[CPEO-MEF] Island base plans stymied

[CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>]

California
OAKLAND TRIBUNE
Island base plans stymied
By Kristin Bender
September 10, 2003

ALAMEDA -- Negotiations between the city and the developer pegged to
build a small city at Alameda Point are at a standstill because the city
has been "micro-managing" the talks and not making decisions, developers
say.

Alameda Point Community Partners, a consortium of developers, has been
negotiating with the city since January 2002 to acquire more than 1,000
acres at the former U.S. Navy base to build housing, a school, parks,
commercial, industrial and office space, and a boat marina.

Under an agreement, the city and the developer have three years to reach
a deal, but developers are calling for a "mid-course" correction.

Aidan Barry, Alameda Point Community Partners project manager, said
negotiations this year have been "bogged down by severe micro-management
of every step, every word. Our perception was that staff was so worried
about making a mistake that the process was choked."

Last week, developers delivered a 20-page letter to the city asking for
a more "efficient and result-generating process" with an interactive and
open-book format. City Manager Jim Flint said the city hopes to have an
answer for developers in 30 to 60 days.

The developers' announcement comes less than a month after the U.S. Navy
made public it had scrapped plans for an early transfer of the military
land. An early transfer would have allowed cleanup and development to
occur simultaneously.

The Navy abandoned early transfer after the city -- with approval from
the developers -- submitted a plan pegging cleanup at $558 million. The
Navy estimates cleanup at $150 million to $180 million.

Barry called that move "our collec- tive mistake," saying it is time for
"mid-course correction." Developers now want the city to negotiate with
the Navy to transfer "parcels" that are ready for development, a more
piecemeal approach, but also common in military base reuse and
redevelopment.

In the document, developers outline their problems and potential
solutions. One, they said, has been the use of multiple "work groups,"
comprised of council and city staff members and consultants, who operate
independently and report separately to a negotiation team.

"(This) does not yield sufficient progress on negotiations," the letter
said.

This article can be viewed at:
http://www.oaklandtribune.com/Stories/0,1413,82~1865~1622491,00.html

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