pages: CityCouncil/2007-05-15.pdf, 9
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CityCouncil | 2007-05-15 | 9 | independent; having the discussion is timely and must be done. Vice Mayor Tam stated the formation of a committee to plan a public forum has raised the concern that there may be a group that is headed in the direction of amending Measure A; Measure A permeates through the City's land use planning and affects the quality of life as it pertains to dealing with traffic through the Tube, saving open space, and public transit ridership; both sides agreed that institutional knowledge could be conveyed through a public forum that is fair, honest, balanced, realistic and helps define the future, particularly with the Alameda Point development; there is a concern that the committee may not be able to fulfill some of the expectations of the fair, open, transparent debate; therefore, she suggests that the committee be expanded to include three members from the seven Appellants. Councilmember Gilmore thanked the members of the public for participating in the discussion; stated people mentioned that Measure A came to be when there was concern about a large development at one end of town and people were worried about what the density and traffic would do to the rest of the town; now, there will be another very large development at one end of town; the City is facing a situation very similar to the situation that spawned Measure A and there is a lot of discussion about the pros and cons of Measure A; concerns raised at the Planning Board meeting were legitimate; including Appellants on the committee is a good idea; that she was going to suggest that the structure formed by the committee return to the Planning Board for full debate; the committee might come up with a structure that does not include any Planning Board members; a method might be to choose members of the public. Mayor Johnson stated there is a perception that the City is advocating ; having no members of the Planning Board might be good the Council appoints other committees that do not involve members of boards, commissions or Council. Councilmember Gilmore stated good suggestions were made tonight, such as having Woody Minor present a history of Measure A; that she does not know enough about what the structure will be to decide whether it [the forum] will be good or bad; on a personal basis, she does not like to tell anyone that they cannot talk about something; open meetings are held in order to allow people to talk; a fair, unbiased forum that would allow people to give viewpoints and be educated would be good for the City; that she likes the fact that it [the forum] will be done in a non-election year and is not being done while there is a signed agreement with an Alameda Point developer ; not having a signed developer should eliminate concerns Regular Meeting Alameda City Council 9 May 15, 2007 | CityCouncil/2007-05-15.pdf |