Albany hires new consultant for waterfront planning

Trees in blossom at the Albany’s waterfront, whose future is being fiercely debated in the community. Photo by Linda (Linjun) Fan.

The City Council of Albany voted 3-2 to hire a consulting firm Monday, aiming to build community consensus on the future use of the city’s waterfront, an issue that has sparked off fierce debates among Albany residents in recent years.

Fern Tiger Associates was hired to gather information, hold public meetings, and conduct surveys on the issue in the following 18 months, and eventually develop a “vision for the future of Albany’s waterfront “. The City of Albany will pay about $600,000 to the company for the service.

Albany City Council votes to move forward with waterfront planning

Artwork was created out of trash by amateur artists at Albany Bulb, a former dump sprouting half-a-mile out into the Bay. To the south is Golden Gate Fields racetrack. The Albany waterfront has been the focus of a bitter community fight for years. Photo by Linjun Fan.

Albany took another “baby step” toward planning its waterfront as the City Council voted 4-1 Tuesday to start a public engagement process to figure out what to to with the land.

The council is trying again after the 160-acre land, which is largely occupied by Gold Gate Fields racetrack, became the center of a bitter community fight in 2006 over commercial development proposed by Magna Entertainment Corp., owner of the racetrack.

The company dropped its proposal after it was opposed by a large number of Albany residents. But the community is still deeply divided on what they want to see on the land.

“What we are moving towards here is an Albany plan, and we are looking to have some kind of consensus and vision within the community, “said Albany Mayor Robert Lieber.