|
|
|
Letter from our HHNA President: Home Businesses Regulated; Car Thief ``Busted;"
and Traffic Circle Planned Greetings, Haddon Hill neighbors. I would like to address several issues pertaining to the quality of life
in our neighborhood. The City of Oakland has designated our neighborhood under the zoning regulations as R-30, which means that use and occupancy within the neighborhood is
restricted to single family residences. However, the regulations permit nonresidential activity that is incidental to residential living. If the resident would like to
operate a business out of the home, he or she must meet the home occupation criteria. The home occupation regulations include, but are not limited to the following: The home
occupation shall
- be performed only within a living unit of the resident or within an attached garage,
- not generate pedestrian or vehicular traffic substantially greater than that normally generated by residential activities in the surrounding area, and
- be conducted so as not to cause offensive or objectionable noise, smoke, odors, humidity, heat, cold, glare, dust, dirt or electrical disturbance which is perceptible by the average
person at or beyond any lot line.
If you would like a copy of the home occupation regulations, please call me at (510) 839-3956. The governing board asks each resident who operates a business out of his or her home to
cooperate by abiding by the zoning regulations. We are asking that excess noise, traffic, and loitering be abated in order to prevent complaints. If any problems arise, the
neighborhood association will try to facilitate resolution. Second, we were informed by the Oakland Police Department that a suspect has been apprehended who has been
breaking into cars in our neighborhood. Since vandalism and theft cannot be totally eliminated, we ask that you take necessary precautions to protect your property. If you have
any questions or concerns or if you wish to report a crime, please call HHNA Crime and Safety Chair, Barbara Parker, at (510) 891-9818. Third, I recently met with John Russo's
(City Council Member District 2) office and the Oakland Transportation Department concerning the installation of the traffic circle at Hillgirt Circle and Wesley Street. The neighborhood
association wishes to slow the speeding vehicle traffic on Wesley and Hillgirt Circle. The proposed plans would include drought-tolerant landscaping and irrigation. It was a promising meeting and
an example of how the community and local government can work together to improve our quality of life. --Paul Garrison, HHNA President |
|
|
|
[top of page] |
|
|
|
|
|
1998-99 HHNA Officers Check out the
Contacts page for a list of the Officers of the Haddon Hill Neighborhood Association
Community Bulletin Board…
Rally and Picnic for Major Reform in the Oakland Schools, Saturday, June 12, at 10 AM at Redwood Heights Community Park, 3883 Aliso (at Redwood) RSVP 839-3801…Congresswoman Barbara Lee will
meet with constituents at the West Oakland Senior Center, Adeline and 17th St., Wednesday, July 7, 7-9 PM… To be confirmed: a special meeting date to greet Audie Bock, California Assembly Member.
Neighborhood Notes… Thanks to Paul Garrison and Kathleen Kirkish for representing the Haddon Hill neighborhood at the Port of Oakland "PORTFEST" on May 22…
Three cheers for L.J. and Karen Jennings, who have installed lovely and very colorful landscaping at their home fronting on the traffic circle at Wesley and Hillgirt… Russo Defends the Constitution Recently, our Council Member John
Russo addressed the City council on the topic of an ordinance to prohibit loitering in public for the purpose of engaging in illegal drug activity. John's arguments swayed the Council to
reject this ordinance. What follows are excerpts from his remarks. Thanks to Alex Nguyen, Mr. Russo's aide, for this information. `I
will …not vote for the law overall and let me explain why... What this law does is criminalize purely the thought process, the intent… By making it a citation… it changes the burden of proof – it
means that the person who gets the ticket has to ask for the hearing; they are guilty until they prove themselves innocent by asking for a hearing. Now just logically, how do you
prove that you didn't intend something? That's the logical problem I have with this. ... Given the neighborhood that I just came from living in [San Antonio District] where there was
a lot of loitering, and that I was a street kid growing up... I look at people hanging out in front of a liquor store, and I see certain behaviors that I can surmise from my personal experience,
from where I grew up, what that meant. But that's different than making a law, and that's different from changing the basic – which is that you're innocent until proven guilty.A lot of
these young people who are cited will not be able to make the bail... When they get to the court they're not going to be able to afford an attorney, they're going to be angry which means they're
not going to be at their best in convincing the judge that they didn't have intent. I think this citation, in changing this from guilty until proven innocent, and making you prove that you
did not think something, goes beyond what our Constitution ought to permit. I also think that it is true that my mom is never going to be cited if she goes to get milk at the corner
store. I would never be cited, today, although I might have been cited 25 years ago… this law does not criminalize acts, in effect, it criminalizes being…I am going to vote no on the city
law." [top of page] |
|
|
