Oakland’s Planning Process Helps Wealthy Developers, Harms Black Businesses Like Geoffrey’s Inner Circle

By Kitty Epstein and Paul Cobb

Tidewater Capital, a multimillion-dollar corporation, plans to build a 27-story building to house affluent people in the middle of the Black Arts Movement and Business District. It will harm one of Oakland’s most important Black businesses, Geoffrey’s Inner Circle, and will not serve Black Oaklanders in any way.

The Oakland City Council should reject Tidewater’s proposal. It does not fit the Council’s 2016 Resolution setting up the Black Arts Movement and Business District. It proposes to construct something no one in Oakland needs — more offices or more non-affordable housing — and harm something everyone needs, a historic African American business led by the kindest of Oakland’s residents, someone who feeds the homeless at his own expense and entertains everyone with wonderful music at a reasonable price. This process has been discriminatory, inept, capricious, and perhaps illegal, boldly favoring wealthy developers over Black business.

Supporters are asked to come to a special session at Oakland City Hall City Council chambers on Tuesday Dec. 19 at 4 p.m. where the issue will be on the agenda.

The reasons the city council should reject this development are described below:

1. The Oakland Planning Department has gone rogue in its effort to develop downtown Oakland as high and as fast as possible. It will require the action of the City Council to restore some accountability and lawfulness to the process and to protect Oakland’s beautiful legacy: the connection between Oakland’s downtown, views of sunsets at Lake Merritt and the first and only cultural district, the Black Arts Movement and Business District.
2. Any new development in this designated Black cultural district should contribute to that purpose. The Black Arts and Business district needs such things as a). parking for its clients, b). additional galleries, bookstores; and coffee shops amenable to Oakland’s dwindling Black population; c). beautiful signage commemorating the contributions of Black Oaklanders.Instead, this proposed development will remove the one remaining downtown parking lot and draw in additional gentrification. This is a violation of the resolution of the BAMBD.Further, the proposed development poses a direct threat to Geoffrey’s Inner Circle (GIC), which is a treasured Oakland location destination point that holds live music productions such as jazz events. GIC also is a venue space for funerals, weddings and private partis. GIC has hosted community forums, political gatherings and has served the homeless and unhoused population years over.It is a designated national historic site that has never received any of the many subsidies, services and recognitions normally afforded to such a site and would be threatened by every aspect of the construction process.
3. In contrast, according to the city’s ‘Downtown Oakland Specific Plan (DOSP)’, the entire district of Chinatown is off-limits to any prospective development downtown. There will be zero high-rises, proposals or permits, or such approved for this district. The Black Arts Movement and Business District is Oakland’s first and only cultural district. We formally request that the entire BAMBD district be zoned out of projected development and experience a moratorium on any current and future development plans except those specifically contributing to its purposes and discussed in public meetings with the Black community.The city has proven it has the ability to enact this form of protection as it has done so before in Chinatown, which is not a registered cultural district such as BAMBD but is treated, respected, and protected as such. Please see the map of development from the DOSP.
4. The decision to allow this building was made by the Oakland Planning Commission, which is composed entirely of people who make a living working with developers and are, therefore, naturally inclined toward their interests and points of view.
5. The Planning Department had multiple meetings with Tidewater but said it was too busy to meet with Mr. Pete or his representatives.  They never allowed Mr. Pete to meet to hear the harm to his building the development would cause.
6. Mr. Pete was required to pay several thousand dollars to appeal the Planning Commission’s decision. The date for the appeal was set at a Rules Committee by a Tidewater representative. It was not agendized and therefore, Mr. Pete was not present to offer his preferred date.
7. Several weeks ago, Mr. Pete made a Public Records Request for communications between Tidewater. There has been no response.
8. The city apparently has some process for these appeals, about which Mr. Pete has never been informed. Mr. Colbruno has acknowledged that he and other Tidewater staff have met repeatedly with council members about this issue. However, we are told that council members cannot speak with Mr. Pete because of this unique process.  We believe that many Oakland elected officials want to make Oakland more responsive to the population, particularly the Black community, which is being driven out of the city. It needs to start here.
9. Uncle Willie’s Barbeque and Fish was literally put out of business and had their building destroyed by the neighboring developers, The Marriott. They are in litigation, but as it stands, the health department has shut down Uncle Willie’s for this reason. Is Geoffrey’s Inner Circle going to be NEXT?
10. The Council should require a revamp of the Planning Department, and the Mayor should reconstruct the Planning Commission so that it represents native Oaklanders who, such as Geoffrey Pete, have contributed to this city for nearly 40 years.

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