We had a chance last year to significantly change the composition of the City Council, when 3 of the members were up for re-election. Why Emeryville residents did not do so is a mystery to me. I support any effort to make our council more accountable to the people who live here – not just the people who build here.<\/p>\n
K.H. Open Letter to the Emeryville City Council Emeryville has a wonderful stock of older buildings that could be parleyed into a successful marketing approach to attract potential residents, tourists, and businesses. The apparent over-willingness of the city government to destroy the unique cultural resources which separate Emeryville from surrounding communities only serves to diminish the future potential for economic growth in the city. The potential for growth in Emeryville, as elsewhere, will lie in differentiating itself from other communities, as shoppers, businesses, and families decide where they want to spend their time and money.<\/p>\n Emeryville needs only to package their heritage resources properly to take advantage of the enormous opportunity it possesses to tap into the niche-appeal of unique communities. I encourage you to peruse the National Trust’s Main Street Program website at http:\/\/www.mainstreet.org\/ to see what so many other communities have accomplished by using the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Main Street Approach.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d This is a program begun by the National Trust over 30 years ago. It has been incredibly successful, benefiting cities both small and large across the country by showing them approaches to set themselves apart from other cities by highlighting their cultural and architectural uniqueness and desirability, and combining it all into a marketable package. This can lead to enormous economic opportunities using many resources that the city already has, along with opening up state and federal grants to rehabilitate and rejuvenate historic neighborhoods, as well as individual buildings. Emeryville has used a similar approach in the past by taking advantage of Brownfields grants to bring many contaminated parts of the city back to useful operation. Emeryville can do the same thing with the Main Street Program to improve its other residential and commercial districts. This is especially important during these trying economic times.<\/p>\n I would direct you to Pleasanton, Berkeley, and Livermore as some examples that illustrate the success of this program. All of these cities are participants in this program and have benefited greatly. The Book, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Main Street Success Stories\u00e2\u20ac\u009d has more details on how many cities around the country have very successfully utilized this approach in both good and bad economic times: https:\/\/www.mainstreet.org\/content.aspx?page=4327.<\/p>\n Thank you.<\/p>\n Douglas Bright <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
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I would like to voice my protest of the apparently inevitable issuance of a demolition permit that would allow the destruction of the historic buildings at the corner of 39th and Adeline as well Powell and Doyle.<\/p>\n
Environmental Planner (Architectural History)<\/p>\n