Aug 7 meeting came and went

And I was at home nursing a broken shoulder, unable to get down to the meeting.

The Tri-Valley Herald covered it, and found some skepticism:

[Q]uestions, written anonymously on note cards and passed to panel members, centered on the issue of Alamo's solvency.

Residents pointed out the unpredictability of the county and state budgets, and the potential for other unknown factors to affect the community"s ability to govern itself.

"Orinda and Lafayette both had comprehensive fiscal analyses . . . so then why does Orinda now need (millions of dollars) in additional taxes to fix its roads?" one person asked. The question, referring to the city of Orinda's ongoing budgetary problems, drew applause from the crowd.

It is up to individual city councils to "control the costs," said Thompson, who added, "If you don't do that, than over time, yeah, you're going to have some problems."

Some audience members muttered under their breaths, indicating that they hadn't been convinced by Thompson's response.

The argument seems to be that the County is better fiscally managed than a City of Alamo will be, and that problems in Orinda and Lafayette are worse than those we have and will see with the County.

Draft EIR

There are also new LAFCO documents related to environmental impact available:

• Notice of Intent to Adopt a Negative Declaration (pdf)
• Negative Declaration/Initial Study (pdf)

Written comments on this Negative Declaration and Initial Study will be accepted from Monday, July 28, 2008 through Wednesday, August 27, 2008.

The first is short, one page; the second is an 86 pager.

Starting on page 3, there's a pretty good summary of what the incorporation process is, what steps are mandatory for the new City, and what things can happen only after the City has been formed.

PDF Page 19 has a nice scalable map of the proposed town, marking property boundaries. PDF page 23 has a map of County land use designations, and PDF pages 25 and 27 map zoning.

Key snip:

Although the majority of the incorporation area is located within the County’s adopted Urban Limit Line, it is speculative whether conversion of farmland would occur, or would occur more rapidly, as a result of the proposed incorporation since policies guiding future land use within the Town of Alamo would be addressed through the Town’s General Plan process. Until a new town General Plan is adopted, land use restrictions on the agricultural parcels would be the same as they are today, namely, subject to the terms of the current County General Plan. Consequently, incorporation of these agricultural parcels within the proposed boundary would result in no change.

- page 23

After page 28, it's boilerplate with "no impact" boxes checked.

The documents are also at the Alamo Community Foundation website.

Quicker Step - Aug 7th info meeting

AlamoInc says:

On August 7 at 7:00 p.m., the Alamo Community Foundation will host a community meeting at the Creekside Community Church 1350 Danville Blvd. in Alamo. LAFCO staff and its consultants will be present to provide information and respond to questions. Public input is welcome.

On September 18 at 4:30 p.m., LAFCO will conduct a public hearing at the Creekside Community Church on the proposed incorporation of Alamo. Public input is welcome.

We knew about the one in September, but August 7th is new. I hope some anti's show up with specific questions and complaints.

Next steps Sept 18 and Oct 28

Based on the CFA, AlamoInc says the next steps are:

A LAFCO meeting for public comment is scheduled for September 18 at Creekside Church in Alamo. At this meeting LAFCO will take public comment and is expected to vote on Alamo incorporation. If they vote affirmatively, the Board of Supervisors is expected to vote on October 28 to set an incorporation election date.

If there's opposition, it ought to show up at one of these meetings, or lie quietly until the run-up to an election.

Where are the nay-sayers, and what are they saying?

Financial Analysis Released - "No Worries, Mate!"

The AlamoInc website has put up a copy of the anticipated "Comprehensive Financial Analysis" contracted by LAFCO, and paid for by supporters. It is the official, non-partisan, claimed to be objective report.

No surprise that it thinks the original proposal is fiscally viable. Let's look at some of what it says.

The 106 page report by Winzler and Kelly, of Anaheim, looks at two slightly different boundaries for the proposed town, one as submitted, and another including parts of currently unincorporated Tice Valley; also at two different incorporation dates, June 30 and July 1 2009, which affect some tax deadlines. Including the Tice Valley alternative was LAFCO's idea.

The report concludes that the "no Tice Valley" proposal is feasible with either date, with typical budget surpluses of about $500,000 a year (page 59). It also concludes neither of the proposals including Tice Valley works without "revenue enhancements" (raising taxes somewhere), with a shortfall of $500,000 in year 10 (page 84).

Notably, under either proposal, the budget balance starts OK, and deteriorates over time. Under the baseline proposal, it never turns to deficit, but the surplus bottoms out around $322,000 in years 9 and 10.

All the flavors of proposal are for a "contract city", where services like Police are contracted out to, for example, the Sheriff or the Walnut Creek Police instead of having departments created that are solely for the town. This results in some organizational economies.

Development
The report does not anticipate much further development, though there may be improvement.

The Alamo community is essentially a built out community with limited ongoing residential development, and little to no new retail or commercial development. The only development activity occurring within the community is confined to lot splits for 2nd residential units, remodels, expansions, and replacements of existing residential units. Some infill commercial has occurred recently. It is anticipated that this type of upgrading of the residential component of the community will continue over time, however, no major new residential or commercial development will occur as there is little remaining available land within the proposed incorporation boundaries. Projected new residential development is anticipated in the CFA to average approximately 25 units annually

page 13

I think this appropriately understates the prospects of commercial redevelopment/improvement, because the town is likely to be resistant to major changes. That is, no major Mall to replace Alamo Plaza, or a Ritz-Carlton to replace Alamo Hay and Grain.

Capital Improvements
The report does not anticipate major capital projects that are not funded with new revenue measures. It assumes repairs will be done on an as-needed, as-funds-available basis, consistent with current practice under the county. There is existing revenue in various tax measures for road repairs (Measures C and J).

Revenue Neutrality to the County
Under law, the split is to be "revenue neutral" to the County, though the term is ill-defined. The proposal includes "mitigation" to the tune of perhaps $3 million (page 44).

No New Taxes
Under law, the incorporation is to be done with no new taxes, and the report assumes that for planning purposes. The Prop 13 appropriations limits for the proposal is about $8.6 million, and including Tice Valley would be about $10 million.

City Staffing
Under the "contract city" structure, the report anticipates a city staff of ten "full time equivalents".

Policing
One of the big differences between the proposals is that policing the base proposal would cost about $2.7 million a year, while including Tice Valley would cost $3.3 million.

Comparisons
The new City of Alamo looks better off financially than Clayton and Moraga, about the same as Lafayette, not as good as Orinda, and considerably worse than San Anselmo and American Canyon, on the basis of costs/revenue.

Then there are 50 pages of tables and numbers to stare at.

We Think...

Fact-based opposition will argue the numbers in a policy-wonk way. Emotional opposition will seize on some flash-point issue and suggest that should be a reason to leave the status-quo.

For example, one might now flame fears about various energy costs and general inflation, and say those are budget busters that will cripple the city. Left unaddressed with that argument is how things would be better with the County under the same pressures. With increased energy costs, the status-quo doesn't remain the same for either organizational alternative.

The bottom line to us seems to be, down the road, is Alamo better off with decisions being made by the County staff and the County Supervisors, or locally elected representation?

As for the boundary issue, I don't care much about Tice Valley -- but if I'm redrawing a map, maybe I go to war with Danville over what city really should have the Alamo Cemetary. It just seems wrong for it to be in the other town, don't you think?

It's called Alamo

The CC Times this morning reported on an accident today as follows:

Bicyclist injured in hit-and-run accidentBay City News Service

Article Launched: 05/17/2008 12:31:16 PM PDT

The California Highway Patrol was en route just after noon today to an accident involving a bicyclist who was hit by a vehicle northwest of Danville in unincorporated Contra Costa County.

The hit-and-run accident occurred at about 11:50 a.m. on Danville Boulevard at Via Don Jose.

The bicyclist reportedly has a severe head injury, according to the CHP.

[emphasis added]



Via Don Jose is just North of downtown, between Stone Valley and Livorna. There couldn't be a more "Alamo" location. Thanks CC Times!

The report also makes me hope the guy pulls through OK, and to wonder what really happened. Was it North or Southbound? Northbound riders and drivers are just starting to relax after getting through downtown. Southbound drivers are supposed to be slowing down for the new 25 mph zone, and cyclists are unfurling their "city traffic" antennae, because things are about to be crazy.

It also reminds me to carry ID when I'm out biking.

I've never much liked the Blvd as a cycling route despite the evident popularity. It's too flat, has too many stop lights, and too much traffic which is always unpredictable. The Valley Blvd not a pleasant bike ride until you get South of Stoneridge in Dublin, and we will not speak of Walnut Creek to the North.

I still have no idea what is going on with the bike lane Northbound at Oak Tree Plaza where it goes from two to one lane, and the repaving by the County a few years ago made the bike lane much rougher than it was before. It smooths out remarkably at the Danville border.

Opposition?

A number of people in the media have contacted me in search of opposition to incorporation, in an attempt to balance their stories. I've told them all I'm in the same boat, looking for someone who will go on record to make a case against.

Nobody has found one yet.

This does not mean there is no real opposition. The kind of opposition that should be feared is the kind that has a lot of money, and specializes in last-minute "hit-piece" mailings with no opportunity for discussion. For example, there could be a flood of postcards sent in the week before an election making all kinds of dubious if not outright misleading statements. Those involved in the public debate might have no opportunity to rebut falsehood, and those sending such mail would have purposely hidden their existence and specifics of their objections in the run-up. Indeed, the true motivations might easily remain completely hidden. They can throw out specious flash-point arguments to make a stink. This isn't what I'd call credible, but it can, sadly, be very effective.

If I am thinking about who might produce this kind of effective opposition, completely within constitutional rights to participate in a political process, there are very few possibilities. They include those with (a) access to money; (b) a perception of financial threat from incorporation; (c) a willingness to throw (a) against (b) to achive a more favorable result.

The bottom line, to me, seems to be control of development and re-development. Therefore, those with threatened financial interests are property owners and developers who see risk to their investments, or limits on their opportunities being imposed. Those owners and developers who would have enough at risk in Alamo would be owners of -large- parcels, and those who'd want to develop those large parcels.

Identifying potential opposition seems as simple as looking at a tax-map and seeing who owns or controls large property whose development opportunity might be restricted by the Town, perhaps through a new general plan. There aren't that many large undeveloped parcels in town.

I don't know if the people involved with in-fill (re-)development would feel as motivated to nudge the political process their way through funding of hit-piece mail. They might vote against incorporation, but I don't know that they'd pay for an operation to significantly affect the result.

AlamoInc FAQ

The Alamo INC website has a "frequently asked questions" (FAQ) page that seems to has some answers that seem a little off to me. Some are offering more reassurance than I think can honestly be provided, and some others are trying to provide facts that talk around rather than directly to some mal-formed questoins.

In the interest of dialog, here are some of those points:

Frequently asked questions about incorporation

Question: Will incorporation raise my taxes? Response: No. California state law prohibits any incorporation from raising taxes to balance the books. Any future tax increase or tax cut requires a vote by Alamo residents, with a 2/3 majority in most cases. A city council cannot, solely on its own action, impose or raise taxes. Me: "No" is overstated. The real answer is "probably not", for the reasons given. Question: Are there enough sales taxes to support a Town of Alamo? Response: Yes. The comprehensive Initial Fiscal Analysis, available for review on our website at www.alamoinc.org, lays out in detail the sources of tax revenues for the Town of Alamo. 35% of the expected revenues will come from your property taxes, and 19% will come from Vehicle License Fees (VLF). VLF revenue is not available to either Alamo or the County today – it is reserved for incorporated cities, and the only way Alamo can take advantage of the substantial fees we pay on our vehicles is if we incorporate. Sales tax ranks third at 11% or around $1 million – significant but far from the major source. The balance comes from parks, gas/road, police and other taxes – taxes Alamo residents already pay today. Me: "Probably" is more like it than a flat "Yes." AlamoINC thinks so based on the Initial Fiscal Analysis, but this still needs to be examined in more detail. Question: I understand incorporation is expensive. What are the expected costs and who pays them? Response: The cost will be about $250,000. Neither the State nor County will pay for this so this amount has to be raised by Alamo residents. The principal components of the expense are about $90,000 for a Comprehensive Fiscal Analysis, prepared by outside consultants, a Metes and Bounds (surveyed boundaries) project for about $60,000, an environmental review for about $25,000 and so on. These costs do not include the cost of an election campaign in late 2008/ early 2009, likely to require another $50,000. Alamo is an affluent community so we should be able to raise this amount of money. Me: If AlamoINC doesn't raise it, it won't happen. With either result (yes or no) there is no taxpayer liability, so this shouldn't affect anyone's decision one way or the other. Question: I'm concerned that incorporation will bring sidewalks and city lighting to our community and change its character. Response: There's no reason to be concerned. The whole purpose of incorporation is to give us – Alamo residents and voters – control over how Alamo changes and develops. All communities change, but our best chance of keeping Alamo the town we love is to take control through incorporation. None of our plans and suggestions would change the character of Alamo – in fact, preserving its character is one of our most fundamental goals in incorporation. Alamo's future should be decided in Alamo, not in Martinez. Me: Of course there is reason to be concerned! This is one of the key issues!!! That is why people had better vote in the elections! Choosing words carefully, while the county is unlikely to mandate things out of thin air, it is less unlikely to happen in a Town of Alamo. My guess is the officials who voted for such a thing would be run out of town on a rail, but it seems more likely to happen in a town than the county. The same thing is true of permit reviews and other critical matters. Question: Won't this increase bureaucracy? Response:Response: - Not at all - the County employs over 9,000 staff. Decision making will be simplified by transferring both tax revenues and the responsibility for services to the Town of Alamo: decisions will be made locally. If Alamo voters don't like the result, they can vote out the entire council. Today, our votes affect neither the County nor Alamo - we are effectively disenfranchised. Me: "Not at all" is flippant, and arguably flat wrong. The right answer is probably "Maybe, depending on how you look at it." The answer is reliant on a value judgements about whether the county bureaucracy is efficient, and whether the one Alamo puts in place as an an alternative is worse, better, or just more of the same.

Question submitted from the website: I would like some specific vision, value, and strategy. Can you give me several specific goals, or plans? Nothing generic please. What would be done Better, Cheaper, Faster, and what would be done that isn't done Now? I am looking for something more like a quantifiable platform. We citizens are being asked to redirect our tax based investment in Alamo from the County which has a long track record of at least some success, to something we can't see or talk to before transferring all the money to it. I don't like playing roulette when I can't even see the table. -RD Response: What would be done Better: Police services would be combined in one Town of Alamo Police Department responsible for both crime suppression and traffic enforcement. Now, responsibility for policing rests with the sheriff and traffic enforcement is legally the responsibility of the California Highway Patrol, which means very little enforcement is done other than on the freeway. The Town of Alamo Police Department will have regular patrols and will know the town intimately, which will discourage some of the vandalism and the smash and grab car robberies in Alamo. Since traffic stops are also a crime deterrent (for example, a traffic stop may result in a drug bust or a DUI), it is more efficient and effective to have law enforcement combined into one local agency. Alamo's share of road taxes will come to Alamo and can only be spent in Alamo on Alamo roads. The county is not required to spend road taxes in Alamo but must pay attention to countywide priorities. In past years, these priorities have sometimes conflicted with Alamo needs in lean budget years. Alamo is now obligated to function under the general plan created for us by the county. Under cityhood we would have the opportunity to create and adopt our own general plan specific to our goals and objectives, as the writer wishes. The process of general plan development would be highly interactive and would involve any citizens who are interested. However, by law, it can only commence post-incorporation. What would be done Cheaper: Alamo citizens pay taxes into county service area R-7A for parks and recreation development and services. The county charges R-7A significant sums for overhead and administration, including staff and travel time for a staffer to travel to Alamo to attend advisory committee meetings. The same is true for Alamo's Zone 36, the Alamo Beautification Committee, whose budget is eaten up with county administrative charges. A new Town of Alamo will have significantly reduced overhead charges for our parks and beautification committees since the Town will not be responsible for the lifetime health benefits the county is obligated to pay its retirees. What would be done Faster: The county has been discussing traffic improvements on Danville Boulevard for twenty years. Common sense tells us that when only Alamo citizens are involved in the discussions, and those citizens are driving on the Boulevard every day, that traffic problems will be addressed in a shorter time frame. There are many other examples of the efficiencies of dealing with local people and making local choices. In passing, please note that after incorporation, we will be a far cry from transferring "all the money" to the new town. We will continue to pay our fair share of taxes to run the county, to pay for fire protection, schools, police protection, etc. Please refer to the article on the website, "How the new Town of Alamo will use your tax dollars" which provides details on projected expenditures. Me: Remember, AlamoINC isn't putting a platform together about how to actually run things, it is trying to create a local framework for making decisions about how to do run things. Asking for the equivalent of a "party platform" isn't in the scope. The real answer to all such questions ought to be, "it will be a democracy based on the will of the voters in the town." I don't get the impression there is uniform opinion on many matters within the generally pr0-invorporation crowd, so generalization is impossible. For one particularly tender topic, there are folks who have been on radically opposite ends of the debate about the YMCA at Hap Magee who are pro-incorporation. Comment submitted from the website: We lived in Moraga for 24 years and watched them incorporate. That added more layers of bureaucracy and taxes. Go look at how they spent their money and evaluate the terrible condition of their and Orinda's roads. We would not want to see Alamo go that route. Response: Reduced Layers of Bureaucracy One benefit of incorporation would be that a number of government functions would transfer from the County to the Town of Alamo. The result would be that Alamo residents would have more input and influence in the local decisions that directly affect us. No New Taxes California state law forbids taxes from being raised to "balance the books" for incorporation. The new town must be able to pay its own way over the long term using existing revenues. California law also requires that all tax increases be submitted to the voters - the town council will not have the power to raise taxes. Road Maintenance is in the Plan A Public Services Plan was developed to assess the feasibility of incorporation. This is presented in Chapter IV of the Initial Feasibility Study which states in part, " The IFA assumes an approximate $5,800 per road mile maintenance cost for repair and maintenance of pavement, hardscape repairs, drainage, and traffic signals, based on data from other comparable cities. An additional $1,700 per mile is also included for administration and related costs, based on the County budget." Me: The response doesn't seem to really answer the questions, because a real answer would have to challenge the premises. (1) Do Moraga residents pay more taxes now than they would have had it not Incorporated? (I don't know the answer, but I tend to doubt it. Perceptions and reality in this area seem likely to be quite different); (2) How terrible are Orinda roads compared to those in unincorporated county with similar traffic density? Objective measures only, not just anecdote; (3) How is Orinda/Moraga spending tax money that is inappropriate? (4) For each thing offered in answer to (3), did the voters approve it, and if so, what is the complaint?

Oh yeah

There's been a little progress, mainly a meeting on April 8th that I missed by the pro's. I've still not seen or found anything like a credible opposition, which doesn't mean there isn't one lurking.

I presume the meeting on the 8th went over some of the things discussed in the front-page article at alamoinc.org that might be linked to here on their web-site, being a reprint of something that got run in Alamo Today, by Dave Dolter. Since links there are flakey, here it is in totality:

What Are the Governance Requirements for the Town of Alamo?

Alamo Today -- April 2008
Dave Dolter, Alamo Incorporation Movement

The requirements for organizing a city (or town) are found in the California State Constitution and in state statutes, particularly the Government Code. Unlike counties, which are legal subdivisions of the state, California cities are municipal corporations. There are three types of cities:

• General law cities – organized under state law, which describes their powers and specifies their structure.
  
• Charter cities – are organized under a specific charter describing the powers and organization the city will adopt, approved by a vote of the citizens of the city
  
• Combined City and County – San Francisco, the only one, is a charter city/county.
  
  

State law requires Alamo to incorporate as a general law city, and the law provides wide leeway in how general law cities organize themselves. Many small and medium sized general law cities are contract cities and these cities contract for a wide variety of municipal services. Alamo will be a contract city initially and likely for many years following incorporation.

The government of a general law city is vested in:

• A city council of at least five members
  
• A city clerk
  
• A city treasurer
  
• A chief of police
  
• Any other subordinate officers or employees provided by law
  
  

The Alamo Incorporation Movement application to LAFCO (the Local Agency Formation Commission responsible under state law for incorporations) requested that Alamo have five council members elected at-large, i.e., elected by all registered Alamo voters. To comply with the requirements for other officers, the Town Council will need to adopt an ordinance providing for the Council-Manager form of government where the Council appoints a professionally trained city manager to manage the daily affairs of the Town. The city manager would also appoint any other of the above officers designated by the Town Council, typically the city clerk. Since the provision of police services will initially be provided by contract, the police chief will be the contract police officer in charge. Likewise, the city treasurer may be appointed by the city manager and in small communities, the finance director may fill this role as well. The city manager would also select and appoint other department heads and employees, such as his or her assistant, the planning/community development director, city engineer/ director of public works, etc.

In many general law cities, the positions of city clerk and/or city treasurer are elected officials. The Council could also choose to appoint them instead of the city manager Post-incorporation, these positions could be made elective if voters approve a ballot measure to do so.

Every city has a city attorney although state law does not require one. A city attorney is typically the other direct appointee of the Town Council (in addition to the city manager). Typically a small community would contract for these legal services with law firms that specialize in municipal law.

One of the compelling reasons for incorporation is for Alamo citizens to influence land use planning and development directly. State law dictates that there must be a planning agency for these purposes. State law also requires the council to adopt an ordinance assigning the functions of this planning agency to a planning department, one or more planning commissions, administrative bodies or hearing officers, the council itself, or any combination it deems appropriate and necessary.

To assure community involvement, cities typically provide for a planning commission of five to seven members to advise the council on such matters. Indeed, the council cannot act on many planning matters until it receives a recommendation from the planning commission. For example, in many cities, the planning commission has final approval of subdivision maps (unless appealed to the council).

In Alamo, this commission will have important initial duties including crafting and recommending a new general plan (required by law), a new zoning ordinance to implement the new general plan (also required by law) a new subdivision ordinance (required by state law) and other duties as referred to it by the council.

No other commissions are required by law. However, active citizen participation in local government is vital. To this end, councils typically create advisory committees and commissions to help with city governance. Members serve without compensation except for reimbursement of approved business expenses. Where appropriate, youth representatives may also be appointed.

In Alamo's case, the creation of these advisory bodies will be at the discretion of the elected Alamo Town Council. However, the council will be receptive to the desires of Alamo residents. Merely as a guideline, the following is a list of the committees and commissions established by our neighboring communities. Note that these entities were created over a period of many years - Alamo would need to start small and assess our local needs over time.

Danville:
Arts Commission
Parks and Leisure Services Commission
Heritage Resource Commission
Planning Commission
Design Review Board

San Ramon:
Architectural Review Board
Arts Advisory Committee
Building Inspection Board of Appeals
Community Cable TV - Board of Directors
Economic Development Advisory Committee
Finance Committee
Housing Advisory Committee
Library Advisory Committee
Open Space & Conservation Advisory Committee
Parks & Community Services Commission
Planning Commission
Policy Committee of the City Council
Redevelopment Agency
San Ramon Valley Regional Planning Commission
Senior Citizen Advisory Committee
Teen Council
Transportation Advisory Committee
Transportation Demand Management (TDM) Advisory Committee
Tri-Valley Transportation Council (TVTC)

Walnut Creek:
Arts Commission
Design Review Commission
Park, Recreation & Open Space
Planning Commission
Transportation Commission
Zoning Administrator
Bedford Gallery Advisory Council
Bicycle Advisory Committee
Civic Arts Education Advisory Council
Golf Course Advisory Committee

Lafayette:
Circulation
Crime Prevention
Design Review
Emergency Preparation
Parks, Trails & Recreation
Planning Commission
Senior Services
Youth Services
Committees & Task Forces

I think we've been over most of this other posts here. In particular, this seems to stick a fork in the idea that there is some kind of "contracted services municipality" that is not described by the term "General City".

In one semi-amusing note, I got hate mail from Google complaining that my ads for this site used a forbidden trademark term: "alamo". I presume this is the rental car company. After I asked if this was a DMCA takedown notice (which they did not say), and I volunteered to file a counter-notice, the issue was considered "resolved". They never admitted they made a mistake.

Rabbit Hole

I had coffee with some folks the other day, and it raised some explicit questions that had been bouncing in the back of my mind for a while.

How real are these "Alamo Neighborhoods" and the people purportedly engaged in their secret existence?

All the information I have on them comes from email, and is unverifiable. There's no web presence that has any traceability, and no one has been willing to meet me.

I've asked before for direct contact by anyone involved, and not gotten any actionable response. Let me repeat, I'd like someone involved in the "Alamo Neighborhoods" to contact me personally -- particularly someone in my Livorna "Greater Miranda" neighborhood.

I promise confidentiality until a subpoena arrives, at which point you're on your own.

In specifics, I'd like

(1) to be shown on a map what the proposed boundaries were for the proposal that the "Neighborhoods" were supposedly working on in confidence;

(2) specific examples of California "contracted service municipalities" they propose Alamo use as a model;

(3) an explanation of why a "contracted service municipality" isn't an outcome that could arise from the current effort if that is what the eventually elected council puts before the voters.

Maybe I'd like the other boundaries better than the ones AIM came up with. Maybe I'll understand something about this C-S-M business that has so far eluded me.

There's a chance, though, that this "Neighborhood" thing is something of an elaborate jest.

I remain looking for credible opposition that has something specific it is willing to discuss in public.

Disconnect

For reasons that are as yet opaque, Hal Bailey has severed connections with the "neighborhoods". He'd been passing on comments from the e-chains to the Danville Weekly forums, but that has stopped, and he sent interested parties some email announcing the separation. There's almost certainly a story that has not been told there.

(It seems to have happened after the "Don't believe everything you read" thing happened at DW.)

Lately, "Lisa Wright" (identities being slippery at DW, apparently) has posted at DW that we should fix the county, somehow. There's an "e-campaign" being started to Do Something. A hint: e-anything doesn't do much good by itself, especially when conducted behind a curtain.

Given a fraction of the votes that put Mary N. Piepho in office, I'm not sure I see any way ofor Alamo residents to do anything about the County. Maybe if someone wants to pour a boatload of money into the politics some way, but not by votes alone.

The Application

Over the weekend, we came upon complaints that the application as filed hadn't been seen.

Thinking this was easy to resolve, this morning I asked for and received a FAXed copy from LAFCO, but haven't had time to scan and post it myself.


This afternoon, I got email saying the application is now on the AIM website, along with a step-by-step of the process. That saves me the trouble of the scan and post, so, "Thanks!"

Haven't had time to read it yet. It will probably answer some questions, and raise others.

Media notice of "Silence" complaint

The Danville Weekly ran a story about the "silence" complaints made against AIM, with quotes from Kenber/AIM, and "no comments" from some of the vocal complainers.

The comments to the story say Kenber was self-serving, and that AIM is a "sick failure".

Well, of course he was self serving. He's a partisan, and it's to be expected. Duh.

At least, I think I understand what he is advocating, with many details not-painted because it's not possible to do that until later.

I don't understand at all what the "neighborhoods" are advocating, though they seem convinced AIM is wrong.

CC LAFCO Membership

From the CC LAFCO site, we learn the current set of Commisioners includes two Piephos, Mary N., and David.

Joy!

Danville Weekly Forums

Digging around some more, there's lots of conversation going on at the Danville Weekly Forums. Here are some relevant topics:

• Don't believe all you read (started Dec 26 2007)
• A Silent Incorporation (Dec 20 2007); 33 comments
  
• Application is not what was promised (Nov 25 2007); 20 comments.
• Why Alamo Neighborhoods protect their confidentiality (Oct 29 2007); 5 comments.
• Murphy's Laws for Alamo Incorporation (Oct 23 2007); 5 comments.
• What Kind of Alamo Planning do you want? (Oct 22, 2007); 3 comments.
• Alamo residents speak out against incorporation, (Oct 3, 2007); 13 comments.
• Alamo Incorporation Petition Drive Begins, (Sep 13, 2007); 4 comments.
• It is time to choose (Sep 2 2007); 8 comments.
• Sorting fact from fiction on Alamo cityhood (Aug 24, 2007); 1 comment.
• Psst..Hey Buddy, gotta petition? (Aug 18, 2007); 2 comments.
• New supervisor and a MAC (Aug 9, 2007); no comment.
• Incorporation PR, but no content (Aug 7, 2007); no comment.
• Incorporate Alamo or Not? (Aug 2, 2007) ; 2 comments.
• Alamo Incorporation: LAFCO 101 (Jul 27, 2007); 1 comment.
  
• Alamo incorporation? Re-elect Mary Piepho (July 2, 2007); 4 comments.
• Alamo incorporation: is it a shell game? (May 24, 2007); 1 comment.
• Do you think Alamo should be incorporated? (Feb 6, 2007); 5 comments.

Curiouser and Curiouser

Little did I know -- Alamo has a political underground, it seems. It's mind boggling to me.

Apparently, there are a lot of people who feel intimidated by The Man, and have organized themselves like a revolutionary movement with "Neighborhoods" (cells) represented by a somewhat known individual, the members of which are held to confidentiality for protection against retaliation. Mail goes through the cutout, er, neighborhood representative, and then to anonymous mail addresses. This is called an "e-chain", a term that I have never heard before in 30 years of net use (predating the Internet, when it was the ARPAnet with 30 hosts in the whole country).

I learn we live in the "Greater Miranda Neighborhood", one of 29 "Greater Neighborhoods".

We are told that in this back-channel, most are opposed to incorporation, think of AIM as carpetbaggers, and a good number seem to want to change the name of the town -- "Diablo Vista" anyone?

What can be made of this?

Heck if I know! On one hand, the secrecy strikes me as just bizarre, but I suppose the possibilities of retaliation against local professionals and businesses is real, and not to be dismissed.

Yet, how does a shadow organization communicating through essentially anonymous email accumulate credibility? What I've heard so far is mostly vague allegation of chicanery by the proponents. The main substance seems to be that the preliminary finances were cooked to the tune of $3.7 million in year one. The alternative proposal of a "citizen-led contract service municipality" sounds interesting, but I don't have a clue what that would be like.

Where is a website explaining the opposition position and the alternative it offers?

We are not without criticism of AIM's selective communications, but we're not at all sure that guerrilla opposition is a high road to take in response.

It's easy to criticise (Hi Mom!), and always hard to do something. But what should Alamo do? I fear the "antis" are adopting a negative strategy of attacking AIM rather than the proposal itself, and not offering concrete alternatives.

I, for one, don't feel duped by claim the petition was presented as a "feasibility study", and filed as an "application", because I don't much see the difference. There is a formal study being done, and a real election to be held. If the formal study is shoddy, it will be ripped apart. If the proponents can't make their case in a run-up to the election, it will be hard for them to win.

I don't see any upside to the Powers of county politics for Alamo to secede from county administration and incorporate. And I don't yet see any real downside for the town.

Recent Non-events

We had some friends over for dinner last night, and the Incorporation question came up.

Our shared gestalt was that the significant opponents will be folks who are serial "flippers" in town. These are people who buy a property, fix it up somehow, then sell it quickly. They are fearful about increased review and inability to do the kinds of "improvements" they'd like to make. These are also folks with willingness to fight the proposal if they feel truly threatened.

Dustup at the DW

Anyway, there has been a little recent coverage. Over at the Danville Weekly, there's a letter wondering why the folks at AlamoInc have gone silent, and a whopping 28 entries in the comments. We'll conclude that DW is the place for discussion, as we've gotten zero comments to date.

The comments there are almost all negative, taking the position that the effort is (a) a subterfuge involving County politics as usual; and that (b) the petition was misrepresented as a feasibility study when it really is an application.

One of the main participants is Lisa Wright, who seems to be running an e-mail list that is attracting opponents, which we had not heard of before. There is a comment by Hal Bailey attempting to describe the lists, which I'm attempting to follow-up. They are "by invitation only", which is either oddly exclusionary, or an effective anti-spam measure.

Later comment suggests the private lists are related to the Alamore website in some way, and suggests that going silent after getting what is wanted from the public is Business as Usual with Alamo politics, and that we should be wary.

A look at Alamore suggests the mailing lists are related to the Alamo Community Council, which is one of the shadow bodies sponsored/tolerated/used-by the County Supervisors to appear to be responsive. It is one of the bodies that would be made irrelevant by an Incorporation. Those with traditional ties might feel threatened, so maybe it isn't surprising their mailing lists tilt negative.

Progress Report

There's a CCTimes article by Lea Blevins on on Dec 21st, reprinted at the Alamo Inc site. A contractor has been selected for the "comprehensive fiscal analysis". Proponents are still hoping for a March, 2009 ballot, and there will be at least one workshop to review the report. It isn't called a "feasibility study", so the semanticists at the DW comments and AIM seem like they can get out of it what they want.

This also means the election is over a year out, in 2009, which ought to offer plenty of time for discussion. It doesn't seem like it is being railroaded through on that timeline to me.

Earlier Complaints

The DW had an op-ed on Nov 2nd by Phil Erickson we'd missed, arguing against. He says the "pro's" are really people of the Danville-mindset who were for the YMCA and pro-Mary N. Peipho.

That kind of makes me wonder, because one of the joys of Incorporation to me will be making Mary N. Peipho less relevant to the running of Our Town than she is now.

He also makes the claim that Alamo has no retail tax base, which seems to ignore Alamo Plaza, I think.

In comments, Lisa Wright alleges misrepresentation in the fiscal analysis made by AIM to entice petition signatures, to the tune of a $3.7 million discrepency in first year funding. I'll assume if true, this will get addressed in the formal study.

Alternatives?

The DW comments carry (some?) posts from the "Alamo Neighborhoods Forums." One had this disclaimer:

Alamo Neighborhoods' Forum is providing this information as a courtesy. Our forum supports the establishment of an Alamo Region Planning Commission and committees, as a SuperMAC, prior to any consideration of incorporation. The proposed Alamo Region Planning Commission and committees would consolidate SRV Regional Planning Commission activities for Alamo, county agencies such as R-7A and the AIA planning functions with neighborhoods' community counsel for formal planning advisory and compliance actions.

So the alternate proposal seems to be merging and institutionalizing the existing bodies in some way. How would they be funded? Unclear to me. None is elected now, and the supervisors are removing elections from some of these types of bodies that formerly were. I don't see how this makes sense, but maybe someone can explain.

Tauscher has no opinion

I wrote to Ellen Tauscher, our US Representative (D-Alamo), and got this response:

Thank you for writing to me about the Alamo Incorporation Movement petition. As you know, the petition has been signed by more than 3,000 residents and the Local Agency Formation Commission has scheduled a December 19 meeting at which a consultant will likely be selected to analyze the feasibility of this proposal. I support the will of the people of Alamo. As long as the Local Agency Formation Commission deems that incorporation is financially feasible, voters will have an opportunity to voice their opinion at the ballot box in 2009.

I'm glad we know where she stands...

Petition officially in...

Handed in on Nov 14th, says the organizer's site, also noted at CoCoTimes politics blog and the Danville Weekly.

A new wrinkle

More actual news and information from the Danville Weekly, in the form of a Guest Opinion from Roy Gloss, an organizer in an earlier attempt at incorporation. Here's a paragraph that echoes concerns we've shared here:

It doesn't take a college education to understand that this nearly half-century of voter negativism centers on one concept. Alamo residents may not cringe at the cost of self-government, although it is usually sold with an informal promise of no tax increase, but the majority of them are denunciatory of the feel of more government interference with their peaceful half-acre existence. So the big sell this time is to convince residents that when Alamo becomes a city they will be dealing with elected and staff officials who are friendly neighbors, taking over from the regimented staffers in Martinez who get their paychecks from the county, not from where they are laying down the law.

And he raises an interesting alternative, annexation by Danville.

A comment there asks the question,

When did Danville become a model for community service to its neighborhoods? The City Council (calling it a town is silly) is at odds with its neighborhoods and is sprawling "monster boxes" in stucco-tacky array. Danville is more Tra-la-LA that Los Angeles itself.

If we want a stucco-tacky future, Alamo might as well annex to Brea California.

Well, we could ask to be annexed by Walnut Creek instead, would that be better?

Symbolic Heart of the Town

What everybody says they want to preserve are the drive-thru Alamo Hay and Grain, and it's neighbor, the shoe repair with the horse on top.

Drive through and we'll drop a bale of hay into your pickup.
(photo: Alamo (Un) Incorporated?)

Shoe Repair AND Tack Shop.
(photo: Alamo (Un) Incorporated?)

About 10 years ago, there was also "Alamo Lumber" behind both with an entrance on Stone Valley, but it folded, and all we have left is the pigeon coops of the owner. At one point, there was talk of maybe putting a quick oil-change place there, but that never happened.

The question hangs, when the proprieters of Alamo Hay and Grain and the Shoe Shop are obliged to retire, what becomes of these landmarks? Do we hope someone else takes on the facilities in a compatible way, let them sit idle, tolerate their scrape and rebuild, or try to do something else?

Do we expect the Mary N. Piepho's of the County to do something we like, or to approve a fast-food with a drive-through?

Moving Forward

Alamo Incorporated has the signatures, now they need the money. They say they have 3100 signatures compared to the 2500 required, and so can move forward. They need to raise $250,000 privately to fund the next steps.

I think this is the part where some of the opposition was saying, "we can't afford it". But if it's private contributions, and some people don't contribute, how was it unaffordable to them? They are getting free ride.

Opposition emerges

The Danville Weekly had a report of 20 folks gathering to organize oppostion.

"I like Alamo just the way it is. We know exactly what we're going to get from the county, we don't know what we're going to get from incorporation," said Tony Carnemolla, who opened the meeting with a speech.

Jack Squat from the county is what we get, or plans to overdevelop. The apparent concern is that Alamo doesn't need local control because there's nothing left to control, and somehow it will be too expensive, and maybe just a Municipal Advisory Council is good enough.

Recall that some MACs were elected, and then the supervisors (including the beloved Mary N. Piepho) decided they should be appointed. Now that's local representation!

I don't sense a coherent opposition message. I think the finances for a Town of Alamo are plausible. The county seems more likely to allow/encourage/tolerate bigger development than local planning would.

What I fear from a Town is the empowerment of the clipboard crowd, resulting in an overplanned town of "neat streets." and no opportunity for individual character.

Soaked?

While looking at the County Public Works Dept for the previous post, I came upon this chart that appears to be traffic mitigation fees charged to projects.

It is probably not surprising to see that Alamo gets charged more per single family house than most other areas. Now, it's reasonable that areas in unincorporated county get charged more than those in cities, but $9906? Ouch.

The Ultimate Configuration

The November issue of the "Alamo Today" tabloid came in the mail, and contains the usual fluff and nonsense. The front page news is a plea for location of a bus bench that was donated by the Rotary and filched from Danville Blvd, complete with color picture of it before it went MIA. (The Danville Weekly is vastly more informative on local issues.)

The only thing in the Alamo Today that is like news are two "advertorials", both pro-incorporation. One is by spearhead Sharon Burke, and the other is by longtime resident Grace Schmidt. I take "advertorial" to be a paid ad that looks like editorial content. It is, unfortunately, the closest to real news content that Alamo Today gets, sigh.

Schmidt has been pushed over the edge by the County's "Ultimate Configuration" of the 680/Stone Valley interchange, which is described as being about like the Sycamore interchange in Danville.

Reference given to the County public works website, where this is a "capital improvement program" goal, on pages 234 to 238 of the 5M PDF. Here are the pages snipped out:

Page 234; Click for Bigger.

Page 235, Click for Bigger.

Page 236, click for bigger

Page 237, click for bigger

Page 238, click for bigger

Page 239; click for bigger.

These projects will certainly get some attention, with Schmidt calling them a "tipping point." The real summation from Schmidt is:

The irony of the Ultimate Configuration is that it would flood Alamo roads with non-local traffic to alleviate congestion on Interstate 680, which was once intended to divert non-local traffic from Danville Boulevard.

As far as I can tell, the major causes of traffic up and down Stone Valley are the schools: Stone Valley MS, Monte Vista HS and El Cerro MS. At least, that's the appearance I get dropping my kids off at the school. I'm not sure what to do about that, but I'm not sure widening the road is the answer. One thing I would do is put a right turn arrow on the Miranda to Stone Valley turn, so that when Stone Valley east is turning left onto Miranda, the exiting traffic could proceed without a stop.

Restriping westbound Stone Valley so there's a longer left turn lane for the SB 680 on ramp would also be smart.

Anyway, projects run by the County are much less likely to take Alamo's concerns into account. It'll want to speed traffic through to Danville, where Alamo might just as soon make that a hard way to get to Green Valley.

At the same time, these projects are not currently funded by the County, and it's no sure thing there would ever be the money for their execution.

The road I'd like to get widened is Diablo Road from Green Valley to the Athenian, because it is a nasty, accident prone twisty section.

While we're in the vicinity, it'd be really nice to get a resurfacing of Diablo Scenic from the Estates up to the Park entrance at South Gate Road.

A Rohrshach

Here's an example that will help you find your center on some of the issues. The Dec 18 2006 Oakland Tribune writes,

Alamo man turns home into castle

A MAN'S HOME is his castle, especially for an Alamo carpenter whose quirky home improvement project gives true meaning to the phrase.

T.J. Baker may not be royalty, but he has king-sized plans for his pad.

The master craftsman is transforming his 50-year-old tract home on Hemme Avenue into a bona fide King Arthur-style castle. "I'm not an engineer, I'm not an architect.

"But I am a dreamer," said Baker, a brawny, middle-aged contractor with a soft spot for fairy tales. Children squeal with delight at the sight of his house, which faces Rancho Romero Elementary School.

Drivers slow down, stare at it and scratch their heads.

Baker's unorthodox approach to home improvement has sent shock waves through the upscale bedroom community and has raised more than a few eyebrows. Baker's biggest fans are among the younger generation.

"It's cool!" said 5-year-old Rancho Romero student Leyla Lewis, eyes wide. "It's make me think of the castles where princesses live."

The partly completed renovation on 27-Oct-2007. Click for bigger.

Photo: Alamo (Un) Incorporated?

Her mom, Susie Lewis, rolled her eyes. "It's the Winchester Mystery House of Alamo," she said, referring to a Victorian mansion in San Jose famous for its offbeat, rambling design.

Hemme Avenue residents began noticing changes in their neighbor's ranch house about two years ago. First came the Roman columns, like a row of soldiers guarding Baker's front door. Soon, stone cherubs and statues of Greek gods began popping up around his yard. "Is it the Parthenon? I don't know what's going on down there," said Laurie O'Dwyer who lives a couple doors down.

"It's different, it's definitely different. But I don't think he's hurting anybody by doing it," she said with a smile. "It doesn't exactly blend in with the neighborhood, does it?"

Rancho Romero parent Karen Taggesell said with a giggle. "It sort of gives you something to look at as you drive by."

In an era of Space Age home design, Baker is going full speed in the opposite direction, about a thousand years to be exact.

"I believe every man should have his castle and/or kingdom of heaven," said Baker, who shares the house with his girlfriend, "Queen Becky," and his 19-year-old son, T.J.

A lifelong romantic, the Southern California native fell in love with medieval architecture during a stint in Europe in his early 20s.

A job led him to the Bay Area about 10 years ago. He took a liking to Alamo and bought a house there.

Because he will probably never own a palatial estate in the English countryside, Baker says he will turn his suburban lemon into lemonade. He works on his house in between managing his own construction company, reading Shakespeare and hacking out an idea for a book he has about humans struggling to survive in the DigitalAge.

For design inspiration, Baker draws on storybook illustrations and his own imagination. He built his version of a parapet, or fortress wall. To the roof, he added crenulations --the technical name for notches like those found in a king's crown.

Eventually, he hopes to add a second story with a Romeo and Juliet-inspired balcony. He also wants to turn his garage doors into drawbridges and build a moat around the house.

County approves, sort of

Contra Costa County officials say he is within his rights. "We really have no control," said senior planner Aruna Bhat.

"He can paint his house purple if he wants to, as long as he is complying with county regulations."

Unlike many parts of unincorporated Alamo, there is no homeowner's association setting housing restrictions where Baker lives. The county's regulations focus mostly on safety rather than on aesthetics.

"What he plans should be compatible with the neighborhood. It's hard to say that about a 9-foot parapet," said Preston Taylor, chairman of the Alamo Improvement Association.

Troubled kingdom

The citizens committee makes recommendations to the county on Alamo issues.

Earlier this year, a county zoning administrator made Baker tear down part of his parapet after neighbors complained it exceeded by three feet the county's 6-foot height limit for residential fencing.

Baker responded by planting the piece of broken wall in his yard. He plans to cover it with cannon balls to create the illusion it has been bombed out by an invading Celtic army.

"People enjoy the freedom that Alamo represents ... yet, whenever these sorts of things happen, it raises the question again of whether Alamo should be incorporated so there can be those standards," said Roger Smith, chairman of the AIA's planning committee.

"I think it's just about the strangest thing I've ever seen in my life," said Saz Ahern, office manager at Rancho Romero. "I keep waiting for Sleeping Beauty to come out."

Fernando Olivas, 70, a 25-year resident of Hemme Avenue, says more people should look at his neighbor's house through the eyes of a child.

"He took this suburban, old-time cracker-box house and turned it into a great talking piece in the community," Olivas said. "It's different. What's wrong with that?"

If I end up in favor of Incorporation, I don't want the TJ Baker's of the town to have more trouble than they have with the County. This is in-line with my recommended background reading.

There is fair concern it's not finished in nearly 3 years.

Meeting Last Night

I went to an information meeting at the Creekside Church last night, and signed the petition. That seems harmless enough.

I was amused to see some literature that tickled my "clipboard crowd" sensors. The FAQ addressing the issue "but it's not broke, why fix it?" talked about a bunch of things they thought were problems The Town of Alamo ought to address:

• Lackadaisical traffic enforcement by the CHP
• Inability to set a teen curfew to address "wild parties"
• Inability to stop "inappropriate" projects like the Chevron minimart.

Drat, I'm more or less in favor of the status-quo on all those points. I wasn't aware we had a traffic enforcement problem, or out of control wild parties that needed a curfew, and I like the new Chevron compared to the old one.

Background reading

The Big Orange Splot, by Daniel Pinkwater. Also see reviews at Amazon.

Both sides, critically

If you found this blog, you're probably already aware of an effort to incorporate Alamo CA -- there's an official website devoted to this task at www.alamoinc.org.

This isn't that site.

We have no connection with the incorporation effort, or any active opposition.

We're 14 year Alamo residents, and unredeemable bloggers who like to inflict our opinion and commentary on the public. Our intent is to cast a skeptical eye on both sides of the debate.

As far as we can tell, the reasons to incorporated include:

1. Folks don't like remodels and construction they've seen in Alamo.
2. Lack of representation in Martinez.
3. Lack of services.
4. Dislike of Mary N. Piepho, the relevant elected official.
5. Traffic.
6. More control of tax revenue.
7. Civic boosterism
8. Envy of recently incorporated neighbors Danville and San Ramon.
   

Reasons to oppose incorporation include:

1. Freedom to do construction/remodelling with lax county supervision.
2. Concern about tax increases.
3. Fear of civic construction (see #2 above).
   
4. Preservation of diffuse/rural country atmosphere
5. Whatever it is, I'm against it.
6. I'm still pro-Prop-13.
   

The official pro- website makes a lot of arguments in favor, but doesn't seem to link to any opposition. They make a plausible sounding case that incorporation would be "revenue neutral", which translates to, "no new taxes."

In honesty, Alamo ought to be good on the revenue font. It has a tremendous property tax base, and enough business for significant sales-tax revenue. What concern there would rightly be ought to be on the size of the municipal service infrastructure that will need to be created and funded on an ongoing basis.

We're inclined to think the big factor in the debate is control over construction and development. The county lets almost anything be built, and this seems to irk a lot of people. Having local control would mean creating a master plan with some control over zoning, all of which would slow down the process of continued development. We don't know if the modest level of town staff discussed in the current proposal is realistic, or if we will end up at the end with sizable planning and inspection departments who are tasked with making life difficult for people who want to do something, or something different.

The problem with local control, is, of course, that people don't like to be controlled -- they want to control what others do. Our earlier experiences living in places with "associations" is that the people who like associations are people who want everything "just so." They don't appreciate vitality, or variation, or expression of personality very much. They tend to have too much time on their hands, and are often seen wandering around the neighborhood looking for violations. We call them "the clipboard crowd," and they were among the reasons we moved to Alamo in the first place.

Where do we stand on incorporation? Well, we don't much like Mary Piepho, but we're not sure we want to pay for building another library either. On the matter of controlling development, we're not sure how much of a problem there really is, maybe because no one is doing a tear-down McMansion build next to us.

Which leaves us undecided. We'll probably sign the petition to allow more debate to develop, and make comments sometimes when we're so moved.

Enjoy the lovely autumn!

-dB