Contra Costa Times Candidate Questionnaire

By Jay Strauss

Contra Costa Times Lafayette City Council Candidate Questionnaire

1. What downtown changes would you favor to improve traffic flow and what do you think of those already made?

Traffic is the leading issue that confronts our City and challenges our quality of life. Lafayette is a victim of its own dramatic geography. Our beautiful hillsides and Reservoir leave only a few "channels" to bear the brunt our traffic - and that of our neighbors to the south. Unlike other cities, which have a gridwork of streets in their downtown, Mt. Diablo Blvd. is the only downtown east-west corridor and Moraga Road is the only north-south corridor. Decades ago, the decision was made to build the Lafayette and Stanley Schools in these narrow corridors. During commute hours, at school drop-off and pickup, and even at noon, the roads are clogged and the intersections backed up. Ironically, the east end of downtown has become a virtual river of rapidly moving traffic that leaves business unnoticed and pedestrians and residents unable to easily navigate the flow.

Any suggestion of an easy solution to these problems is fatuous.

Nonetheless, there is much that can be done. Measure C has provided funding for capital improvements but the decision on how to spend those dollars requires an exquisite balance. For example, last year the experiment along Moraga Road successfully increased traffic flow, allowing the residents of Silver Springs and St. Mary's Road readier access to BART and Highway 24 and allowing parents all over the City to drop their children at Stanley School more readily, but it also riled the Brook Street residents whose street was blocked and whose children walking to school were in too close proximity to speeding traffic. Because the safety of our children is paramount, the experiment was abandoned. We will continue to explore alternatives. Realignment of Brook and School Streets is one possibility, but it is uncertain whether Measure C would fund that improvement, its efficacy is not proven, and there may well be neighborhood resistance to the change.

Some changes funded by Measure C have been approved. There will be a new traffic light at the Moraga Road/Moraga Blvd. intersection to facilitate automobile access to and from Moraga Blvd. and pedestrian safety. The improvements in the vicinity of Elam Brown Square (formerly Plaza Park) will result in some improvement of traffic flow at the heart of the downtown. A new eastbound lane along Mt. Diablo Blvd. will alleviate the bottleneck that builds up from the west at the noon hour and p.m. commute times. This will be especially important as the improvements to La Fiesta Square and the BART block project are completed.

At the east end of town, the problem is the opposite. Average speeds are above 40 mph as there is nothing to slow the traffic from Brown Avenue to Pleasant Hill Road. However, the City was the recipient of grant funds which allows the construction of a traffic signal at the Carol Lane/Mt. Diablo Blvd. intersection. This will have some impact on traffic speeds and will at least allow Carol Lane residents safe access to and egress from their neighborhood. We need a program to build landscaped medians at the east end of town which will not only beautify that area, but serve to calm traffic. This has historically been resisted by merchants (because they want cars to be able to turn left into their establishments) but I believe their opposition is softening.

We have learned that if we listen to the traffic engineers we can improve the flow of traffic (although there is a real chance that new capacity merely allows new development to fill that capacity). Also, efficiency can come at a high aesthetic and human price. If we want a "village," fast moving traffic is not the primary goal. Realistically, while we can fine tune our traffic control systems, reduce speed limits, and add new signals, we are going to have to live with traffic problems unless or until we undergo the cultural changes that favor use of mass transit, jitney buses, smaller, slower electrical cars, bicycles, and the like.

What a City Council in 1999-2000 can really do is work to prevent the problem from worsening. There is land available for development along Burton Ridge and a number of large developable sites in the Town of Moraga. Unless we constrain growth in these areas, the traffic problem will be exacerbated. A tri-city effort is underway to try to link intersection capacity to residential development rights # we need to continue this effort. Ultimately, the best hope for controlling growth is to acquire the developable land - an issue which is discussed in answer to Question 4 below.

2. A task force is planning for a new Lafayette library. Where would you like to see it established, how should it be financed and what should it include?

The best place for the new library is where the kids are, i.e., near Lafayette and Stanley Schools. The present site, with adjacent land, would suffice, as would one or two other spots nearby.

The City is required by its redevelopment contract with Contra Costa County to build a new library during the next decade. The RDA will pay some of the expense, but I support the raising of additional private funds under the auspices of a Library Foundation.

There are those in the City who say that in the new age of the internet and hand-held computers (e-books), libraries will become obsolete. I believe they are wrong. Nothing yet dreamed of replaces the book for teaching and entertaining. However, our libraries have to incorporate the latest hi-tech innovations. We need computers and internet connections. The library should have a meeting/teaching room, and it should be a repository of the artifacts of our City's history. We live in an information age, and for as long as human beings have been civilized, the library has been the primary collection point for information.

Every homeowner in Lafayette knows that their premium property values depend on the reputation of our educational system. This includes the library. This community uses and supports its library and deserves a first rate facility. Even those who do not use it will benefit simply because it is here.

3. Should Lafayette eventually build or otherwise establish new city offices to replace rented space at Desco Plaza? Please explain, including your preferences for use of money the city has set aside for such work.

This is primarily a fiscal issue, but there are at least two other more subtle factors involved.

Only if it becomes less expensive to own than to rent, and we have the "up-front" capital to spend, would I support building or buying a city hall. Because new offices are not being built in Lafayette, rents are escalating. Desco Plaza rent is about 33% higher than it was just a few years ago. The price of office space in San Francisco has exploded and we are feeling the ripple effects even here. I think we will need to make a decision on this in the next 3-5 years. Therefore, we need to preserve the bulk of the office set aside until a definitive decision is made. Some of these monies can be used for other purposes (as to extend library hours), but we should conserve what we might need later.

Lafayette was incorporated as a limited service city. We out-source police and fire services, but our planning and engineering staffs have grown as our infrastructure has matured and this trend will continue as redevelopment kicks in. Our staff is crammed into its present offices and there is natural pressure for more, better space. As a businessman, I know the importance of providing one's employees with a physically adequate workplace. If we want good people, we have to treat them respectfully.

Much has been said about the need for civic focus in our downtown. A city hall would give the entire community a sense of place and help create the village-like atmosphere that our residents want.

We may reach a point in the future when a combination of fiscal, physical, and civic factors provide justification for owning a city hall.

4. How should the city proceed, if at all, in pursuing acquisition of developable land for preservation as open space?

Preservation of remaining open space is a critical quality of life issue. Our hillsides are what make our city so special. We have adopted strict guidelines to constrain development of the hillsides, but we cannot legally preclude development without acquiring the land. Moreover, the issue is not just one of aesthetic values. The acquisition of remaining open space and the constraint of further residential development are the only ways to curtail traffic growth.

As discussed in answer to Question 5 below, I fought for the City's right to a $2.50 fee for each round of golf played at the Palos Colorados development in Moraga, which can be used for the acquisition of open space. In addition, I strongly favor a ballot initiative to raise money to acquire critical parcels of open space (whether along Burton Ridge, west of the Reservoir, or elsewhere). I support the efforts of the Seaborg Open Space Fund.

I also believe that the City should resist, whenever legally possible, the subdivision of remaining parcels of land. Where we cannot prevent development, we should require that buildings be clustered so that the larger parts of projects remain undeveloped.

5. What is your assessment of the settlement that the Lafayette council and the Moraga Town Council have approved with Richland Development corp. ending the company's lawsuit against Moraga and paving the way for a scaled-down Palos Colorados residential and golf course project there?

The City has done a good job under difficult legal circumstances. The court ruled in favor of the developer, but the project that will get built is not as severe as the one that might have been. There are fewer homesites (123 instead of 146), less grading, protection of Lafayette view sheds, drainage mitigations and trail easements.

I am especially proud that my suggestion of a sharing of the golf course fee has been accepted. Lafayette will realize $2.50 for every round of golf (of $5.00 total) played at the new golf course IN PERPETUITY, which can be used to maintain roads and to acquire open space. We will work with the City of Moraga, which intends to use its $2.50 to acquire open space in that city. As previously stated, this is the best way of curtailing traffic growth in our city. If you don't build it, they can't come.

6. Lafayette voters last year rejected a tax measure that would have raised money to add police officers. Should the city try again and, if so, how? Do you feel the Police Department needs more officers? Please explain.

I favored putting the tax measure on the ballot because I know from first-hand experience how threatening to life and safety a slow police response can be. The measure was defeated and it is not likely to be submitted again. The truth is that we are seeing an increase of disturbing kinds of crimes in this city, but on a comparative statistical basis, our crime rate remains low. So long as our citizens are satisfied with minimal police protection, they seem unlikely to support a parcel tax for additional police.

The City has been able to add a traffic control officer as a result of a change in state law which allows the City to keep the lion's share of traffic ticket revenues. The City Council has worked closely with the police chief to insure that traffic enforcement is maximized. Everyone who has been involved in city government knows that increased enforcement is the best answer to traffic safety in our neighborhoods. The issue of enforcement comes up over and over again whenever we consider the installation of speed humps or stop signs. I am proud of my role as the principal proponent of the Burton Valley Speed Control Plan, which used increased traffic enforcement and public education as a means of avoiding a proliferation of speed humps in that neighborhood.

So, while I believe we need more police for crime and traffic control # it is clear that a parcel tax is not the answer. This Fall, the Council will again take up the issue of police-fire consolidation. This is an extremely complicated and controversial issue that merits careful consideration, even though it may not get sorted out in the near term.

7. What is your evaluation of the city-approved La Fiesta Square shopping center improvements and the plans for the retail, housing and office phases of the Lafayette Town Center development?

The La Fiesta Square project brings vitality to the center of the retail core. It is an attractive and hopefully successful project. The City participated in the design of the project and in the improvement of Lafayette Circle. The approval process for this project proved that we now have an atmosphere that that is conducive to reasonable development in the downtown.

The history of the Town Center (BART block) project is different. This land stood vacant for many, many years while the City wrung its collective hands over development alternatives. The end project is less spectacular than the project that was approved 10 years ago, but it is a significant improvement over the blight that has existed for so long.

The retail portion of the project is attractive and will add to a village-like atmosphere in the downtown, although it remains to be seen whether the retail opportunities for our citizens will match our expectations (i.e., it looks like we are getting more video, more coffee and more food, but little true retail).

8. The city plans to expand and upgrade downtown Plaza Park. What do you think of the plans and what changes might you prefer?

I support the increase in the size of the park, its aesthetic values, the improved accessibility for pedestrians, the treatment of Golden Gate Way as a one way, integrated "slow" street (that can be used for such public purposes as the Art & Wine Festival), and the related improvements to the surrounding streetscape that will improve traffic. This is a significant, positive change to our downtown core and long overdue.

9. What are your preferences for further development of Lafayette Community Park?

I support the Master Plan that has been developed for the completed park, especially the construction of a pedestrian bridge to the north meadow. Once the picnic/barbecue area is completed next to the playground, the ball fields can be used as a multi-use area instead of just for sporting events. The next focus should be on the nature area. As funds become available, the plan will be implemented. The danger is that the effort to support the park will lose steam because the primary, early goals have been accomplished.

10. What is your overall opinion of the current council's performance?

In my unbiased opinion, the present City Council is a group of intelligent, diligent, concerned citizens who work together as a team and who often suppress their individual agendas and egos to work for the common good of this community. What marks this Council's deliberations are a total absence of rancor and a genuine respect for each other's views and the views of our citizens. During my short tenure on the council (2½ years), most decisions have been made by consensus, not just amongst the City Council members, but with those citizens who have appeared before us. Everyone has been treated fairly, every citizen has been respectfully listened to (even our few critics), and I believe that everyone who has dealt with our Council knows that at the very least they have had a full and fair opportunity to participate in the process of running their city government.

As I have said before, Lafayette has more democracy than any city since Athens. This does not necessarily make our process of government efficient, but it is participatory and it does give our citizens the sense that they are connected to those whom they have chosen to represent their interests.

11. Are there any new directions or projects you'd like the city to pursue? Please elaborate.

As we reach the millennium, it is important to reflect on the things that got us to where we are now. Lafayette was incorporated in reaction to the tide of suburbanization that was beginning to overwhelm Contra Costa County in the `60's. We have managed to preserve so much that is special simply by saying "no" to those who would overdevelop our city. The price we have paid for staving off suburbanization is that our downtown suffers. I believe that what the citizens of this community want is a downtown village that provides essential goods and services surrounded by sparsely developed hillsides and undeveloped ridgelines.

Accordingly, the projects on my agenda are:

• completing the redevelopment of the downtown on a village scale, with special attention to parking, and reinvigoration of the east end by slowing traffic and building attractive, landscaped medians;

• building the high tech library that our city deserves;

• finding ways to preserve open space, especially on Burton Ridge and west of the Reservoir entrance;

• finding ways to improve core area traffic flow, particularly along the Moraga Road corridor, while guarding pedestrian rights, especially around the schools;

• finding a formula to control infill development in our neighborhoods;

• promoting the arts;

• paving our roads.

As President of Lafayette's Town Hall Theater Company (since 1996), I am acutely aware of the importance of the arts to this community. I support Mayor Horn's initiative to promote the arts throughout the city, although I most favor the creation of a privately run foundation to raise money for the arts in our city. Over the past several years, the city government has made a direct monetary contribution to support Town Hall Theater, but that has diminished and is not likely to continue. Hopefully, the assistance that was provided will allow the Town Hall Theater to remain in operation. The City has provided minimal support for the movement to establish an Arts Commission and I support that effort .

13. Lafayette, Moraga and Orinda city officials have begun collaborating to tackle the area's traffic and growth problems. What is your assessment of those joint efforts so far?

I believe that the joint efforts of the Lamorinda city officials have already shown results in the Palos Colorados lawsuit settlement. In part, the officials of Moraga and Lafayette were able to cooperate because of the recognition that our destinies are inextricably tied. Traffic and development in one community inevitably impacts the citizens of the other.

We can do even more. Ron Enzweiler, a member of the Moraga Town Council, has proposed that development rights be allocated based on the capacity of our roads and intersections to handle the increased traffic. Although this issue remains controversial, and would require coordinated efforts by all three cities, I support the effort. At the very least, as previously indicated, this has raised the consciousness of officials, and hopefully of all our citizens, that we have common interests that can be coordinated if we make an effort to work together.