- I have believed for years that Livermore would benefit from a central public park where families could meet, play and mingle.
- After a flawed proposal process, the City chose Lennar based on their proposed downtown plan with no park and no public amenities. That proved highly unpopular, though supported by Council and their supporters, such as my opponent.
- After an election, the City started again, spending $500K on outreach to learn the public’s priorities for the space. Unsurprisingly, they included adequate parking, open space and a character that fit Livermore. Housing was last on the list.
- Meanwhile, Council privately negotiated an audience seating lawn called Stockmen’s park, for possible future outdoor performances.
- The City ignored citizen input and proposed their “approved plan” which included Eden moderately low-income housing with inadequate parking, a featureless Stockmen’s park and large housing units.
- After publishing their “approved plan”, they ignored their own approved plan and presented a plan from Eden housing for a larger set of buildings for very-low income and the homeless, not enough parking and less open space. Again, it is broadly unpopular.
- We need City Council to be honest and transparent so residents are not fed another bait and switch.
- Whatever happens with the Eden plan, I want to work with the city to fix the parking shortage created by Eden’s single parking spot per housing unit
- I also want to make sure that what open space remains is comfortable and coordinates with the rest of the public space, not walled off for residents only
- I want to prioritize Livermore residents getting into Livermore's low-income housing