Board / Committee / Commission Application
PERSONAL INFORMATION
Full Name:* Email Address:* Gender:
Samuel Ranger Gould Male
Please specify the Board, Commission or Committee you are applying for:* Planning Commission
I am currently a member of the above Committee, and am seeking reappointment.* • Yes • No
If you are seeking re-appointment, has any of your information changed within the last 12 months? If your answer is yes, please complete the rest of this form. If your information has not changed within the past 12 months, please only enter your name and email information above. You do not need to complete the remainder of this O Yes • No
RESIDENCY / EMPLOYMENT INFORMATION
Home Address: City: State: Zip Code:
Home/Cell Phone Number: How long have you lived in Emeryville? ~2 years
Place of Employment: Occupation:
Obsidian Entertainment Video Game Developer
Business Address: City: State: Zip Code:
Business Phone Number: How long have you worked in Emeryville? Work from home in Em
Upload Your Résumé:
Choose File No file chosen
EDUCATION / EXTRACURRICULAR INTERESTS
High School:
Boca Raton Community High School
College:
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
Trade or Business School(s):
Other Interests:
Ran for Emeryville City Council in 2024 with endorsements from pro-housing groups, labor groups, firefighters, and local leaders.
Deep interest in Bike/Ped and Transit infrastructure and in creating safe and active people scale environments
Highly active in advocacy for improving local and state housing laws to fight high cost of housing in this region.
ADVISORY BODY EXPERIENCE / INFORMATION
Are you currently sarving on other Boards, Commissions or Committees? Have you served on a Board, Commission or Committee before? • Yes O No
Please list all past and current City of Emeryville advisory boards.
Bicycle/Pedestrian Advisory Committee
Please list any past and current board, commission or committee memberships outside of Emeryville.
Please list all organization memberships and positions held.
Sierra Club Member
East Bay for Everyone Member
Bike East Bay Member
YIMBY Action Member
Please list any relevant work and volunteer experience.
Hosted a Bike to Wherever Day booth in Emeryville for 2 years Emeryville Biannual Beach Cleanups
Provide detailed responses to housing and transportation plans to cities in the Bay Area with East Bay for Everyone
Wrote a letter of support for the 40th Street Multimodal Project on behalf of BPAC to try and receive grant funding
Indexed bike racks in Emeryville
Why are you interested in serving on this Board, Commission or Committee? I deeply love Emeryville and the path it has set for itself going forward. I moved here with my wife after reading through the draft Active Transportation Plan and Housing Element, seeing how this city had a real plan to become safer and more affordable. I am committed to making sure we keep the promises we set out in these plans, tackling the housing crisis and reimagining how we use our streets to make them safer for everyone. My in-depth knowledge of problems we face locally in regards to housing and transportation and experience working with advocacy groups to help tackle these problems drive me to help make Emeryville the best city it can be. Right now, serving our city on its Planning Commission is the best way I can help us achieve these goals.
PLANNING COMMISSION APPLICANTS ONLY
Please provide a short (300 words or less) statement discussing your ideas and attitudes about planning in Emeryville. Please consider issues such as traffic, industrial and commercial development density, affordable housing, maintaining community diversity and jobs/housing balance.
Planning in Emeryville should primarily focus on serving the needs of our residents and workers.
These needs, while largely impacted by our much larger neighboring cities, center primarily on having our resident's housing needs met, safe and efficient transportation, and the creation and maintenance of vibrant spaces.
Our housing crisis is leaving many residents rent burdened, displaced, or even made homeless.
Tackling this issue is one of the most pressing needs of any city in this region and as a Planning Levels. Emeryville has historically had a vibrant mix of housing types but our Housing Element takes further strides to help us achieve widespread housing affordability. Our commitment to building housing is a main reason our city has stayed so diverse, being the only city to increase its Black population in our region.
Our job/housing balance is more than 3:1, meaning we have many commuters coming into our city to work every day. This will only be exacerbated by the new lab spaces coming online. Expansion of our bike/ped network and increasing the reliability and speed of transit should be our top priorities 22822 when it comes to addressing safety and higher traffic volumes. Car use should be disincentivized as To help our city thrive, we must continue our commitment to public green spaces across the city and support small businesses. With many areas in the south of the city lacking parks, I believe pocke arks are the best way we can bring greenery within walking distance to all of our residents. Having a healthy mix of uses including walkable neighborhood retail also helps make our city more vibrant. * indicates required fields.