Candidate for
Council Member; City of Brisbane

BAYLANDS

Community Control: The preferences of the citizens of Brisbane should determine the decisions made by the City Council on the Baylands. Already built into the process is a citizens' survey and an eventual vote of the electorate on the proposed plan. The survey will be administered after the Environmental Impact Report has been completed.

Housing: Probably the most controversial issue related to the proposed Baylands development is housing. Brisbane's current General Plan, which the voters of Brisbane approved in 1994, prohibits housing in the Baylands. The developer's proposal includes almost 3 times the number of housing units as there are in existing Brisbane. I believe that the great majority of Brisbanites, including me, consider that number of proposed housing units (4,434) as outrageous and clearly contradictory to our small town character.

Contamination: The northwestern part of the Baylands was contaminated by the operations of companies such as Schlage Lock and Southern Pacific. A state-monitored cleanup of that toxic pollution is underway. The southwestern part of the Baylands has been contaminated by the fuel-tank farm currently owned and operated by Kinder Morgan. The eastern part of the Baylands contains an unregulated landfill. San Francisco dumped its garbage and debris on that site from 1906 to 1967. The nature and extent of the contamination in the landfill has been only partially studied. Talking about "cleaning it up" is misleading. The only way to truly accomplish that would be total removal of the fill. A method typically used in brownfields is an impermeable cap. If this approach is found to be feasible here, the integrity of the cap would have to be permanently monitored.

Sustainability: I am in complete agreement with the Council's position that the Baylands should be a model of sustainability. This means design guidelines that seek zero footprints for carbon, water and waste. Energy efficiency and renewable energy production on-site are essential components of a sustainability plan. The site could achieve self-sufficiency in water via an integrated fresh, gray and storm water system that could also enhance wetlands. Using long rather than short-term evaluative measures, the sustainable approach is less costly for businesses as well as for nature, upon which we all depend.

BUDGET

Revenue losses: The City's revenues have been significantly reduced by the downturn in the economy and by State extractions. However, the biggest local hit is the forthcoming departure of Van Waters and Rogers (VWR). About 15-20% of the City's General Fund revenues will be lost beginning in the 2012-2013 fiscal year. The Council has been preparing for this hit with a personnel reduction plan, essentially not replacing people as they retire or leave City employment. However, the City's budget is still projected to be in deficit in the near future.

Setting priorities: As these budgetary restrictions become reality, the Council needs to continue assuring that basic services (fire, police, public works) are provided while community-preferred services (swimming pool, recreation programs for all ages) are preserved.

School relationships: The City has been a partner with our school districts. That should continue as much as financially feasible. However, the major responsibility for dealing with their fiscal shortfalls or high-school issues belongs to the school boards. One of the major complications that must be addressed is that the entire area of the Baylands is in the Bayshore School District, not Brisbane.