The LOCAL WORK FORCE ALTERNATIVE PROJECT

The two alternatives included in the EIR that would not demolish East Housing are both unsatisfactory. The Reoccupation Alternative does not address Project goals to implement APIP and BWIP redevelopment goals or the Community Reuse Plan. The Increased Housing Alternative predictably overwhelms road capacity. The EIR ignores the proposal for Work Force housing submitted in response to the Notice of Preparation by the East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation (EBALDC).

In view of the unmitigatable impacts of the Proposed Project and the unacceptability of the alternatives, we are requesting that the following LOCAL WORK FORCE ALTERNATIVE PROJECT be fully analyzed by the Final EIR.

The LOCAL WORK FORCE ALTERNATIVE PROJECT has the following features:

• The Renewed HOPE Work Force Housing Proposal would be located in the East Housing area (70 acres). This would include payments to the City and Alameda Unified School District.

• Catellus Project uses would be the same as shown by the Proposed Project for non-residential portion of the FISC.

• A new park in Main-Tinker corner (at least 7 acres) would be located on the FISC acreage that Catellus adds to the East Housing (32 acres).

• A new school and child care center (for neighborhood residents and employees) would also be located on the FISC acreage, next to park (at least 8 acres)

• The 39-unit homeless housing would be moved off the benzene plume, either into East Housing or on the remaining FISC acreage.

• Remaining FISC residential acreage would be available for market rate housing at planned Catellus density (17 acres @ 5.8 du/acre = 99 units)

• Necessary amendments would be made to the General Plan and APIP to accommodate the new location for the school and park.

• An on-going program would be established by the City to divert 50% of trips by employees at the FISC property (the business park/office park/commercial uses in the Catellus Project) out of single occupancy vehicles. The program would require each business owning or leasing land at the FISC property to pay into a fund to financially support (a) transit and other alternatives to single occupancy vehicle trips, and (b) affordable housing. A trip would be considered "diverted" if the employee is a "local" resident (defined as living within a 5-mile radius). For non-local residents, each business would be required to pay for transportation programs (such as shuttles, car pools, emergency taxi service for transit users) sufficient to ensure that 50% of the journey to work trips would not be in a single occupancy vehicle. Each business would be responsible for meeting the 50% goal. The program would be established through the DDA (the redevelopment agency's contract of sale to Catellus) and made a condition of the sale of the property.

Additional analysis Required: Evaluate the impacts and necessary mitigations of the proposed LOCAL WORK FORCE ALTERNATIVE PROJECT. In particular, consider the ability of the proposed alternative to address impacts that are not fully mitigated by the Proposed Project, including loss of housing units, traffic and circulation, regional air emissions, generation of solid waste, and cumulative regional housing.