After eight months of study, review, discussion and argument,
the Measure P update committee is ready to face the public at a
workshop Tuesday night.
After eight months of study, review, discussion and argument, the Measure P update committee is ready to face the public at a workshop Tuesday night.
Committee members and city staff will describe reasons for the suggested changes and residents can ask questions and offer comments and suggestions during the workshop scheduled for 6 tonight in City Council Chambers.
Measure P is the voter-approved, residential growth-control ordinance mandating that the city will not grow larger than 38,800 by 2010. Developers compete to earn points that, in turn, can lead to building permits – or housing starts.
The workshop begins a series of events sponsored by City Hall and reaching out to inform voters about the measure and its proposed amendments. Voters will have to approve the complicated, updated ordinance before it can go into action.
“The purpose of the workshop is to provide another forum for the community to become better informed about the committee’s proposals, and to give us their opinion,” said David Bischoff, planning director.
After the workshop, the committee will consider the public comments and finalize its recommendations to the City Council.
Council decided to ask voters to update the measure for several reasons, Bischoff said.
“There are some flaws in the original measure,” he said. “For example, the way by which we calculate the number of homes that can be built in a year now results in more homes being built in the early years (250 a year against 160 now, later in the process). “We also want it to be consistent with the general plan.”
The committee has striven to simplify the way the measure works for developers and planners and, finally, the measure was adjusted to address the city’s ‘fair share’ of housing as required by the Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG).
“Just extending initiative should take care of the housing fair share,” Bischoff said.
“It will likely be on the Planning Commission’s agenda in June or July,” Bischoff said.
