Will the "City of Shopping Malls" be a Good place to Live and Work, too?

by Reem Assil

In light of requested $47 million taxpayer subsidy, report shows how new Bay Street development can create good jobs and livable communities

With state and local budget crises looming and the economy struggling to recover, a report released this week shows residents and workers in Emeryville want a say in how their "shopping-mall of a city" spends their public tax dollars. United through the Coalition for a Better Bay Street, residents and workers see a key opportunity to achieve a more inclusive and sustainable city through the second phase of a large-scale development project.

"In the midst of a recession, with the possibility that redevelopment funds may shrink in the city, it is more important than ever for residents and workers to have a say in how tax dollars are spent," said Jennifer Lin, Research Director at the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy and co-author of the report.

The new report, entitled Bringing Main Street Back to Bay Street: Win-Win Solutions to Create Good Jobs and Livable Communities in Emeryville, comes as the City Council is considering an estimated $47 million subsidy for the second phase of the Bay Street project. The agreement between the City and the developer to pursue development is set to expire in September. The community report outlines how the City, the developer Madison Marquette, and the community together can achieve quality jobs for local residents, affordable family-friendly housing, and improvements in the public school system.

"We don't want our home to be a soulless, regional shopping mall," said Tracy Schroth, a member of Residents United for a Livable Emeryville (RULE). "We really look forward to sitting down with [developer] Madison Marquette and the city to come up with an agreement. We see this as a huge opportunity to create something really good, for the developer, for the city, and for all the residents who live in this community." Schroth was one of the residents knocking on doors last February surveying over 400 Emeryville residents. The surveys showed that an overwhelming 82% were opposed to or had mixed feelings about the second phase of the Bay Street project in its current form. Based on the last publicly available information, the project proposal includes a 23-story hotel and condominium tower, up to 130,000 sq ft of retail, and up to 900 parking spaces.

In order to achieve this vision of a Main Street-type Bay Street, the report points to establishing local hire and first source hiring processes that would allow Emeryville residents a first-chance at new job openings, creating family-sized affordable housing that is accessible to a range of incomes, and considering creative resource sharing between the City and the School District. "People living and working in Emeryville need better paying jobs. … Since there is a subsidy involved in the next phase of Bay Street, they should be creating quality jobs, not just creating more working poverty," said Cristal Ticong, a worker at Emeryville's Hilton Garden Inn.

According to the report, the first phase of Bay Street represented a missed opportunity. While providing some affordable housing benefits and generating significant tax revenues for future development, it did little by way of quality jobs for local residents, transit, bike, and pedestrian-friendly development, and promotion of locally owned, local-serving businesses.

The report will inform a public discussion at an historic Community Townhall Meeting where residents, small business owners, workers, advocates and other community leaders will gather to call on the City Council and the developer of the second phase of Bay Street to work with the community to achieve a "Better Bay Street". Free copies of the report will be available at the town hall. Click here to access the online version.

The town hall begins at 6pm on Tuesday, July 28th at the Emeryville Senior Center (4321 Salem Street).

To RSVP, contact Raquel Namuche, raquel@workingeastbay.org

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The Coalition for a Better Bay Street consists of residents, workers, and advocates organizing to ensure that the second phase of the Bay Street development creates good jobs and livable neighborhoods. Residents United for a Livable Emeryville (RULE) is a citizens group working to improve the quality of life in Emeryville. The East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) is celebrating 10 years of building power and raising standards for working families.

Reem Assil is a community organizer for EBASE. Reem is inspired by both her love for community and her understanding of the importance of building power in the labor movement. Her formative experience with coalition building and community organizing comes out of organizing in the Arab American community, in which her heart lies.

Federal Stimulus Money Funds Internships in Emeryville

by Margaret Leonard

An Oakland 15-year-old and an Emeryville yoga teacher are among the first to take advantage of President Barack Obama's Economic Stimulus Plan.

One wanted a job and the other wanted to hire a young local person to give her new connections to the community.

Both got what they wanted.

Chakesha Thompson has just started her summer internship at the Square One Yoga Collective. It’s not far from her home in Oakland and even closer to her high school in Emeryville, where she’ll be a tenth grader in the fall.

Katy Cryer, 32, the yoga teacher and studio owner who hired Thompson, plans to teach her as much as possible about starting a new business during a frightening recession. That’s what Cryer has been doing for the past five months.

“If I can start a successful yoga studio in the heart of a recession, Chakesha can follow her dreams too,” Cryer said. “If her dream involves starting a business, marketing, PR or customer relations, I can teach her many of those skills.”

Thompson got her job, and Cryer got her intern, from EYE –- Emery’s Young Entrepreneurs -- an East Bay branch of the federal stimulus plan. EYE's budget is $84,000, enough for 25 summer internships.

The internships have been offered and taken quickly, according to Jennielyn Dino Rossi, EYE's liaison. In fact, she said, EYE is now trying to raise money to set up more internships for the waiting list of eager students.

Thompson said she applied because “I want the experience.” She also wants to put away a little money for college.

Cryer applied for the chance to take an intern because “I wanted to help, that it would be a good way to be of service to the community.

“I’m a high school teacher (seven years teaching math to teenagers), and I know how to start a business. I want to teach her about possibilities. If there’s good stuff out there, you go after it.”

What else does Thompson want?

"I want to help her expand her business,” Thompson said. One reason Cryer hired Thompson was that the 15-year-old has a lot of ideas for expanding Cryer’s business. For example, she wants to go to the senior center and recruit older people to take yoga. Cryer, whose studio hasn’t seen many elderly people so far, likes that idea. Thompson also wants to recruit people her own age to “youth yoga.”

Square One , which has 12 instructors, charges just $10 a class.

Thompson says she doesn’t mind any of the work. In addition to the marketing she wants to do, she has typical high-school-intern chores: answer the phone, water the plants, sweep the floors, wash the cups, sign in the students.

And she’ll have on-the-job training: five classes of yoga.


“I watched yoga; I liked it," Thompson said. “I’ll give it a try.”

She’ll get paid to take her first five classes and then have “all the yoga she wants” without charge as long as she works there. The contract says that’ll be up to 200 hours, until Sept. 30. Right now, Thompson says she hopes to make it permanent and full-time when the internship expires.

Cryer said Thompson will earn as much as $1,600 in wages.

__________________________________________________________

Square One Yoga Collective is located at 4336-A San Pablo Ave., Emeryville.

Margaret Leonard is the mother of Katy Cryer. A former newspaper reporter and editor, she lives in Tallahasee, FL.

John Fricke Won't Seek Second Term

The Bad News: Fricke Will Not Seek Re-election to City Council

The Good News: New Park, New Cafe, and New Berkeley Bowl Open

(Email message sent to residents by John Fricke on July 1, 2009)

Dear Emeryville neighbors,

The play structure at the new park at 61st and Doyle streets is open! (The newly-planted grass will need additional time to get established before the central grassy area of the park opens as well.)

There is a new café on 65th Street at Vallejo called Bailey’s on 65th. It is open for breakfast and lunch on weekdays. I had a great lunch there today with Jim Martin. Here are some reviews:
http://www.yelp.com/biz/baileys-on-65th-emeryville

The new Berkeley Bowl opened a few weeks ago. It is at Ninth Street and Heinz Avenue, near Orchard Supply and Ecole Bilingue de Berkeley. Unfortunately, Berkeley’s connection to Emeryville’s greenway seems to be years from realization.

My city council term is ending this fall, and I will not be running for re-election.

Four years ago, I ran on a platform of improving access for pedestrians, bicycles, and public transit users. When I was sworn in, I called for a new model of growth in Emeryville. A model of growth that ‘emphasizes quality of life as well as economic vitality, that emphasizes pedestrian and bicycle access as well as reduced vehicle congestion, and that emphasizes fulfilling our community needs as well as providing a place for regional retail activity.’ In four years’ time, I can point to a limited number of results: the bike lane on Adeline Street, the lane reductions on the 40th Street Bridge, and the park that is soon to open. I look forward to continuing to work on a number of ongoing efforts until my term ends in November.

Best,

John

John Fricke
jfricke@JohnFricke.com
www.JohnFricke.com

Semifreddi's Leaving Emeryville After 20 Years

Beloved Family Bakery Displaced by Pixar

Forced to Leave Town Despite City Promises

By Brian Donahue and Tracy Schroth

Sometime before Oct. 31, the final tray of baguettes will be pulled from the oven and another Emeryville business and its 125 jobs will vanish in the name of “progress.”

Semifreddi’s, one of the Bay Area’s leading craft bakers is being forced out to make room for the latest expansion by Disney’s Pixar Animation Studios.

“We would have loved to stay in Emeryville," said Tom Frainier, co-owner and president of Semifreddi's. "But there is no space for light industrial use such as ours anymore.”

The die was cast in 2000 when Pixar purchased the building at Hollis and 45th streets where Semifreddi’s, Bisco’s Café, Grainger's tool supply, and other businesses called home. The building, a low-slung, brick and glass pre-war factory now has a firm date with the wrecking ball. It will be replaced by a new two-story office building, part of phase II of Pixar's campus expansion. The campus, when complete, will stretch from 45th to Park streets, and from Hollis Street to San Pablo Avenue. It will be the largest uninterrupted parcel of commercial space in town. The entire campus will be surrounded by an 8-foot security fence.

Frainier said his company has had a good working relationship with Pixar, its neighbor and current landlord. However, relations with the City have been less amicable. Despite promises from Council Members Nora Davis and Dick Kassis that the City would help the bakery find a new home, Frainier said little was done to keep the bakery in Emeryville.

“Talk is cheap,” Frainier said.

The Bakery has operated in Emeryville for the past 20 years, delivering pastries, bread, and desserts to hundreds of supermarkets, restaurants, and specialty shops all over the Bay Area.

“Our first choice was to stay in Emeryville,” said Mike Rose, Semifreddi's co-owner with brother-in-law Frainier. “We love it here.”

Rose said he has known for years that the end was coming. Pixar bought the building in 2000 with the intent of tearing it down. He said Semifreddi’s was never even given a chance to put an offer on the building. Since then, every effort to purchase another building in town has been unsuccessful.

“Every time we tried to buy a space in town, we were beat to it by condo developers,” Rose said. “Pulte Homes bought the last site before Semifreddi’s could." Left with no choice, the bakery, which produces 160,000 loaves of bread a week, took its search outside the city limits.

Semifreddi's has found an eager host in the City of Alameda, where it will relocate in November. It will keep company with two former Emeryville neighbors, Peets Coffee and Donsuemor, which makes gourmet French cookies.

“Emeryville has done everything to transform [itself] away from blue collar industry,” Frainier said, adding he's watched it turn from a small town with "alittle bit of everything" to a city that caters to corporations and big box retail.

“Now the town has morphed into malls, condos, and office space," Frainier said, lamenting that the many things that make a city attractive have been left by the wayside.

Frainier's partner, Mike Rose, added that the city has “inadequate provisions for families,” which has created a “diminished sense of community."

Opinion

Big Business Needs to Pay Their Share


by Scott Donahue

Our city must raise more money to support the general fund because sales tax revenue
has severely declined. Where is this money going to come from? Every city has a business license tax and every business in Emeryville earning more than $5,000 in gross receipts must pay this tax. Businesses pay a percentage of their gross receipts whether they earn a profit or not.

There is, however, an exception: big business.

Big business in Emeryville is required to pay tax only on the first $3 million of gross receipts. The rest is entirely tax-free. Why is this? Why should small business pay proportionally so much more than big business? Emeryville has among the lowest business tax rates of any city in the Bay Area. The city council majority has always argued that it must provide incentives to big business so as not to lose them to other cities. This is absurd. Emeryville is among the most desirable places to do business in the Bay Area. We have the ability to collect taxes in a more equitable way. If big business were to pay what small business pays our general fund would gain much needed revenue.

I believe we could easily raise our overall business tax rate and not lose business to other
cities. I pay taxes to other cities where I do business, and all of them have significantly higher tax rates than Emeryville.


Scott Donahue is a 32- year resident and business owner in Emeryville. He chairs the city’s Bicycle and Pedestrian Committee, whose members are appointed annually by the City Council.

City Council Grants Rich Developer $2.5 Million in Taxpayer Money, Angrily Dismisses Residents' Complaints

by Juanita Carroll Young and Tracy Schroth

The City Council Tuesday approved the $2.5 million taxpayer subsidy to Wareham Development to build a 58-foot office building on the corner of Hollis and Powell streets, next to the Elevation 22 residential complex. Council member John Fricke voted against. Vice Mayor Ken Bukowski abstained from the discussion and the vote.

Here is a recap of the public comments:

The residents of Elevation 22 are requesting noise abatement in exchange for the approval of the project. They also want a contact person at Wareham who they can call with complaints.

Several (8) Emeryville residents complained about the Council consistently giving huge taxpayer subsidies to rich developers, and asked "why?" This project has also been granted a height variance to exceed the maximum height allowed - again, residents asked, "Why?"

Several residents disagreed with the Council's characterization of the existing building on the site - which housed a law office and an architecture firm - as "blight." In fact, resident Brian Donahue pointed out that the building meets the city's definition of "architecturally significant." Many residents see the proposed new building as yet another big, bland, contemporary office building with no aesthetic value. One speaker suggested that the Council get some design advice from architects who work in Emeryville.

In addition to the residents who often attend Council meetings to make public comment, there were some new members of RULE (Residents United for a Livable Emeryville) who voiced concern about the Wareham project, among them a Pacific Park Plaza resident.

Council member Nora Davis and Mayor Dick Kassis were openly hostile in their response to public comment, suggesting that these subsidies are necessary to lure development, which will generate big tax revenue in return. They dismissed residents' request that developers be required to provide some community benefits in return for the millions of dollars in subsidies they receive. Not only is Wareham Development excused from providing any city amenities, it got the green light to exceed the allowable height limit - allowing the building to cast an even larger shadow on the Doyle Street Greenway, a bike and pedestrian path that runs from Powell Street to the Berkeley border.

John Fricke argued that Emeryville is a desirable location to do businesses; the City no longer needs to attract developers with big subsidies. He noted that 20 years ago, when Emeryville began doling out taxpayer money to developers, the Council urged residents to be patient, that these projects would return the favor in spades (in the form of tax revenue and city amenities).

"We're still waiting," Fricke said.

City Council Poised to Grant $2.5 Million in Taxpayer Money to Wealthy Developer

Edited version of email message from Council Member John Fricke, sent to residents Thursday, May 14

At the upcoming City Council meeting on Tuesday, May 20, the Council is poised to grant $2.5 million in taxpayer money to a developer (Wareham Development) to construct a 58-foot office building on the northeast corner of Hollis and Powell streets (next to the Elevation 22 residential complex).

I will vote no because:
(1) we should stop giving millions of dollars in taxpayer money to developers
(2) the project violates the city’s zoning ordinance (the developer is asking to exceed the height limit)
(3) an appeal filed by residents of Elevation 22 objecting to the project is still pending
(4) the project will not be required to adopt policies that would reduce the use of single-occupant vehicles

Elevation 22 residents object to the planning commission’s approval of the project on a number of grounds, including the excessive height of the proposed building. Residents are also concerned about noise expected from equipment on the roof of the building (they have complained of incessant noise coming from the roof of an existing office building across the street that was constructed by the same developer).

The city staff report implies that if the city doesn't grant Wareham millions of dollars in subsidies, the project won’t happen. The City Council majority embraces this assumption. This project is yet another example of the Council granting millions in taxpayer money without demanding any concrete benefits in return.

I believe the developer would construct the project without the subsidy. However, if Wareham decides it will not do the project without the subsidy, then we should wait until the market improves -- and see what happens. Once the economy recovers, the project can likely occur without a subsidy.

(The staff report on this project is not yet available on the city’s website. But whenever its posted, one can access staff reports at
http://www.ci.emeryville.ca.us/media/ )

Whenever new development projects seek City Council approval, I call for a condition of approval that the project charge for parking, commonly called unbundled parking. I also seek to require that each resident and/or employee associated with the project receive a free AC Transit bus pass. Bulk passes can be purchased for far less than the cost of one bus pass. These and other policies (such as requiring car-share cars) seek to reduce single-occupant vehicle use and encourage public transit use, bicycling, and walking. None of the other Council members has supported these conditions, including for the project to be considered on Tuesday.

I receive many responses to my broadcast email messages. Some of the responses I receive seem to be addressed to a larger audience. I don’t have a blog on my web page that can receive such messages, but I’m trying something new with this message.

By clicking on the "comment" link at the end of this story, you can post your comment for others to read.

Speaking of reducing single-occupant vehicles . . .

Happy Bike to Work Day!

www.johnfricke.com/BikeToWorkDay14may2009a.jpg
www.johnfricke.com/BikeToWorkDay14may2009b.jpg

The woman on the right is none other than Alameda County’s Bike Commuter of the Year, Laura McCamy! Laura lives in Emeryville. Here’s more information about Laura:

http://btwd.bayareabikes.org/node/102

Best,

John

John Fricke
1057 43rd Street
Emeryville, CA 94608

510/601-8846

jfricke@JohnFricke.com

www.JohnFricke.com

About the Survey

The Who, Where, and How of Resident Survey
In response to readers' questions, a description of the survey cited in the previous story is provided below:

The survey was conducted jointly by the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE), UNITE HERE Local 2850, and Residents United for a Livable Emeryville (RULE). The survey was conducted over a one-month period (in February 2009) by a team of volunteers who went door-to-door in every neighborhood in Emeryville. On average, five teams of 2 volunteers conducted the surveys on 12 separate occasions, questioning more than 400 residents across the city, including North Emeryville, the Triangle neighborhood, Watergate, The Terraces, Archstone Apartments, 1500 Park Street, and the Emeryville Artists' Cooperative. Residents of Pacific Park Plaza (PPP) were not surveyed because volunteers were denied entrance. They were told that PPP does not allow soliciting. All the residents surveyed were chosen at random.

The 7-question survey asked residents their opinions about development in town, requesting that they prioritize their top three concerns or demands (see survey results - link in previous story - for more details). Survey questions were based on feedback received during a series of focus groups. Among the focus group participants were Emeryville teachers, former city council members, religious leaders, school board members, youth, small business owners, and residents. A professional, outside facilitator was hired to conduct all of the focus groups.

Residents Say Development Should Benefit Community

Survey Shows Quality Jobs, Affordable Housing, and Investment in Education are Priorities for Residents

The results of a new survey shows that Emeryville residents want development that includes community benefits. A majority (82 percent of more than 400 surveyed) do not support the current proposal for Bay Street Site B, which includes more high-end retail, a hotel, and condominiums. Site B is immediately to the north of the Bay Street mall. Residents are calling on the city and the developer to include more affordable housing, good-paying jobs, and an investment in education.

In February 2009, the East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy (EBASE) teamed up with a local citizens group, Residents United for a Livable Emeryville (RULE), and UNITE HERE Local 2850 workers to survey residents. Click here for the survey results.

"No" on Emeryville Center for Community Life

Edited version of email to residents from Council Member John Fricke (sent March 22, 2009).
RE: The City Council's plans for the Emeryville Center for Community Life (ECCL), described on the website designed exclusively to promote it, as a place where "schools, community services, arts, and recreation programs are integrated." The price tag? More than $120 million.

At last Tuesday's (March 19) meeting, the City Council began the process of hiring an architect to design new community facilities - to be known as the Emeryville Center for Community Life - at the high school site (on San Pablo between 47th and 53rd streets). The architecture fees alone are estimated at $11 million, and would be paid from the city's redevelopment money. The entire project is estimated to cost $120 million. When completed, the project ("ECCL") would include new school facilities and city-run services. I voted "no" for a number of reasons.

The city's redevelopment money could be better spent on less grandiose projects. For example, Emeryville needs a permanent recreation center. In 2006, the city estimated the cost of a new recreation center at $6 million. Instead of preparing to spend $11 million on architects' fees, the city should provide a new rec center.

The money could also be spent to create more parks and open space. The park soon to be completed at 61st and Hollis cost about $8 million to buy the land, and design and construct the park.

The ECCL plan includes having all grades – kindergarten through 12th grade – at the high school site. Having just completed a $9 million renovation of the existing grammar school, the school district would abandon this school site. ECCL construction is scheduled to begin in 2011.

In these tough economic times, it doesn't make sense to be planning to spend $120 million on a project, especially since it's unclear where the money will come from.

Even if the money is found to construct the project, running the facility is going to demand a larger city budget. ECCL proponents argue that the project will actually save money in maintenance costs since a number of current city services and school functions will be consolidated in one location, thus saving operating money by sharing administrative functions. Can the city and school district expand the number of programs while saving money?

ECCL proponents are very ambitious in what programs will be offered: "180,000 square feet of interior space made up of general instruction classrooms, meeting rooms, administrative offices, 2 gymnasiums, multi-purpose areas, art and music studios, dance and fitness studios, space for preschool and before and after school activities, technology centers, teacher work areas, parent and teacher resource areas, library, and a health and wellness center. The outdoor space would include soccer field, football field, baseball field, basketball courts, a year-round swimming pool, a running track, gardens, and green open space."

The city's budget is stretched as it is. Sales tax revenue is down, and the city council is debating whether to raise taxes. I support raising taxes if the alternative means cutting back city services. I don't think this is the best time to be planning for a facility that will likely demand a larger city operating budget.

Finally, nothing has been decided on how the joint facility would be governed. The city's redevelopment money would be spent for a project on school district property. In places like Chicago and New York, the school superintendent answers to the mayor and the school budget is part of the city budget. In California, school districts are governed by separate, elected boards. Before the city uses its redevelopment agency money for a project on school property, it behooves us to know what governmental body will be ultimately responsible for what goes on at the facility.