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YOUR HOMETOWN WEEKLY NEWSPAPER
Vol. 12, No. 4
State hands off Highway 4 by Justin Lafferty
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January 27, 2012
Primed for the big day
Staff Writer Caltrans officials on Wednesday transferred control of Highway 4 to Brentwood and Oakley, making the Highway 4 Bypass the official East County thoroughfare. The transfer removes the highway distinction from Main Street in Oakley and Brentwood Boulevard in Brentwood, giving those cities control over street maintenance and development. What is now known as the Highway 4 Bypass becomes simply Highway 4. Caltrans will be responsible for its upkeep. “It’s a great feeling to finally accomplish this,” said Oakley City Councilman Jim Frazier. “Staff has worked hard, and I’ve been pushing and pushing and pushing, and we finally accom-
Let our Wedding Planner help you sweat the details right now so you can relax on your wedding day. Page 1B
Photo by Richard Wisdom
Vehicles make their way down Highway 4 between Brentwood and Oakley. Caltrans turned over control of Highway 4 to Brentwood and Oakley and give the Bypass the official highway designation. plished the goal.” The celebration might be subdued, however, due to the state’s budget crisis. Earlier this year, the California Supreme
Court allowed the state government’s attempt to balance its budget by ending Redevelopment Agencies (RDAs) and reaping the property tax money that
cities collected from residents. Brentwood and Oakley planned to use RDA money to see Highway 4 page 30A
Bring on the bling A local woman who turned 111 bagged 111 pieces of jewelry to lavish her lobes. Page 4A
Nemesis negated
Council OKs housing density bonus by Samie Hartley
“ We had a number of very productive
Staff Writer
A local developer has agreed to work with neighbors of the affordable housing complex on Carol Lane to meet their desires for privacy protection and increased security. When the City of Oakley announced earlier this month that its council would be considering granting a density bonus to Corporation for Better Housing, giving the developer permission to add an additional 105 units of affordable housing, neighbors took to the Web to voice their opposition to the plan. There are currently 360 units at the Commons at Oak Grove Apartments, and 44 more are under construction. As Carol Lane residents have been know to vandalize property when creating short cuts to get across town, the
meetings with staff, your city manager and others, and hopefully most, if not all, of your concerns have been worked out.
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Charlie Brumbaugh, CBH density bonus would increase the complex’s units to 509, a number that worries neighbors. The density bonus is guaranteed to the developer by state law, so the city hosted an informational workshop last week to explain the situation to residents. Charlie Brumbaugh, representative for Corporation for Better Housing, was on hand for that meeting, and after hearing the public’s concerns, he vowed to make the effort to be a good neighbor. “We had a number of very productive meetings with staff,
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your city manager and others, and hopefully most, if not all, of your concerns have been worked out,” Brumbaugh said at Tuesday’s council meeting. Brumbaugh went on record with a commitment to work with residents and erect a wall along the south end of the property to serve as a buffer between the apartments and residents of the Oak Meadow neighborhood. He is leaving the height of the wall up to the neighbors, who have preliminarily suggested a solid wall between six to eight feet tall.
Fire tax talk
go to news/WebExtras! Residents can learn about the tax measure being considered for the June ballot.
Brumbaugh also said he’ll plant trees to help block sound and provide Oak Meadow residents with an increased sense of privacy. The trees will help obscure residents’ backyards from apartment residents in the proposed fourstory unit. To deter crime within the apartment complex, Brumbaugh plans to install a minimum of two security cameras per floor of each apartment building and install a camera in the main lobby of each building. Councilman Randy Pope commended Brumbaugh for his cooperation and effort to strike a compromise with the neighbors. As the area has a history of break-ins, Pope requested that Brumbaugh install additional cameras in the parking lots. He also recommended that the developer use software see Housing page 30A
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The Freedom basketball team took the lead, never looked back – and dispersed the curse of Heritage. Page 26A Business ............................. 22B Calendar ............................ 23B Classifieds ......................... 17B Cop Logs ............................13A Entertainment ................. 13B Food .................................... 12B Health & Beauty ..............21A Milestones ........................20A Opinion ..............................12A Sports .................................23A Wedding Planner .............. 1B FOR MOVIE TIMES SEE PAGE 5A
Blooper Sunday go to multimedia/videos
Niners fans filled local sports bars only to see their heroes go down in defeat.