I Still Don't Understand

I was never accused of being my mother's smartest kid, but I still don't see what SOCA's "plan" for the point is? How does leaving it the way it is create jobs or save buildings?



Look, I have two major issues with the current plan for development at the Point:
1. I believe that whatever the Navy says is in the ground you can triple it, and whatever the Navy says it will cost to get it out you can 5X it
2. I believe that 4,000 DWELLING UNITS is too many. It's not 4,000 separate houses (that's why Sun Cal seeks a Measure A exception); they want to build a mix of houses, apartments over retail, work-live space etc. We can argue that all you want, we'll probably agree that 4,000 is a lot for that space.

So - in a nutshell - that's my position. You can kick me for it if you want.

I don't blame the mayor for supporting the SunCal plan; what is she supposed to do? "Oh well, the City I run granted this company exclusive rights to develop a plan, now I'm going to come out against it in public?" "Gee, this is the single-most important item on the City of Alameda's agenda for the NEXT 30 YEARS, I vote for decay and nothingness!" ANY Mayor has to support the plan.

I don't buy the notion that just because SunCal is a "developer" they are evil and have no social conscience. Yes, I believe they have a right to make a profit - they're taking a huge financial risk.

I don't believe you can have a public land trust and NOT have a developer develop the property.

I don't believe Alameda can afford to let this prime property sit idle for decades while our tax base erodes to the point of nothingness.

I do believe everyone has the right to critique the plan, but seriously? Are we just down to mudslinging with vague yet pithy marketing pieces?