First Hybrid Meeting with 2-27-23 Planning Board

 The Planning Board is having its first hybrid meeting tonight!  My understanding is that the Board itself is supposed to be in chambers (with limited exception) but that the public can participate in person or via zoom.  Staff from the City Clerk's Office will coordinate the power point presentations and such, and Planning Staff will have to coordinate some of the moving parts as well.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out, especially as to public comments.

Here's a link to the non-pdf list of agenda items.   I see the objective design criteria are on the agenda - which will be an important factor for City decisionmaking moving forward.  When a City's review of an action is merely to determine whether objective criteria are satisfied, then the type of decision that is made generally is considered ministerial instead of discretionary - and thus, the decision is likely not be subject to the requirements of the California Environmental Quality Act and similar laws that apply to discretionary project approvals.

Feb. 7 City Council Agenda: Central Ave Project

 I'm excited to see that tonight's City Council Agenda includes, as consent calendar Item 5e, an item authorizing the City Manager to execute an agreement with Caltrans to complete the Central Ave. Safety Improvement Project. 

I've been feeling a bit like Gloria Stuart in Titanic for this Central Ave. project, and I wasn't even around for a lot of it.  Per the 2016 staff report  the "concept is the culmination of an extensive community based planning process that began in 1991 with the City’s General Plan . . ."  

The more recent history of the Central Ave. Safety Improvement Project includes a 2013 grant from Caltrans to develop a concept proposal, a 2014 community engagement process with workshops, May 2015 and November 2015 transportation commission meetings, December 2015 Commission on Disability Issues meeting (now known as the Commission on Persons with Disabilities), three surveys on the public works dept's open forum page, plus stakeholder meetings with local schools, businesses, AC Transit, Bike Walk Alameda, etc.  In 2016, the City Council approved a concept for Central Ave that didn't deal with the Webster Street intersection.  And in 2017 and 2018 the City continued moving forward with the project scoping, planning, and development with Caltrans, and in 2021 the Council approved the final concept for the Project.

After all this time, even the idea of approving a contract to complete this Project is very exciting.