ALAMEDA – The first thought for many newcomers to Alameda is that they've somehow landed on the set of "The Andy Griffith Show."

But just below the surface of this tree-lined city with a small-town feel – a place famous for its strictly enforced 25 mph speed limit – lies a cauldron of politics, backbiting and shifting alliances.

In most cases, the clashes come when the town's old guard goes head to head with off-island newcomers accustomed to more plentiful shopping, services and entertainment opportunities.

These civic skirmishes have involved construction of a new main library, redevelopment of the city's largest shopping center and rehabilitation of the historic Alameda Theater. But they may ultimately be viewed as minor confrontations compared with the battle – no, the war – that some observers say is coming over the redevelopment of the 1,500- acre-plus former Alameda Naval Air Station.

At issue is whether a majority of the city's 42,233 registered voters will approve a ballot initiative to suspend a 1973 amendment to the city charter as it applies to the redevelopment of the former Navy base.

That amendment, Measure A, sharply limits housing density. It's been hailed as saving Alameda's famed "Iowa-by-the-sea" quality of life and its famed inventory of historic Victorian-era homes.

The measure was approved by island voters who wanted to stop increasing numbers of property owners who were tearing down their aging Victorians and replacing them with boxy apartment buildings.

Concerns about attacks on the charter amendment have grown over the years. Within the last few years, fearful advocates of the measure have even printed up red and white yard signs to urge their fellow Alamedans to keep the measure intact.

Despite the presence of the amendment – the so-called "third rail" of Alameda politics – Irvine-based SunCal has stepped up to take what will likely end up being a million-dollar-plus swing at redeveloping the blighted, toxics-laden base on the north end of the city. Built before World War II, the base was once home to some of the Navy's mightiest aircraft carriers and some of its most famed aviators. It was decommissioned in 1997.

SunCal is proposing to build 4,346 new, mixed-density housing units on the site as well as more than 3 million square feet of commercial and retail space. SunCal also intends to build a 600 boat-slip marina and a new ferry terminal, and has earmarked 145 acres for sports, recreation and park uses.

To do all that and make it profitable, SunCal Vice President Pat Keliher says, Alameda voters must first agree to modify Measure A as it pertains to the base.

"We have placed our cards on the table. In order for our company and our partners to realize the return on the investment we're proposing to make, Measure A has be to changed," Keliher said.

Knowing the island's passion for turning local politics into proverbial blood sport, SunCal has brought in high-profile support in its efforts to get Measure A modified.

In recent months, the company has brought in Tramutola LLC of Oakland and Sam Singer Associates of San Francisco to help it shape its electoral and public relations strategies for the project.

Tramutola is known as the go-to strategy shop for municipal-level elections all across California. Singer, a master practitioner of public relations, is probably best known for its work with the San Francisco Zoo in December 2007 after a tiger escaped its enclosure and killed a teenager and injured two others.

Campaign finance records for January through June show that SunCal has spent more than $536,000 on its Alameda Point Revitalization initiative – instantly making it, officials believe, the single most expensive ballot measure in the city's 93-year incorporated history. Keliher says the initiative will likely appear on the ballot either in March or June 2010.

To date, the only formal opposition to the SunCal initiative comes from a group called Protect Our Point, which records show raised just under $10,000 for the same January-June period, spending about half that so far.