Bay conservation advisory committee delivers a brush back pitch to A's waterfront ballpark plan
Kaplan receives large donation from company planning to relocate to Texas
—SMALL SETBACK—A Bay Conservation and Development Commission (BCDC) advisory committee recommended against the proposed removal of the Oakland Athletics ballpark project at Howard Terminal from its Seaport Priority Use Authority designation. The determination by the 10-member advisory committee is a small setback to the proposed 35,000-seat ballpark and surrounding development.
—The A’s and Port of Oakland are seeking removal of the designation in order to begin the long process of applying for regulatory permits required before final approval of the major waterfront development can be decided. The advisory committee’s recommendation opposing removal now goes to the full BCDC board for vote in early June. Wednesday’s advisory vote was 5-4, with one abstention.
—The vote tally originally includes a sixth member in support. Diane Oshima, a Seaport Advisory Committee member from the Port of San Francisco, however, changed her vote to no. Oshima said she struggled with a number of nagging unanswered questions. Among them, clear data on the project’s impacts on future cargo traffic at the port if Howard Terminal is removed from the priority use designation, along with a better sense that future port expansion will not include the use of infill. Other committee members voiced versions of Oshima’s questions during the meeting.
—Seaport Advisory Committee Chair Jim McGrath and David Lewis of Save the Bay, however, voiced strong disapproval of the A’s proposed ballpark. Lewis, perhaps, setting himself up to become a villain to A’s fans, even composed his own recommendation against removing Howard Terminal as a seaport use. The committee, however, found it to be too specific to support.
—Port of Oakland Commissioner Danny Wan told the committee that port expansion has increased by roughly one percent a year over the past decade. He urged the committee to support a low-growth scenario that predicts little need for the Howard Terminal property in future port expansion. Wan also argued that Howard Terminal remains too small for modern shipping use, including its inability to support deepwater ships. Howard Terminal’s current use for trucks and container storage can be shifted to other areas within the port, Wan said.
—The Seaport Advisory Committee’s recommendation on Wednesday is not necessarily a debilitating development for the waterfront ballpark project, merely a small setback that further highlights the importance of the BCDC vote on June 2. It will be incumbent on Port of Oakland officials to better communicate real data to support their contention that Howard Terminal will not hinder the port’s day-to-day operations and future expansion.
WEB UPDATE: Response from Oakland Mayor Libby Schaaf’s office:
“A public process is a lengthy, thorough, and transparent process, and today’s advisory committee delivered important feedback as this project moves forward, said Justin Berton, spokesperson for the mayor’s office.
“We believe the Port of Oakland and its leadership knows its capacity best, and we agree with their detailed analysis that shows they can continue to thrive and grow port activities well into the future, as well as support a transformational, world-class development that will open 18 acres of public parks along the waterfront and create more affordable housing and thousands of great union jobs for the region.”
MORE IN THIS ISSUE: Election 2022: Filing Deadline is Today | D3 Supe Candidate Formally Announces | Moneyball | News Briefing |
Keep reading with a 7-day free trial
Subscribe to East Bay Insiders Newsletter to keep reading this post and get 7 days of free access to the full post archives.