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Oakland Finishes Final Draft of Downtown Specific Plan for Potential City Improvements

In late March, Oakland’s city administration announced the final draft of their Downtown Specific Plan, a blueprint for city improvements and developments over the next 20 years. The comprehensive 474-page plan lays out policies for downtown developments that will increase economic, social and cultural, and communal opportunities for residents and workers who frequent this essential hub in Oakland.

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Skyline aerial view of the urban core of downtown Oakland, California. Credit to MattGush, iStock
Skyline aerial view of the urban core of downtown Oakland, California. Credit to MattGush, iStock

By Magaly Muñoz

In late March, Oakland’s city administration announced the final draft of their Downtown Specific Plan, a blueprint for city improvements and developments over the next 20 years.

The comprehensive 474-page plan lays out policies for downtown developments that will increase economic, social and cultural, and communal opportunities for residents and workers who frequent this essential hub in Oakland.

Several departments over the course of eight years developed the plan, with two phases that emphasized a need for community input from local stakeholders, such as leaders and residents, and a focus on the role of social and racial equity in past and future developments.

Throughout the extensive plan, the concept of equity for marginalized communities is embedded with each goal and priority for the improvements to downtown. It acknowledges that social and racial barriers are preventing these communities from thriving on an equal playing field.

The authors identified six key disparities, or ‘equity indicators’, that set the baseline for how success will be measured for the improvements. These indicators include the burden of housing costs, homelessness, displacement, disconnected youth, unemployment rate and median income.

The plan is also broken up into chapters, each describing a major issue or topic that is plaguing downtown residents and workers, such as mobility, culture preservation, community health and sustainability, and land use and urban design.

Within each chapter, the authors dedicate a section to the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic for the various areas of interest, illustrating how disparities and inequities increased before and after the disease’s peak.

Two major issues highlighted in the plan are economic opportunity and housing and homelessness. Both of these issues have been aggravated by the pandemic and require substantial support and resources to move forward.

Many reports coming out of the commercial and residential districts downtown have blamed the rise in crime and cost of living as reasons for leaving Oakland for other cities or closing down indefinitely.

The plan attributes rising rents of both residential and commercial properties to the displacement of local businesses and entrepreneurs. Downtown also has an imbalance in the jobs to housing ratio, which limits access to jobs as commuting distances increase.

Other concerns for the local economy are barriers to employment opportunities for workers of color, non-English speakers, and those with limited access to transportation. As stated in the plan, downtown also has a lack of vacancies near public transit hubs, such as BART, bus stops or ferry terminals, which could save workers money and time for their commutes into the city.

According to the downtown plan, the average unemployment rate for the white population was 5.9%, but the Asian population was at 6.7%, and for the Black population it was even higher at 10.4%.

The proposed solutions for the lack of economic prosperity include providing assistance to local businesses owned by people of color, reinforcing downtown as the ‘place to be’ for nightlife entertainment, and building businesses closer to public transit.

The addition of over 18.3 million (m) sq. ft. of new commercial space, 1.3m sq. ft. of new institutional space, and 500,000 sq. ft. of new industrial space, could potentially create almost 57,000 jobs downtown.

Housing and homelessness, issues closely tied to economic prosperity, are top concerns for Oakland residents. High rents have led to displacement and homelessness for those unable to keep up with the rising costs of the Bay Area.

Over 5,000 people are currently experiencing homelessness in Oakland, according to 2022 Point In Time data. 60% of this population is Black despite only making up nearly 20% of the total city population.

The plan explains that by adding nearly 29,000 new homes and expanding affordable housing units across the city by 2040, this would help alleviate the stress of obtaining and affording a home.

Strategies proposed to tackle the housing and homelessness crisis include increasing renter protections, providing additional shelters and services for homeless residents, and promoting homeownership in downtown with first-time buyer assistance and proactive assistance to vulnerable homeowners.

The plan acknowledges that the implementation of changes and developments amongst the several concerns outlined in the document will take time, both in short and long term periods.

To better explain how and when each project will be addressed over the course of the next two decades, a detailed 123-page graph shows which agencies, potential funding sources, and costs come with the goals.

The Oakland Planning Commission and Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board will each hold public hearings regarding the final draft of the Downtown Plan in May and June.

Activism

Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of February 19 – 25, 2025

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Activism

U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries and Rep. Lateefah Simon to Speak at Elihu Harris Lecture Series

The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.

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U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (left) and Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) (Right).
U.S. House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (left) and Rep. Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) (Right).

By Scott Horton

United States House of Representatives Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries (D-NY-8) will be a speaker at the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series on Friday, Feb. 21.

The event will be held at the Henry J. Kaiser Center for the Arts, 10 Tenth Street in Oakland, at 7 p.m.

The popular lecture series is co-produced by the Oakland-based Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Peralta Community College District. Jeffries’ appearance marks the 32nd lecture of the Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series, which has provided thousands of individuals with accessible, free, high-quality information.

The overarching goal of the lecture series is to provide speakers from diverse backgrounds a platform to offer their answers to Dr. King’s urgent question, which is also the title of Jeffries’ latest book: “Where do we go from here: Chaos or Community?”

In addition to Jeffries, Congresswoman Lateefah Simon (D-CA-12) will also speak.

“Certainly, now is a time for humanity, in general, and Americans in particular to honestly and genuinely answer Dr. King’s question,” said Dr. Roy D. Wilson, Executive Director of the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center and Executive Producer of the lecture series.

“Dr. King teaches that time is neutral but not static. Like the water in a river, it arrives and then quickly moves on,” continued Wilson. “We must urgently create conditions for listening to many different answers to this vital question, and generate the development of unity of action among all those who struggle for a stronger democracy.”

In his book, Jeffries shares his experience of being unanimously elected by his colleagues as the first African American in history to ever hold the position of House Minority Leader.

In January 2023 in Washington, Jeffries made his first official speech as House Minority Leader. He affirmed Democratic values one letter of the alphabet at a time. His words and how he framed them as the alphabet caught the attention of Americans, and the speech was later turned into a book, The ABCs of Democracy, bringing Congressman Jeffries rousing speech to vivid, colorful life, including illustrations by Shaniya Carrington. The speech and book are inspiring and urgent as a timeless reminder of what it means to be a country with equal opportunities for all. Jeffries paints a road map for a brighter American future and warns of the perils of taking a different path.

Before his colleagues unanimously elected him Minority Leader in 2022, Jeffries previously served as Chair of the House Democratic Caucus and as an Impeachment Manager during the first Senate trial of the 45th President of the United States.

Jeffries was born in Brooklyn Hospital, raised in Crown Heights, grew up in the Cornerstone Baptist Church and he is a product of New York City’s public school system, graduating from Midwood High School. Jefferies went on to Binghamton University (BA), Georgetown University (master’s in public policy) and New York University (JD).

He served in the New York State Assembly from 2007 to 2012.

Admission is free for the Feb. 21 Barbara Lee and Elihu Harris Lecture Series featuring Congressman Jeffries. Please reserve seats by calling the Martin Luther King Jr. Freedom Center at (510) 434-3988.

Signed copies of his book will be available for purchase at the event.

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Alameda County

After Years of Working Remotely, Oakland Requires All City Employees to Return to Office by April 7

City Administrator Jestin Johnson recently told city unions that he is ending Oakland’s telecommuting program. The new policy will require employees to come to work at least four days a week. These new regulations go into effect on Feb. 18 for non-union department heads, assistant and deputy directors, managers, and supervisors. All other employees must be back at work by April 7.

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Oakland City Hall. File photo.
Oakland City Hall. File photo.

By Post Staff

The City Oakland is requiring all employees to return to the office, thereby ending the telecommuting policy established during the pandemic that has left some City Hall departments understaffed.

City Administrator Jestin Johnson recently told city unions that he is ending Oakland’s telecommuting program. The new policy will require employees to come to work at least four days a week.

These new regulations go into effect on Feb. 18 for non-union department heads, assistant and deputy directors, managers, and supervisors. All other employees must be back at work by April 7.

The administration may still grant the right to work remotely on a case-by-case basis.

In his memo to city unions, Johnson said former President Joe Biden had declared an end to the pandemic in September 2022, and that since then, “We have collectively moved into newer, safer health conditions.”

Johnson said “multiple departments” already have all their staff back in the office or workplace.

The City’s COVID-era policy, enacted in September 2021, was designed to reduce the spread of the debilitating and potentially fatal virus.

Many cities and companies across the country are now ending their pandemic-related remote work policies. Locally, mayoral candidate Loren Taylor in a press conference made the policy a central issue in his campaign for mayor.

City Hall reopened for in-person meetings two years ago, and the city’s decision to end remote work occurred before Taylor’s press conference.

At an endorsement meeting last Saturday of the John George Democratic Club, mayoral candidate Barbara Lee said she agreed that city workers should return to the job.

At the same time, she said, the city should allow employees time to readjust their lives, which were disrupted by the pandemic, and should recognize individual needs, taking care to maintain staff morale.

The John George club endorsed Lee for Mayor and Charlene Wang for City Council representative for District 2. The club also voted to take no position on the sales tax measure that will be on the April 15 ballot.

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