Chapter 1, Oakland for All: Options for How We Stabilize and Grow

Chapter 1, Introduction

Table of Contents

• 1.1 Oakland General Plan Update: Creating Tomorrow, Together
• 1.2 Community Priorities
• 1.3 Regional Location and Planning Area

What is a General Plan? 

The City of Oakland is updating its General Plan, which is a high-level policy document that guides City decisions made about land use, transportation, open space, environmental resources, environmental justice, and other topics related to growth, change, and conservation. The General Plan includes goals that outline the City’s long-term stabilization and growth objectives, as well as policies and actions to achieve the community’s overall vision for the City of Oakland. California law requires every county or city to adopt a general plan addressing a range of topics, called “elements.” These include:  

• Land use (where residential, commercial, and industrial uses are located)
• Transportation (including transit, pedestrian and bicycle movement, and vehicle circulation)
• Housing
• Environmental justice (ensuring all communities equitably share the benefits of a healthy environment) Conservation (protecting nature)
• Parks and open space
• Noise
• Safety related to hazards

The General Plan may include other elements or address other subjects which relate to the physical development of the City. City decisions related to development approvals, locations of new parks and open spaces, transportation investments, and infrastructure planning must be consistent with the General Plan. The General Plan is therefore sometimes referred to as a city’s “blueprint” for achieving the community’s vision for the future.

 A comprehensive update to the General Plan is a unique opportunity for Oakland to envision its collective future and collaborate to draw a path to reach that vision. The City of Oakland’s current General Plan consists of nine separate elements, many of which have not been comprehensively updated since the 1990s. The goal of this General Plan Update is to bring all of these parts together and create a plan that will help guide the City in its decision-making for the next 20 years. The General Plan Update (GPU) will reflect current challenges and opportunities, changes in State law and City policy, community priorities such as creating more affordable housing and walkable communities, and a focus on planning through a climate change and environmental justice lens. Through the GPU, the City of Oakland aims to create neighborhoods that are easy to navigate and great places to live. This means making sure people can: 

General Plan Update Process

Because State law required some elements be adopted by 2023, the City of Oakland has taken a phased approach to its GPU process:  

Phase 1 (November 2021-October 2023). The following General Plan Elements were adopted by the City Council in 2023:  

Phase 2 (October 2024-Winter 2026/2027):  

The General Plan contains two additional elements that are not being updated at this time: the Historic Preservation and Scenic Highways elements. Updates to the Historic Preservation Element are contingent upon funding and resources, and the Scenic Highways Element is no longer required under State law. However, the land use and transportation aspects of historic preservation and scenic highways may be addressed where relevant in the LUTE. 

The work completed in Phase 1—including community engagement, a racial equity impact assessment framework, and policy direction from adopted elements—provides the foundation for Phase 2. Upon adoption of the Phase 2 elements, all Phase 1 and Phase 2 elements will be compiled into one General Plan document, with separate element “chapters.” A summary and links to completed work, including background reports and surveys that have informed this process, is included in Appendix A. 

Where we are now: Options for How We Stabilize and Grow

Much of the community engagement and background research conducted to date has focused on the question: where are we going? This stage of the planning process now asks: how will we get there? The focus of this report is a set of possible answers to that central question, referred to as “Options for How We Stabilize and Grow”—or simply “Options”—that the community can weigh in on.

The Options for How We Stabilize and Grow describe different land use, transportation, and open space strategies that the City of Oakland could take to achieve the project goals and the community vision for Oakland’s future development. Aspects of the Options, and community feedback on them, will ultimately form the framework of the General Plan LUTE and OSCAR Elements. The Options are intended to help the public, decision-makers and the planning team (i.e., City departments working on the GPU) sort through different priorities and tradeoffs for the City’s future, including:

• How should the City stabilize? (invest in the wellbeing of current residents and prevent displacement)
• How and where should the City grow? (plan for new homes, jobs, parks, and transportation in the next 20 years)
• How will new development relate to existing neighborhoods?
• What public services and facilities, including transit and parks, are necessary to support both Oakland’s current and future population?

Each Option is designed to support the goals of Oakland’s GPU. They also aim to reflect the community’s vision and guiding principles, as well as relevant implementing policy actions that were identified in Phase 1. The Options for How We Stabilize and Grow are not three separate versions of the General Plan to choose from – instead, they each consist of a thematic collection of big ideas to consider. The community will have the opportunity to mix and match concepts and proposals from each of these Options, and the best of the ideas from each of the Options—as well as new ideas generated during public discussions—will be fused into a single “Preferred Plan,” which will go into more detail on specifics related to land use, transportation, open space, noise, and other topics. Both the Preferred Plan and final General Plan elements will contain much more detailed policies, programs, and land use designations than the Options described in this report.

General Plan Timeline 

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1.2 Community Priorities

Community Engagement Process

Community engagement is at the heart of Oakland’s GPU. Community voices are central to every step of this process – from setting a shared vision to creating policies that reflect the needs, values, and priorities of all Oaklanders. Participating in the GPU process is one of the most effective ways for the community to inform the City and its planning team how Oakland should change, grow, or stay the same.

The GPU process so far has included, and will continue to include, substantial outreach to community members and stakeholders using many different methods. The City has dedicated additional resources to engaging communities that have historically been underrepresented and excluded from traditional planning processes, and who have been most negatively impacted by City policies. Outreach during GPU Phase 1 and to date in GPU Phase 2 has included over 90 community meetings, town halls, neighborhood workshops, focused discussion groups, stakeholder interviews, and pop-up outreach events conducted across Oakland, as well as three Citywide online surveys. A summary of community events is available on the City’s website at this link: oaklandca.gov/gpu. The project team continues to work across departments to identify and incorporate other ongoing community engagement opportunities and findings into the General Plan.

General Plan Vision and Guiding Principles

As part of GPU Phase 1, extensive community outreach was conducted to develop a shared vision and set of guiding principles for the GPU. The resulting document, known as the GPU Vision and Guiding Principles, collects and synthesizes the priorities of the community and uses words and phrases adapted directly from residents’ statements to define the City of Oakland’s vision of future growth and development.  

These guiding principles will serve as the foundation for the General Plan, including the Options for How We Stabilize and Grow:

• We are housed, healthy, and safe.
• We see ourselves reflected in Oakland.
• We support meaningful opportunities for residents and businesses to prosper and contribute.
• We are inter-connected.
• We are rooted in Oakland and all neighborhoods have what we need to grow.

The full Vision and Guiding Principles document is available on the City’s website, at this link: https://www.oaklandca.gov/files/assets/city/planning-amp-building/documents/sp/gp/oakland-2045-general-plan_guiding-principles_031523.pdf

Community Priorities Reflected in the Options for How We Stabilize and Grow

The Options for How We Stabilize and Grow have been designed to reflect and achieve various community priorities, described briefly below. For more detailed background information on additional topics of community importance that have been incorporated into the Options, please see Appendix A of this report.

• Complete, Walkable Neighborhoods. Community members across the City described a vision where Oakland’s neighborhoods have the resources they need to thrive—including fresh food, health care, jobs, housing, arts and entertainment, retail, financial institutions, schools, libraries, parks, and community gathering spaces—within a short walk, bike, or transit ride from home.
• Safety, Clean Public Spaces, and Responsive Services. Throughout the outreach process, many community members called for cleaner streets and public spaces and more responsive City services, such as police and fire, especially in historically divested areas. Many community members viewed maintenance and services as essential components of promoting community safety.
• Safe Transportation for All Modes. Community members want to make it easier to get around Oakland without a car, for reasons including public health and safety, greenhouse gas and air pollution reduction, and equitable access to opportunity. Recommended strategies include slow streets, expanded bike and pedestrian networks, transit-oriented development, and greenways that connect parks and open space.
• Housing for All. Oaklanders stressed the need for affordable and accessible housing for all income levels, particularly low-income families, seniors, and the unhoused. The City’s 6th Cycle Housing Element, adopted in 2023, outlines policies that align with these priorities. While the current Housing Element applies to a shorter time frame (2023-2031) than the GPU Phase 2 elements and will be amended again during the updated General Plan’s lifetime, it establishes long-term priorities that the LUTE will support and carry forward.
• Equitable Parks Access. Priorities include improved park safety, quality and maintenance. Community members want 10-minute walking access to parks and open space, and safe and connected routes to get there. The Environmental Justice Element also directs prioritization of new parks in underserved communities, with a focus on ensuring no displacement occurs.
• Inclusive Economic Growth. Access to good jobs, especially for historically excluded groups, is a core concern. Community members expressed particular interest in climate-positive economic opportunities (i.e., green jobs), preservation of local businesses and commercial centers, and jobs growth that goes hand in hand with community development (i.e., workforce training programs, housing development, and affordable options for child and elder care). Some of the top industries that the community would like to see grow in Oakland include healthcare and education, technology, creative industries, and retail/hospitality.
• Cleaner Industrial Lands. An important theme that emerged from working group conversations in Phase 1 was the need to envision a cleaner and greener future for Oakland’s industrial lands. The Port and other industrial areas serve a critical economic function in the City and the region, but they have historically been sources of pollution and noise that predominantly burden Oakland’s formerly redlined[1] communities of color. Community members called for modernizing Oakland’s industrial areas to support cleaner industries and better buffer neighboring residential areas from industrial noise, pollution, and traffic.
• Safety and Climate Resiliency. When asked about resiliency from the impacts of climate change, community members expressed support for green infrastructure[2] and community-based planning to address threats from sea level rise, floods, fires, and heat. Oakland’s Safety Element, adopted in Phase 1, includes policies aligned with these priorities and serves as a central reference point for the City’s efforts to address safety and climate change issues, including earthquakes, floods, fires, toxic waste, and other hazards.
• Arts and Culture. Oakland is a hub for artists and cultural workers and boasts one of the largest populations of artists on the West Coast. Incorporating spaces for arts and culture into Oakland’s neighborhoods—including cultural centers, public art, and spaces for artists to live/work—is an important community priority. Additionally, community members expressed interest in seeing the General Plan uplift the role of arts and culture in creating strong social bonds and civic participation that will be necessary for equitable implementation of General Plan policies.
• Special Areas and Corridors. Community-led plans in East Oakland have identified Hegenberger Road, the Eastmont Town Center, and existing corridors as areas where revitalization could better support community-identified needs, such as pedestrian-friendly streetscapes, affordable housing, food retail, and culturally vibrant gathering places. Phase 2 will also continue to focus on improvements recommended in the East Oakland Neighborhoods Initiative (EONI) and the future East Oakland Community Emissions Reduction Plan. See Appendix A for more information about these plans and other ongoing planning initiatives that will be reflected in the General Plan.

[1] In Oakland, as in cities across the nation, communities of color were impacted by the 1930s, 1940s, and 1950s federal housing redlining policy, the practice of identifying majority-white areas as sound and profitable real estate investments and heavily subsidizing them through the Federal Housing Administration (FHA), while simultaneously refusing to insure mortgages in and near majority-Black neighborhoods and other communities of color. These areas were rated as “D”, or “Hazardous,” and color-coded as red on the infamous “Residential Security” maps created by the Home Owners’ Loan Corporation (HOLC). Residents of these “redlined” neighborhoods, including West Oakland and East Oakland, were denied access to credit, resulting in a cycle of disinvestment and poverty and creating the circumstances for long-term racial segregation. To prevent their own neighborhoods from being redlined, majority-white private developers, realtors, and homeowners were encouraged to write racially restrictive covenants into their deeds that further inhibited Black residents and other residents of color from moving into these areas.

[2] Green infrastructure, also referred to as green stormwater infrastructure, refers to a variety of practices and engineered facilities that use plants, soil, and other natural materials to remove pollutants and allow stormwater to absorb into the ground. These features help prevent flooding and reduce the amount of polluted water that enters the City’s water bodies. Examples include rain gardens (also known as “bioretention”), pervious pavements, green roofs, and stormwater treatment tree wells.