HEARING ON ALAMEDA MEGAPLEX TONIGHT - PLEASE ATTEND! (Tues 7:30pm)

Hello,

The hearing of the appeal to the theater/garage project is tomorrow,
Tuesday August 16th at 7:30 pm at City Hall. The agenda is now online
at http://www.ci.alameda.ca.us/city_clerk/2005/m_1124202600.html

Alameda City Hall is here:

2263 Santa Clara Avenue
http://makeashorterlink.com/?Q11E52F9B

Staff's recommendation to the Council is to deny the appeal (click on
view item under item 5-A of the agenda to view the full staff report).

We want to ask the Council to uphold the appeal and consider it
together with all the new evidence that the public will present at the
meeting, and make their decision based on that. There are many and
serious reasons why the project should not go forward—this expensive
and heavily subsidized project could undermine the City's budget, the
contract with the developer is a virtual giveway, the design, massing
and location of the buildings are detrimental to the Civic Center, the
proposed parking is inadequate for the proposed number of screens, and
most importantly, it is not the kind of development people want for
this town. The business leaders providing comments and pushing for the
project in its early stages before designs were revealed to the public
have a vested interest in the development. The vast majority of
citizens will not profit from it. All citizens want is the restoration
of the Alameda Theater and a parking that would solve the problem, not
aggravate it. We are willing to work with the City to achieve this
goal. We are not going to endorse a project that turns us away from it.
We cannot be told that because it is late in the process the concerns
we raise should not be addressed with a better plan. On the contrary,
now is the right time to stop and rethink, before even more funds are
spend and construction contracts signed.

What to expect at the hearing

The appeal is the only item on the agenda—please arrive early, fill out
a speaker slip and give it to the clerk. On the slip write the agenda
item 5-A and mark IN FAVOR—you are for the appeal, not against it. A
lot of people are expected to be there so be prepared to stay late,
stand, or even wait outside to be called to speak. You time will
probably be limited to 3 minutes—so plan your comment accordingly. If
you think that you will exceed the 3 minute limit you can split your
comment in advance between you and a friend and turn your speaker slips
together. If you are a nervous speaker you can simply state your name,
say that you oppose the project and urge the Council to uphold the
appeal. It would also be very helpful to turn in a written statement
with your objections, dated and marked FOR THE RECORD (this is
different from the speaker slip you turn in in order to speak)—oral
comments can sometimes get mistakenly recorded, especially if there are
too many speakers.

This is all. Hope to see you all there, wearing your "Listen to the
People" T-shirts and your "Save Alameda Theater" buttons. If you don't
have one, let us know so we can get you one on time. Thank you for your
unwavering support and encouragement in this battle. It is not over
yet, but when it is we know that we will be a better town for it.

Citizens for a Megaplex-Free Alameda
http://www.stopalamedamegaplex.com
________________________________

See also:

Nearly 100 Alamedans Come Out to Protest the Megaplex
http://www.indybay.org/news/2005/07/1755331.php