Oakland 2045 General Plan Schedule

Every person in Oakland is invited to share their vision and input on what the future of the city should look like. Citywide events include the following:

• Two Virtual Town Halls: will introduce the General Plan process and seek community input and priorities on a variety of topics, including land use, open space, parks and recreation, safety, environmental justice, and other topics. Participants can share their input using interactive tools, or through the complementary online survey.

• Neighborhood Workshops: (9 in Phase I) will identify local issues of concern and solutions to address them. Community workshops will present information and include activities to make them fun, effective, relevant, and meaningful events.

• Community Hub Events: (7 in Phase I) will be large outdoor cultural and community events that bring Oaklanders together through art, performance, celebration, and the sharing of visions, issues and solutions for the future of Oakland. Community members will be able to share their stories of Oakland past and present, vision for the future, and receive information for current support. These events will occur in parts of Oakland where the following communities reside: unhoused, formerly incarcerated, low-income, Asian, Pacific Islander, Black, Latinx, multiracial, and community experiencing environmental injustice. Workshop and Community Hub input will be used to "ground truth” (or verify) data based on peoples’ lived experience, inform areas of focus for General Plan elements, and guide development of General Plan policies.

The EWG will be made up of 20 Oaklanders that represent the city’s diverse population. The EWG will identify the major challenges and impacts of housing, safety, environmental justice, land use, transportation, and parks and work with the City to ensure that solutions and policies advance equitable and healthy communities for Oakland residents. All community input shared will be used to “ground truth” data based on peoples’ lived experience, inform areas of focus for General Plan elements, and guide development of General Plan policies. See criteria for selection here.

Key groups who represent focused interests (such as non-profits, housing advocates, environmental justice groups, small businesses, etc.) will discuss specific topics related to the General Plan, clarify differences in priorities and build common ground. Input from stakeholder meetings will be used to develop areas of focus and policies in the General Plan elements.

The TAC is made up of internal City department representatives as well as other Oakland-based, neighboring, and regional governmental agency representatives. The TAC will advise on key strategies to address Oakland’s big issues; review community input collected at key points in the process; and inform, discuss, and provide technical direction on policies and actions.

Throughout the planning process, youth engagement will prioritize opportunities for young leaders to lead and engage in General Plan community events. Recognizing that today’s youth are tomorrow’s leaders, youth outreach will seek to ensure that the General Plan responds to the needs and priorities of young Oakland residents, including around education, mobility, parks and open space, and safety. All community input shared will be used to “ground truth” data based on peoples’ lived experience, inform areas of focus for General Plan elements, and guide development of General Plan policies. These events will occur in parts of Oakland where the following communities reside: unhoused, formerly incarcerated, low-income, Asian, Pacific Islander, Black, Latinx, multiracial, and community experiencing environmental injustice.

Mobile pop-ups will meet people where they are in the community. Pop-ups will include a variety of activities, including hearing Oaklanders stories; sharing history and context on housing, environmental justice and other General Plan topics; and activities to gather community input for various General Plan topics. All community input shared will be used to “ground truth” data based on peoples’ lived experience, inform areas of focus for General Plan elements, and guide development of General Plan policies. These events will occur in parts of Oakland where the following communities reside: unhoused, formerly incarcerated, low-income, Asian, Pacific Islander, Black, Latinx, multiracial, and community experiencing environmental injustice.

The City of Oakland and community engagement partners will also share information, project updates, and upcoming opportunities to participate through social media, newsletters, the website, and other platforms. Please visit https://www.oaklandca.gov/topics/general-plan-update frequently and sign up for project updates.

The online survey, available in multiple languages, will be open to all Oaklanders. The online survey will collect information about Oaklanders’ vision and priorities for the future of the City and will inform the Vision and Guiding Principles and General Plan priorities.

An early task of the General Plan Update will be to research and document baseline conditions in Oakland. Background reports will include the following:

• Map Atlas: The Map Atlas will present information on safety, land use characteristics, the circulation network, and open space, conservation and recreation resources, historic resources in a short, user-friendly report. Map Atlas findings will help to surface key issues and planning implications for further discussion with the community.
  

• Environmental Justice and Racial Equity Baseline: This report will provide background information on Environmental Justice issues (including environmental risks and pollution; safe and sanitary housing; physical activity and public services; healthy food access; civic engagement; and others) and identify socioeconomic and geographic disparities to be targeted by General Plan policies and actions. The Baseline will also help to identify communities most affected by these issues to “ground truth” findings and co-develop solutions.

• Economic Development Trends and Prospects Report: This report will assess the economic and market factors in the City of Oakland, including strengths of the local economy, challenges and opportunities that influence sustainable long-term growth that might be addressed by the General Plan Update, and economic and growth pressures affecting local residents now and into the future.

Creating a General Plan that represents Oakland residents’ shared core principles and values is the top priority of the General Plan Update. One of the first steps in the General Plan Update is to establish the community’s vision, which will describe the Oakland of 2045 that residents would like to see. We will also establish guiding principles to guide City policies and decisions about housing, jobs, transportation, public services, environmental justice, and more.

Phase I of the General Plan must address the following elements first because of state timelines. However, these elements, in addition to community input and vision, will inform other elements to be developed as part of Phase 2.

• EJ Element: "Environmental justice" is defined in California law as the fair treatment of people of all races, cultures, and incomes with respect to the development, adoption, implementation, and enforcement of environmental laws, regulations, and policies. The EJ Element is a new element for the City of Oakland. It must include objectives and policies to reduce health risks in communities most affected by environmental burdens, promote civic engagement in the public decision-making process, and prioritize programs that address the needs of most affected communities.

• Safety Element: The Safety Element addresses potential short and long-term risks of death, injuries, property damage, and economic dislocation resulting from fires, floods, droughts, earthquakes, landslides, climate change; as well as local hazards.

• Final Housing Element: See #10, Draft Housing Element, for a description of the Housing Element. The Final Housing Element must be adopted no later than January 2023.

• Environmental Impact Report: State law requires an Environmental Impact Report (EIR) of the General Plan to identify potential environmental impacts of adopting the updated plan. The EIR will ensure that land use activities and policies do not negatively affect our community.

Building on the community’s vision, guiding principles, and priorities identified in Phase I, the team will create several land use “alternatives” which represent different ways Oakland can prepare for projected population and job growth. These alternatives will be evaluated and compared in relation to their outcomes for equity, climate change and resilience, and other considerations. This evaluation will inform the community process to select the Draft Preferred Framework. Evaluating and comparing the framework alternatives will begin a highly interactive and participatory phase of the project.

Creation of the Draft Preferred Framework will involve community events, interest-based stakeholder groups, and decisionmaker input to create a Preferred Framework by mixing and matching ideas from the land use alternatives.

The finalized Preferred Framework includes refinements to the Draft Preferred Framework. It will ultimately be the basis for the General Plan Land Use Map and will guide the type, pattern and location of land development and conservation in the city.

A racial equity impact analysis conducted before and during development of General Plan elements will help ensure that policies, programs, and actions will prioritize historically marginalized communities and maximize equitable outcomes.

• General Plan Elements: Building on the elements completed in Phase 1, other elements to be updated during this phase include the Land Use and Transportation Element (LUTE); the Open Space, Conservation and Recreation Element (OSCAR); and the Noise Element. Read Oakland’s existing elements here. Updating Phase 2 elements will likely follow a similar process as Phase I elements and will be guided by extensive community input. While the Housing, Safety, and Environmental Justice elements will be completed in Phase 1, community input on these topics will be addressed in other elements as feasible.

• Capital Improvements Strategic Plan: Capital projects improve and maintain Oakland’s public facilities and infrastructure. They can range from restoring aging public buildings, to improving streets and sidewalks, to creating or improving our parks. The Capital Improvements Strategic Plan will allow the City of Oakland to plan for the future needs of ongoing capital programs, prepare for future potential funding opportunities when they arise, and create flexibility to accommodate unforeseen capital improvement projects.

• Environmental Impact Report (EIR): Similar to Phase I, an additional EIR will evaluate elements developed in Phase 2 to ensure that General Plan Update policies do not negatively affect our community.