dozens of new stores every year. Last month, Grocery Outlet opened a store in Richmond, bringing the third full-service grocery store to the city. Founded in San Francisco in 1946, the retailer now has almost 200 stores.

From the San Jose Mercury News:

Pedestrian struck and killed in Oakland  identified as Emeryville man By Natalie Neysa Alund Oakland Tribune Posted:   03/24/2013 03:52:56 PM PDT Updated:   03/24/2013 03:52:58 PM PDT OAKLAND -- A pedestrian struck and killed by a driver who fled the scene over the weekend  has been identified as Jose Xochicale Sota, 34, an Alameda County Coroner's Office  spokeswoman said today. Police said the collision occurred about 12:09 a.m. on Saturday on the 5300 block of Foothill  Boulevard. The victim, who is from Emeryville, was pronounced dead at the scene. There was no suspect or vehicle information available and no arrest had been made on Sunday,  said Officer J. Moore. No one else was injured. Anyone with information about the incident can contact police at 510-238-3326 or Crime Stoppers  at 510-777-8572 or 510-777-3211 or by email at Oaklandhomicide@oaklandnet.com.