After over five years of extensive review, the City Council adopted the new General Plan 2030 last night at 12:45 AM on a 7-2 vote, with Bates and Booze dissenting. A bitter multi-year fight between open space advocates and north shoreline landowners had been previously resolved with the landowners winning big on that one.

The biggest remaining controversy involved some abstruse amendments recommended by the Planning Commission involving energy use by industry. Although many of the 111 speakers in last week’s public testimony on the General Plan focused on the Planning Commission energy amendments, the City Council had already moved past them. The issues were simply too complex and ambiguous to be integrated into the General Plan, which nonetheless included significant cutting edge policies relating to energy and climate change. The concepts will likely be taken up later as the City prepares its Climate Action Plan.

The staff also made some last minute changes in their recommendations, expanding the light industrial zoning along Ohio Avenue and correcting what they said was a mistake in open space designation on a portion of the south shoreline. The Council went along with the Ohio Avenue recommendation but rejected the south shoreline change.

 

The plan recommended by staff was adopted with the following amendments:
1) Non-inclusion of the proposed South Shoreline land use map amendment (Exhibit A, Recommended Land Use Map Amendments, map 3.18)
2) Under Land use and Urban Design page 3.38, make the following change: In the former Point Molate Navy Fuel deport area, improvements should be guided for the most part by the 1997 Point Molate Reuse Plan, except any references encouraging the demolition of Building 6 (page I-34).
AND
the following four (4) referrals to staff:
1) refer the proposals on industrial emissions and energy efficiency back to staff for review, further community input, and an open public process through the Planning Commission and City Council.
2) refer the Pt. Molate land use designation to staff for further review on certain land use modifications, consistent with remediation funding available, with public input and an open process through the Planning Commission and City Council.
3)  refer the South Shoreline FAR requirements to staff for further review with public comment and an open process through the Planning Commission and City Council.
4)  refer staff to work with our official arts groups to feature the full page commissioned art pieces before each section of the completed book of the General Plan (both online and hard copy).

Bates and Booze are increasingly becoming the party of “No” in Richmond, typically finding fault with whatever direction the progressive majority chooses to go.