City of Oakland California

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The interim combining zone, D-BR Broadway Retail Frontage District Interim Combining Zone, is in the process of being extended.  Staff proposes to extend the effective date of the D-BR Broadway Retail Frontage District Interim Combining Zone Regulations (D-BR Combining Zone) until the City Council adopts the Broadway/Valdez District Specific Plan and new Zoning Regulations.  The interim regulations were adopted in order to give the City time to develop the Broadway/Valdez District Specific Plan to facilitate the development of a regional retail center along this stretch of Broadway and within the Valdez triangle. The D-BR Combining Zone sets restrictions on allowed uses (among other requirements), in order to preserve new ground level facilities and activities for retail use consistent with the retail district envisioned by the City. The extension of the D-BR Zone was heard on December 5, 2012 by the City Planning Commission and recommended approval to the City Council of the proposal with some minor changes.

Click here to view the notice for the upcoming Council meetings on January 15 and 22, 2013.

To view meeting materials for the City Council when they become available check the Upcoming Meetings section below.  To view meeting materials from the Planning Commission please check the Past Public Meetings section below.

If you would like to receive email notices about upcoming meetings and other new project information, click here to sign up for email notifications.

The Public Review Draft Plan Concept document, as well as other meeting materials are available on this webpage. Scroll down to the Past Public Workshops section.

• Creating a level of certainty to both the community and developers by providing a framework to support development and enhancement of existing resources
• Balancing land-use goals with environmental, economic, preservation and quality of life related interests
• Provisions for improved, sustainable infrastructure (utilities, roads, and parks)
• Providing a certified environmental document which will expedite the entitlements process

1.  What is a Specific Plan?

A Specific Plan is a tool for the implementation of a city’s General Plan. A Specific Plan guides specific development proposals within a defined area toward the goals and policies of the General Plan. The Specific Plan must be consistent with the General Plan, and can encompass an area as small as a single acre.  A Specific Plan may be as general as setting forth broad policy concepts, or as detailed as providing direction to every facet of development from the type, location and intensity of uses to the design and capacity of infrastructure; from the resources used to finance public improvements to the design guidelines of a subdivision.

The technical components of a Specific Plan include:

• Text and diagrams showing the distribution, location and extent of all land uses, including open space.
• Proposed distribution, location, extent and intensity of major components of public and private transportation, sewage, water, drainage, solid waste disposal, energy and other essential facilities needed to support the land uses.
• Standards and guidelines for development, and standards for the conservation, development and utilization of natural resources, where applicable.
• Program of implementation measures including regulations, programs, public works projects and financing measures.
• Statement of Specific Plan’s relationship to the General Plan.

2.  Why is the City developing a Specific Plan?

Typically for a redevelopment project such as this, a redevelopment agency would directly acquire a number of real estate parcels and sell them in turn to developers.  In this case, the Broadway/MacArthur/San Pablo and Central District Redevelopment Project Areas have insufficient funds to conduct land acquisition for this project since the required land acquisition is estimated at $191.5 million (including acquisition cost, hazardous materials remediation, demolition, relocation, 10% contingency).

An alternative incentive—which developers agree is worthy—is for the City to create a specific plan and an accompanying environmental impact report for the Broadway/Valdez District.  Specific plans have been used elsewhere to proactively lay out a city’s vision for an area and how to achieve the vision.  Furthermore, being a comprehensive guidebook which addresses a number of planning, zoning and environmental issues upfront and sets the required fees and mitigations in advance, the specific plan provides a significant amount of certainty for developers.  Developers have indicated this would be a valuable tool for implementing projects in the area.

3.  What is an Environmental Impact Report (EIR)?

The City has determined that an EIR is required to be prepared under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).  The EIR evaluates a proposed project's impacts on the physical environment, such as traffic, air pollution, historic and archeological resources, biology, geology, public services and utilities, and hazardous materials. An EIR also recommends steps to avoid or minimize those impacts, called mitigation measures. Possible alternatives to the project are considered as well, including the option of not doing the project.  The EIR process provides the public, as well as other government agencies, a number of opportunities to participate in the preparation of the EIR by commenting on the scope of the environmental review and a draft EIR during public hearings before the City Planning Commission.
 
4.  What is a redevelopment area?

The City of Oakland has established redevelopment powers through its Redevelopment Agency in several areas within Oakland, referred to as “redevelopment project areas”. The purpose of redevelopment is to redevelop or rehabilitate public or private facilities and remove blight conditions in the redevelopment project area. The Redevelopment Division of the Community and Economic Development Agency is responsible for administering these redevelopment project areas and works with developers, local businesses, and residents to build new housing, retail, office, parks, streets, and streetscape improvements, or to rehabilitate existing facilities.

State law allows a redevelopment agency to obtain funds using "tax increment financing." Here’s how it works: on the date the City Council approves a redevelopment plan, the real property within the boundaries of the project area generates a certain amount of total property tax revenue. If this total property tax revenue increases after the redevelopment plan is adopted, then most of this increase goes to the Redevelopment Agency. These funds are called "tax increment."  The Redevelopment Agency uses the tax increment funds during the life of the redevelopment plan to rehabilitate properties, purchase land, stimulate private development, and create investment to accomplish what could not be done by other public or private means. The Broadway/ Valdez District falls into two redevelopment project areas: the Broadway/MacArthur/ San Pablo Redevelopment Project Area, adopted in 2000, and the Central District Redevelopment Project Area, adopted in 1969.

The Broadway/MacArthur/San Pablo Redevelopment Project Area consists of two distinct sub-areas. The Broadway/MacArthur sub-area incorporates Broadway Auto Row and Telegraph Avenue between 27th and 42nd Streets. The San Pablo sub-area incorporates the portion of San Pablo Avenue from 53rd to 67th Street.

The Central District Redevelopment Project Area encompasses a 250-block area bounded by Embarcadero to the south, 27th Street to the north, Lake Merritt to the east and Interstate 980 to the west.

5.  What are the project area boundaries for the Broadway/Valdez District project area?

The boundary for the project area is generally defined as the portion of Broadway between West Grand Avenue and Interstate 580 (approximately .8 miles in length) including stretches of 27th and Valdez Streets.  (Project Area Map)