Planning consultant says Antioch’s crime, schools, homeless are deterrents to employers locating here

By John Crowder

A second meeting regarding was held in the Council Chambers at City Hall on Wednesday, November 19, regarding the Downtown Specific Plan and City-wide General Plan Land Use and Zoning Ordinance Update. The session included a joint meeting of the Antioch Planning and Economic Development Commissions. Besides the community members in the audience, the meeting was also attended by Mayor Wade Harper, City Manager Steve Duran, and Councilwoman-elect Lori Ogorchock.

After a couple of comments from the public, consultant Dick Loewke once again gave a presentation, this time detailing opportunities and constraints to development in the city.

Loewke began by identifying land resources that he said were either not utilized, or, in the case of the fairgrounds, were underutilized. He listed a number of parcels that he said could be developed.

Loewke then listed numerous constraints to development. The first of these, he stated as, “The high level of actual crime and perceived crime risk are viewed as substantial obstacles to investment in Antioch, both Downtown and City-wide, and as contributing directly to a reduced quality of life.” He contrasted this perception with that of downtown areas in neighboring cities, which are viewed as having a, “relative absence of crime.” He also noted, later in his presentation, that Antioch’s crime rates are substantially higher than its neighbors, with the violent crime rate being five times higher in Antioch than it is in Brentwood, Oakley, or Pittsburg.

Another major impediment to development was the perception of the Antioch public schools. Loewke said that, “Employers and employees with children who can afford to do so tend to look outside of Antioch in order to gain access to better performing public schools.” He qualified his remarks, however, by saying that this is a result of, “perception,” and that, “What AUSD schools are doing is excellent.”

Loewke mentioned several other constraints, including the large number of homeless people in the downtown area, the lack of places downtown where people would normally gather to socialize (i.e., restaurants and coffee shops), the lack of themed festivals and public events, current zoning regulations which prevent good businesses from moving downtown, and congestion on highway 4. He also noted that only 10% of Antioch’s employed residents work within the city.

Even given the numerous constraints identified by Loewke, he said there existed opportunities as well. He said that Antioch might be able to take advantage of a demand for medical office and service industrial space. Downtown, Loewke said that Antioch could accommodate additional small office users and artisan retailers.

Following the presentation, both the public, and members of the two commissions present, commented on what they had heard. Some of the ideas presented included the creation of a youth center, to include computers and wi-fi access, and a River Walk. Many of those speaking opposed bringing additional housing projects to Antioch as a solution to revitalizing the economy.

Several of the speakers were in favor of the creation of an event plaza, as opposed to construction of additional housing, downtown. Lee Ballesteros, representing Citizens for Responsible Antioch Waterfront Development, spoke about a proposal her group had submitted to the city advocating just such an idea. “Our vision for Downtown is for an active, vibrant, event plaza, as opposed to selling it and putting up homes. Events and quality of life is something that is very important to people,” she said.

Kerry Motts, Vice Chair of the Planning Commission, agreed with Ballesteros. He referenced the Todos Santos Plaza in Concord as illustrative of what Antioch could accomplish.

The planning process is expected to continue for another 16 months, according to Loewke. The slide presentation from the November 19 meeting can be found on the City of Antioch website, under the tabs for ‘community’ and ‘downtown-plan.’


7 Comments to “Planning consultant says Antioch’s crime, schools, homeless are deterrents to employers locating here”

  1. Rich says:

    Ah yes, the Mayor was in attendance and I certainly hope he was listening when the facts were put in front of him, ““The high level of actual crime and perceived crime risk are viewed as substantial obstacles to investment in Antioch, both Downtown and City-wide, and as contributing directly to a reduced quality of life.” I seem to recall TWO, not just one campaign platform of being tough on crime and zero tolerance to crime. How quickly he thinks we forget, his failure to deliver has indeed led us to a quality of life that is significantly reduced and will be for many years to come.

  2. Reginald Jamal Brown says:

    No shit. Antioch is dangerous and is viewed as a death trap.

    First step to increasing our quality of life is to dramatically reduce crime. The mayor and council members can’t understand this.

  3. Julio says:

    The council doesn’t understand the finances of Antioch how can we expect them to understand this?

    They should complete all the work yet to be started out on the annexation property on Wilbur and Vierra Lane before they undertake anything else. When it is finished we will have no money to buy even 1 officer with.

    Clueless totally clueless. That means without a clue. lol

  4. Glen Jones says:

    Thank you, Lee Ballesteros and Citizens for Responsible Antioch Waterfront Development for your tireless fight to create an event plaza and park on the old lumber mill property.

  5. Rich says:

    I certainly hope this “consult” was paid for with a grant! I have been saying that this town is dying because of the excessive crime & violence noted by the rest of the United States. No one wants to move here, nor will they have any desire to move here until our number 1 problem is taken care of – crime and violence. We have a Mayor that has promised TWICE and failed for the last 4 years to make a dent in the problem. Until we get rid of the Mayor (for starters) and show the rest of the United States we will make the necessary changes then no one will pay any attention to this city – we will turn in to a Detroit or Chicago. RECALL WADE HARPER!!

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