City Holds Meeting on Park Proposal for Former Beltline Railway Property

Last Saturday, the City of Alameda held a well-attended public meeting regarding the future of the former Alameda Belt Line railway land at the corner of Atlantic Avenue and Constitution Way.

Former City Councilmember Doug deHaan introduced a recording of Jean Sweeney explaining at a forum in 2009 how she led the efforts to reserve the property for parkland.

It was Alameda resident Jean Sweeney that uncovered the documents in 1999 that allowed the City of Alameda to buy the land back from the Alameda Belt Line Railway at a fraction of its current market value.

Ms. Sweeney then led the charge in 2002 to pass two local ballot measures intended to preserve the land as open space.

The former school teacher died in 2011.

Dorothy Freeman, an Alameda resident who is now leading efforts to turn the land into a 22-acre preserve honoring Jean Sweeney’s memory, called the meeting on Saturday a success.

The City of Alameda has scheduled a second meeting for tomorrow evening at Alameda City Hall, starting at 7:00 p.m.