Alameda, an island long resistant to growth, threw a warm embrace around an unlikely suitor last year. The Southern California developer SunCal Companies proposed to build thousands of homes, sports fields, offices and a ferry terminal on 770 acres of a decommissioned naval base. The project promised to transform the island city, and its leaders lined up in support. City Manager Ann Marie Gallant and her staff homed in on the fine print of the ballot initiative. Their report raised concerns about an annual $4.8 million hit to the city’s general fund for city services; breaks on more than $82...