The planning board will hold a public scoping meeting for a controversial plan to relocate the Harbor Bay Club.
The proposal has raised the ire of many Bay Farm Island residents who are worried about the additional traffic from 80 new houses on dead-end Packet Landing Road, near Earhart Elementary School.
The purpose of the scoping meeting is to identify issues that must be addressed in the draft Environmental Impact Report.
In August, the City of Alameda received an application from developer Ron Cowan’s Harbor Bay Isle Associates (HBIA), asking the city to:
- Amend the Alameda General Plan and Zoning Ordinance to allow single family homes on the 8.39 acres of land on Packet Landing Road currently occupied by the Harbor Bay Athletic Club.
- Approve a tentative subdivision map for 80 single family homes on the 8.39 acres on Packet Landing Road, and
- Approve a Development Plan for a new Athletic Club on 8.95 acres of land on North Loop Road.
The drama of the controversy over the project was compounded just a few weeks ago when persons unknown leaked to local media an e-mail from Ron Cowan, sent to the private e-mail addresses of Mayor Marie Gilmore and City Manager John Russo, demanding their support for the project.
The sentiment of the opposition is exemplified by a comment submitted to the city, and available in the planning board packet for the upcoming meeting; one opponent writes, “This is a vigorous objection to this project. The impacts to neighborhoods on both ends have adverse environmental effects. Instead, let Ron Cowan sell his Tiburon home & build a palace on his land at the end of Ron Cowan Parkway.”
The Planning Board will meet at 7:00 p.m., Monday, October 28th, in Alameda City Council chambers, 2263 Santa Clara Avenue, Alameda, CA.
