A’s Stadium Environmental Affect Report Clears Oakland Planning Fee, Metropolis Council Subsequent – CBS San Francisco
OAKLAND (BCN) – Following a recommendation by the Oakland Planning Commission Wednesday night, the city council will consider whether to certify an environmental report for a new Oakland A ballpark in the city.
The city council will likely consider certifying the final environmental impact report at a meeting in February, city officials said.
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The Planning Commission’s recommendation is just another step toward the city’s final approval or rejection of the Waterfront project.
“(The) recommendation from the planning commission that the final environmental impact report be sent to the City Council for certification is a major win for our entire region and brings Oakland one step closer to building a pioneering waterfront ballpark neighborhood with the highest environmental standards,” said Mayor Libby Schaaf said in a statement Wednesday night.
“For this EIR, our city has provided an extended public comment and review period and has responded in writing to more than 400 comments,” Schaaf added.
“A new waterfront neighborhood will provide a long-term home for our beloved Oakland A’s, 18 acres of beautifully landscaped public parks, 3,000 units with much-needed market price and affordable housing, and more than 25,000 union buildings and 7,000 permanent jobs will bring to our area,” Schaaf said.
Not everyone is as excited as the mayor.
“We’re disappointed,” said leaders of the East Oakland Stadium Alliance, a coalition of groups working to keep the Oakland A’s in East Oakland. “The lack of thorough analysis and inadequate response to public comments from the City of Oakland and the A’s has resulted in a planning commission recommendation that continues to put our community and the port at risk.”
EOSA executives said: “The final EIR does not address significant concerns related to traffic, air quality and pollution remediation, among others, at the proposed baseball field site at Howard Terminal.
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“Given the serious flaws in this document, we hope that the City Council will examine the report with greater care, recognize its obligation to protect our community from harmful development and vote no to certify the EIR,” said EOSA leaders.
But the commissioners have been very supportive of the EIR, Oakland A’s president Dave Kaval said in an interview Thursday, even as the A’s consider moving the team to Las Vegas.
The commissioners commented on the report’s “quality, prudence and robustness,” and two said it was the best EIR they had read, Kaval said.
Regarding baseball, Kaval called the planning commission’s recommendation “probably a solid single” for Oakland. He added that it’s important to keep runners moving.
Oakland needs to take more steps to keep the A in town. A number of documents need to be prepared by the city and sent back to the A’s, Kaval said, stressing that there is now a lot of work for the city court to do.
The A’s are still putting a lot of effort into the possibility of moving the team to Las Vegas. A study found Las Vegas to be a viable market for the A’s, Kaval said.
The next step is deciding on a Las Vegas location for the team, he said, and the A’s now have a handful to choose from.
The chair of Oakland’s planning commission did not respond to a request for comment Thursday morning.
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