pages: CityCouncil/2021-11-30.pdf, 8
This data as json
body | date | page | text | path |
---|---|---|---|---|
CityCouncil | 2021-11-30 | 8 | extent directed by the City Council; stated unless there is a direct appellant decision, it is not staff's place to declare an act of Council or an act of the voters is unlawful; given guidance received from the State, he recognizes staff's point, that there is some doubt with respect to the continued viability of Article 26; there is also the perspective that until a court order declares Council or a voter action unlawful, the Article remains law of the land. Councilmember Herrera Spencer inquired whether Council could include clarification about the use of Harbor Bay Club in the Housing Element. The Planning, Building and Transportation Director responded if Council wants to rezone the Harbor Bay Club space to recreation only, a zoning amendment would need to be done; a Planning Board public hearing needs to occur prior to Council approval; the purpose of the Housing Element is to identify the sites available for housing, it does not show where the City will not build housing. The City Attorney stated that he agrees with the Planning, Building and Transportation Director that the Housing Element may not be the best way to address the matter; the General Plan item up next might be a better place to include direction about the Harbor Bay Club. Councilmember Herrera Spencer stated that she would like to focus on the negativity about Alameda's racial history; the City currently has a minority-majority; the White population is 42.7%; the percentage has decreased over time; other data that does not depict Alameda as racist could have been presented; she is Mexican American and has a hard time reading a document with a negative portrayal; Alameda has done a good job; the report could include data showing the decrease in the White population is attributable to the housing offered; discussed the City of Berkeley and San Francisco's population; stated the City of Alameda has been providing things which result in the diverse community; expressed concern about the language used; stated multiple places depict Alameda negatively; she agrees with comments about the residential R1 through R6 areas; the residential areas are very diverse; people rent out rooms in big homes; she is a renter; her home is older; constructing a newer home in its place with a higher rent would cause gentrification; Council needs to be careful about what happens; she is not interested in doing any more within established neighborhoods than what the law currently requires; she would like to look at other sites; inquired where housing can safely be placed within the City; displayed slides depicting earthquake fault lines; stated it is important to keep high seismic risk factors in mind when selecting housing sites; displayed an image depicting damage to Alameda from the Loma Prieta earthquake. The Planning, Building and Transportation Director responded new housing is built to current, seismic standards, while old housing is not; when an earthquake happens, the existing housing in Alameda built in the 1920s and 1930s is of concern; the original Alameda shoreline for Alameda is the most stable are, which is essentially the R1 through R6 districts; many have been opposed to up zoning of those areas; staff must show where housing is to be built; the proposal is to spread housing throughout the entire City to ensure no one area takes all of the housing. Councilmember Herrera Spencer displayed an image depicting high liquefaction locations; noted high liquefaction areas include landfill spaces. The Planning, Building and Transportation Director stated landfill areas are more susceptible to liquefaction; in order to avoid areas of high liquefaction, more housing would have to be in the Continued November 16, 2021 Regular Meeting Alameda City Council November 30, 2021 8 | CityCouncil/2021-11-30.pdf |