Creating a Community Plan in East Palo Alto

Creating a Great Community in East Palo Alto

The City of East Palo Alto (EPA) is currently funded by the Metropolitan Transportation Authority to create a Station Area Plan for a potential Dumberton Rail Station located in the City. The City of East Palo Redevelopment Agency (RDA) and their lead consultant Design, Community & Environment (DC&E)are developing a Specific Plan for the area, which also includes theRavenswood Business District (see map below). The RDA and DC&E willbe conducting four workshops and six Community Advisory Committeemeetings in 2009 and 2010 to gather community input. See City website here.

As part of the community engagement process, Urban Habitat and the Great Communities Collaborative are supporting Youth United for Community Action (YUCA), Peninsula Interfaith Action (PIA), and Community Development Institute (CDI)with their work engaging East Palo Alto residents in the planningprocess. In order to provide the City with a completely community-basedplanning vision, our local partners in East Palo Alto have formed theEnvision-Transform-Build East Palo Alto (ETB-East Palo Alto )Coalition, which consists of PIA, CDI, YUCA and other interestedindividuals to create a Community Plan of the Ravenswood BusinessDistrict and Dumbarton Rail Station.

Planning Process
Currently, the ETB-East Palo Alto Coalition is working closely withcommunity members in crafting their vision for the Ravenswood BusinessDistrict and Dumbarton Rail Station. Through community workshops andevents, the ETB-East Palo Alto Coalition is providing a hands-on,community-based approach to planning where residents with the help oftechnical supporters, can envision their own future for the RBD. As theCity planning process progresses, the ETB-East Palo Alto Coalition willkeep residents engaged and provide input to the City throughout theCommunity Planning process.  As the City reaches the Land UseAlternatives stage of the RDA planning process, the ETB-East PaloAlto Coalition will provide their Community Plan as an alternative thatwill be incorporated into the Ravenswood Business District Plan.

Organization	Contact
Urban Habitat	Vu-Bang Nguyen, 510-839-9510 ext. 318
Youth United for Community Action	Annie Loya, 650-322-9165
Community Development Institute	Carlos Chavez, 650-327-5846 ext. 307
Peninsula Interfaith Action	Tameeka Bennett and Silvia Ramirez, 650-592-9181

 

Ravenswood Business District Plan Area