Emeryville's Development Policy in Spray Paint

Here's What Happens When City Hall Fails to Protect Resident's Interests

Emeryville residents living in the San Pablo Avenue corridor, dismayed at the deterioration of their neighborhood by vandals who have been targeting the abandoned CVS Pharmacy building are now being told the City of Emeryville is powerless to stop it.  Graffiti is festooning the facades, vegetation is collapsing down onto the sidewalk and plywood panels have been ripped down.  The debasement of the neighborhood comes despite all the taxpayer money spent to improve and beautify the San Pablo streetscape because of a lack of will to hold businesses and developers to account by the City of Emeryville.

CVS quit Emeryville and closed down the business last September, leaving the building unattended and the City of Emeryville has no legally binding agreement from the Rhode Island based corporation to keep the property in decent shape upon their departure.  Emeryville’s Community Development Director Charley Bryant told the Tattler in December he is aware of the blight conditions at CVS but he is powerless to stop it, “We’re working with them” he has repeated since then, apparently hoping the corporate pharmacy giant will feel sorry for us and voluntarily clean up their property.  

City Hall is powerless because there is no one there that would rise up to hold a developer to account when approval is being sought for a proposed development.  A legally binding contract with teeth would hold developers to keep their property up to community standards after a client or the development corporation itself abandons the building.  But that would be considered a government constraint on a developer, something this city has not been comfortable with. 

Eventually, the property will be sold and some new developer will probably tear down the blighted monstrosity but until then, Emeryville residents will have to get used to their neighborhood brought low by a City Hall that works in the interest of business more than residents.  It's shown in Emeryville's development policy written in spray paint.

Vegetation is collapsing onto the sidewalk: ADA violation.

A look inside Emeryville's CVS Pharmacy building  
Editorial: It's warm and dry in here while outside people without homes huddle in the wet and cold. If developers abandon buildings and refuse to keep them up, Emeryville should take them over by eminent domain and provide a safe warm dry place for people without homes.