Judge Orders Oak To Ninth EIR To Be Rewritten - Tribune

Some who are against the Oak to Ninth project will claim this as a victory, but that's wrong. This doens't throw out the Oakland City Council's approval of the project, as reported elsewhere.

Judge tosses Oak-to-Ninth impact report

New development project write-up in works taking into account court's concerns

By Kelly Rayburn, STAFF WRITER - OAKLAND TRIBUNE

Article Last Updated: 11/21/2007 02:42:49 AM PST

OAKLAND — Two sides are claiming victory this week after a Superior Court judge issued a ruling on two lawsuits that challenged Oakland's massive Oak-to-Ninth development project.

The legal battle pitted the city and project developer Oakland Harbor Partners against the Coalition of Advocates for Lake Merritt and the Oakland Heritage Alliance over questions of whether the city adequately considered the impact the project will have on the surrounding environment.

The two groups filed separate lawsuits. Judge Jo-Lynne Q. Lee ruled on them simultaneously Friday.

In the ruling, Judge Lee directed the city to "void" its approval of the project's environmental impact report.
"We're pleased," said Brian Gaffney, attorney for the Coalition of Advocates for Lake Merritt. "My clients are pleased."
The ruling on the environmental impact report was made on what the city considers narrow grounds, however.

City officials say the concerns the judge brought up can be addressed in time.

"It's good," said Alex Katz, spokesman for City Attorney John Russo. "We see it as a win for the city. ... The court upheld the city's position on a majority of issues. It's a big project so it's not unusual for the court to ask the city to amend parts of the EIR."
Katz noted that the judge's ruling to void the environmental document was largely related to the document's analysis of the impact other projects will have in the Oak-to-Ninth area, not the impact the development project itself will have.

The judge also ruled against the Oakland Heritage Alliance in its effort to protect the Ninth Avenue Terminal, most of which would be lost in the city's current plans.

The judge did, however, say analysis of seismic impacts was incomplete.

Project supporters said the ruling did not put the success of Oak-to-Ninth in question. "I doubt it will jeopardize the project," said Councilmember Patricia Kernighan (Grand Lake-Chinatown), adding, "Most problems that can be identified in an EIR can be mitigated, so I anticipate that's what will take place."

There was no word Tuesday from city staff on how long it might take before a new environmental document, one taking the judge's concerns into account, would be back before the City Council.

Oak-to-Ninth developers envision a project that will convert an underused waterfront area east of Jack London Square into a vibrant mini-city.

Plans include building 3,100 homes, retail and commercial areas, about 30 acres of open space and two renovated marinas.
Detractors have decried what they say is insufficient public waterfront access, a lack of affordable housing and poor planning for traffic congestion and air pollution.

The project has been tied up in legal challenges since it was approved in July 2006.

In a separate case, a group collected more than 25,000 signatures, hoping to overturn the City Council's vote through a referendum.

The signatures were ruled invalid by Russo, however, when he determined the wrong version of the ordinance was circulated during signature gathering.

Last week, the referendum group dropped a case seeking to reverse Russo's decision, saying it ran out of money as a December court date approached.

As for the environmental challenges, attorney Arthur Levy, who represented the Oakland Heritage Alliance, said he was disappointed in the ruling on the Ninth Avenue Terminal.

But he added the judge's ruling will give the council the opportunity to reconsider its plans for the terminal since it will have to revisit the overall project.

Michael Ghielmetti, president of Signature Properties, which joined Reynolds and Brown to form Oakland Harbor Partners, said "overall we're pleased" with the ruling.

"There's always something that can be studied further," he said. "I think on the whole of it, we're excited."

City of Berkeley Responsible For Hole In Fence That Man Passed Through, Leading To His Death

As it seems, more and more, cities and counties and states must take care of their roads, freeways, and right-of-ways, else they could be massively sued.

City of Berkeley Responsible For Hole In Fence That Man Passed Through, Leading To His Death - Daily Californian

After a man was killed by a train while trying to take a shortcut across the tracks Thursday, railroad investigators say the city of Berkeley was responsible for fixing a hole in the fence he intended to pass through.

While walking and talking on his cell phone, Berkeley resident Scott Slaughter, 31, was fatally struck at 8:15 a.m. by a Chicago-bound Amtrak train just east of the Berkeley station under the University Avenue overpass.

Instead of walking farther to a pedestrian crossing at Hearst Avenue, Slaughter attempted to cross two sets of tracks to pass through a hole cut in the fence on the other side, said officials at the Alameda County Coroner’s Office.

“He was on his way to Truitt & White lumberyard, where he worked,” said Deputy Sheriff Rene Gonzalez, who examined the scene. “In one of the lots there is a hole in the fence and he was heading to that shortcut.”

Drew McAdams, one of Slaughter’s coworkers, said the gap in the fence is the easiest way to get to work. But he said safer options are only about 50 feet away.

According to Gonzalez, some of the fence’s heavy iron bars have been cut at the bottom and wrenched from slots holding them at the top, forming a large gap that workers often pass through.

The case is being investigated by the Union Pacific Railroad police department. A company spokesperson denied any responsibility for the maintenance of the fence.

“This really is an unfortunate and tragic incident, but I just know that this is not our fence,” said spokesperson James Barnes, who said he thought it was in fact owned by the city of Berkeley.

City officials said Slaughter was trespassing on the tracks and workers should not have been using the hole.

“We are not sure who owns the fence, but once we figure this out the responsible party will act quickly after that,” said Mary Kay Clunies-Ross, spokesperson for the city manager’s office.

The hole in the fence acts as a thoroughfare for many of the Truitt & White workers, Gonzalez said, three of whom used it while he was at the scene following the incident.

Fences like the one at the Berkeley station are erected to safeguard the public and should never be dismantled by anyone, said Steve Kulm, a spokesperson for the Federal Railroad Administration.

Whoever is responsible for the fence should repair it and ensure that it is not disregarded further, Kulm said.

“I have seen news reports that claim the Truitt & White workers will continue to use the gap in the fence,” Kulm said. “This is just the wrong mentality entirely and I would like to see the fence repaired.”

McAdams said Slaughter will be sorely missed by everyone who knew him.

“He was an excellent gentleman and really took the time to make sure that people were taken care of,” he said.

Contact Sarah Morrison at smorrison@dailycal.org.

Flawed Oak To Ninth Referendum Killed By City Attorney, But Lawsuit Challenge To Action Dropped

In October of 2006, and pointing to a major flaw in a referendum to delay the controversial Oak to Ninth Development Project, Oakland City Attorney John Russo killed the petition drive. The reasons he gave at the time were:

Here are the facts:
•
The City of Oakland is required, upon request, to provide a date-stamped, certified,
hard-copy of any ordinance;
•
The Referendum Committee finally requested a certified, hard-copy of the ordinance
on September 8
th
–several weeks AFTER the signatures had been turned in;
•
The Referendum Committee claims they were told by the City Clerk’s office they could
download the ordinance from the website, but cannot tell us who specifically gave
them this direction;
•
The copy of the ordinance that the Referendum Committee used read “NOT
ACCURATE –TO BE UPDATED” on the Table of Contents;
•
Even though one of the primary concerns for the Committee was a potential loss of
park land, the petitioners did not provide the maps attached as exhibits to the
ordinance to the public.
The fact is the Referendum Committee leaders did not do their homework and neither the
public nor their volunteers were well-served by their failure. It’s clear that the Referendum
Committee’s heedless rush to get signatures resulted in part, if not totally, in the
embarrassing situation they find themselves in today.
It’s ironic and bordering on strange to be attacked by the League of Women Voters’ attorneys
for upholding state disclosure laws and the protections those laws provide the public.
Transparency is a value that must apply equally to all who participate in our democratic
process. Transparency can be tough. No one can or should put themselves above it—no
matter how passionately they believe in the righteousness of their cause.

This angered Oakland/Berkeley political activists and set off a lawsuit challenging Russo's action in court. But on November 9th, the opponents, the Oak to 9th Referendum Committee, dropped their lawsuit due to lack of money, and that even though the group held a kind of fund-raiser on September 15th. The leaders of this group..

Naomi Schiff, Oakland Heritage Alliance
Helen Hutchison, League of Women Voters of Oakland
James E Vann, Coalition of Advocates for Lake Merritt

Which obtained the following endorsements..

League of Women Voters
Sierra Club
Coalition of Advocates for Lake Merritt (CALM)
Piedmont Avenue Neighborhood Improvement League (PANIL)
The Green Party
East Bay Bicycle Coalition
Jack London District Association
Fifth Avenue Institute
Pamela Drake, past president MGO Democratic Club
Oakland Heritage Alliance

Lost a huge battle. While I personally favor the project as a great place for baseball, their concerns were certainly -- for the most part -- valid. They could have gotten more traction out of fighting for it as a home for the Oakland A's, and perhaps gained the City Attorney and others as alies.

And that's the point. The leaders of the opposition should have had an alternative plan. Someone at this point will think "The city can't afford baseball" but my counter is the project would have generated enough re-sale land revenue to pay for a ballpark project. It's just that this wasn't explored.

Oh well.

Franklin Square Wine Bar's Open Accross From Luka's

Well, I've not checked it out, yet, but OaklandGoods has . I'm writing about the report that the new Franklin Square Wine Bar's open for business. It was started by the founders of Luka's next door -- well accross the street (Broadway) -- and from what my friends tell me, it's quite nice.

Franklin Square Wine Bar, 2212 broadway, 510.251.0100