Planning Commission - Regular Meeting

Okay.

We're waiting for one commissioner, so we're going to give it a go. And there he is. Okay, well, wait a minute. Good afternoon, everyone. I'd like to call the March 18th, 2026 Oakland Planning Commission meeting to order and welcome everyone today. We will start with a roll call.

Commissioner Oren Lee is absent today. We have Commissioner Alex Randolph.

Here.

Commissioner Maurice Robb. Here. Commissioner Josie Aarons. Here. Vice Chair Natalie Sandoval. Here. And Chair Jennifer Rank.

Here. You have a quorum. Thank you. Okay, we'll move along to Commission Business. For agenda discussion, I think we were going to take a little time for Catherine to recognize the former Planning Commission Secretary who's retiring.

Yes, I will. And I would like to call Robert Murkamp up, partially for the embarrassment factor, but also to honor him. And I'm going to have to figure out how to use the floating mic, so give me one moment.

It floated away.

It floated away. I hit it. It floated away.

I did want to take a moment, hello everybody, to both introduce Robert Murkamp and say goodbye to Robert Murkamp. So Robert Murkamp is currently the zoning manager. So he has a huge role here in the Bureau of Planning and you've seen his signature on many of the reports that you review and make decisions based upon. I don't think the grammar there was correct and he would have corrected me in the past since he was at one point my manager on that, so apologies Robert. And more importantly to this group, he previously was the planning commission secretary. And many of the procedures we follow today, particularly those that contribute to the efficiency of how you operate and also ensuring that you understand your role and it is contained within the directives of the planning code, come from Robert. And whether they come from Robert from his time serving as a secretary or in his much longer time being my mentor and teaching me how to do this part of my job, as well as maybe every other portion of my job, he's had a very vital role here. And so while you may not have worked with him directly, you have worked with him directly. and I thought it was important to honor his work here. And I do want to note that he knows you really well. He watches our meetings and he often texts me, not to micromanage, but every time, every time we have someone get up an open forum and state they have a code enforcement issue, I see a text pop up reminding me what the code enforcement phone number is. Or if you're asking about a code language or a code section, he'll text me the link. And so not only has he been a teacher and a mentor, he's also been an amazing partner and support, not just to me, but actually to all of you. And I do want to honor Robert for that. But also, he has been my personal mentor and very important in my growth and willingness to stick around and work for a long time. And I very much appreciated Robert's professional partnership and his friendship. For example, he taught me that everything that you and we do, it's no secret. It's all actually in the planning code. And we're always trying to keep you within the planning code. so he repeats that kind of messaging. He also reminds me what my role is all the time in the most essential of language. I am a unappreciated event planner, is what the planning commission secretary is. It's hard to say goodbye to the wonderful people you've worked with over the years. It doesn't quite feel so bad right now because Robert has trained people you'll see presenting items today, as well as many other staff. He's been a mentor to so many of us. So I know his good work will continue forward. And I know that, Robert, you and I will get to remain friends into the future. And I'll get to hear all your tales of retirement as I live vicariously. So with that, we'd like to honor you with a – we've got a couple things for you, and you may have some words. You may want to correct my grammar at this point. And thank you for all that you've done and how your contributions will continue to serve Oakland into the future for the next 26 years.

Oh, my. Aw.

Thank you.

I'm speechless, which I think most of the staff will be appreciative of. It's a rare occasion, but no, thank you. Thank you very much, and thank you all. It's been a marvelous ride, and serving this community has been amazing. It's been transformative to me, not only professionally, but personally, getting to know so many different people from Oakland, getting to know at different levels, you know, from homeowners who... never met what a city planner was before and didn't realize who that we were and trying to work with them at the counter and help them understand kind of what our message is, our mission is, to working with experienced developers, politicians. It's been marvelous and wouldn't change anything for the world. And of course, certainly my time working as Planning Commission Secretary, That was fantastic. And I know I, Catherine has well succeeded me and, you know, it's definitely, it's been a pleasure.

Thank you, Robert.

Thank you all. Thank you.

Enjoy your well-deserved retirement. Anytime someone retires, it becomes an inspiration to me. So, thank you.

Bob's the guy.

Okay, Catherine, thank you for that. That was lovely. Do we have a director's report?

We do not have a director's report today. Okay, informational report? And I have to actually check the agenda because while I was blathering on about how much I've learned from Robert, my computer went quiet. We don't have any reports today.

Doesn't look like anything, okay, yeah.

I don't think any committees have met, so no committee reports? No committee reports today. Any commission matters to discuss? And again, this is for the commissioners.

For the commissioners, yes. Nope, okay. City attorney's report.

No city attorney's report.

Okay. So we've got open forum and I understand we have what, five or six? We have five speakers. Five speakers. Okay, great. So everyone will get two minutes.

All right. So we have five speakers. I will call you three at a time. We have Allison Hightower, Jeremy Evneen, E Jack Gearson. You may come up to the mic, state your full name for the record and you have two minutes.

Good afternoon. My name is Allison Hightower. I am a 35-year Rockridge resident, and I'm here to address concerns about the project proposed at 6230 Claremont, also known as the Red Cross building, with respect to the safety of both residents of that building and those living nearby. This is to be a proposed luxury senior residence with eight floors of apartments and only a five-foot setback from the properties of homes existing on Auburn nearby, adjacent. In an emergency, fire trucks will need 29 feet to accommodate the truck and be able to extend their ladders at a safe angle to reach residents at the higher floors. Auburn is a very narrow street, and trucks parked there will be too far away for their ladders to reach those residents. The five-foot setback proposed is not wide enough for fire trucks to go in between the homes and the building. So it will be very dangerous for those residents on the top floors, and these are going to be people who are not going to have an easy time going down a lot of stairs in an emergency. second the project endangers the people that live and work nearby the proposed residence would house about three hundred elderly people this would create a disproportionate load on our emergency fire and medical resources leaving the broader community with insufficient resources I lived in Rockridge during the horrific 1991 fire, and I vividly recall the chaos and confusion that reigned as the fire spread. And there were not police or fire resources coming to anyone's rescue, not quickly. So with the budget cutbacks that Oakland has had to endure and all of our challenges in the city to have enough money, we urge the commission to require that there be certain safety measures imposed on this project.

Excuse me, your time is up. You may complete your last statement.

So we urge the commission to give the fire trucks needed access to residents on all floors and request that the project fund enough resources to the city emergency program so that everyone in the community will have access to those resources should we have a big fire or earthquake. Thank you.

Good afternoon. My name is Jeremy Evanin, and I live at the top of Florio Street. And I think I speak for all of us when I say that we are not opposed in principle to having a building of the type proposed at that address. This is not a case of nimbyism. Our issue is really just with the size and the scope of the proposed building. At 82 feet high, it's going to cast an enormous shadow over everything around it. I've even seen maps and even as far away as I live, there will be shadows over our place, not to mention so many other houses. Also, it's going to add a lot of traffic both on Claremont Avenue and on Lower Florio Street. A building that was smaller, we're not saying half height, but lowering it, say, by one story, which would also reduce the number of people who can live there, would mitigate all of these issues. The idea, as I was under the impression, that the idea is to create a structure which will blend in with the neighborhood, which will preserve the elements that cause people to want to live in Rockridge in the first place. If you have some massively great building, it's going to change the entire character, and that's not what people would want to move in there for. I'm also concerned that this does appear to be a building for the affluent, and I've heard people talking about housing anxiety. The people who can afford to live there, trust me, they do not suffer from housing anxiety. That's not anything that can be addressed. It looks to me like the only reason that this building has been proposed to be this maximal size, maximal footprint, maximal height, is to enhance the profits of the developers, which I understand their motivation for wanting to do that. Also, I'm a little bit confused about the fact that the Red Cross is a partner in this, and the Red Cross is a non-profit. So I don't quite see how that all works together, what a non-profit's doing in a profit-making enterprise. We have collected a petition with a thousand signatures, over a thousand signatures, of people in the neighbourhood requesting that the building have a slightly smaller footprint, slightly lower size, and I therefore request that the Commission give serious consideration to reducing the size and the scope of the building. Thank you.

Hello, Commissioners. My name is Jack Gerson. I live on Auburn Avenue. I'm here to express my concern regarding the scale of the proposed residential senior care facility located directly behind my property. I believe the developers are relying on an incorrect interpretation of mixed use to qualify for a substantially higher base density and therefore for a much more massive facility. The developers assert that the project qualifies for the higher densities under the neighborhood center mixed use classification of the city of Oakland's land use and transportation element, LUT, page 149, which I just happen to have here. Now, this is a, they claim that because they say that they have both residential apartments and memory care rooming units that they qualify for mixed use. They have no rooming units. Rooming units, by code, must not have kitchens. Every one of their units has a kitchen. Therefore, this fails immediately. But that's not all. The intent of that neighborhood center mixed use, and it's all contained on this one page, is stated. And I'm going to read the intent from that page. The neighborhood center mixed-use classification is intended to identify, create, maintain, and enhance mixed-use neighborhood commercial centers. Commercial centers. These centers are characterized by a mix of retail, housing, office, and other diverse personal or business services. Now, I'll quote it directly. These centers are typically characterized by smaller scale, pedestrian oriented, continuous street frontage with a mix of retail, housing, office, active open space, eating and drinking places, personal and business services. Not only do they have no commercial, no smaller shops, and they are not pedestrian oriented. In fact, they are going to at least implicitly discourage pedestrian traffic because they state

Excuse me, your time is up. You may complete your last statement.

The letter from their lawyers, Koblenz et al., says that seniors do not want to be outdoors. Seniors want to stay inside in their residence, and that's why they say they're restricting the amount of open space. How can you have a pedestrian-oriented center when you're telling that everyone inside will stay inside and and all of their facilities are for residents only. This is completely at odds with code, and I hope that Robert Bergkamp will verify that. Thank you.

All right, so we have three more speakers for open forum. There's one person that I'll give you a name in a second. We have Lynn Harlan, Ken Jeong. Y'all may come up and speak. You have two minutes. And please state your full name for the record. Also, we have Councilmember Houston that will be speaking as well.

Hello, my name is Lynn Harlan. I live on Auburn Avenue. I've lived there for over 30 years. I'm here to address the legal and safety implications of approving the senior housing project at 6230 Claremont Avenue without substantially improving the surrounding traffic infrastructure the intersection area along claremont avenue near college avenue already has a documented history of serious pedestrian crashes and fatalities and i see near misses every day on my two mile walk in the neighborhood when a roadway has a known collision history the risk is not hypothetical it is foreseeable under California law when a government agency approves a project that places vulnerable residents especially seniors into a known hazardous traffic environment it raises serious questions about duty of care and foreseeable harm Seniors walk more slowly, require longer signal timing, and often use mobility aids. Designing or approving a project that requires them to regularly cross a fast multi-lane arterial without significant safety improvements creates a predictable hazard. Anyone who has crossed this intersection understands what it feels like. Every day, pedestrians try to time gaps in fast-moving traffic in order to cross the street rather than rely on truly protected crossings. That condition is not just uncomfortable, it prevents a clear safety concern when the City knowingly intensifies pedestrian activity there. There is also the issue of emergency response. Adding an overly dense senior population will increase vehicle trips and congestion. If ambulances or fire vehicles cannot move efficiently through this corridor, the delay is not theoretical. It can become a life safety issue for the very residents this project is meant to serve.

Excuse me, your time is up. You may complete your last statement.

I ask that the city withhold approval until a comprehensive traffic safety plan, including verified emergency access and egress, is integrated into the project requirements. Thank you.

Good afternoon.

My name is Ken Jeong, and I live at 6201 Auburn Avenue here in Oakland. I'm here today to speak about the proposed market rate senior housing facility at 6230 Claremont Avenue. We had the opportunity to review the proposer's findings in their latest design review submittal and have several concerns that we've shared a copy with the planning department and also we have a copy to distribute to you today. The proposer claims their 80-foot tall eight-story structure is consistent with local land use, but it fails to create a proper transition to the adjacent lower density homes. The proposed project design currently lacks any transitions for neighborhoods on Auburn Avenue. We request that the proposer demonstrate with an economic analysis why additional step-backs and plane changes are economically not feasible. The proposer claims that there will be a minimal increase in shadows due to existing trees. This is misleading and lacks quantitative evidence. Solid building mass is not comparable to the existing eucalyptus trees which currently allow filtered light to reach the neighborhood. The proposed structure would also negatively impact the Safeway Plaza, the only public space in Rockridge's College Avenue corridor that receives direct morning sunlight. It would plunge this public plaza into total shadow during the winter months. A formal quantitative solar access study must be required to assess these impacts. finally the city must confirm if the proposer's base density calculations incorrectly use policy guidance rather than the actual city code section 17.33 which the retiring guy probably knows about for CN residential center commercial zones We urge the commission to balance the proposer's economic desires with the city's general plan and the vision for Rockridge. Please require a full visual impact analysis, a quantitative solar access study.

Excuse me, your time is up. You may complete your last statement.

and an economic analysis confirming infeasibility of providing a sensitive transition with the abutting residential neighborhoods. These studies are necessary to support a complete assessment of the project during the design review process.

Thank you very much for your time.

Good morning, committee members. I'm coming as Ken Houston, son of Oakland, resident District 7, right? I just wanted to share with you, at 1428, there is a building called the Oakland Station. And just look into it. They had some deed restrictions. It was just for seniors for five years. All of a sudden, it's being converted over to regular housing, right? And it has so many violations. And I did so much I can do. I sent all the emails. You know, I only do legislation and policy. And if I do too much, I start directing staff. And then, you know, it comes after that. Right.

So I'm asking to look into this. Right. They have roaches.

The elevator's not working. The trash chute is not working. And it's just so unfair for our seniors to have to live in this condition. But on top of that, they moved there thinking that this was going to be senior housing. That's where they moved there. And then all of a sudden, they transfer over to regular housing. And my time ran out because I hear all them beeping. Okay. I thought she was like, get off, get off, get off. So, so, so... Yeah, just check it out because it's really important that our seniors be safe and live in healthy conditions. And I made some complaints about it already. And I was just down in the hallway about to put up some picture frames for me and Councilmember Rowena Brown. And then I saw Gilchrist. So I said, let me go over here and fight for my seniors as a regular citizen. So look that is 1428, 105th. It's called the Oakland Station. Thank you for your time and all the work you guys do. Thank you.

Thank you, Councilmember. And he's our final speaker.

OK. Do we know of anything about this site? We do.

And I don't have the entire history in front of me right now. But I would be happy to report back to the Planning Commission the status of this at your next meeting. Perfect. That would be great. Thank you.

OK. So moving along, there's nothing on the consent calendar. So we'll go right into public hearings. And we'll bring up and introduce item number one.

Item number one, this is 460-8923, which is Raimondi Park.

I apologize. I didn't have my mic on. So item number one is for 1689 20th Street. This is Raimondi Park. And the proposal is to establish alcohol sales at three concession stations of the baseball field at Raimondi Park related to license agreement between the city of Oakland and the Oakland Ballers. And the planner here to present the staff report is Corey Alvin. Thank you.

Good afternoon. Chair Rank and members of the Commission, I am Corey Alvin from Development Planning. The item before you is a conditional use permit, CUP, request to establish alcoholic beverage sales as part of the Oakland Ballers concession sales at Raimondi Park. alcoholic beverages would be sold in one of three locations behind the dugouts in the concession areas only. The Oakland Ballers have conducted alcohol beverage sales in the park in the past and under special events permits. The CUP would not introduce a new EXISTING, I'M SORRY, A NEW ACTIVITY BUT WOULD ADMINISTER AN EXISTING USE, AN EXISTING BEVERAGE SALES ACTIVITY UNDER A PERMIT THAT WOULD NOT NEED TO BE RENEWED EVERY MONTH. So the Ballers CUP would run along with the license agreement with the city. So when the license agreement terminates, so would the CUP.

Operationally,

Alcoholic beverages sales are allowed to begin one hour before the start of each game, and alcoholic beverage sales would have to end before the top of the eighth inning. Sales for other alcoholic beverage sales for other baller events would occur only one hour before the event start time and have to end one hour before the event end time. So there is alcoholic beverage sales for both games and special events. The CUP is consistent with policies of the land use and transportation element of the general plan, the West Oakland specific plan, the open space conservation and recreation element of the general plan. Staff finds that the ballers request to establish alcoholic beverages sales within the baller's license agreement area, which is outlined in the license agreement. And also on your attachment D, actually the license agreement is attachment D, but the site plan is attachment C. If you look on that site plan, you'll see where the concession areas are. And like I mentioned, sales would only happen in those areas. So we, as staff, feel that this use is consistent with the general plan, is there to help revitalize the Romani Park area and stimulate economic growth. AND LOCAL EMPLOYMENT, LEASE REVENUE AND TAX REVENUE FOR THE CITY. STAFF THEREFORE RECOMMENDS THAT THE PLANNING COMMISSION APPROVE THE CUP SUBJECT TO STAFF FINDINGS AND CONDITIONS. THAT CONCLUDES MY PRESENTATION.

THANK YOU. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY QUESTIONS?

I JUST HAVE A QUESTION.

COMMISSIONER RANDOLPH.

THANK YOU. Is it a general liquor license? Do you know? Maybe it's a question for the ballers, but what they're planning to apply for, is it just beer and wine or all liquor? All liquor. Okay. Thank you.

Anyone else? Commissioner Aarons?

Sorry, I interrupted, but I will just note that the applicant is here and will want to make a presentation after questions. Thank you.

Okay. Oh, thank you. Okay. Do we want to just hold off then and listen? Yeah, let's do that. Sorry. Let's listen to the applicant's presentation and then we'll do questions. Thanks, Catherine.

Hi, good afternoon. My name is Laura Geist. I'm the general manager of the Oakland Ballers, and thank you for the time today. We could not be happier to have Vermonty Park as our long-term home for the Oakland Ballers. In the past two seasons, we have made over $3 million in physical improvements, including a professional-grade field, dugouts, state-of-the-art press box, fencing, and batting cages. We have hosted over 100 Little Leagues practices and games for Oakland Little Leagues teams. We will be hosting our second annual Bip Roberts High School Showcase this weekend. We invite all of you to come. But it's a great opportunity for our kids to get looks from professional scouts and colleges. We've worked with over 60 different community organizations, including the Unity Council, Youth Alive, Oakland Animal Services, the Boys and Girls Club of Oakland, Panther Skate Park, Scouting America, and the Black Panther Party Alumni Legacy Network. We have partnered with beloved Oakland institutions like the Oakland Zoo, Fairyland, the Oakland Museum of California, the Oakland Symphony, Oakland Fire, OPD, and UCSF Children's Hospital. We've hired several students and recent graduates from Oakland Unified School District, along with roughly 10 displaced Coliseum staff members. We have donated over 2,000 tickets to community organizations and helped countless organizations fundraise thousands of dollars. We have launched and managed our volunteer program, which sends fans out to nonprofits to volunteer. I call it speed dating for community service. Working with Alameda County Community Food Bank, Community Kitchens, Keep Oakland Beautiful, the Lake Merritt Institute, Eat Learn Play, and the zoo to name a few. And last but not least, we have brought a championship back to the city of Oakland, winning the Pioneer League last season. The shift that we were asking for approval today is the next step into making us less reliant on partners and more in control of our own food and beverage and all of the offerings that we have at the park. We do not anticipate any externally banned neighbor or business facing changes. The experience that we have offered for the last 2 years, and we appreciate your support and consideration for this initiative. Thank you.

Thank you so much, Laura. Okay, Commissioner Aarons. Sorry, I just waited until you had something in your mouth. That's an old skill from my bartending days.

Thank you. I was trying to hide having a snack. Thank you. Thank you to staff and the ballers. My question is for staff. I just wanted to get a clarification. I know in the staff report it says that base rent and ticket surges charges as well as the revenue from Advertising goes to the city and I had asked this I think last time the ballers came to the Commission But just wanted to get clarity on the revenue that comes to the city Does it go to the general fund or does it go specifically to a fund that will be used for parks? I know it gets used citywide, but I'm just trying to understand where the revenue is going and

When I received your email, I actually got clarification on that from the real estate group. And if I could just go through, I just saw his email. Great.

Thank you.

So I'm just going to read it to you.

The city does not take

in revenue directly from food and beverage sales rather the city's revenue is derived from base rent under the lease uh... fifty-cent surcharge added in every ticket sold uh... in three a percentage of advertising revenue including naming rights if that is ever sold uh... and none of this goes into the general fund the base rent in advertising revenue are deposited into a park-specific revolving fund, Fund 1820. The remainder goes into a fund used by the Economic and Workforce Development Department to pay for real estate staff that support OPRYD, that's the Parks and Recs, in developing public-private partnerships like this. Alcohol sales directly, indirectly contribute to these revenues by attracting people to the games at Romani Park.

Awesome. Thank you so much.

You're welcome.

Anyone? Commissioner Randolph?

Yeah, I have a question. Maybe it's for the ballers as well, because I know one of the benefits of having your own liquor sales, alcohol and liquor sales, is to have additional revenue. And I know in the application and previously you said that you will make continued investments into the park and neighborhood. Can you maybe share what those improvements might be? Because I know you've done a lot already. And what else is planned in the neighborhood?

yeah so we are also um looking to install uh bathrooms into the park currently for our games we use porta potties so we are uh investigating or adding in um new bathrooms to the park which we would also want to enable um eventually for the soccer and football fields on the other side of the park so it would not just be used for the ballers would be a broader city-wide uh initiative there We are also working on expanding out our programming. So currently, as part of our license agreement, we run a little ballers program, which is for 4 to 7 year olds. We're trying to increase the selection of baseball for our youth before they self select into into other places. But we are looking to expand that out. So right now we hosted at Romani. We want to take this out into deeper East Oakland and other areas so that we can expand our. Our youth programming and we also want to start these programs and we are doing this with OAL this season and we'll expand out of coaching the coaches so we will put our coaches in with the middle school and high school baseball programs so that they can grow their Skill set in terms of how to how to coach our youth We recently also put in more secure fencing around the neighborhood I'm trying to think of some of the other things that we are Oh, and we just planted a forest. There's a forest in the outfield. So we planted the first Milwaukee forest in the city of Oakland, which is a forest where you plant things very densely, and then they all fight for resources, and they spread out very quickly. So it's a beautiful thing, and it is the first of its kind here. So those are some of the main things that we will be looking to expand on. One of the other byproducts of putting in the fence and then sort of also surrounding out the playground is we've increased the safety of that playground. It's very close to the street. And so we've created a barrier for kids to not run out there. Other things we're looking to do now I'm remembering dog park. So a lot of our residents have asked for a dog park to come in on that 18th street side. So we are trying to both improve the green spaces over there and then give a space for dogs to play, which would also free up the soccer field and make it dog free so that it can revitalize and grow. So those are some of the main things. And then we are also looking at changing out, this is a longer-term eventuality, but the lighting at Ramadi Park from the candescent lanterns that are there now into more LED-focused, energy-saving type of lights in the future. So those are some of the things that we're working on.

Great. Thank you.

Any other questions?

No? Okay, I don't have any either. We'll open up public comment if there are any cards.

We have one speaker, we have Joe Ernest. You may state your full name for the record and you have two minutes.

Good afternoon. My name is Joe Ernst. I am managing owner of Prescott market, which is immediately adjacent to Ramone park. We are very grateful and thankful to have ballers as neighbors. It's really blossomed into a beautiful partnership as we work together to provide. you know things for the community um you know laura's list of things they've done so far has just been tremendous um they're great stewards of the park i think there will be great long-term stewards of the park their heart you know their business plan is in the right place community first and so i strongly encourage you to support this as they continue their path forward but been a tremendous addition to the neighborhood tremendous partner and we're very happy to have them be our neighbor thank you

Thank you.

Okay, so I will go ahead and close the public hearing and bring it back up for discussion. Commissioner Randolph.

As the resident West Oaklander, you were probably expecting maybe for me to say something. But yeah, I wanted to say thank you to the Ballers and the team. You continue to be a great neighbor to our community and our neighborhood. I remember what the park and neighborhood looked like only a couple of years ago. The need that the neighbors and others had for really have a thriving, active park to play. I mean, the amount of youth and kids that play soccer and other sports in that park that were not able to do that the way that they can do it now, I think is incredible. And I worked at the San Francisco Rec and Park Department for almost eight years and worked on a lot of private partnerships, private-public partnership. And this, I think, is another great example of how it can actually work, not just to bring a great organization into Oakland. When we need sports in Oakland, when others are leaving, you are coming and investing in our city and our community. And we can see that if we invest in our residents, we can become gold medalists, we can become all-stars, we can become champions like you proved last season. It's very, very exciting, especially as a dog owner and a new father of a two-month-old. I can't wait to bring her to the ballpark and hopefully start playing some sports. No matter what sport she decides to play, soccer or baseball or something. I just I came to say it's it's a thriving neighborhood now and I don't think we could have done it without you so I think Oakland will expand these type of partnerships across the city because we do need thriving parks because I think if we have a walkable livable neighborhood a lot of the other challenges that we're seeing you know from illegal dumping to graffiti to crime it all goes away when you have great partnerships like what you're doing in West Oakland and I think NO NEIGHBORHOOD OTHER THAN MAYBE OTHERS I THINK DESERVE THAT INVESTMENT THAN THAT AREA RIGHT NOW. SO THANK YOU, THANK YOU. AND I'LL BE ENTHUSIASTICALLY SUPPORTING THIS STAFF RECOMMENDATION. EVEN MAKE A MOTION IF NOBODY ELSE HAS ANY COMMENTS.

I would echo everything that you had to say. You're just a great city treasure. So I can't be any more eloquent than Commissioner Randolph. So Commissioner Aarons.

Thank you. Yeah, I just wanted to plus one to that. I was at the championship game, actually all three games at the end of last season at home and didn't think that I would be a sports fan, but find myself biking to Raymondi Park for games and absolutely love it. The energy is incredible. Thank you for your partnership and commitment to the city. Yeah, I can't say it better than Commissioner Randolph, but just wanted to say thank you. While I will be supporting this, even if I had never been to one of your games, I would be supporting it because it's consistent with our plans and our codes, and it's just an extension of what you already have in place. But I'm also happy to support today. Thank you. Great.

Anyone else? Okay. Go for it.

All right, I'd like to make a motion to affirm staff environmental determination and approve the conditional use permit subject to the attached funding and conditions.

Motion by Commissioner Randolph. Second. And a second by Vice Chair Sandoval.

Commissioner Randolph? Aye.

Commissioner Robb?

Yes.

Commissioner Ahrens? Yes. Vice Chair Sandoval? Yes.

Chair Rank?

Yes. Motion passes unanimously, and your decision is appealable to City Council within 10 days. Thank you. Congrats.

Okay. So it looks like, I know that because the item number two was continued, we obviously don't have any appeals, so we'll just go right to number two.

Right, so item two is an appeal.

Oh, that's right, it is an appeal. Yep, you're right.

Yes, it's an appeal. It's continued from the February 4th, 2026 Planning Commission agenda. Thank you. When the appellant was not able to attend. Right. And the address for this appeal is 3320 Grand Avenue. And this is an appeal of a zoning manager determination that the business is a full-service restaurant commercial activity and is not a group assembly commercial activity or an alcoholic beverage sales commercial activity facility. BUT IS SUBJECT TO THE PERFORMANCE STANDARDS AND PLANNING CODE SECTION 17120 INCLUDING NOISE AT ALL TIMES DURING BUSINESS OPERATION. AND I WAS ABOUT TO SAY THE PLANNER IS HEATHER KLEIN BUT IN FACT WE HAVE JANA AND I'M GOING TO SAY IT WRONG, WHISMER, IS THAT CORRECT? I said it correctly. Jana Wismer, who's one of our contract planners, we've had InterWest as a contract planning team for the city for a few years now. And so Jana has handled a number of projects. And this may be your third before the Planning Commission. I can't remember. But she's been here before. I'm sorry.

I was a little surprised to see you, but we're always happy to see you. So apologies.

She's here to make the report. I do want to note, and I'll lead into this, that the applicant is here, but my understanding is the appellant is not here today.

That is correct. Chair Rank, members of the commission, good afternoon. As Catherine said, I'm Jana Wismer with the InterWest Group.

Can I just interrupt for one second, Jana?

Sure.

I'm just going to assume that we continued this because the appellant wasn't here the first time, but it's okay for us to move forward and just get this done today, correct?

You're correct. I'm going to repeat it back just for the benefit of the audience that the appellant what did not attend on the fourth, the Planning Commission made the decision to continue the item. The appellant is not here today. The Planning Commission may consider this item without the appellant present. Okay. And I'm assuming we're all okay with that. Okay, great.

All right.

Thank you. Sorry, go ahead. I'll just fill in that a little bit. We've been trying to get a hold of appellant since he requested that original continuance in February and didn't receive any responses back after numerous requests until last night when he reached out and said I will not be intending and didn't request a further continuance so with that The site that is before you has been operating as a restaurant, a full-service restaurant, since 2015. And Mimosa on Grand, which is the current restaurant, received their zoning clearance in 2021 with a Type 41 alcohol beverage license. Code enforcement was at the site for multiple inspections and did find that there were violations for operation of a group assembly commercial activity where a CUP is required, and also operation of an alcoholic beverage sales commercial activity where a CUP is required. And the owner of Mimosa on Grand, who again is here today, did file a timely appeal with the zoning manager requesting a determination. And the zoning manager did find that a full-service restaurant commercial activity was what was occurring on the site and not a group assembly activity or an alcoholic beverage sales commercial activity. After going through the many attachments and videos that the appellant sent in and site visits, that determination was made. And after that determination was made, the appellant filed a timely appeal and submitted multiple videos, photos, which I won't get into because they're very voluminous, but you've probably seen them. And their appeal is based on their opinion, or his appeal is based on the opinion that the operation reflects a bar and nightclub and has negative impacts on the neighborhood, including noise. And as I mentioned, the zoning manager did make the determination and that it is a full service restaurant and operates exclusively as a full service restaurant and therefore is recommending that the appeal be denied. And that is my quick presentation. I can answer any questions you might have.

Thank you so much for that. Would the applicant like to come up and say anything before we ask any questions? Not necessary, but you're welcome to. Okay, no problem.

So the applicant will say a few words.

Good afternoon. I think she summarized everything.

State your full name for the record, please.

James Rochelle. And I think she summarized everything. This has been... hanging over my head for four years now. So I definitely have been back. Came last time, came this time, had to reschedule stuff. Just really want this to go away so I can operate my business and keep employing people in Oakland. So I think she pretty much said everything that needed to be said.

Okay, thank you. Does anyone have any questions? Take that as a no, okay. Do we have any cards for public comment? No, we do not. No, okay, so no public comment. I'll bring it back up for discussion and a motion. Don't make me call on people.

Chair Sandoval, I'm happy to make a motion if there's no questions or further discussion And and that would be to affirm staffs environmental determination and deny the appeal a motion by vice chair Sandoval Second and a second by Commissioner Rob All right, Commissioner Randolph.

I Commissioner Rob Yes, Commissioner Aaron's. Yes, Commissioner Sandoval and vice chair Sandoval. Yes each a rank. I

Yes. Motion passes unanimously. And this decision is not appealable. Okay, congrats.

Okay, so let's get to the approval of minutes from February 18 2026. Can I get a motion?

Motion to approve minutes from February 18th, 2026. Thank you.

A motion by Vice Chair Sandoval. Second. And a second by Commissioner Ahrens.

Commissioner Randolph. Aye. Commissioner Robb. Rob. All right, yes.

Commissioner Ahrens? Yes. Vice Chair Sandoval? Yes. Each chair rank? Yes. Motion passes. Minutes will be posted to the website as approved.

Okay, great. Is there any correspondence? No correspondence to the secretary. Okay. Any city council actions?

Yes, I do understand there are a few city council actions that follow up on recommendations that this body made in the past. So the first, and I'm looking at my wrong and incorrect note, give me one second. The first I know is SB 79. So the planning commission did make a recommendation on SB 79. That item went to council and a decision was made. And you might have questions about that, but I would like to move on to the next item. If you don't mind, there's one other item. The City Council approved some targeted amendments to the S-14 overlay zone. This is a housing, I'm going to call it a housing opportunity zone. I don't think that's the right terminology. Affordable housing overlay. And it's to allow...

I stand corrected. It is the housing opportunity.

I was right. I was right. And just to note, the amendment is to allow a conditional use permit process for complementary uses. So we've got the zone overlays areas of Telegraph Avenue and other major streets where we have commercial uses on the ground floor, those commercial uses areas. or any future commercial use that could be approved under a CUP would be supportive of housing. And so we wanted to ensure there's a process to allow for those complementary uses. So those are the two items that have moved to city council since our last meeting for which there were city council actions.

Do we know if the council adopted our recommendations for SB 79 or?

And I will turn it over to the attorney. My understanding is that is not the case. There were some changes through process from the time that the planning commission heard the item until city council made a decision.

So, the planning commission, uh, Michael Branson, deputy city attorney planning commission made a few different recommendations. The 1. There was 1 that was related to the exclusions. That was really kind of the big. Part of the SP 79 package was okay. We have a map of where SP 79 applies. State law allows for cities to adopt exclusions up until a local alternative plan is adopted or until the next housing element cycle. The Planning Commission recommended that council not include... This is going to get complicated when I start saying include exclusions, but forgive me. To not exclude MacArthur, Ashby, and Rockridge-Bart station areas from the various... corridor and really the corridor exclusion but maintain the historic resource exclusion so staff communicated that recommendation to ced but recommended in the contrary the staff was opposed to the the direction that was received from the planning commission The council overruled that. So the council followed the planning commission's recommendation related to MacArthur, Ashby, and Rockridge. Additionally, there were two other amendments from two other council members. One relates to the Lake Merritt Station area plan on the eastern side of it, kind of past the Peralta College's Laney College complex and over onto the east side of lake merit up until san antonio park there was yeah a motion to ex to not exclude those areas so that neighborhood would also be subject to the provisions allowed under sp79 And a third amendment was related to a very small area near the Coliseum, BART, and the part of International that was between, I believe, 66th Avenue and Hagenberger. Hagenberger is about at 73rd, so it's a fairly small area to also allow for SB 79 projects within that area. And that was adopted on Monday.

Oh, cool. All right. Thank you for that update. And I think with that, we will adjourn the meeting at 3.53. Thank you. Yeah.