What the Strawberry Community Plan REALLY says

At the recent TAM Board meeting, Supervisor Sears quoted the Strawberry Community Plan in support of her position behind the PDA – to some of the very people who wrote it, sitting in the audience as PDA opponents.

Let’s talk about the Strawberry Community Plan.  These are the expectations set in the original 1973 Plan:

–  Increase the community authority and responsibility in future development decisions
–  Retain the local setting of open hillside and open Bay waters
–  Retain the existing fine grain character of the community by limiting the construction of large scale urban density developments
–  Stem the increasing rate of traffic congestion, air, water and noise pollution

Let’s talk about the 1982 Amendment, which says in the Introduction:

“The committee was concerned about the changes to the character of the community which were occurring due to new development.   Of particular concern was the increasing number of attached multiple residential developments and the increasing impacts of traffic generated by these new developments.”

In the Goals section, under Housing Balance it says:

“If new development is to occur, it can strengthen this character by providing the traditional setting of detached (underlined in the document) single family units within any new development proposed for the area.  Development plan proposals should give the highest priority to incorporating detached single family homes into the plan.”

Under Transportation section of that same Goals section, it says:

“It is the goal of the Community that the overall density of new development in Strawberry be scaled to ensure future acceptable traffic levels of service.  Where levels of service or safety are now currently unacceptable, or…will deteriorate due to traffic generated by new development, improvements shall be required to in conjunction with new developments.”

Plan Bay Area would target Strawberry for low-rise or mid-rise housing.  The 101/Tiburon Blvd Intersection already has a substandard rating of “D” Level of Service traffic, and a rating of “F” during peak hours

Only in out-of-context, selected lines can the Strawberry Community Plan be construed to support Supervisor Sears’ position for the PDA.  We ask all the Supervisors to vote today to remove the PDA designation in its ENTIRETY from Strawberry.