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Residents and retailers urge more study of Emeryville $34 million multimodal project amid budget worries
Summary
Residents and business representatives told the Emeryville City Council the proposed three-year, $34 million multimodal public-works project needs updated traffic and fiscal studies; speakers warned the city faces a roughly $10 million annual shortfall and urged outreach to major retailers.
Several Emeryville residents and local business stakeholders used the public-comment period to press the City Council for more analysis and outreach before moving ahead with a proposed multimodal public-works project.
Fran Quetel, a long-time resident and member of two advisory committees, told the council the city needs "about $55,000,000" in general-fund revenue and that "our annual deficits will run about $10,000,000 a year." She said the proposed three-year, $34,000,000 multimodal project (originating in 2017) raises unanswered questions about traffic and fiscal impacts and asked the council to direct advisory committees to study the issue and present data publicly.
Joyce Cunningham, another public commenter, said major retail property owners and chain retailers had not been contacted about the project and named several companies during remarks. "These retailers include Target, Home Depot, Best Buy, Nordstrom, Burlington Coat Factory, Michaels, Total Wine and More … including IKEA," she said, and argued the city needs better transparency because sales tax revenue from local retailers is an important component of the general fund.
During the public-comment discussion an advisory note surfaced about 40th Street funding: a commenter referenced a $500,000 contribution obtained by Latifa Simon for 40th Street. The city attorney suggested Council member Preyfors might consider recusal on related matters and asked for a short pause to allow the member to step aside while staff clarified any conflict.
Council did not take formal action on the multimodal project at this meeting. Staff and council members acknowledged the concerns raised and reiterated that further study, outreach and clearer data on revenue impacts would be appropriate before any major funding decisions or ballot measures were pursued.
No city staff presented a formal fiscal analysis during the meeting; the public comments placed the onus on staff and advisory committees to provide updated studies for council consideration.
