Council accepts $850,000 HUD grant for 40th Street multimodal project amid business concerns and calls for more study

The Emeryville City Council voted to authorize the city manager to accept an $850,000 U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development community project funding grant for the 40th Street transit-only lanes and multimodal enhancements project. Staff said the $850,000 award is part of a larger financing package for a $32.6 million project and "requires no local matching funds," a staff presentation said. Ryan O'Connell, senior civil engineer, told the council staff has secured roughly $31.9 million in outside grant funding and called the HUD award "a major fiscal win for the for Emeryville." The nut graf: while the council approved acceptance of the HUD grant to close a construction-phase funding gap, business owners and some council members pressed staff for more outreach, updated traffic studies and design reconsideration after Sutter Health announced its flagship campus in Emeryville. Public commenters said the current conceptual design would harm local light-industrial businesses if it closes Hubbard Street as proposed. Deborah Cohen, owner of Rug Depot Outlet, listed concerns including "Safety and traffic, redundancy and spend, and cutting off legacy Emeryville businesses." Tim Robertson of Butner Properties warned, "If you close Hubbard Street, then Pottery and Beyond, their viability as a business will decline." Council discussion focused on the scope of the agenda item (staff said the item was to accept funds and execute agreements) and on whether design or traffic analyses needed updating. Vice Mayor Kerr asked whether staff had engaged stakeholders since Sutter's campus announcement; staff said they had engaged consultants and, in some cases, stakeholders by email but had not completed traffic analysis that included the Sutter campus. Public works staff cautioned that changing an awarded grant's design could jeopardize grant conditions depending on the specific funder and application. Procedural notes: Council member Pryforce publicly recused himself from the matter and left chambers before the vote. The motion to accept the HUD grant was made by Vice Mayor Kerr and seconded by Council member Welch. Roll call confirmed Council member Pryforce recused; Council members Solomon, Welch, Vice Mayor Kerr and Mayor Mora voted aye and the resolution passed. Staff said Congresswoman Latifah (Latifa) Simon has advocated for an additional $500,000; staff said that appropriation is still pending federal committee processes and could change as it moves through the House appropriations process. Ending: Acceptance of the HUD grant allows staff to proceed with pre-construction and to pursue additional federal appropriations, while council members who backed the funding asked staff to return with updated traffic studies and any necessary design alternatives before final project approval.