DANVILLE
-- A sometimes raucous crowd of 300 filled to overflowing Tuesday at a
planning commission meeting that rang with complaints over possible
low-income and high-density housing in town.
Danville is in the
process of updating its general plan, but proposed changes regarding
agricultural land-use zoning and increases in land zoned for high
density, affordable housing have many residents concerned Danville could
lose its small town charm.
Several people in the crowd held
signs that said Danville should get out of the Association of Bay Area
Governments, which allocates housing requirements to local governments
as mandated by the state.
"Why are we allowing unelected
bureaucrats of a regional government to boss us around?" longtime
resident Anne Blake asked the commission. "The people here in Danville
are the top type of people in the nation, the smartest. Why can't we
stand up to all of the shenanigans that are going on?"
At least 35
people spoke at the meeting, that stretched late into the night. Many
voiced concerns that low-income, high-density housing could increase
crime, fire hazards, traffic congestion and overburden Danville schools.
"Build it, and they will come," resident Sheila Truschke said. "But don't build it, and they won't."
The
meeting took an occasionally raucous tone similar to a previous meeting
on Nov. 27 when the draft environmental impact report for the plan was
discussed.
Speakers
voiced
skepticism about climate change and some suggested the United Nations
is behind the One Bay Area Plan, which is a long-range transportation
and land-use and housing plan being implemented regionally.
Some speakers urged the town to follow the city of Corte Madera's lead and leave ABAG.
Town
Manager Joe Calabrigo assured the crowd that the town government is
committed to preserving Danville's small town character. He said
membership in ABAG allows the town to represent its best interests by
keeping housing numbers lower than what the state might directly mandate
if Danville were to pull out of the association. He added that the town
does not want to forgo state and federal funding by leaving.
"Whether
we appreciate it or not, the state and regional entities in my time
here at the town have become increasingly involved at the local level,"
Calabrigo said. "Danville has been, I believe, very proactive and very
persistent in trying to deal with this dynamic."
Save Open Space
Danville members Maryann Cella, Todd Gary and the group's attorney,
Stuart Flashman, said the new general plan rewrites agricultural zoning
rules to do an end-around Measure S, Danville's Open Space Preservation
Initiative, which requires a public vote on general plan amendments that
change land use. The group is trying to force a vote under Measure S on
a proposed SummerHill Housing project for 70 homes on agriculturally
zoned land.
Planning Commission Chairwoman Lynn Overcashier said
Wednesday that there is a lot of misinformation and fear over the new
general plan.
"We (commissioners) passionately care about our
community. We will never look like Dublin. We will never look like
Fremont. All the affordable housing in Danville has very strict
guidelines and height limits. We're talking about senior facilities,
housing for teachers, retail workers, restaurant workers. It doesn't
mean that we are bringing crime elements or gangs into Danville."
The
commission will hold two more public hearings about the general plan on
Jan. 8 and 22. The town council will review the plan and take public
comments on Feb. 5. The council will hold a second meeting on the plan
on March 5. It could vote to adopt the plan at that meeting.
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