Endangered open space in East Oakland

Even during housing slump, open space is threatened by development

You may have thought that threats to open space would have abated with the implosion of the housing market. Well, think again! In recent months, neighbors have contacted the Club's Northern Alameda County Group about two controversial development proposals that threaten precious open space in the hills overlooking the San Francisco Bay - spaces of quiet, solitude, and grand views up and down the Bay.

Oak Knoll

Developer SunCal Companies is trying to build a development at the site of the former Oak Knoll Naval Medical Center, the unused hospital visible behind fencing from the middle portion of Keller Drive in the East Oakland Hills.

The "Oak Knoll Coalition", a group of neighbors from the surrounding area, is working to get SunCal to agree to conserve creek habitat, wooded areas, and prominent ridge tops, including the "Knoll" for which the hospital is named.

The preservation of the Knoll and the wooded hillside was agreed to by all parties in the final Oakland Base Renewal Agreement in 1996. The developer, however, plans to grade the knoll, clearing and developing some of the highest ridgetops (adjacent to Keller Drive) for "McMansion"-type residences.

The coalition and the developer also disagree about the necessity to conform with the Open Space, Conservation, and Recreation (OSCAR) element of Oakland's General Plan.

The city explicitly mentioned Oak Knoll during the formulation of OSCAR by the Planning Commission, but SunCal seeks exemption from certain elements of OSCAR. It claims to have incorporated neighbor input and preservationist principles in its development in the form of a walking trail and a buffer zone to protect the creek that winds its way through the area.

Last October the Northern Alameda Group asked the Planning Commission to deny development on the "Eastern Ridge" (alongside the upper portion of Keller Avenue, including the northeastern "Knoll") as well as the "South Knoll". We have received no response from the Commission, and SunCal has not returned our calls.

The decision may end up in court, with neighbors facing the developer. Both sides are lobbying City Council members.

Oakland Zoo expansion

Early this year Sierra Club member Ruth Malone spotted surveyors in Knowland Park, one of Oakland's largest intact open spaces. It turned out that the Oakland Zoo wishes to develop a section of the park for its new open-air "California!" exhibits featuring grizzly bear, jaguar, and other once-native species. Even worse, within the 500 acre-park, the section that the zoo wants is the relatively flat area on top of the hills, with views of the Bay and the entire East Bay.

In response, a group of neighbors and concerned open-space lovers formed "Friends of Knowland", with the goal of reducing the scope and impact, if not the entirety, of the expansion.

After hearing presentations by the Friends of Knowland and by the director of the zoo, the Northern Alameda Group wrote a letter of concern, urging the city of Oakland to "look into whether the modifications to the zoo's plan create an additional impact on the environment which must be declared and mitigated." We have received no response from the Council. In fact, at an April City Council meeting, District 7 Councilmember Larry Reid, whose district includes the park, dismissed the issue as a mere "neighborhood concern". We do not share Reid's assessment. (The Sierra Club has endorsed Clifford Gilmore, who is running against Reid, for the District 7 Council seat.

The Group is in ongoing discussions with the zoo. We appreciate the zoo's efforts at wildlife conservation, but this does not alleviate our concern over the pattern of loss of prime urban open space in East Oakland.

WhatYouCanDo

To get involved in the Sierra Club's work to protect open space in Oakland, contact conservation organizer or call (510) 848-0800, ext. 312

For more information on preserving open space at Oak Knoll, see the web site of the Oak Knoll Coalition

For information on preserving open space in Knowland Park (including the Sierra Club's letter), see the web site of Friends of Knowland

Kent Lewandowski, chair, Northern Alameda County Group