Posts Tagged ‘ Jennifer West ’

Emeryville Wins Fight for Bike/Ped Bridge

May 11, 2013
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Emeryville Wins Fight for Bike/Ped Bridge

Text reprinted from Council Member Jennifer West’s blog: Yesterday (Thursday, May 9), the City of Emeryville had a real victory! We won our litigation against the State of California, which had denied our use of Redevelopment funds to pay for the South Bayfront Pedestrian/Bicycle Bridge and Horton Landing Park, after the dissolution of Redevelopment. It is a long and complicated story, but the short version for now is that the Department of Finance, which  insisted on us turning over funds set aside for the Bike Ped bridge connecting Stanford and 53rd St. (east of the railroad tracks) with Bay St. (west of the tracks), lost, and the City of Emeryville, the residents of Emeryville, have won! This is a wonderful decision that came on a day of celebrating bikes and connectivity with Bike to Work Day, May 9, 2013. The Bridge had been planned over the past 10 years or so, and was ready to go to bid for construction 2 years ago when redevelopment was ended by the state. I hope that with this decision the city can move quickly on getting the project over the train tracks moving again. Having a better connection with Bay St. will be a

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The Big Job of Choosing the Right City Manager

January 24, 2013
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The Big Job of Choosing the Right City Manager

Patrick O’Keeffe Retiring Emeryville City Manager Patrick O’Keeffe has resigned, effective April 19. O’Keeffe served as City Manager for the past 7 years. Before that, he was the city’s Economic Development and Housing Director under City Manager John Flores for 11 years. During his 18-year tenure with the city, O’Keeffe used his considerable autonomy, political influence, and hundreds of millions in redevelopment money to help transform rugged, industrial Emeryville into a modern hub of big box retail, biotech, and condo/apartment complexes. His principle role — what he knows how to do — is promote and manage development. Reviews of the city’s transformation – and O’Keeffe’s role in it – have been mixed. While the City Council theoretically makes the final call on development projects, anyone who knows Emeryville politics knows O’Keeffe is a key player. The Council largely depends on him (and other city staff) to inform and advise them. And he does, always in favor of big business and often at the expense of residents. Pedestrian and bicycle safety, open space, small business, historic buildings, and hundreds of old growth trees are sacrificed in the name of progress. Enormous tax breaks are given to billion-dollar corporations like Pixar, but

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Should Drivers Pay to Park on Emeryville Streets? Community Meeting on New City Parking Plan – 11 a.m. this Saturday

January 11, 2013
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Should Drivers Pay to Park on Emeryville Streets? Community Meeting on New City Parking Plan – 11 a.m. this Saturday

Reprinted from the Emeryville Property Owners Association website Originally posted on December 20, 2012 The Emeryville Property Owners Association (EPOA) is holding a community meeting on the City’s Parking Implementation Plan 11 am, Saturday, January 12 at the Ralph Hawley School, 1275 61st Street, Emeryville. From 10-11 am, the EPOA will show a video of the City Council accepting the specific details of the Wilbur Smith Parking Plan on September 7, 2010. Approved, but NOT Implemented. At 11:15 am, Council Member Jennifer West will explain to the community why Emeryville should eliminate free street parking. Following her presentation, there will be an open community dialogue about the impact of the parking plan. Then, the EPOA will make a five minute closing statement to end the meeting at 12:30 pm. At the Transportation Committee meeting on December 11,  held at the Fire Station, about 30 people attended. Although about 28 particpants seemed to disagree with the Parking Plan, the Committee decided to move the first steps of the Parking Implementation Plan to the City Council for its consideration at its next meeting on Tuesday, January 15 at 7:15 pm. Please attend the community meeting on January 12th to express your concerns.

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No Deal for Madison Marquette

September 12, 2012
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No Deal for Madison Marquette

Not in City’s Best Interest to Rush Sale; MM’s Exclusive Right to Develop Land Near Bay St Mall Expires Sept. 30 In a closed session last week, the Emeryville City Council decided not to sell the four acres north of Bay Street Mall to developer Madison Marquette (MM), concluding it was “not in the city’s best interest” to make the sale. After years of delay, MM was rushing to finalize a deal before its exclusive right to develop the land expired on Sept. 30. Mayor Jennifer West said in an email that a “long range property management plan” will be developed as part of the process of dissolving redevelopment in the city. She said the City Council (as successor agency to the redevelopment agency) will decide probably sometime next year what it wants to do with the property. West said the Council’s decision does not preclude MM from purchasing the land at a later date. The Council did not decide whether to allow other developers to bid for the land, known as Bay Street Site B. The Council’s decision officially ends MM’s exclusive hold on the land. Under a deal made between the city and MM back in 2005, MM had

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Mayor Jennifer West To Speak Tonight on State of the City

May 31, 2012
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Mayor Jennifer West To Speak Tonight on State of the City

(Reprinted from the E-ville Eye Community Blog) As part of Mayor Jennifer West’s community outreach program, she will be visiting and sharing her “State of the City” report at the Emeryville Warehouse lofts 7 pm tonight (Thursday, May 31). Also in attendance will be city manager Patrick O’Keeffe. Come hear about what’s happening in our town and have a chance to share your thoughts. Subject matter including: • Sherwin Williams Cleanup & Development • Bay St. Pedestrian Bridge • Park Avenue Beautification • Greenway Path To read more, go to The E-ville Eye Community Blog (If viewing this story from the homepage: To make a comment, or to read the comments of others, click on the headline to go to the story page, then scroll down to the bottom.)  

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