The Alameda Housing Authority asked existing residents what they thought about the idea of turning an empty former school district maintenance warehouse into subsidized affordable housing for Alameda Unified teachers and low-income Alameda families, and they received the feedback that this blog predicted:
There are more bullet points, most although not all of them being negative feedback. The list also ends with a general encomium:
Alameda Housing Authority is submitting a corrective action plan to the SFRWQCB. (What an amazing acronym that is!)
In response to this feedback [with my own emphasis in bold]:
AHA has asked the architect firm, TWM, to review options for adding parking onsite and to review different height and density options as well as building layouts. Updated design information is not yet available for review but will be prepared to provide to the community for review at a future meeting.
Who is "the community" that AHA is serving through this process:
- Does "the community" refer only to the ~35 neighbors who made an effort to show up to provide their "significant valuable feedback" at 3 in-person meetings?
- Does "the community" also include the 50 to 60 households that initial plans estimate can be housing on this site?
- Does "the community" include everyone else in Alameda with a stake in having more teachers live locally and having more options for families and households of all income levels to live in the East End?
I'm disappointed to read that even though these community outreach sessions are voluntary on AHA's part — neither state nor local law necessitates all of these public meetings — their design team is already starting to nip and tuck at plans based on negative reactions. To reduce the number of households that will ultimately be served. And to shift budget and space from housing or outdoor space for people to instead build off-street parking for cars (even though it's not required by the zoning code).
As a single-family homeowner who lives east of Broadway, I encourage the AHA staff and board of commissioners to ignore me — and to ignore everyone with similarly comfortably and stable housing situations.
Please build the biggest and best housing project in terms of what is best for the future residents of this project.