SAN LEANDRO -- Support for San Leandro Crossings outweighed opposition by more than 3-to-1 Monday, seven months after the City Council approved the general outlines of the massive commercial and residential development proposed for a tract straddling the downtown BART station.

The hearing was part of a process expected to lead to a Planning Commission vote on the project before year's end, and a final City Council vote in early 2009.

Often-emotional testimony from 31 speakers during the three-hour council hearing overshadowed developers' efforts to detail the first phase of what is proposed to be 200,000 square feet of commercial space and 700 apartments or condominiums.

Concerns about an initial 100-unit rental complex -- described as "affordable" by proponents and "low-income" by opponents -- attracted more attention than parking, traffic congestion and street realignment issues near the BART station on San Leandro Boulevard near Davis Street.

San Leandro Crossings, if built, would be the city's first transit- oriented development project -- designed to get people out of their cars, and to provide more places to shop, work and live within a half-mile of Davis and East 14th streets.

"We can move forward, be more inclusive and give our kids a chance to move in (to new housing)," said Dennis Davis, a resident of San Leandro for 60 years.

Or, said Davis, a deacon at St. Leander's Catholic Church, a block east of the BART station, "We can sit on our hands and let fear- mongering stop us."

Kai Bender, of the Creekside neighborhood on downtown's northern edge, contended San Leandro doesn't need "low-income housing."

Current residents would pay more for police and schools if low-income housing is built, Bender insisted. Residents of such housing would exacerbate problems in the downtown area, where "shopping is not a pleasure" because "panhandlers hit you up," he added.

The City Hall council chamber was packed with about 115 people at the start of the hearing. The number dwindled to about three dozen by the time the session ended at 10:30 p.m. Monday.

The 31 speakers included 23 in favor of San Leandro Crossings, seven against, and one resident who said he was neutral. Of the 23 backers,
18 were city residents.

Westlake Development Partners of San Mateo is the San Leandro Crossings developer. It has partnered with Bridge Housing of San Francisco to build the 100-unit San Leandro Crossings West complex of one- to three-bedroom apartments for families earning annual incomes between $22,600 and $46,500.

The first phase of development would include:

* The 100 units on the west side of BART, between Martinez and Alvarado streets and Thornton Place.

* An adjoining BART parking garage with 329 spaces.

* Westlake's 200-unit San Leandro Crossings East, studio to two- bedroom apartments that will be rented at market rates. It would be built on a block bounded by San Leandro Street, West Juana Avenue, Carpentier Street, and St. Leander's parking lot and schoolyard.


Reach Karen Holzmeister at 510-293-2478 or kholzmeister@bayareanewsgroup.com