| | Published September 12th, 2012
| Meet the Lafayette Council Candidates:Traci Reilly
| | By Cathy Tyson |  | | Traci Reilly
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Traci Reilly is the busy mom of three school-age boys and a dedicated volunteer. She and husband Kevin have lived in Lafayette for almost 20 years, initially becoming active with the Lafayette Juniors for a decade, then volunteering for a range of positions in the boys' schools from Lafayette Elementary to Acalanes. She has served on the Crime Prevention Commission since 2006, and has been its chair since 2008. Residents have Reilly to thank for her tireless efforts on the passage of City Ordinance 579, curbing door to door solicitation. She has a B.S. degree in Business Administration from Cal State Sacramento.
"Growth and change are inevitable, and if done right, both will ensure the economic vitality of our City. At the same time, we're challenged with preserving Lafayette's small town charm and appeal.
How do we achieve the former without sacrificing the latter? There has been a passionate debate about this for years. I believe we must find a balanced approach to growth that takes into account traffic, downtown congestion, parking, and protection of our beautiful views.
The Lafayette General Plan, which was adopted in October 2002, has four guiding principles that I believe are still relevant today.
1. Preserve and enhance the character of Lafayette as a semi-rural community.
2. Create and maintain a strong sense of community in Lafayette.
3. Protect the natural and scenic quality of our surrounding hillsides and ridgelines, creek area, trees and other vegetation.
4. Encourage the involvement and citizen volunteers in land use and policy planning.
We should encourage developers looking to build in, or near, the downtown, to have a plan in place to offset the additional traffic and parking that their project(s) will create. An example of this could be a free transit bus or van that runs along Mt. Diablo Blvd to shuttle residents to and from the downtown. This is one idea that could help alleviate the impact on limited parking and reduce the amount of vehicles in the downtown.
I also believe we should work to ensure that Lafayette isn't required to accommodate more than its fair share of housing allotments from State agencies, and that we are given flexibility on how we can reach our mandated housing goals.
"The Summer 2012 issue of Lafayette Vistas did a good job of summarizing the current situation as it relates to the development of a Downtown Specific Plan and what's at stake." Back issues of Lafayette Vistas can be found online. For more information on the candidate, visit her website at www.tracireilly.com or try her facebook page: Traci Reilly for Lafayette City Council.
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Lamorinda Weekly, Moraga CA