This past Tuesday night, the Orinda Community came out and filled the auditorium at the City Council meeting. Around 14 or 15 speakers stood up and spoke up, primarily to ask city council why the city was not submitting comments on behalf of Orinda citizens to the Plan Bay Area before the official deadline of 5/16th at 4pm. You pressed the city council for answers.

Orinda Watch has been advised that Orinda City Council has decided to hold a special meeting (quoting the attached city council agenda) to "receive public comment and direct staff to develop City of Orinda comment letter on Plan Bay Area to be submitted to Association of Bay Area Governments (ABAG) by the May 16, 2013 deadline."

In preparation, we are asking the following:

1) Submit a formal letter (see below instructions for submission from Orinda's city administrator) to the City Council before the end of the week (if possible) and up until Sunday night expressing your views on Plan Bay Area.

We ask that you write about why Plan Bay Area is bad for Orinda and the cities of the Bay Area. We especially request that each and every one of you include the following demands in your letter. "I ask that Orinda City Council demand:
a) for an extension to the Draft Plan Bay Area comments deadline by a minimum of ninety (90) days so that citizens can research and comments on both the 160+ plan and the 1300+ page Draft Environmental Impact report
b) for an absolute commitment from Plan Bay Area creators to instruct Association of Bay Area Governments ("ABAG") and Metropolitan Transportation Commission ("MTC") voters not to vote on Plan Bay Area for at least six (6) months from the final release of Plan Bay Area (currently scheduled for June 2013 release).
c) for an absolute commitment from Plan Bay Area creators to hold off voting on the Plan Bay Area until the substantive and material concerns about the process and substance of Plan Bay Area have been fully addressed, including all of the comments that were received prior to and after Draft Plan Bay Area's release.
d) that a true and unbiased outreach campaign begin in earnest so that the citizens of the Bay Area can learn about and hear what is in the plan. This includes in depth discussions in mainstream print, online, radio, and television forums where the merits/detractors of the plan can be debated openly.
e) that the ABAG & MTC voters choose the 'No Project' option.

2) Please attend the special meeting with Orinda City Council this Monday, May 13th at 7pm in the Orinda Library Auditorium. Please plan to arrive around 6:45pm and fill-out a speaker card. Even if you do not plan to speak, you may be able to cede your time to another individual.

Additional Information: To assist you in preparing your formal letter and to speak on Monday, please email us for the bullet points we prepared shortly after the release of Draft Plan Bay Area in advance of the 4/22nd public hearing. We'll be happy to send you a copy.

Lastly, we ask that you kindly RSVP on whether you will be submitting a letter and if you'll be attending the Monday night meeting so that we can get an accurate feel for the response from the community.

As always, please pass the message to friends and neighbors.

Thank you very much.

Sincerely,

Orinda Watch Leadership

From: Michele Olsen [mailto:MOlsen@cityoforinda.org]
Sent: Wednesday, May 08, 2013 5:01 PM
Subject: Orinda City Council Agenda- 5/13
Attached is the agenda for the 5/13/13 City Council meeting. The meeting will be held in the Library Auditorium (26 Orinda Way) at 7pm. Please distribute to your group in advance of the meeting and direct any comment letters for the City Council to come to my attention by email to molsen@cityoforinda.org or they can be dropped off to my office at City Hall at 22 Orinda Way. Thank you in advance for your help in notifying community members of the meeting.
Sincerely,
Michele L. Olsen
City Clerk
City of Orinda
22 Orinda Way
Orinda, CA 94563
925.253.4221 phone
925.254.2068 fax