December 5, 2006 > Redevelopment fails Centerville

Just when I thought you were getting mellow, you come out with an excellent 'Hey, guys--have you noticed that the emperor (Redevelopment staff) is wearing something that looks pretty threadbare (deliverables)?

The good news is that the retail center originally proposed and desperately wanted by the local Centerville community, which was cut back severely in favor of a large amount of low cost-high density housing, is now back on the table.  The bad news is that by the time Redevelopment staff goes through yet another endless round of public input, develops yet another design and then goes through the infamous developer selection process it will be 2010, and we will have a fully built-out Pacific Commons and a state of the art Cisco baseball stadium and village---and the heart of Centerville will still be a vacant lot surrounded by chain link fence.  I would really love to be proven wrong.

What's been done to date is a sunk cost...that's past wasted staff time that we can't recapture..but...how much more are we willing to spend for more work by the same staff who can't or won't produce results?  In this time of tight budgets, I'm of the opinion that it's a luxury we can't really afford.  If Redevelopment can't come up with a near term deliverable such as acquiring the Center Theater, and then make good on that commitment,  I'm of the personal opinion that we should demand that the city disband the Centerville redevelopment effort and let private enterprise step up to the plate, rather than send good money after bad.
Margaret Thornberry
Fremont