BART picks developer for proposed North Berkeley housing development
Alameda names a new city manager. There were eight current or ex-San Leandro councilmembers on the November ballot. How did they do?
CITY NEWS
BART BOARD OF DIRECTORS
—UNEXPECTED BUMPY RIDE—BART chose a group led by BRIDGE Housing on Thursday morning for an Exclusive Negotiating Agreement to build the North Berkeley BART station Transit-Oriented Development.
—BART boardmembers and staff favored the group because of its familiarity with the site, including the fact some live in the neighborhood. A secondary bid by Republic Metropolitan was also deemed capable by staff.
—Last June, the Berkeley City Council allocated $53 million to build affordable housing at the North Berkeley and Ashby BART stations.
—However, there is not yet a plan for building the development slated for roughly five acres of land that is currently a parking lot.
—Some BART boardmembers, worried about the lack of financial impacts to the transit agency in the respective proposals. They unsuccessfully proposed restarting the proposal process.
—Over the years, Bridge Housing has won seven previous contracts from BART. Quinten Kopp, speaker for Republic Metropolitan, urged BART’s inspector general to look into the large number of contracts awarded by BART to BRIDGE Housing.
—In response to the bid by some of her colleagues to scuttle the proposal, BART Boardmember Rebecca Saltzman said she was “pissed off” and felt her Berkeley constituents were being disrespected in light of extensive outreach by Berkeley officials and the public. “There is an urgency to build affordable housing,” she said.
—BART Boardmember Janice Li said the motion to restart the process would have effectively killed the project.
—EXCURSION FEE CHANGE—BART unanimously agreed to change its excursion fee policy on Thursday. The effort led by Saltzman allows BART riders a 30-minute grace period before being charged the full $6.50 excursion fee.
—Over the years, riders have complained that the previous setup penalized some who decided after passing through fare gates that they no longer intended to use BART that day.
—OIL EXCESS TAX POSSIBILITIES—BART’s legislative consultant said Gov. Gavin Newsom’s proposal to enact an excess profits tax on oil companies could potentially add revenues to transit agencies. One possibility would be to funnel a portion of the tax to help fund regional transit.
OAKLAND
—TRANSPO FUNDING—The Oakland City Council Life Enrichment Committee accepted $10.7 million in federal transportation funds, among other grants on Monday for areas near the seaport, including the Jack London Square District.
—Not left unsaid is the fact the money, which can only be used for transportation, would help bolster improvements needed for areas surrounding the proposed Howard Terminal Ballpark Project. Even if the ballpark is never built, the proposed improvements are still sorely needed.
ALAMEDA
—TRIUMPHANT RETURN—When Jennifer Ott left Alameda City Hall to become a deputy in Hayward’s city manager’s office in 2018, the move was deemed Alameda’s loss and Hayward’s gain. Now the reverse can be said.
—Last week, Alameda announced Ott was named the city’s next city manager. She starts on Jan. 3, the city said. During Ott’s time in Alameda her work on Alameda Point on the city’s west end was notable.
—Alameda’s move toward a known quantity is not surprising since the city has had some bad luck with its recent city manager choices starting with Jill Keimach, who sued the city for nearly $1 million. Eric Levitt followed. While not controversial, Levitt, nonetheless, abruptly left Alameda last March for the same job in Fullerton.
ELECTION 2022
SAN LEANDRO
—BELOW .500—A few months ago, I wrote about the ubiquity of former San Leandro councilmembers who “retire” to lower elected offices. The trend continued this fall with a whopping eight current and former ‘Dro officials on the ballot. So how did they do?
—Over at the Oro Loma Sanitary District, former San Leandro mayor Shelia Young won re-election. Current San Leandro Councilmember Fred Simon also won re-election to the sanitary district board, but Bob Glaze, a former councilmember from the 1980s, fell short in a bid for the third at-large seat.
—Appointed Eden Health District Boardmember Ed Hernandez, another former councilmember, won a full-term, but Gordon Galvan, who served on the San Leandro City Council in the early 2000s, narrowly lost re-election.
—Bryan Azevedo, a current councilmember, and Lee Thomas, a former councilmember, both failed in a tight mayor’s race.
—Lastly, Corina Lopez, who is termed out from the council at the end of this month, fell short in her race for an open seat on the East Bay Municipal Utilities District.
—The final result: Three wins, five losses.
