Dear Friends and Neighbors,
As a complement to the work of our attorney, we need a strong showing of community engagement for the upcoming City Council meeting on Monday, September 20. The City plans to select a developer for the Hamilton site at that meeting and it is critical that we let the City and developers know they can expect active community involvement throughout this process. We hope to exceed the 300+ emails we sent during the summer. We ask that you please:
attend the City Council meeting on Monday, September 20 at City Hall at 6.30pm, preferably in person (registration required), and either speak out or just appear to create a strong visual impact; and
send an email to the City Council expressing your continued opposition to the size of the Hamilton project. Email: dstaude@cityofmillvalley.org and cityclerk@cityofmillvalley.org
We suggest the following points for your email, and any others you wish to raise. It is fine to repeat what you sent previously, but please put into a new email.
I object to the Hamilton project (Agenda Item #4) for the following reasons:
The City’s selection of the Hamilton site was not transparent. The selection was made behind the scenes and during the pandemic, and never received appropriate community input at critical stages. With so many other options closer to transit, it remains mysterious why the City has settled on this site for such a high-density project that is so completely out of scale with the neighborhood and that negatively impacts Hauke Park. The entire selection process has been covert and should be PAUSED to address neighborhood concerns, prior to selection of a developer.
In selecting the Hamilton site, the City violated its own site selection criteria. In a staff report on October 5, 2020, the City staff stated that it rejected numerous alternative City-owned parcels on grounds that they were:
The Hamilton site is irregularly shaped, narrow, sloped, and is a vital part of the most heavily used playing fields in Mill Valley! This project should be reconsidered with full community input.
Please send your emails prior to Monday, September 20 (the earlier the better to be sure your email is counted). Send to: dstaude@cityofmillvalley.org and cityclerk@cityofmillvalley.org
Thank you for all of your support! It is wonderful to be part of such an active, engaged community!
Friends of Hauke Park Advisory Committee
Gary Batroff (President), David Wygant (Secretary), Grant Morris (Treasurer),
Eric Bindelglass, Pei Chin Chiang, Jim Devitt, Lisa Edson, Rod Eshelman, David Evans,
CS Heyder, Carlos Montalvan, Jeralyn Seiling, Paul Sidorenko, Gabrielle Tierney, Paula Weaver
