Redwood City council takes stand against open-space measure

0 Comments | Oakland Tribune, Aug 26, 2008 | by Shaun Bishop

Add the Redwood City Council to the growing list of opponents of a November ballot measure that would require referendums on open space land-use decisions.

With a formal resolution, the council Monday night made official its contempt for Measure W, also known as Open Space Vote, which would require two-thirds of resident voters to approve development in areas the measure defines as "open space."

Council members in recent months have lamented that proponents of the initiative -- environmental groups Save the Bay and the Friends of Redwood City -- didn't write a measure specifically targeting the Cargill Salt lands, a 1,433-acre area east of Highway 101 that the groups acknowledge is their primary focus.

The groups say that piece of land is one of the largest remaining open spaces around the Bay and should be restored to wetlands, not developed with housing and office space as Cargill has proposed.

Measure W would change the zoning of the Cargill land, which is codified as "tidal plain" and does not allow for houses or commercial buildings.

But city officials say the measure may also force votes on dozens of other properties, including private homes and businesses, by defining open space using designations in the city's general plan and zoning code.

The council's resolution, passed unanimously, also claims the measure could "raise the specter of costly lawsuits that the city could have to spend taxpayer dollars to defend."

Initiative supporters have said the concerns are overblown and insist that any uses allowed under a property's zoning now would still be allowed.

Critics of Measure W also say its two-thirds requirement for approving individual projects is undemocratic, especially because passage of the measure would require only a majority vote.

Vice Mayor Diane Howard said she was dismayed by media reports that portrayed the council as fighting Measure W because it has been influenced by the developer.

"Our decision to not support Measure W has nothing to do with our personal views on wetlands, the environment, Cargill or the Bay," Howard said. "This is about protecting people in this community, because that's what we're elected to do."

The council last week also placed a competing charter-change proposal on the November ballot that it says would avoid the "unintended consequences" of Open Space Vote.

Measure V would require a resident vote for any development specifically on the Cargill land, though proponents of Measure W say the city's measure is inadequate and possibly illegal.

Prior to the vote, Victor Torreano of the San Mateo Building Trades Council praised the council for its opposition, saying the council "sees Measure W negatively affecting the city's charter and its residents' future in profound ways."

Shaun Bishop can be reached at sbishop@dailynewsgroup.com.