Community groups are demanding more time to respond to the 6,000-page environmental report for the proposed waterfront Oakland A’s stadium and housing project at Charles P. Howard Terminal.
Oakland extended the 45-day comment period by 15 days to April 27, but about two dozen community groups assert this is still not enough time to adequately review and respond to the colossal environmental impact report on the proposed 35,000-seat stadium and 3,000-unit housing project. The project also includes 2 million square feet for retail and other businesses.
“This is a massive project and a huge EIR at 6,000 pages. We need time to understand what’s in this report and how this project will impact the neighborhoods surrounding the project site,” said Liana Molina, senior Oakland campaign director at East Bay Alliance for a Sustainable Economy, one of the groups that signed the letter asking for more time.
“We don’t know how the developers plan to mitigate the significant and unavoidable impacts of increased traffic and congestion on the air quality in West Oakland. These are the kinds of issues addressed in the EIR that we need time to digest, and we need the time to properly review the information,” Molina said.
The groups which signed the letter asking for more time were the Asian Pacific Environmental Network, East Bay Asian Local Development Corporation, AYPAL – Building API Community Power, Asian Immigrant Women Advocates, Asian Pacific Islander Legal Outreach, Buddhist Church of Oakland, Chinese American Citizens Alliance – Oakland Lodge, Chinatown Community United Methodist Church, Family Bridges, Filipino Advocates for Justice, Friends of Lincoln Square Park, OCA – Asian American Advocates’ East Bay Chapter, and Wa Sung Community Service Club, Alliance of Californians for Community Empowerment, Causa Justa: Just Cause, Communities for a Better Environment, East Bay Alliance for Sustainable Economy, East Bay Community Law Center, Oakland Heritage Alliance, Oakland Tenants Union, Sierra Club, Public Advocates, and Urban Habitat.