Letter Outlines Council's Development Concerns

The City of Newark will soon send a letter of concern to regional agencies in charge of creating a comprehensive plan for sustainable development in the Bay Area over the next two decades.

The concerns stem from guidelines listed in a report unveiled in April that outlines the initial vision for the Sustainable Communities Strategy, a 25-year land use policy for the Bay Area. The report is known as the Initial Vision Scenario.

The objective of the plan is to identify areas across the Bay Area that can accommodate the region's projected population growth by developing more housing across income groups and creating more jobs, as well as setting up a land use pattern around public transportation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

The regional agencies that oversee the projections include the Metropolitan Transportation Commission and the Association of Bay Area Governments.

At the council's April 28 meeting, councilmembers called .

Newark must plan for an increase of 5,800 residential units and 2,750 new jobs within the next 25 years, according to the projections in the Initial Vision Scenario.

Community Development Director Terrence Grindall said at May 12's council meeting that staff tried to include all the comments from that meeting when drafting the letter.

"It looks as though you've captured everything we talked about," Mayor David Smith said. "Hopefully, they'll heed our point of view here."

Mayor Smith, Vice Mayor Luis Freitas and Councilmember Alan Nagy approved the letter, which will be sent to representatives of Metropolitan Transportation Committee (MTC) and Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) outlining the city's concerns.

Councilmembers Ana Apodaca and Alberto Huezo were absent from the meeting.

In a draft of the letter, staff recommends that the city must receive adequate funding and policy support in order to meet the projections for residential units.

If it does, the city's updated Housing Element "allows us to accommodate the housing numbers assigned," according to the letter.

Each city in the Bay Area already receives directives from ABAG in regards to how many new residential units it must plan for by income level in upcoming years. The projections are developed into each city's Housing Element, which is a part of the general plan that must be approved by the state.

Newark last updated its Housing Element in 2010.

However, in the letter's draft, staff wrote that where the housing growth is assigned should be switched around, with less emphasis on and Old Town mixed-use area.

Housing increases should be absorbed more in the Cedar Boulevard and Civic Center Reuse opportunity areas, as well as in a new detached housing area approved for 1,260 homes, according to the letter.

In addition, the city objected to a proposed job growth of 14 percent over the next 25 years while Fremont is expected to increase its job force by 48 percent, even though "we share almost every employment attraction factor with Fremont," the letter reads.

The city also called overall regional growth forecasts over the next 25 years unrealistic, since if true would represent a 34 percent increase in households and a 37 percent increase in jobs.

Also at Thursday's council meeting:

• City Council held off a vote to set a date for a public hearing regarding plans to improve landscaping and lighting in various parts of town.
•  Mayor Smith abstained from the vote because he owns property in one of the areas under review. Given that two councilmembers were already absent and Smith recused himself, the council did not have quorum for the vote.
• The council plans to revisit the matter at its May 26 meeting, and the public hearing will likely be scheduled July 9 instead of June 23.
• As part of its consent agenda, council approved its annual submittal for funds under Measure B, the half-cent transportation sales tax in Alameda County. For the 2011-12 fiscal year the city expects to receive $141,789 in Measure B money to use toward its paratransit program, a "modest increase" over last year.
• Council gave approved a variety of maintenence projects, including accepting work already completed at the community center's tennis courts and Mayhews Landing Park basketball courts. It also approved a plan for the upcoming fiscal year to improve roadways showing signs of disrepair and awarded a bid for the re-roofing of the Public Works Annex.