The Newspaper of the San Francisco Bay Chapter
January - February 2007
TABLE OF CONTENTS
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Oak-to-Ninth Project embroiled in lawsuit
On Sep. 6 Oakland city attorney John Russo ordered the registrar of voters to stop counting signatures on the referendum challenging the Oak to Ninth Project. The Oak to Ninth Referendum Committee, with the active participation of the Sierra Club, had turned in over 25,000 signatures to the city clerk, and 18,700 valid signatures are required to place the measure on the ballot.
Russo claimed that the petition was invalid because it did not include the final Development Agreement Ordinance. The petitioners had in fact used the official document provided by the city clerk, which was the one adopted by the City Council on July 18. On Sep. 25 attorney Stuart Flashman, representing the Oak to Ninth Referendum Committee, filed suit challenging Russo's invalidation of the petition.
In addition, two lawsuits were filed in July challenging the development as a violation of the California Environmental Quality Act. One was filed by attorney Arthur Levy for the Oakland Heritage Alliance, and the other by attorney Brian Gaffney for the Coalition of Advocates for Lake Merritt (CALM) and Joyce Roy. The second suit is supported by the League of Women Voters of Oakland and the Sierra Club.
For more background information and the unfolding story, go to www.abetteroaktoninth.org
© 2007 San Francisco Sierra Club Yodeler