Dear Councilmembers Brunner and Nadel,

KENIC members are outraged at the disclosure of Scott Gregory's actual relationship to Kaiser and the fact that the City Attorney's office has deemed that many of Gregory's communications are therefore not subject to the Sunshine Laws (see Oakland Post story below). These disclosures throw the integrity of all parts of the approval process for this project into question.

Additionally, yet another hearing has been scheduled for immediately after a holiday weekend--Design Review for Phase I on September 6. Today's announcement from Kaiser's employee Mr. Gregory states that the staff report will be available "before August 25" without any date certain. We do not know when to schedule a community meeting to plan for the hearing, and again we struggle to work when KENIC members are expected to be on vacation. And just as important, we do not know what key staff will be availabe to answer questions (in other incidents, the Oaklandnet.com links to attachments have not always worked properly, etc.). In the past, Mr. Gregory and Gary Patton have both extended their own "long weekends" and there has been no one to answer questions. During Mr. Gregory's most recent time off, his staff person covering for him was unable to answer the most basic questions and plead for patience on the grounds that she was not really involved in the project. This is unacceptable.

Last week I asked the deadline for submitting comments to be included in the staff report and have received no reply.

1) This hearing should be scheduled for the following Planning Commission meeting, when staff and Commissioners will be available during normal work week hours.
Do we even know who among staff OR commissioners will be taking even more than Monday off?

2) City Council should take immediate steps to demand all documents that would be public had this case been handled by City staff, and to ensure that the abuse of process in this case is never repeated. KENIC would have had no objection to a "contract planner" in the relationship we understood this one to be: the developer paying a fee to the city to allow THE CITY to hire additional staff for a large project, with all normal Sunshine Laws in effect.

3) In a third apparent abuse of process, a construction worker at the Phase I site told me this morning that Yes, those steel beams in a trench were the beginning of the foundation for the new building being laid. I said, "But they don't even have design review approvals yet, let alone approved construction drawings." He shrugged. How is this being allowed?

Your timely reponse will be appreciated.

Yours truly, ~Valerie Winemiller

OAKLAND POST AUG 16-22, 2006

East Bay News Service, Aug. 17, 2006

Mayor Jerry Brown has made no secret of his disdain for anyone who questions his steamroller approach to approving new building projects. Calling the planning process a "nightmare", Brown has bullied, ridiculed and attempted to intimidate community groups and citizens for questioning the massive developments he favors, or raising issues about lack of opportunities for small and local subcontractors to get a piece of the huge profits out-of-town developers reap in Oakland.

Taking her cue from Brown, City Planning Director Claudia Cappio, without public notice or discussion, implemented a shortcut that raises serious questions about the objectivity and reliability of environmental and other review documents prepared in the name of the city.

Citing staff shortages and the long timeframe to get approval for city contracts, Cappio told developers that they could speed up their project approvals by hiring and paying for expensive consultants, who would act as city planners. Although they are the liaisons between her office and developers, no legal or enforceable contracts exist between the city and any of the consultants - who are paid directly by each developer, without the usual checks-and-balances established in other cities.

Cappio's largesse came to light after East Bay News Service served a California Public Records Act request for the Kaiser Permanente medical center expansion at Broadway and West MacArthur Blvd., which includes construction of a new hospital. Every hospital in California must meet higher seismic standards by Jan. 2013, and Kaiser wanted speedy approval from Oakland officials for a project that has languished the past 14 years because the healthcare giant was indecisive about a site.

For almost two years, Cappio told City Council, planning commissioners and the public that Scott Gregory, a partner in Oakland-based Lamphier-Gregory consultants, was the city's contract planner for the Kaiser project. The public records request led the city attorney's office to 'discover Gregory was, in fact, retained and paid directly by Kaiser. As a result, many city files that would be subject to public inspection either do not exist, or else are the property of Kaiser, which is not bound by laws governing public agencies.

More than a dozen city officials expressed a wide range of reactions, ranging from anger to disbelief to disavowing any knowledge of the city's contract procedures. Most declined to comment for attribution. Planning Commissioner Mark McClure, who chaired the board when Gregory first appeared, said, "When city staff tells us that someone is a contract planner for the city, I accept that. I don't check on the specifics of a contract."

City Attorney John Russo said he was unaware of the arrangements Cappio had made. Although he is prevented by the attorney-client privilege from discussing specifics, Russo promised to review the situation with his senior managers next week.

Cappio was named co-director of the Community and Economic Development Agency after Brown ousted Planning Director Leslie Gould in 2003. Cappio subsequently was put in charge of the Oakland Base Reuse Authority, after the mayor forced out Aliza Gallo from that job.

Cappio has established a reputation for not responding to the public, whether it is former San Francisco Mayor Willie Brown or a community group that is attempting to reach her. At dozens of public meetings during the past three years, neighborhood organizations, project applicants and even some council members have complained about Cappio's failure to return phone calls, reply to e-mails, or follow up on her promises.