Post by ferryfast admin on Mar 31, 2005 12:07:04 GMT -5
Group pitches own vision
Vallejo Waterfront Coalition presents its ideas to public: includes hotel, gardens and park
By CHRIS G. DENINA, Times-Herald staff writer
Imagine a Vallejo waterfront with a children's museum, ball fields and boardwalks.
Picture condos above shops and restaurants, along with parking garages for ferry commuters.
And visualize a boutique hotel, public gardens and an energy park featuring solar power panels.
Those are some of the ideas a grassroots group unveiled Wednesday as its vision for renewing a stretch along Mare Island Way. The Vallejo Waterfront Coalition presented its proposal for the controversial project to an audience of more than 100 at the Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum.
The proposal was an alternative to the plans pitched by the city's chosen waterfront developer, Callahan De Silva Vallejo LLC.
"The community's basically stepping up and saying this currently proposed plan is not acceptable," coalition chairperson Stephanie Gomes said in an interview. "This is our waterfront. It's our city. While we're not saying we want no development, we want smart thoughtful development."
The developer's plans include condos over shops, a hotel, a transit center including a parking garage, and a smaller parking structure.
The difference, Gomes told the audience, is the coalition's plans are more pedestrian-friendly and visually appealing. Her group's design also features more open space because it uses higher-density housing, she said.
Coalition members said they've discussed their vision with city officials and the developer and hope they'll consider the proposal. Joe Callahan of Callahan De Silva Vallejo said he'll review the coalition's ideas but was satisfied with his own design.
"That's the plan we are proposing," Callahan said in an interview before Wednesday's meeting.
Callahan said his group spent years working on the project, making sure it's economically feasible. The city is unlikely to get as many tax dollars under the coalition proposal as with his firm's plans, Callahan said.
"It's that simple," Callahan said.
At this point in the process, it's too early to consider specific plans, Councilmember Pamela Pitts said in an interview. A report on the project's maximum impacts on the surrounding area is due out in May, city officials said. The council needs to OK the environmental analysis before considering specific plans, Pitts said.
"Everything else right now is conceptual," Pitts said. "It could always change."
Still, she said she doesn't know what the city could do with the coalition's plans.
"As far as I'm concerned, we hired a firm," Pitts said. "Now, if the developer wants to bring it forward, I think it's something we should look at, otherwise it could be very, very, very disruptive."
In Wednesday's presentation, Gomes said the coalition had started out against some of the developer's ideas, like developing Mariner's Cove, near the Mare Island causeway. But after some thought, coalition members supported building a children's museum and cafe and about 140 housing units, she said.
"We were as surprised as anyone else to see development on Parcel A," Gomes said, referring to Mariner's Cove.
A handful of residents walked out early, including Alun Whittaker, who lives near Mariner's Cove
"What a sellout," Whittaker said. "This plan is ghastly."
He said the plan was too similar to the Callahan De Silva plan. Whittaker also said the coalition proposal was impractical, with its boutique hotel and a park of alternative energy systems like solar panels.
Cameron Shearer of Vallejo stayed longer for the event. He said he liked the design's layout, such as the walkway from the ferry into the downtown.
"It's more visually friendly," Shearer said. "This is nice."
While some residents are split on the design, at least more people are finding common ground, said Lynn Combs of Vallejo.
She said she's been waiting decades for someone to build something on the waterfront.
"It's nice to see some compromise," Combs said. "That's what it's going to take."
Vallejo Waterfront Coalition presents its ideas to public: includes hotel, gardens and park
By CHRIS G. DENINA, Times-Herald staff writer
Imagine a Vallejo waterfront with a children's museum, ball fields and boardwalks.
Picture condos above shops and restaurants, along with parking garages for ferry commuters.
And visualize a boutique hotel, public gardens and an energy park featuring solar power panels.
Those are some of the ideas a grassroots group unveiled Wednesday as its vision for renewing a stretch along Mare Island Way. The Vallejo Waterfront Coalition presented its proposal for the controversial project to an audience of more than 100 at the Vallejo Naval & Historical Museum.
The proposal was an alternative to the plans pitched by the city's chosen waterfront developer, Callahan De Silva Vallejo LLC.
"The community's basically stepping up and saying this currently proposed plan is not acceptable," coalition chairperson Stephanie Gomes said in an interview. "This is our waterfront. It's our city. While we're not saying we want no development, we want smart thoughtful development."
The developer's plans include condos over shops, a hotel, a transit center including a parking garage, and a smaller parking structure.
The difference, Gomes told the audience, is the coalition's plans are more pedestrian-friendly and visually appealing. Her group's design also features more open space because it uses higher-density housing, she said.
Coalition members said they've discussed their vision with city officials and the developer and hope they'll consider the proposal. Joe Callahan of Callahan De Silva Vallejo said he'll review the coalition's ideas but was satisfied with his own design.
"That's the plan we are proposing," Callahan said in an interview before Wednesday's meeting.
Callahan said his group spent years working on the project, making sure it's economically feasible. The city is unlikely to get as many tax dollars under the coalition proposal as with his firm's plans, Callahan said.
"It's that simple," Callahan said.
At this point in the process, it's too early to consider specific plans, Councilmember Pamela Pitts said in an interview. A report on the project's maximum impacts on the surrounding area is due out in May, city officials said. The council needs to OK the environmental analysis before considering specific plans, Pitts said.
"Everything else right now is conceptual," Pitts said. "It could always change."
Still, she said she doesn't know what the city could do with the coalition's plans.
"As far as I'm concerned, we hired a firm," Pitts said. "Now, if the developer wants to bring it forward, I think it's something we should look at, otherwise it could be very, very, very disruptive."
In Wednesday's presentation, Gomes said the coalition had started out against some of the developer's ideas, like developing Mariner's Cove, near the Mare Island causeway. But after some thought, coalition members supported building a children's museum and cafe and about 140 housing units, she said.
"We were as surprised as anyone else to see development on Parcel A," Gomes said, referring to Mariner's Cove.
A handful of residents walked out early, including Alun Whittaker, who lives near Mariner's Cove
"What a sellout," Whittaker said. "This plan is ghastly."
He said the plan was too similar to the Callahan De Silva plan. Whittaker also said the coalition proposal was impractical, with its boutique hotel and a park of alternative energy systems like solar panels.
Cameron Shearer of Vallejo stayed longer for the event. He said he liked the design's layout, such as the walkway from the ferry into the downtown.
"It's more visually friendly," Shearer said. "This is nice."
While some residents are split on the design, at least more people are finding common ground, said Lynn Combs of Vallejo.
She said she's been waiting decades for someone to build something on the waterfront.
"It's nice to see some compromise," Combs said. "That's what it's going to take."