November 13, 2024

Mayor Sheng Thao and Oakland City Council
1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza,
Oakland, CA 94612

Dear Mayor Thao and Councilmembers,

The Sierra Club and our members express our strong support for the City’s plan for renovating and expanding Estuary Park—the City’s major park with access to the waterfront and the Estuary.

Recently, we learned that the developer of Brooklyn Basin is seeking City approval to construct 81 private homes on “Parcel N”—a portion of the Estuary Park site. We understand that if approved, this proposal would invalidate the $1.4M Estuary Park Master Plan already developed by the City of Oakland, forcing a complete redesign to a smaller park without many of the features sought by the community. Such a change would be costly, wasteful of City staff resources, and disappointing to local citizens. Instead, we support the City Council’s principle of “Public Land for Public Good”.

We stand firmly with the Measure DD Community Coalition and The Portobello Residential Owners Association—neighbor to Estuary Park—in opposing any changes in the Master Plan. We strongly urge the City to proceed immediately with the community-approved Plan for the Park.

Sincerely
Maxwell Davis, Chair
Sierra Club Northern Alameda County Group