Homeowner's tent removed by city over concerns about Measure A

Clifford Grandrougechien of the 3600 block of Central Avenue was forced to remove a large six-person tent from his backyard on Monday. The tent, which Mr. Grandrougechien claimed was set up for a backyard sleepover with his eight-year old daughter and three of her friends, was found to violate Measure A, the city's density limiting law.

Alameda Planning Department Manager said, "I can understand why Mr. Grandrougechien is upset, and it was very difficult enforcing this action, what with all the crying and sobbing on behalf of the little girl. But really, what choice do we have? That tent could be set up for weeks. Add a camp stove and a camping potty and you have a livable unit, and that clearly violates the will of Alameda's voters and the city charter."

The Planning Department Manager added, "I'm sure everyone remembers the great scout campout fiasco of '96. Since that time, we have taken a very aggressive role in processing Measure A concerns. With the help of our state of the art Complaint Possibility Computational System, we are now able to determine whether a possible concern can arise from a given situation and move to deny it before it even has a chance to become a possible problem."

EDITOR'S NOTE: It is important for me, I mean us, to remind you that Measure A allows only two units to be built on a parcel of land and that each unit must have 2,000 sq. feet of property. We fear that by not reminding you of this, the above story might not make sense.