The Downtown Oakland Specific Plan (DOSP) was recommended unanimously to City Council for adoption by the Planning Commission at its second meeting on June 5th. With this recommendation, the DOSP approaches its final public hearings at City Council this summer, starting with the Community and Economic Development (CED) Committee on June 25. The first-ever specific plan for Downtown Oakland aims to increase housing and jobs near transit, expand funding for public services, revitalize local businesses and enhance public safety, modernize and broaden the role of downtown, prepare for climate change and sea level rise, and reconnect West Oakland with downtown. The DOSP Handbook provides a user-friendly summary of the DOSP (available in English, Spanish and Chinese).
The following items will be considered by City Council for adoption and certification as the Downtown Oakland Specific Plan package:
- Final Draft DOSP
- General Plan Text and Map Amendments
- Planning Code and Zoning Map Amendments
- Final Environmental Impact Report (“FEIR”)/Response to Comments (“RTC”)
- Municipal Code Amendments (to be published with CED Committee Agenda Report)
- Master Fee Schedule Amendments (to be published with CED Committee Agenda Report)
These documents together provide policy guidance, an implementation plan, land use changes, procedural changes and environmental mitigation measures that will ensure new development in the project area meets the City, regional and community goals identified through the planning process. See links to the documents below.
Background on the Downtown Oakland Specific Plan
Community engagement in the development of the DOSP has involved thousands of Oakland residents and stretched over eight years. The Draft DOSP and Draft Environmental Impact Report (DEIR) were publicly released and reviewed in 2019, and the Draft General Plan and Zoning Amendments that help implement the Plan were publicly released and reviewed in 2022. Members of the public have participated in more than 300 engagement activities and reviewed multiple drafts of the DOSP, shaping the goals and policies now proposed for adoption. Since these initial documents were released, planning staff have worked to revise materials based on community and stakeholder input, newly available data, and changing social and economic conditions resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic.
Planning Commission Recommendation
After also receiving a recommendation from the Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board to forward the Final Draft DOSP package, the Planning Commission recommended the DOSP package be forwarded to the CED Committee with amendments, including those presented by Planning staff during the June 5th hearing. Amendments include removal of the Green Loop and other non-industrial improvements from Howard Terminal, addition of a policy to facilitate reuse of existing space for new arts and work/live uses, and clarifications to housing policy, removal of the historic Floral Depot building parcel from the Zoning Incentive Program (ZIP) area, and clarifying that a new train station could be either BART or Capital Corridor, consistent with the regional Link 21 project. The presentation slides and recording are available on the Planning Commission Website.
Municipal Code Amendments
In addition to the DOSP package presented to the Planning Commission, the CED Committee will also consider Oakland Municipal Code Amendments to the following chapters outside the Planning Code (Title 17) to implement changes to the Planning Code. Together with the Planning Code changes:
- Chapter 5.12 (Cabarets/Entertainment Venues) amendments update alcohol uses for entertainment and cultural venues to be allowed with a special permit regulated through the City’s Special Permit process, rather than through a longer, more expensive and harder to enforce Conditional Use Permit (updates to the Master Fee Schedule are also included to implement this new fee)
- Chapter 15.62 (Impact Fee) amendments clarify that residential units provided as a bonus through the ZIP are required to pay the City’s Affordable Housing Impact Fee.
- Chapter 15 (Affordable Housing Trust Fund) amendments allow for the City to receive and expend affordable housing funds provided through the ZIP.
Meeting Schedule
Public hearings to adopt the DOSP will commence with a presentation of the full DOSP Package to the CED Committee on Tuesday, June 25th at 1:30pm. This is anticipated to be followed by a hearing of the full City Council on Tuesday, July 2nd at 3:00pm, and a second reading at City Council on Tuesday, July 16th at 3:00pm.
Update: At its June 25th meeting, CED continued the item to July 9th. At that date the CED will determine when to move the DOSP Package forward to full City Council.
All meetings will be held online and in person at Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank Ogawa Plaza, Oakland CA, 94612. Members of the public are welcome to participate in these hearings by providing either written or oral comments. DOSP materials, information about how to participate in these meetings, and a link to sign up for project updates can be found on the DOSP Website.
Quick Links to the DOSP Materials:
- Final Draft DOSP and DOSP Handbook
- Final Draft Zoning and General Plan Amendments
- Final Environment Impact Report
- Interactive Map of Proposed Zoning containing maps of proposed zoning districts, combining zones, maximum height intensity areas and Zoning Incentive Program development benefit areas.
