{"id":146,"date":"2009-09-04T00:40:00","date_gmt":"2009-09-04T00:40:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/terragrafix.com\/blog\/?p=146"},"modified":"2009-09-04T00:40:00","modified_gmt":"2009-09-04T00:40:00","slug":"city-council-gives-developer-green-light-for-5th-year-in-a-row-on-bay-street-mall-expansion","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.thesecretnewsonline.com\/?p=146","title":{"rendered":"City Council gives Developer Green Light for 5th Year in a Row on Bay Street Mall Expansion"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Council Majority Ignores Residents’ Pleas to Consider Other Developers<\/span>
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by Reem Assil and Kate O’Hara<\/p>\n

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Scores of residents, hotel and construction workers, and small business owners rallied Tuesday evening at an Emeryville City Council meeting to protest preferential treatment of D.C.-based developer Madison Marquette. While on a 4 to 1 vote, the council did approve a \u00e2\u20ac\u0153sweetheart deal\u00e2\u20ac\u009d with Madison Marquette \u00e2\u20ac\u201c the fifth consecutive extension of an exclusive agreement to develop shopping complex Bay Street Site B \u00e2\u20ac\u201c City Councilmembers repeatedly told Madison Marquette that they expect the corporation to work with the community and address community concerns.
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Among the speakers at the public hearing was Maha Ibrahim, Field Representative for State Assemblymember Nancy Skinner in whose district the Bay Street project is located.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I support collaboration between all parties as they work to ensure that the character of Emeryville\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s development reflects the interests of the residents and workers who are the backbone of its success,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Assemblymember Skinner said in a written statement.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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In a surprising twist, Merlin Edwards, a member of Federal Oakland Associates, which recently competed for the Oakland Army Base redevelopment bid, spoke at the meeting. Edwards said he was offering no opinion on the exclusive agreement with Madison Marquette, but \u00e2\u20ac\u0153simply [wished] to offer an alternative.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Federal was one of the two top contenders for redeveloping the massive former Oakland Army Base, a high-profile process in which his company proposed a retail and hotel project for the site; the project would have included connections to local training programs to put residents to work.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Community members, under the banner of the \u00e2\u20ac\u0153Coalition for a Better Bay Street\u00e2\u20ac\u009d, vowed to continue to push for a more inclusive and livable Bay Street project that provides family-supporting jobs for residents, affordable housing, and vital neighborhood services such as a stronger education system and more local-serving businesses. The Coalition wants to work directly with the developer to reach a formal agreement that will benefit all parties.<\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00e2\u20ac\u0153The City council majority, and a handful of developers have had a run of the city for years, and we want it back,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span> said Tracy Schroth, seven year resident of Emeryville and member of Residents United for a Livable Emeryville (RULE)\u00e2\u20ac\u201done of the organizers of the rally and protest. <\/span><\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Madison Marquette received the extension from the City even as they insisted they had \u00e2\u20ac\u0153no plan\u00e2\u20ac\u009d on the table for the Bay Street project, saying previous plans submitted for Site B have been since abandoned. After raising the ire of concerned residents by claiming there was \u00e2\u20ac\u0153nothing\u00e2\u20ac\u009d to meet about at this time, Madison Marquette\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s representative received a barrage of questions from council members inquiring why the company has shunned requests to meet with community, and yet were still meeting with tenants and operators including hotel operators.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/span>\u00e2\u20ac\u0153I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122ve been told by residents that you won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t meet with them,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d an exasperated City Council Member John Fricke said to Madison Marquette\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s legal representative at the council meeting. Underscoring the need for community input, he continued, \u00e2\u20ac\u0153If you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have community support, you won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have a project.\u00e2\u20ac\u009d<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


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Fricke was the lone vote against the extension of the Exclusive Right to Negotiate, the special agreement the City of Emeryville has extended to Madison Marquette for 5 years in a row. <\/o:p><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n


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\u00e2\u20ac\u0153These issues need to be worked out before tenants and operators are chosen,\u00e2\u20ac\u009d said Wei-Ling Huber, President of UNITE-HERE! Local 2850. \u00e2\u20ac\u0153What if the operator chosen is Sam Hardage?\u00e2\u20ac\u009d Hardage, owner of the Woodfin Suites Hotel, is in a protracted legal battle with the City over wage theft of hotel housekeepers in Emeryville amounting to nearly $200,000.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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Reem Assil <\/span><\/span>is a community benefits organizer for EBASE (East Bay alliance for a sustainable economy), and Kate O’Hara<\/span> is community benefits program director for EBASE. <\/span> <\/p>\n