Fairfax mayor, vice mayor recall effort over controversial housing project gathers enough signatures
Several Fairfax neighbors gathered on Friday in what they called a "celebration" of obtaining enough signatures to put Mayor Lisel Blash and Vice Mayor Stephanie Hellman on the recall ballot. They were holding signs, rallying against the council leadership.
Candace Neal-Ricker, who heads the recall effort, said she is disappointed by the city council for approving the zoning of School Street Plaza, a seven-story housing project in Downtown Fairfax.
The initial development plan proposed 243 units, and then was revised to 175 units.
"This truly was done with such a lack of transparency in this town that that was the true failure," Neal-Ricker said. "I think logical housing would have been perfectly acceptable. I think if they brought their community in to design true low-income housing, not in the guise of, or not inviting the developers in after 70 years to take over the town, we could have all gotten behind that."
She, along with more than 1,500 other Fairfax residents, said this, among other reasons, is why they want the mayor and vice mayor out of office.
"I'm sorry, in a town where our height in total has been 28 feet for 70 years. That's absolutely unacceptable and not part of the character of the town. Nor do we have the fire evacuation routes, the fire equipment to put out a fire in a seven-story building. Nor a firehouse big enough to house that type of equipment," Neal-Ricker said.
Mayor Blash has been in office since December. She said she knew the challenges she was walking into.
"It saddens me, but I know that our town is facing a number of issues. And I knew this when I was elected that this was going to be a challenge because there are these issues that are hard for any town to address. Yet our residents would like us to be able to fix them simply and quickly, and that's just not the case," the mayor told CBS News Bay Area.
She adds that state housing mandates that push for more affordable housing in less dense neighborhoods have put local governments like Fairfax in a difficult position.
"State housing mandates really put local governments into a really impossible place. They're enacted by state legislators and yet we, the local officials, really take the heat for those decisions. And I am concerned because I think the public has a hard time understanding what the consequences of fighting those mandates would be, that we are doing our best to protect the town by the decisions that we made," Blash said.
Sandy Handscher, who has been living in Fairfax for more than 35 years, said she believes the mayor and vice mayor are scapegoats.
"Being scapegoated for something that they did not do," she said. "The recall people have this almost a fantasy that there is a way that if we just stand arm in arm together and protest, that we'll stop this monstrosity from being built. I don't know anyone in Fairfax who wants a building with 243 units in the middle of downtown."
She added that she believes the mayor and vice mayor are taking these measures to protect her town from potential lawsuits.
"The town is at risk of being sued by the state. So, there are laws that Mayor Blash and Vice Mayor Hellman have been adamant about following," Handscher said. "If the housing elements are not brought forward, were not brought forward by the town, the town risked fines of $50,000 a month and at the worst, going into conservatorship."
Meanwhile, the recall group also alleged that the city council isn't doing enough to address the homeless encampment near Contratti Park.
"We're not above the law. We need to follow the law and right now, one of the campers has filed a civil rights case in Federal court. And that case is making its way to the court, and we have to wait until that decision has been made," the mayor said.
As recall efforts continue, the mayor said she will continue to focus on the town's needs.
"Do not get distracted by that recall effort. We have to do a number of things, we just passed the budget, we hope to build our fire station so we can have more firefighters per engine, we hope to have a safety drill, an evacuation drill this fall," Blash said. "We'd like to have a bicycle pedestrian advisory committee, which we're in the process of setting up. So I don't want this to derail the positive movement that we're making as a council."
Meanwhile, the recallers plan to be at the city council's meeting next month to certify their recall petition. Neil-Ricker added that the housing project on the table is not her hometown's vision.
"I am your example of your low-income, ultra-low-income born and raised Fairfax bartender. And I would not be able to afford $2,700 for a studio apartment," she said. "There were many alternate sites available that were not considered. Also, our sister city, San Anselmo, maintained their 28 feet height height and still worked with their developers. Fairfax could do the same."
If the recall petition is certified, the vote will then go on the ballot for a special election in November. As for the housing project, the planning developer said the application was incomplete and the project was not eligible for ministerial review.
Therefore, as of now, the project development proposal has not been approved. The mayor said the city is awaiting the developer's response.
