Antioch residents who are a passionate about ensuring the City of Antioch have a park-event center in its downtown are vowing to continue their fight to prevent condos from being developed in a vacant yard at 2nd and D Street.
The group is encouraging residents to attend the tonight’s Antioch City Council Meeting to voice their opposition of the city’s plan to develop the parcel (now a dirt-lot) into 18-condos. The group will be meeting at 6:00 pm at 2nd St & D. They will then walk as a group to City Hall by 6:30 pm.
According to Joy Motts, the groups spokesperson, she says they feel like City Manager Steve Duran and the City Council did not keep their promise and failed to negotiate in good faith.
She accuses Duran of stringing along the group for more than a year and failed to give them a chance to succeed but instead favored on the side of developers when they decided to negotiate with a developer in an exclusive negotiation agreement.
In a closed session meeting on August 25, the City Council voted to give City Ventures the exclusive opportunity for 9-parcels, including the dirt lot where residents wanted a park and event center.
After that decision was announced, several residents spoke out against the deal and spoke in favor of the park and encouraged the council to reverse course.
Motts explained that with that action, the City Manager and Council broke their promises and with little options left, they will be forced to issue a referendum which will likely begin in the near future. Motts further highlighted that Duran made promises and tried to string this out as long as possible while doing little things in the agenda such as placing it at the end of the meeting to wear everyone down and weed out speakers.
Motts says tonight is about showing the city that residents are not going away and that they want their opportunity to show they can create a park which will only improve the downtown and create foot traffic.
“Our intentions are we are not going to go away until we have exhausted all measures. This most likely will result in a referendum and give it to the voters, but we are still encouraging the council to make good on what they verbally committed to on June 23 which was an opportunity to provide an alternative to what is being committed to the Beede Site,” said Motts. “We are not opposed to more houses, but we are asking for one parcel and have been asking about it for several years.”
Motts explained that this parcel has been requested for several years, even before Steve Duran was hired as City Manager. She says that progress was being made and that the group had a sponsor lined up at potentially $250,000 for a stage to be built—given all city approvals.
What the City of Oakley did with their downtown park and amphitheater using just $400,000 is a perfect comparison of how a park can bring people downtown immediately with event coordination. Motts says that is a good model to follow and it provides the community with more space than Waldie Plaza.
“We want to do something now with the vacant lot, not wait 5-to-10 years like the City Managers Plan calls for. We want to provide an opportunity to develop foot traffic and start the downtown revitalization plan. If we fail, the city can still move forward with the 18-condos,” said Motts. “We just want a chance to build the park through donations and public support.”
If You Go:
Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015.
Meeting at 6:00 pm at “The Yard” at 2nd & D Street.
A short walk to City Hall will occur at 6:30pm.
According to the group, this is what they have listed on their website.
What is “The Yard”? And Why Should We Save It?
What and where is it?
THE YARD is the Beede Lumber Yard, the large dirt lot just as you enter downtown Antioch at 2nd and C streets.
Why does it need to be saved?
In June 2014, the city of Antioch issued an RFQ/RFP for development of 5 downtown sites, including the Beede Lumber Yard. The sites would be sold to a development team for residential urban in-fill development. A citizens group quickly organized to save the Beede Lumber Yard ( approximately 1.25 acre ) from being developed into high density housing.
Why is this site so important?
THE YARD has exceptional river views. It has been used for decades as the staging point for all of Antioch’s parades. THE YARD belongs to all the people of Antioch, and we should have some say as to what we want done with it.
What does the citizens group plan to do with it?
The group envisions developing an outdoor event center where we can hold at least one major and several smaller events on the site every month through the year. This would bring a steady stream of citizens from inside and outside our city to our downtown, which is sorely needed to effect a revitalization.
Partial List of Possible Events. ( The possibilities are endless. )
Fourth of July celebration
Car shows
Summer concerts in the park
Farmers market
Holiday De-Lites
Art Shows
Rivertown Jamboree
Farm to Fork/ Wine tasting
Multicultural Events
Food truck showcase
Movie nights
Outdoor live theater
Dog shows
How does the organization plan to pay for this outdoor event center?
This citizens group, through the non-profit organization Celebrate Antioch Foundation ( CAF ), has formulated and submitted a proposal to the City of Antioch to develop and maintain the outdoor event center. The proposal included a time schedule for development as well as a funding schedule using all private funds and not requiring any public funding from the City of Antioch. The development is proposed to be phased in with phase one completed in the first year.
Why this drive to save it now?
In a closed-door session of the City Council held on August 25th, the council voted 4 to 1 to have the city negotiator enter into negotiations with City Ventures, a real estate developer, to purchase and develop all of the properties listed in the original RFQ/RFP which includes the Beede Lumber Yard site.
As late as June 23rd at the Antioch Specific Plan Forum, several citizens spoke to the desire to have THE YARD saved for development of an outdoor event center. At that meeting 3 of our council members voiced their desire to allow us the chance to develop this site. Yet, behind closed doors, and without ever discussing the merits of our proposal, 2 of those members for some unknown reason decided to go against the will of the people and sell the land to the highest bidder.
We can still stop this sellout!
6 comments
Yay Event Center, NO TO CONDOS! We have too many houses and condos and no business, event center or really anything in Downtown Antioch to make people want to open a business. I cannot understand the Antioch City Council or the Planning Commission if they cannot see how badly we need something besides boring Condos downtown. We need a downtown with an event center and some DECENT restaurants. Antioch City Council doesn’t work for the citizens, only developers that line their pockets. Disgusting and accepting developer contributions is a conflict of interest against the citizens of Antioch and should be outlawed.
Steve Duran, Mayor Harper and the rest of those council members are fucking crooks and don’t care about this city or it’s residents. They’re going to run this city even further into the ground.
If they turn this yard into condos, I will move and never look back.
i’m with you there. Antioch has become too frustrating for taxpayers who are never heard.
I agree, we need to build an economy downtown and I would like to be able to attend an event in my own town!
Ferry Service would be so awesome. I would love to be able to take a Ferry from Antioch to Marin, various spots on the Delta, Sacramento, or San Francisco, I don’t understand why the City Council isn’t for Ferry Service in Antioch. Every time there is someone speaking about getting Ferry Service in Antioch, they are met by Hoe, Hum from the City Council. Depressing.
They have over 2800 houses in their Antioch plan with 1600 as the Dallas Ranch project. You think that would be enough. The 8 million plus from measure C gives us 4 new officers. Must be the new math more people less police less crime. Wheres my calculator. Does not add up to safety just more crime and a few in Antioch transparent government rich at the kids expense. May they gain a soul and decide to do what is right. Duran the slanderer wont, he will just go to the next town without even leaving us with a reacharound.
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