The last known time a gondola or aerial tram in Hercules was studied was in 2007, which made use of AndersonPacific’s revised plans for Bayfront (although the City had also come up with an alternative transit center plan, known as the Szabo plan, which resulted in the Waterfront Now initiative). The study included three potential [...]
In 2008, Councilmember Joanne Ward, then mayor, participated in an interview with American City Business Journals for a short profile of Hercules. The mayor was asked about the city’s development priorities… What is the most important development project to come soon? The transit-oriented development on the waterfront. The waterfront area includes the multimodal transit center [...]
There currently aren’t any development plans for the future Big League Dreams complex, but once the City finalizes the annex acquisition (500 acres north and south of CA-4), the developer said the project is pretty much “ready to go.” The complex would be very similar to the current facility in Manteca, but the developer acknowledged [...]
There has been some bad news around the bay recently for advocates of transit-oriented and mixed-use development (not to mention New Urbanism and smart growth)… Several residents of San Carlos (on the peninsula) criticized plans for a mixed-use transit village (not unlike Hercules Bayfront), largely complaining of a lack of planned parking spaces. (via Streetsblog) [...]
I should be clear. The proposed cafe building isn’t ugly, or bad architecture, or anything like that. It mimics the train station. It is what it is. When the design team, however, stresses the importance of the historic element in public workshops (i.e., rhetoric), and at the same time, the design team presents a modern [...]
EIR scoping comments are due… “Deadlines will fall the next two weeks for public comments on potential environmental impacts of two high-profile Hercules projects: an Intermodal Transit Center and the adjacent Hercules Bayfront mixed-use development. [...] The deadline for comments for Hercules Bayfront is Monday; for the Intermodal Transit Center, Dec. 30.” I had discussed [...]
When Sala Thai opens up in the restored historic Civic Arts Building — either in December or January — it will be simply known as Sala (not Sala Thai), as it will be more of a fusion restaurant and less of a purely Thai restaurant (although it will be Thai-themed). Sala’s application to serve alcohol, [...]
There are two train station-related discussions that never took place — with the public, at the Planning Commission, or even at the City Council level — and that is unfortunate. They are… the decision to build a plaza-based minimalist station instead of a singular signature multi-use building; and the decision for a more modern (or [...]
The fire district in disarray… “Some First Amendment experts say the board of the Rodeo-Hercules Fire District exceeded its authority when it excluded one of its members from meetings for saying publicly that 5-foot-2 women are unfit to be firefighters. [...] [Bill] Prather made his comment during a Feb. 18 open-session discussion of the Pack [...]
Tom Lochner updates the story of Sala Thai and the restored historic Civic Arts Building… Restaurant opponents change strategy on development plan by Tom Lochner Residents of the Hercules Historic Homes have given up trying to keep a restaurant from opening at tupdatehe adjacent city-owned Civic Arts building. Now they are talking with representatives of [...]
A more complete report was published late on Monday (compared with the one posted here earlier)… Hercules looks to annex 500 acres along highway By Tom Lochner Hercules is poised to launch a drive to annex about 500 acres along Highway 4 that would include a site for an approximately 40-acre sports complex. The City [...]
A breakdown of the plan for the 500 acres — open-space, commercial, industrial, sports fields — has not been released… Hercules looks to annex 500 acres along highway By Tom Lochner Hercules is poised to launch a drive to annex about 500 acres along Highway 4 that would include a site for a sports complex, [...]
If you have been longing for a City Council meeting with a deep agenda, look no further, this coming Tuesday’s meeting — 7pm at City Hall — will be a doozy. The City will commence efforts to annex property (the properties north and south of CA-4, east of Willow Avenue, west of the Franklin Canyon [...]
Hercules is breaking new ground when it eventually breaks ground… Open space group holds up Hercules plan as model development By Tom Lochner Two projects at the core of Hercules’ next wave of development have received accolades from a venerable Bay Area environmental organization as models of walkable, cyclable, mass transit-accessible communities with jobs and [...]
An editorial in the Times (in response to an earlier editorial)… No land grab This refers to a letter from Howard Jones, printed in the Feb. 26 Times, about the opening of Sala Thai restaurant in Hercules. Jones is mistaken on several issues. The Civic Arts Building, being about 200 feet from the water’s edge, [...]
During Tuesday night’s inconsequential Planning Commission meeting, Planning Manager Dennis Tagashira discussed his frustration with the Waterfront Now initiative — or the effects resulting from the enacted initiative — and what he calls “ballot-box zoning…”
The political theater from Tuesday evening made the news… Hercules eatery has friends and foes but commission powerless By Tom Lochner In an exercise resembling a two-hour-long infomercial, about two dozen people wearing saucer-sized “Yes!” stickers touted a restaurant at Hercules’ Civic Arts building to a Planning Commission that no longer has any authority in [...]
The only item on the agenda for tomorrow evening’s Planning Commission meeting — 7pm at City Hall — is the fate of Sala Thai and the restored historic Civic Arts Building. In July, the Commission rejected the restaurant as the building’s tenant, citing potential noise and smell offenses to neighboring residences, as well as the [...]
If someone would have asked me how much I had thought that AndersonPacific spent on the initiative, I’d have guessed $175k. The cumulative costs of drafting the initiative and printing materials, the retention of lawyers and political consultants, and paying “volunteers” to gather signatures is no small thing… Hercules developer spent nearly $200,000 on waterfront [...]
City planning staff is recommending that the Planning Commission next Tuesday “direct staff to process Sala Thai’s application in accordance with the [Waterfront Now] Initiative” and dismiss the Commission’s previous denial of a conditional use permit application for a full-service restaurant in the restored historic Civic Arts Building. According to the draft staff report, a [...]
There is a lot of good information in this article, including: the sweetest of deals ($1.65/sq. ft.); the City Attorney using the phrase, “there is no question;” Kay Sala directed a letter to specifically Nelson Oliva and Ed Balico (but not the rest of the Council, although Balico was the mayor at the time); and [...]
The Contra Costa Times has (safely) endorsed the two incumbents and Council-endorsed Don Kuehne for City Council this November. Oddly, the editorial cites Walmart as a reason to stay the course — and not elect the lone true challenger, John Delgado — despite the fact that Walmart was welcomed into the City with open arms [...]
The hits keep coming for the embattled attempts for Sala Thai to open a restaurant in the restored historic Civic Arts Building… Hercules waterfront rezoning has many scratching their heads By Tom Lochner A restaurant plan for Hercules’ historic Civic Arts building is off Monday’s Planning Commission agenda while the city staff ponders the intent [...]
The operative statement regarding this article: “A staff report accompanying tonight’s agenda recommends that the council uphold the July 7 Planning Commission decision [denying the conditional use permit for Sala Thai].” That’s the first step; a big one. The full story follows… Restaurant plan continues to rankle Hercules residents By Tom Lochner A rezoned building [...]
The Waterfront Now initiative was adopted by the City Council at the July 22, 2008, City Council meeting. During the public hearing, the City Manager and City Attorney responded to a resident’s specific questions regarding the initiative’s impact on the restored historic Civic Arts Building. At 1:50 (see video below), City Attorney Mick Cabral says, [...]
The change of zoning for the Civic Arts Building became known before the City Council adopted the Waterfront Now initiative, however, the City Attorney assured the public at the July 22, 2008, City Council meeting that the community will be “assured further input of use issues for the Civic Arts Building.” (That is not a [...]
Anderson-Pacific has posted an update to the Hercules Bayfront project (see August 14) following the adoption of the Waterfront Now initiative by the City Council (three weeks ago)… The Waterfront Now Initiative was adopted by the City Council on July 22, 2008 by way of a 5-0 vote. This was a momentous event which potentially [...]
The Waterfront Now initiative was adopted quietly last night (which is a good thing)… Hercules council OKs waterfront concept, bypassing voters By Tom Lochner The Hercules City Council has approved a “New Urbanist, Smart Growth” development concept for the waterfront, eliminating the need to place the issue on the November ballot. But the unanimous vote [...]
The meetings in August will be canceled so this last City Council meeting of the summer — 7pm @ City Hall — is a bit beefy. – First and foremost, the Waterfront Now initiative is being presented to the Council, and staff is recommending that the Council adopt the plan on receipt, sweeping the election [...]
The Waterfront Now initiative is on tap at tomorrow evening’s City Council meeting… Plan aims to kick Hercules waterfront development into high gear To jump-start long-awaited development of the waterfront, the Hercules City Council tonight will consider putting an initiative on the November ballot to amend the General Plan and Zoning ordinance and approve a [...]
The Waterfront Now initiative collected over thirty-five hundred signatures (and only needed twelve hundred)… Waterfront plan could be headed to ballot in Hercules By Tom Lochner Supporters of a new community of homes, offices and shops around an intermodal transit center by the Hercules waterfront say they have gathered more than enough signatures to get [...]
It is easy to understand why many residents want to see Sala Thai move-in to the restored Civic Arts Building on Railroad Avenue. We have waited a long time for development to flourish along the Waterfront, and because of misguided actions by the City Council and City Manager, as well as market forces, we have [...]
The Friends of Hercules, a “community-based quality of life group,” has announced their support for the Waterfront Now initiative. In a statement posted on their website, the group says that they have “investigated [the initiative] and verified that both the developer and the City would appreciate your signature and your support. [...] Feel free to [...]
The Waterfront Now initiative received some coverage this weekend… Hercules project may be put to voters By Tom Lochner The would-be developer of a prime chunk of Hercules’ waterfront has hired a political consultant with a track record of large suburban subdivisions to jump-start a mixed-use project around an intermodal transit center that boosters have [...]
The press release… The purpose of the Hercules Waterfront Now Initiative is to provide baseline approvals for the nearly 43 acre site. It establishes the initial land use changes necessary for development and attempts to accelerate the time when construction begins. This is in response to the numerous public meetings where hundreds of Hercules residents [...]