Title
Recommendation to Consider Providing Direction to City Staff to Draft Charter Amendment Related to Article 26 (Measure A). (City Council Subcommittee)
Body
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
On May 7, 2020, the City Council discussed four ballot measure options seeking voter authorization to amend Alameda City Charter Article 26 ("Measure A"), the city-wide prohibition on multi-family housing and city-wide limit of one unit per 2,000 square feet of land density. After debating the four options, the Council appointed Mayor Marilyn Ezzy Ashcraft and Councilmember Jim Oddie to a subcommittee ("Subcommittee") to further meet and develop ballot measure options that might address the concerns raised at the meeting regarding the first four options.
Since May 7, 2020, the Subcommittee has had several productive working meetings. As a result of this work, the Subcommittee is recommending that the City Council direct staff to draft a measure for the November 2020 ballot to address the policy conflicts caused by Article 26.
Specifically, the subcommittee recommends that the City Council place a measure on the November 2020 ballot asking Alameda voters to repeal Article 26-1, the 1973 decision by voters to prohibit construction of multifamily housing anywhere in Alameda.
BACKGROUND
In December 2018, Mayor Ezzy Ashcraft appointed a Charter Review Subcommittee ("Charter Subcommittee") of Vice Mayor John Knox White and Councilmember Tony Daysog to review the City Charter and recommend potential measures for the City Council to consider placing on a future ballot.
On January 13, 2020, at the request of the Charter Subcommittee, the Planning Board held a public study session to discuss potential conflicts between City Charter Article 26 and City Council adopted policies and goals in the General Plan, Alameda Municipal Code, Climate Action Plan, Economic Development Strategy, and Transportation Choices Plan. For the meeting, City staff prepared an evaluation of Article 26 th...
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