There are still many hurdles to overcome, but the Oakland As proposal for a waterfront ballpark/mixed-use development reached a significant milestone on Thursday when the City Council approved a 3,500 page report that indicates the project passes environmental inspections.
After hours of discussion, the council voted in a 6-2 vote on Thursday evening to certify the environmental report. This is a California law requirement to prove that the city has adequately mitigated any adverse effects such as traffic, noise, and pollution.
The report was released as a draft in 2013. It has received hundreds of comments and questions from individuals, government agencies, and community organizations about its potential impact on traffic, air quality, and other environmental elements.
Many of those who participated in five hours of public comment during Thursday’s council meeting continued to raise questions about the report, questioning whether it adequately addressed the many areas expected to be impacted by the major development. Some called for postponement of any decision until further analysis of project impact. However, supporters of this project claimed that the project would transform waterfront in a positive manner, bringing jobs, economic development, and jobs to the city through the 3,000 housing units, 1.5M square feet of office space, 270,000 square footage of retail space, and the hotel rooms and parks that are included in the proposal.
Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf is one of the project’s supporters, noting Thursday in a written statement immediately after the vote, “Tonight’s action is more than a milestone — it’s a giant leap forward in our shared mission to create a regional destination that gives back our waterfront to the public connects a new vibrant neighborhood to our downtown, and provides tens of thousands of good union jobs for our residents — and it does it all while keeping our beloved A’s rooted in Oakland.”
The A’s, who continue to scope out potential ballpark sites in southern Nevada, have repeatedly threatened to leave Oakland for good if the Howard Terminal ballpark proposal does not come to fruition quickly enough.
A’s Team President Dave Kaval celebrated the vote in a social media post that described it as a “big step closer to a new waterfront ballpark at Howard Terminal”.
But the pace of the project is part of why Councilmember Carroll Fife, who represents the district where the ballpark would land, voted against certifying the report, noting that she is “really concerned about how fast this is moving” and worried that residents in West Oakland, Chinatown and the other areas surrounding the site are not having their voices heard. The other councilmember who opposed it, District 5 Councilmember Noel Gallo, has long expressed opposition to the A’s moving from the Coliseum to the waterfront. The A’s have insisted they need a more urban environment in a downtown corridor to play baseball.
In addition to concerns over the potential for the project to indirectly displace residents through gentrification’s affect on rising home prices, many expressed concerns about the impacts from the project on traffic in surrounding neighborhoods. The city consultants will continue to study traffic management in Chinatown but they indicated that the study could not begin until the environmental impact report has been certified.
The council’s approval comes after the planning commissioners approved it several weeks ago. Some of them stated that the environmental impact report was the most thorough they’d ever seen. It easily conforms to the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and was a huge help to their work. City staff recommended that the council approve it, too, after they spent months addressing the questions and concerns submitted as part of the review process, and they concluded the proposal doesnt present any environmental obstacles that can’t be mitigated under the plan.
The council of the report certifies that the mitigation plans have been evaluated. Other agencies such as the Department of Toxic Substances Control and the State Lands Commission can also conduct their own analyses of this project.
But, the project remains far from being a done deal.
The As and the city must still reach an agreement on who will pay for the infrastructure, affordable housing, and community benefits. This could take several months before a plan is submitted to the City Council.
The As had requested that at least 15% of the proposed housing units be designated as affordable. They also needed to spend at least $50,000,000 to build affordable housing elsewhere within Oakland. However, residents and community groups are calling for a higher percentage.
There is also the question about who will fund infrastructure work worth $400 million. This includes improvements to roads and sidewalks as well as water and electrical lines. Also, construction of pedestrian bridges that connect people to the ballpark is another possibility. The Alameda County Board of Supervisors had tentatively indicated their intent to join the city in creating a special financing area to pay for the improvements. However, their support was not binding and lukewarm. The supervisors said they would do their financial analysis before jumping in. City staff are working to secure federal and state infrastructure grants to cover as much of the costs as possible.
The City Council reiterated their commitment to ensuring that the project provides adequate benefits for the local community on Thursday. They passed a resolution Thursday ensuring the community benefits package — including a commitment to hiring locally, building affordable housing, mitigating traffic congestion and ensuring air quality protections, among other things– are approved before or at the same time that the council approves any development agreement for the project.
Some council members expressed their confidence in voting for the environmental impact report because of this commitment.
“I think the staff heard the message and needs to understand the message that there’s a lot of wok to be done,” said District 1 Councilmember Dan Kalb. “We need to hold ourselves to a high standard to make sure we dont add to emissions and that people who live nearby — West Oakland and downtown — remain a priority.”
The council must approve all future approvals, Nikki Fortunato Bas (City President and District 2 representative) reminded her colleagues as well as the public during the meeting.
“For me to approve the final project when it comes to us, I have to see it deliver the community benefits .. and that it makes fiscal sense,” Fortunato Bas said. “We need adequate levels of affordable housing units. … we need meaningful and enforceable community benefits.”
