Category Archives: Development

The RHNA and the real world

Posted on February 14, 2023 by Robert Sullwold

Everyone knows (as the saying goes) that the City of Alameda was the first Bay Area city (and, out of 109 cities, one of only two so far) to get its 2023-31 Housing Element certified by the State Department of … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Development, Housing | Tagged Affordable housing, Andrew Thomas, Housing Element, RHNA | 7 Comments

The Princes of Alameda

Posted on November 27, 2022 by Robert Sullwold

For years, the Merry‑Go‑Round believed that the savviest political operator ever to occupy an office at City Hall was former City Manager John Russo. But in our estimation Mr. Russo now has got himself a rival for the crown: City … Continue reading →

Posted in Budget, City Hall, Development, Firefighters, Housing | Tagged 2013-17 IAFF MOU, Affirmatively further fair housing, Andrew Thomas, Ann Marie Gallant, Beverly Johnson, Doug deHaan, Housing Element, John Knox White, John Russo, Lena Tam, Malia Vella, Marie Gilmore, Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, RHNA, Rob Bonta, Tony Daysog, Trish Spencer | 22 Comments

The scorecard on Trish Spencer

Posted on October 9, 2022 by Robert Sullwold

Here’s your Alameda mayoral campaign quiz for the day: During the last two years, which candidate has voted in favor of the following “progressive,” pro‑bicycle, and pro‑development proposals brought before City Council: Renaming Jackson Park to Chochenyo Park; Authorizing planning … Continue reading →

Posted in Alameda Point, Budget, City Hall, Development, Housing | Tagged Automated license plate readers, Big Whites, Bottle Parcel, Chochenyo Park, Climate Action and Resiliency Plan, Council referrals, Emergency response vehicle, Encinal Terminals, Grand Street, Homelessness, Jackson Park, John Knox White, Kevin Kearney, Malia Vella, Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, Tony Daysog, Transit occupancy tax, Transportation Choices Plan, Trish Spencer, Vision Zero Action Plan | 6 Comments

Six for Council

Posted on August 21, 2022 by Robert Sullwold

Six candidates – three with familiar names and three newcomers – are running for Council this November in an election that could shift the direction of City policy in the next four years.

Posted in City Hall, Development | Tagged Bill Pai, Housing Element, Jim Oddie, John Knox White, Malia Vella, Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, Paul Beusterien, Ranked choice voting, Trish Spencer | 16 Comments

The Harbor Bay Club (and Apartments)

Posted on May 8, 2022 by Robert Sullwold

The Harbor Bay Isle residents who have been fighting to preserve the 10-acre site of the Harbor Bay Club for recreational use only may have relaxed last week when the Council majority endorsed a 2023‑2031 Housing Element draft that left … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Development, Housing | Tagged Andrew Thomas, CHDG Investments, General Plan, Harbor Bay Club, Housing Element, IconFit, Jackson Square Properties, Jeff Petersen, John Knox White, Ron Cowan, Russell Square, Trish Spencer, Zoning | 12 Comments

Encinal Terminals: winners and losers

Posted on January 23, 2022 by Robert Sullwold

Now that Council has approved the agreements for the long-stalled Encinal Terminals development along the northern waterfront, it’s time to sort out the winners from the losers. Generally, we hate the term “win‑win.” But in this case, we can find … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Development, Housing | Tagged Andrew Thomas, Del Monte warehouse, Encinal Terminals, Frank Matarrese, Jim Oddie, Malia Vella, Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, Mike O'Hara, Tim Lewis Communities, Tony Daysog, Trish Spencer | 11 Comments

Measure A: tell it goodbye?

Posted on October 31, 2021 by Robert Sullwold

If Council makes all of the zoning changes proposed by the draft Housing Element presented to the Planning Board last Monday, Alamedans won’t need two hands to be able to count the number of areas in the city that remain … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Development, Housing | Tagged ABAG, Andrew Thomas, HCD, Housing Element, John Knox White, Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, RHNA | 11 Comments

What’s going on with the Jean Sweeney Park?

Posted on September 19, 2021 by Robert Sullwold

In 2010, after the Court of Appeals upheld its rights under a 1924 repurchase option agreement with the Alameda Beltline Railroad, the City of Alameda was able to buy – at a deep discount – the land it needed to … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Development | Tagged Amy Wooldridge, Eminent domain, Jean Sweeney, John Knox White, Tony Daysog, Trish Spencer, Union Pacific | 16 Comments

The new state housing bills and Alameda

Posted on September 5, 2021 by Robert Sullwold

At first glance, it might seem that two bills recently passed by the state legislature and now awaiting signature by the governor will further eviscerate the strictures placed by the Alameda City Charter on residential development in the city. After … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Development | Tagged ADUs, High-density housing, John Knox White, Malia Vella, Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, SB 10, SB 9, Scott Wiener, Toni Atkins, Tony Daysog, Trish Spencer, Zoning | 3 Comments

Mr. Thomas makes the opposition’s case

Posted on July 25, 2021 by Robert Sullwold

We don’t know whether City Planner Andrew Thomas was a member of the Philomathean Society at Andover, but he recently showed that he has mastered one of the skills required of a top-flight high-school debater: being able to argue – … Continue reading →

Posted in City Hall, Development, Housing | Tagged ABAG, Andrew Thomas, John Knox White, Malia Vella, Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft, Phillips Academy Andover, RHNA, Tony Daysog, Trish Spencer | 13 Comments

	Publius on Council’s slush fund
	Karen on Council’s slush fund
	Publius on Council’s slush fund
	Publius on Council’s slush fund
	Eric Strimling on Council’s slush fund