While in Sacremento on our dime as a legislator Bates managed to pass Transit Village legislation which he is now using to try to develop a vast housing development replacing the parking lot at Ashby Bart.
He tried to force it through with a phony "citizen's" commission representing the area, which he appointed himself. This failed. He evidently is trying something else that the home owners in the area do not want.
Read a full account of the Ashby BART controversy on our appendix page. Here is an excerpt:
Government officials who face overwhelming public opposition have roughly three options at their disposal. If they concern themselves with the democratic process, and therefore regard themselves as servants of the public, and not Lords who rule by fiat, they will of course heed to the will of the people. The second option is to make a compromise, rendering a decision that’s somewhere in the realm between overwhelming public opinion, and, in this particular case, the Mayor, a Councilmember, and handful of hungry developers.
The third option—the one chosen by Mayor Bates—is to manufacture a façade of public participation, while proceeding to do whatever he intended to do before confronting public opposition. This is where Ed Church and the South Berkeley Neighborhood Development Corporation (SBNDC) enter into the story. Knowing full well the controversial nature of his grant proposal, Mayor Bates assigned the SBNDC with the duty of creating a task force to lead the project, to appoint ‘community members’ to its ranks to develop a “shared vision” for the Ashby project.
Other areas for unseemly development include San Pablo Ave, and the current Kragens Auto on University, which is becoming the Trader Joe's building, whose 5 story height and traffic impact will overwhelm the previous quiet residential neighborhood.
The Mayor has been quoted that the Hillside School would be a good site for a 20 story building. You will recall that this prized neighborhood school was closed by politicians intent on weakening the hills politically and blaming earthquake considerations.
