The City Coucnil is preparing to once again talk about the General Plan, which will guide development in Fremont through 2030. No Ishan Shah today. But Fremont Citizen’s Network President Kathy McDonald is here. That could be a sign that she’s the group’s mystery City Council candidate. Or it could mean that she’s not that into Ladies Figure Skating.
I’m into figure skating, especially since I’m from the same town the greatest figure skater ever, 2002 Gold Medalist Sarah Hughes.
Before I came here, I was at Mission Coffee, where I ran into former City Council Candidate and Former Minute Man Charles Bartlett. He said the local Minute Man contingent has mostly moved into the Tea Party movement.
Meanwhile you might remember that Bartlett and other Minute Men / Ron Paul Supporters had gained control over the Alameda County Republican Party.
Well the Republican rebels didn’t have enough money to fight the lawsuit, so they lost on appeal, Bartlett said. The legal defeat meant they lost a majority on the Alameda County GOP’s Central Committee, he added. Without a majority, the rebs quit, and two of them, according to Bartlett, Walter Stanley and Dave Latour started the local Open Carry movement that we’ve been writing a lot about.
Anyway back to the General Plan Vision Book, which is supposed to let Joe and Jane Fremont better understand what this General Plan thing is all about.
Once more, Fremont’s going to be model for going from a car-oriented suburb to a slightly less car-oriented suburb. Sustainability is the theme. This will be the first general plan with a sustainability element.
“Treat the earth well. It was not given to you by your parents; it was loaned to you by your children.” That’s the quote of the day, courtesy of the Web site “Urban Design Quotes. Mayor Wasserman called it marvellous. I think we’re going to boil quinoa and douse ourselves in patchouli during the next break.
The new General Plan will say that in a truly great city, residents should be able to live happy and full lives without a car. Plan still calls for some kind of rapid bus for Fremont Boulevard.
The city keeps calling Fremont Boulevard the city’s spine. But if it’s a spine, there’s no vertebrae. You can walk a good four minutes along the boulevard in Centerville between side streets. Not very pedestrian friendly.
Fremont is aging. To counter that, Fremont will have farmer’s markets and hiking trails.
Fremont still wants to revitalize the elusive goal of revitalizing town centers, like Centerville and Irvington.
City wants to establish art zones.
More quotes :The 20th century was about getting around, the 21st century will be about” something else … I missed it. Something about enhanching urban areas.
Another paraphrase of a quote: “How can I look at my grandchilren in the eye and know all that was happening and did nothing about it.”
In a nutshell, the city staffers are saying Fremont’s going to be a little less car oriented, a little more desnely-populated in pockets of the city.
It’s question time. No it’s compliment time.
Wieckowski says this Vision Book, which I couldn’t print out today, will become commonplace among planners.
Bill Marshak isn’t that impressed with the Vision Book. You can read his opinion in a local periodical, whose initials are almost identical to TCB.
Now it’s time for Anu Natarajan. She’s the one who asked for a vision book because she thought people could grasp it better then a dense, hard-to-read general plan.
She says format of the Vision Book is great, but all the pieces aren’t woven together. “It’s not telling a compelling story yet.”
The introduction doesnt’ really tell readers the vision for Fremont, she says. Some parts have too many specifics. Fremont shouldn’t be defensive about providing less parking, she says. She has a lot more comments, but, from what I’m reading, they can’t compare to Yu-na Kim’s performance in Vancouver.
Now it’s time for Wasserman, who thinks the Vision Book is a great document. He says intro could have been a bit stronger. We’re done. Anyone who wants to see this Vision Book, click here. Meeting’s over.
Mission San Jose Aquatics is raising money to build a $13 million pool near City Beach. One parent wrote me that the facility will include an Olympic-size pool and a multi-use pool with a soft bottom and a beach-like entry.
Fremont is strongly considering building the new skate park near the old Swim Lagoon in Central Park, directly north of the Water Park. The city has $1.2 million to build the park, which officials say will be a lot bigger than the old one (photographed above), which closed last year.