Trash Bash - have you RSVP'd yet?
[From the Editor: Sorry to have missed putting the start time on this notice. I have updated it - we start at 9am! But please rsvp, because we really need to get a proper headcount for tools and food. Thank you!]

I know you're waiting for something more fun to come along this weekend, but the annual neighborhood clean-up day (aka Trash Bash) is our local way of celebrating Earth Day.

I know it sounds disgusting to spend a nice Sunday morning cleaning up after others, but it's actually a lot of fun. We start at 9am with donuts, coffee, and orange juice at 3rd & Harrison (The Egghouse) and get you signed in, blocks assigned, and equipment along with a free t-shirt. It's a great way to meet others in the Community! This year Trash Bash is sponsored by the Jack London District Association - you need not be a member to participate.

At 1pm we head back to 3rd & Harrison for a FREE Barbeque and a raffle of cool prizes for all those that helped with the clean-up.

Please rsvp so that we know how much food and equipment to have on hand. RSVP to trashbash@jlda.org or by leaving a message at (510) 893-4100.
Posted 4/18/2006

Jack London Inn Project goes to the Planning Commission 4/19
The owners of the Jack London Inn will be presenting their preliminary plans for a 250-unit condo building with retail space to replace the existing Jack London Inn.

There is an Environmental Impact Review (EIR) scoping session tomorrow (Wed 4/19). It's number 5 on the agenda and listed as 444 Embarcadero.

There was a "Community Meeting" last Wednesday night to discuss the project, but due to the lack of notices, there were only 5 or so people from the "Community" at the meeting.

There are quite a few hurdles for this project:

1. Ingress/egress issues with blockage from the train tracks - and trains will increase dramatically in the coming years.

2. Traffic issues. If many intersections in the area are already LOS F (worst), then having a huge project like this will have a serious impact, even if we're already at the worst rating with many intersections in the neighborhood.

3. Massing. The floor area ratio is of concern - they are building on pretty much every square inch of the lot. 310' is HIGH!

4. Parking. Already awful, need to see whether this will add public parking or merely provide for it's own needs.

5. Wind/wall issues - our local FedEx driver is already noticing a change in wind tunneling on the streets, and we're curious what impact this will have on Embarcadero based on the wall being built around it. With the Jack London Square project factored in, Embarcadero could very well be a tunnel very soon.

There are undoubtedly other issues, but tomorrow night's scoping session is a good chance to start getting our concerns heard so that they can come up with solutions.

The meeting starts at 6:30pm at City Hall, One Frank Ogawa Plaza, Hearing Room 1. You can park for free in the garage behind City Hall - just write "Planning Commission Meeting" on your parking ticket and give it to the attendent when you leave. Easy!
Posted 4/18/2006

More on the Mingles Shooting 4/17 ~2am
The Oakland Tribune has a much more in-depth article in today's paper on the shooting that occured yesterday.

I do believe that Mr. Ivey is doing what he can, but unfortunately the root of the problem is the crowd that Mingles attracts. And if the young man that was killed was such a good guy, what was he doing in the wrong place at the wrong time? I don't believe anyone deserves to die - or even be shot - but I do think he shouldn't have been out on a school night at 2am just "sitting in a car". Uh, could we see the toxicology reports?
Posted 4/18/2006

Fatal Shooting Near Mingles This Morning
Found on SFGATE. (No story found in today's Oakland Tribune)

"Oakland police are looking for any information about who opened fire early today in the 300 block of Second Street near Club Mingles at Jack London Square, killing one man and wounding another in the chest.

"Somebody started shooting," said Sgt. Tony Jones of the Oakland Police. "It's unknown yet whether the (victims) were the intended target. The investigation is just getting going."

Police will not release the victims' identities until family is notified. The wounded man was taken to Highland Hospital, where he is in critical condition.
Posted 4/17/2006

Oak to 9th Ave: Lessons for Democratic Community Planning
A guest post by Rajiv Bhatia, MD MPH. Mr. Bhatia is an Oakland resident as well as a public health professional whose research examines the relationships between health, land use, and transportation. He works as the Director of Environmental Health for the City of San Francisco and teaches at the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley.

OAK TO 9th AVENUE: Lessons for Democratic Community Planning
The Oakland City Council is about to approve the Oak to Ninth Avenue project—Oakland's largest residential development since World War II. Despite a lengthy planning process, many question whether the project will fulfill the needs and aspirations of Oakland and its residents. But if the public has been involved, why does controversy still exist? And what can it teach us about how well our democracy functions?

Proponents of Oakland Harbor Partners' proposal for 3100 housing units contend that the project advances Smart Growth principles, revitalizes underused and blighted land, saves the public treasury, and provides desperately needed housing. Challenging this perspective are open space, historic preservation, public health, and social justice groups who argue that the project departs from the Oakland General Plan's priorities, blocks meaningful access to the public waterfront, provides housing affordable mainly to the rich, shortchanges public transit and pedestrian safety, ignores needs for a neighborhood school, and eliminates a connection to Oakland's waterfront history.

On one hand, it is easy to resign ourselves to the inevitability of such public controversy around growth and development. I hear many voices calling for decisive action to ensure "progress" and prevent "process paralysis." But perhaps there are feasible 'win-win-win' solutions, and the controversy reflects a deeper failure by government and decision-makers to bring about a consensus of interests on development concerns.

The purpose of city planning is to create the rules and regulations for development that can achieve a community's vision for the future. More often however, city planners face intense political pressure to meet special interest needs, and the public is forced to react to a vision cultivated by landowners and developers.

The public planning process for the Estuary began in the 1990's and led to the adoption of the Estuary Policy Plan within Oakland's General Plan in 1999. The call for recreational uses acknowledged that the lands were part of California's Tidelands Trust which prohibited private ownership.

What happened next, however, raises questions about government commitment to the public, transparency, and accountability in city planning. In 2001, after securing an exclusive negotiating agreement and an option to buy the property, Oakland Harbor Partners convinced the Port of Oakland and the City that in order to meet their investors' profit expectations, they needed to demand greater density of housing, reduce available open space, and demolish the historic Ninth Avenue Terminal. Economic feasibility studies justifying this position were not made available until March 2006, two and a half years after the Port had approved the sale of 64 acres to OHP for $18,000,000 based on a plan for 1700 new residences.

The new plans also required changing the legal status of the land. In 2004, State Senator Don Perata, secured quick passage of SB 1622, authorizing the State Lands Commission to consider an exchange of part of the 64-acre property that is subject to public trust requirements for a property of equal value. Once approved, this legal status change will allow the developer to build condominiums and other residential units on the property. Notably, no one conducted a public hearing in Oakland on the legislation.

In 2003, Oakland Harbor Partners submitted a formal development proposal to the City. The plans had now grown to include 3100 new residences on about 37 of the 64 acre waterfront property. The proposal also requested approval for new zoning rules and changes to many Estuary Policy Plan provisions of the General Plan, abandoning much of the community-based public planning process of the 1990s.

Recognizing that proposal substituted the developer's project for a community planning process, the developers and the City embarked on a series of public and stakeholder meetings, in theory, to identify concerns about the project and implement corrective recommendations. Meeting summaries and transcripts from public meetings in 2005 repeatedly call attention to a range of concerns: abandonment of the past process, insufficient consideration of traffic congestion, public transit needs, pedestrian safety, affordable housing, connections to open space, and the preservation of the Ninth Avenue terminal. Despite similar concerns by diverse groups, significant changes to the development proposal did not occur, and these same concerns remained front and center on March 15, 2006, when the Planning Commission approved the Oak to Ninth proposal.

Thus, looking at the planning process for Oak to Ninth Avenue, it's not surprising that controversy remains. Meaningful public participation means creating the opportunities for all affected people to understand what is at stake, to speak to their needs and concerns, and to have their needs respected by decision-makers. Public participation also includes the promise that the public's contribution will influence the decision. Planning for the Oak to Ninth Avenue development does not appear to keep that promise.

Oakland can do better. Success at the difficult task of gaining consensus among traditional opponents has been illustrated in other areas, such as habitat conservation planning, where landowners, environmentalists, and regulators are brought together to develop compromise solutions regarding endangered species protections. Meaningful public involvement and consensus building are equally important for guiding planning for humans. If we can successfully build such consensus for Oakland's growth and development, precious money and time will not be needed for negotiating special deals with interest groups and mounting public relations campaigns. Resources used up for managing conflict can then be redeployed to build the neighborhoods and cities that we all want and deserve.

Special thanks to Mr. Bhatia for sharing this article with Jack London News.
Posted 4/09/2006

Oak to 9th from the Jack London District Perspective
I just realized that I've never posted an article about the proposed Oak to 9th development, and since there's an article in today's Oakland Tribune and since there was a City Council Meeting dedicated to the project recently, and since I'm working on an article for May's print edition on ALL of the local projects, I thought I'd take some time today to talk about Oak to 9th (O29).

Oak to 9th is a 3100 unit residential development slated for the area along Embarcadero between Oak Street and 9th Avenue. That's 64 acres of prime waterfront property. The O29 project does not include the 5th Avenue area.

There are quite a few issues that go along with O29, and it's rather complex to try to explain all of the issues in one go. I'll leave the main political issue of land aquisition for another posting. Other issues include historic, massing, density, green space, and low income housing.

For this posting, I'm only going to cover the density and green space issues. Not that the other ones don't matter, but I'm trying to get others that are more knowledgeable to post about them. Like I said earlier, this is a very complex project with many layers.

SO... density, and a comparison to our own district. Currently there are approximately 2,000 people living in the Jack London District in approximately 1,250 units. There are 357 units under construction in four projects. There are two projects that have been approved in the pre-construction phase that have 245 units. There is another development that is looking to get approval later in April 2006, and it could have 250 units. So let's just say that there will probably be between 3,000 and 3,500 people living in the Jack London District in 3 years. There's no guarantee that we'll have a grocery store, our on-street parking situation will be worse and traffic congestion in areas that are already considered dodgy will obviously get worse. And that's not taking into consideration any changes with 880 where construction could have a serious impact, nor is it taking into consideration any of the Jack London Square Redevelopment impacts.

So in roughly one-third of the entire land space as the Jack London District has in total, you have Oak to 9th on 64 acres of prime waterfront property. If you use the same 1.6 per unit as we used above for the currect number of residents in our area now, then you're looking at almost 5,000 people in a tiny area with limited entry into and out of the area. Our parking and traffic congestion issues might seem like a cake walk in comparison. Oh, and that 5,000 figure doesn't include the current number of 5th Avenue residents.

And all that green space that the developer is providing? Well, it is definately true that there are no parks there now, so yes, anything would be an improvement. And yes, the developer has said that the future property owners would be forever responsible for the green space. But think about that. Doesn't that say to you that they'll look upon that as their green space? If it belongs to the City, then wouldn't it be the City's problem? There's another aspect to the green space to consider, which is that there are Measure DD funds available to build a park. That's what the City voted for.

This project is much like the Jack London Square Redevelopment. At first glance everyone says how great it is. The logistics of having 3100 units in such a small, severely access deprived space isn't so great. The green space sounds great - until you think of 64 acres of parkland. Or even just half that in a big mass, not strung out along the Bay Trail, which is required and not something the developer is "giving" to the citizens of Oakland. Before allowing the City to give their stamp of approvals, I would hope that you take the time to see what the City is losing. Try not to get too overwhelmed in the process of finding out more. It's not an easy thing to get your head around.
Posted 4/09/2006

Trash Bash VII - 4/23 9am - FREE FOOD & PRIZES
FREE RAFFLE OF PRIZES, including Apple iPod Mini, for all those who help clean!

Sunday, April 23, 2006 at 9am is the start of Trash Bash VII! Our annual neighborhood clean-up day (which coincides with Earth Day, being celebrated locally the day before), is the time for residents & workers of the neighborhood to gather together and clean up the streets & sidewalks of assorted trash and weeds. We will meet at the Egghouse (229 Harrison at Third Street) to get signed in, grab equipment, and get block "assignments". Clean until around noon (or later if you're so inclined) and then head back to the Egghouse for...

FREE BARBEQUE FOR ALL AT 1pm - WHETHER YOU CLEAN OR NOT!
Yes, that's right. ANYONE can join the barbeque for burgers, veggie burgers, and all the trimmings. FREE. FOOD. At 2pm we'll have the raffle of prizes for all those who cleaned.

PLEASE RSVP! Please send an email to trashbash@jlda.org or call Joanna at Jack London Mail (or leave message) at 510.893.4100. Also let us know if you are vegetarian or not. We want to make sure we have enough tools, food, & tasty beverages.

Trash Bash is a Jack London District Association event, although you need not be a member of JLDA to join the fun. And yes, it is fun, despite spending your time cleaning. I remember the first year we participated - long before opening Jack London Mail - and we met some really great people that live(d) in Phoenix Lofts. Each year I've met more new and fun people.

You can see photos of previous years' events:
2003 Trash Bash, 2004 Trash Bash, & 2005 Trash Bash
Posted 4/08/2006

Site G (Parking Garage) Meeting Report
Always a great host, architect Jim Ishimaru of VBN Architects, walked us through the latest design of the parking garage set to go up on the existing Amtrak parking lot. The last community meeting on this site was in October 2004, so many new stakeholders have moved to the area and were unaware of what is being planned. Issues with the original design (which goes back to 2002), were:

1. Making sure that retail space on the ground floor was suitable for a grocery store. More unusable, poorly designed retail space is the last thing the neighborhood needs.

2. Look at further reducing the height and massing of the garage, by either going underground one or more stories, and/or by moving some of the parking garage over the existing train tracks and Embarcadero so that it tied together more obviously to the Jack London Square side of Embarcadero. After all, technically, this garage will be serving the future retail customers of Jack London Square. Anything that can bring the parking garage closer to the heart of the "Square", would be beneficial to all.

3. Add character to the building. When the original plan was discussed in the Planning Commission meetings, the plan was very plain and utilitarian - because "it's a parking garage and it should look like a parking garage". Well, here's the issue: it's a parking garage sitting in the midst of the Historic Waterfront Warehouse District, it's sitting closer to residential buildings than it is the retail it is supposed to serve, AND it shouldn't take away from the lovely train station.

4. There was concern about noise and vibration from the railroad causing a multitude of car alarms to go off.

So first, to answer the question about building massing and height, that's not going to change. It's just too cost prohibitive to build down because of the water table, and it's too cost prohibitive to even attempt building across the train tracks because of all the right-of-way issues, etc.

The latest "5 Arch Scheme" as they refer to it, adds glass and steel latice detailing to the building, as well as integrating the existing arches seen in the train station design. Unfortunately, they've now added a few design elements that caused concern and will force the architects to further review the design - one being a lighted sign similar to the Ghiradelli Square sign that you can see from the Bay looking to San Francisco, and the other is a beam of light coming from one corner (which would be 2nd & Harrison). Gary Knecht, who lives at 3rd & Harrison, had no objection to the light beam, but others with views facing that direction did. As for the lighted sign along the roof of the building, that's just crazy! The building is already more tall than many would like, and it seems that this sort of sign would be better served on the top of Barnes & Noble, or the planned Harvest Hall. The designator should be the heart of JLS, and blue "P" signs should lead people to the parking areas.

The issue of construction type was also raised, specifically in regards to pile driving, and the architect said that a waffle type foundation was currently being considered, and this was the first he'd heard of pile driving. Since the issue had come up regarding JLS, it is wondered if Harvest Hall and other JLS buildings might be up for consideration using traditional pile driving. If so, sadly the community may have already lost their chance to stop that from happening.

There will probably be one more community meeting prior to this project returning to the Design Review Committee, which is the next step before going before the Planning Commission. Jack London News will post further meeting dates as they are announced.
Posted 4/07/2006

Parking Committee Report
Although we had a low turnout for the parking committee meeting yesterday, we still managed to come up with a game plan for moving forward. Our goal is to get a permit plan for our mixed-use district, in conjunction with time-limited parking. The city approved time limited parking in our area, so long as a petition is properly executed - meaning that 51% of the tenants of the specific block adjacent to the parking approve such time limits. I had tried this route before with Allegro, but didn't get far. I think mostly because the residents at the time didn't fully understand the history of the situation.

For some residents, the idea of having businesses locally is appealing, but supporting said business with time limited parking is not so appealing at the cost of losing their own parking. That's why the permit plan is so important.

If residential areas pay $25 for a permit (and businesses are allowed one permit at $75), then here in the mixed-use district we feel that $100 per permit for both residents and businesses is acceptable. The city wanted $600 or more - for an unguaranteed space! That's insane.

The real idea behind time limited parking is not to punish residents of the area, but to make it unappealing for BART, Amtrak, County workers, and Chinatown workers & patrons.

If you are interested in learning more about parking in the neighborhood, you can check out the JLDA page devoted to parking. The City wanted to blanket the area with meters, and back in 2002, neither the business owners, nor the residents wanted that.

The next parking committee meeting will be held Thursday, April 27, 2006 at 4pm at 229 Harrison (at 3rd Street). Please RSVP to parking@jlda.org if you are interested in attending.
Posted 4/07/2006

Meetings, Meetings, Meetings & Date Changes READ CAREFULLY!
The April edition of Jack London News had a few problems with date changes made after printing.

1. The Zazoo's hearing is supposedly now April 24, 2006 in hearing room 2, NOT April 13, 2006. No confirmation from Hearing Officer Barbara Killey, but then she's the one that gave me the 13th date during a conversation we had on 3/27.

2. The location for tomorrow's Site G meeting has been changed. It will not be at the Jack London Aquatic Center. Instead, it will be held at the Waterfront Plaza Hotel in the Compass Room. So head to the Square at 5:30pm.

If you didn't make it to the City Planning Commission Meeting tonight or see it on KTOP, then you'll not have missed any information on the new building going up in the plot of land where the Jack London Inn is. That plan will be discussed at the next City Planning Commission Meeting on April 19, 2006.

But without much fanfare and without much discussion, the plans for the plot of land where the Meyer Plumbing Building were approved quite readily. On TV you couldn't see the design changes, so I can't report as to what it looks like. That's another 111 units coming soon to the neighborhood!

There's a parking committee meeting tomorrow and I'll report on that tomorrow.
Posted 4/05/2006