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Blacks encouraged to participate in development
of Richmond’s General Plan

By Clifford L. Williams

At a recent meeting regarding the development of Richmond’s General Plan, some African American members of the General Plan Committee expressed their disappointment with the lack of participation of blacks regarding the creation and implementation of the plan.

    Every city and county in California must create a General Plan to guide its future development. The plan serves as a longrange policy document that expresses a city’s development goals, policies and objectives relative to the distribution of future land uses, both public and private, as well as a number of other topics.
    There are seven mandatory topics that must be covered in every General Plan: land use and urban design; circulation and mobility; housing; conservation; parks, recreation and open space; noise; and public safety.
   “Unfortunately, many African Americans are unaware of how serious the decision making is regarding the development of the General Plan,” said Jerrold Hatchett, president of the National Brotherhood Alliance in Richmond and a member of the committee.
   “Richmond residents should know that people from Berkeley, Oakland and other cities surrounding Richmond come to meetings in our city and tell us how they want Richmond to look in the future. It’s important for our own residents to come out also and provide their input.”
    Based on lack of participation, a special interest group has been formed to discuss the General Plan in depth and to inform residents of how it will develop. The group meets every Friday at 8 p.m. at Richmond’s Recreation and Community Center on MacDonald Avenue.
    The purpose of the Friday meetings are to further discuss the plan and bring residents up to speed on what has developed so far in the plan’s structure. They are open to the public. A special meeting involving city leaders and plan developers will be held on Oct. 20.