{"id":123,"date":"2009-02-10T06:19:00","date_gmt":"2009-02-10T06:19:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/terragrafix.com\/blog\/?p=123"},"modified":"2009-02-10T06:19:00","modified_gmt":"2009-02-10T06:19:00","slug":"we-must-grow-but-not-at-any-cost","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thesecretnewsonline.com\/?p=123","title":{"rendered":""We Must Grow – But Not at Any Cost""},"content":{"rendered":"


Letter to the Emeryville City Council<\/span><\/span>
(<\/span>Reprint of letter sent to the City Council prior to its vote on Jan. 20 to demolish the historic brick building at 39th and Adeline Streets – designated as “architecturally significant” under the City’s own preservation ordinance. It is the third “architecturally significant” building the City Council has voted to demolish in the past year. ) <\/span><\/p>\n

Esteemed <\/span>City Council Members<\/span>,<\/p>\n

I write to express my concern about the brick building currently
standing at 39th and Adeline. This building is an important part of
our landscape. Please don’t give a developer a free pass to demolish
it.<\/p>\n

I am not anti-development. I enjoy living in Emeryville, and I love
seeing it thrive and grow. But “<\/span>smart growth<\/span>” is different than
“growth at any cost.” We can bring in new businesses and new
residents without violating our own policies for preservation of
historic structures.<\/p>\n

Emeryville is strong, and it does not need to destroy its heritage
just to put up another cookie-cutter, vision-less new building. Many
Emeryville residents — long-time residents like me — love living in a
city that is different, quirky, and built on a legacy of industrial
and bricks-and-mortar growth. We love the way it looks. Yes, we must
grow – but not at any cost.<\/p>\n

To me, this is part of a larger issue about the City’s vision for
growth, and its priorities. Do we pass resolutions that reflect our values, only to abandon them at the first request of a developer?<\/p>\n

Tuesday is my anniversary, and I will be unable to appear personally
at the council meeting. But I write to let you know that this issue
is very important to me, and I vote. Every time.<\/p>\n

Thanks to Brian Donahue, <\/span>John Fricke<\/span>, and the Secret News for shining
a light on this important issue.<\/p>\n

K.H.
6363 Christie Ave. (PPP)
…E’ville since ’05 – and loving it!<\/span><\/p>\n