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By David Flack, on February 27th, 2010
The City of Oakland has embarked on a citywide update of its commercial and residential zoning regulations. On December 9th Grand Lake Neighbors held a town hall meeting on the commercial zoning proposals. As a direct result of questions and feedback from the 50 neighbors who attended, there were important changes to the city’s proposed zoning for Grand Avenue near the Piedmont border.
This Thursday, March 4th we will hold another town hall meeting covering the residential zoning proposals. It will start at 7:15pm in the Family Room at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, 3534 Lakeshore Avenue. City staff will be on hand to present the zoning maps and answer questions.
Why should you care? City staff is actually doing a remarkably good job of making the proposed zoning match the buildings that exist on each block. But they aren’t perfect. I walked around my immediate neighborhood with the zoning map this afternoon. Most of the blocks were exactly right. But mysteriously there are a couple of blocks filled with single family houses that are zoned for multistory apartments.
I suspect that many of you will want to come to the meeting and check out the proposals for your block. Although there will be quite a few meetings throughout the city, we are one of the first, and ours is the one that will focus specifically on 14Y and 16X.
To see the proposed zoning map and supporting documents, check out these links. Note that these are draft documents. Some details may have changed by the time we convene our meeting on Thursday.
By David Flack, on January 31st, 2010
The Reader’s Digest Version
Grand Lake Neighbors is having officer elections this spring. To get the full story, read the rest of this article (I encourage you to do this – it’s not that long). To participate in planning the election process, come to our meeting at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church on Thursday, February 4, 7:00pm. To nominate someone for office, send an email to mdavidflack@yahoo.com (please wait until February 5 to do this). To vote, come to our meeting on Thursday, April 1, 7:00pm, again at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church.
The Full Story
Grand Lake Neighbors will be having officer elections this spring. We would like to get more members of the community involved in the group so we are expanding the number of officer positions. Here’s the first draft of our new organizational structure.
Organizational Structure
| Position |
Duties |
| Chair |
Coordinate activities of the volunteers. Develop and articulate the vision of the group. Plan and run the meetings. |
| Vice Chair |
Assist the chair. Fill in when the chair is absent. |
| Recording Secretary |
Meeting minutes, agendas and other record keeping duties. Post agendas and minutes to the web site. Document goals and accomplishments. Fill in when Membership Secretary is absent. |
| Membership Secretary |
Maintain mailing lists. Evaluate and approve Yahoo group membership requests. Manage the Yahoo group. Fill in when Recording Secretary is absent. |
| Webmaster |
Improve and maintain the web site. Recruit contributors. |
| Block Group Liaison |
Communicate with block groups. |
| Community Group Liaison |
Communications with GLTC, GLRAG, Lakeshore BID, GABA and the many other groups operating in our geographical area. |
| Treasurer |
We have no money, so we don’t really need a treasurer. We will postpone filling this position until we have money or need to raise some. |
We hope to have an election process that is simple and fair. We want enough rules so that most people view the process as transparent and legitimate. But we don’t want to burden ourselves with unnecessary bureaucracy. Here are our proposed election schedule and rules.
Election Schedule
- February 4 – Finalize organizational structure and election process.
- February 5 – Publish final organizational structure, election schedule and rules. Begin accepting nominations.
- March 4 – Close nominations.
- March 5 –Publish list of candidates.
- April 1 – Hold elections.
- April 3 – New officers assume positions.
This schedule is a bit drawn out. Normally this process would take one month instead of two. But we already have city planners scheduled for the March meeting to discuss residential zoning. So we will stretch the elections out until April. Besides, it seems only fitting that we vote on April Fools’ Day.
Election Rules
- Candidates and voters must live or work in the geographic area covered by Grand Lake Neighbors – beats 14Y or 16X.
- Candidates and voters must be 18 or older.
- A candidate must be nominated by someone other than himself or herself. I can already hear complaints about this. But really folks, if you can’t convince even one of your friends to submit your name, you don’t stand much of a chance on election day.
- Candidates must comply with the election schedule. In particular, a candidate may not run if the nomination arrives after the nomination close date. The purpose is transparency. We do not want a new candidate to pop up at the last moment. This would deprive the community of the opportunity to learn about that candidate and decide how to vote.
- Proxy or absentee voting is not allowed. Each voter must vote in person at the scheduled election meeting.
- For each office, a minimum of 10 votes must be cast for eligible candidates. We want to prevent a very small group from holding poorly publicized elections.
- The candidate with more than half of the votes wins the election. If no candidate has more than half the votes, there will be a runoff between the two candidates with the most votes. If there are tied votes, a runoff may include more than two candidates. Runoffs occur at the same meeting as the original vote.
To participate in planning the election process, come to our meeting at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church on Thursday, February 4, 7:00pm, or post a comment to this article, or send a message to the Yahoo group: GrandLakeNCPC@yahoogroups.com. To nominate someone for office, send an email to mdavidflack@yahoo.com. Please wait until the nominations open on February 5. To vote, come to our meeting on Thursday, April 1, 7:00pm, again at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church.
By Ken Katz, on December 8th, 2009
Landscape Design Next on Agenda
Not quite two years ago, the Grand Lake Traffic Calming Committee went public with its proposals for pedestrian safety improvements on Lakeshore Avenue at Lake Park and at MacArthur via an article in the Grand Lake Guardian. The City of Oakland’s traffic engineers, with additional input from AC Transit, used the GLTCC recommendations as the starting point for plans that culminated in a major grant from ACTIA. With additional funding from AC Transit, Measure DD and discretionary funding from Councilmembers Pat Kernighan and Ignacio De La Fuente, a total of $1.2 million is budgeted for a project that is on schedule to begin construction late next year.
The Lakeshore Complete Streets Project, as its now called, consists of three basic elements as shown in these plans.
The first element calls for a widened sidewalk on Lake Park to better accommodate the AC Transit bus stop and create a more pedestrian-friendly connection between Grand and Lakeshore.
The second element calls for a sidewalk bulb out on Lakeshore at MacArthur that will shorten the crosswalk and slow down drivers turning right onto the freeway entrance.
The third element will relocate the existing crosswalk on Lakeshore at the freeway off ramp; create a new bus stop replacing the one under the freeway; and create a pedestrian/transit plaza by expanding the existing traffic island at the corner of Lakeshore, Rand and Lake Park.
This is how the Traffic Engineering Department describes the intended benefits:
The Lakeshore Complete Streets project improves pedestrian safety in the Lakeshore Avenue / Lake Park Avenue vicinity. The proposed roadway reconfiguration will result in additional pedestrian space and the opportunity to enhance the northeast corner of the Lakeshore / Lake Park intersection.
The next step in the planning process is to formulate a landscape design that will include plants, street furniture and other amenities. To this end, the city has contracted with Sasaki Associates to provide landscape design services.
The community will have an opportunity to hear about various landscape design options and provide input on January 7 as Grand Lake Neighbors (in conjunction with Jerry Cauthen’s Traffic Calming Committee) hosts a 7 p.m. community meeting in the Family Room at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church.
In advance of the January 7 meeting, Joanna Fong, the Landscape Architect assigned to this project, has invited email comments from members of the Grand Lake community that will help her shape her initial, public presentation. Your comments should be focused on answering these specific questions:
How do you want to use this area? That is, what function or activity do you envision for this space?
Thinking in terms of street furniture, landscape architecture and landscaping, what would you like to see improved at this location?
What varieties of plantings would you like to see in these locations?
Please email your comments by Monday, December 14 to Joanne Karchmer at jkarchmer@oaklandnet.com.
By Ken Katz, on November 21st, 2009
For the first time in some twenty years, the City of Oakland has initiated a comprehensive reassessment of commercial, residential and industrial zoning. Not too many people seem to be paying attention despite its potential to resolve existing problems or quite possibly, create entirely new ones.
How might rezoning impact the Grand Lake District? For starters, the area between Lakeshore and Grand below Mandana that consists of a mixture of apartments and single-family residential homes is currently zoned R-70. The proposed RU-3 designation would increase the base height limitation from 40 feet to 60 feet which could be extended to 90 feet via a Conditional Use Permit.
Upgrading zoning on all or a portion of the commercial strip above the Grand Lake Theatre is another possibility. If your immediate reaction is “Who Cares?”, you’re probably fairly typical. Nonetheless, you might be singing a different tune if you knew that earlier this year, a mental health clinic serving adult parolees was poised to sign a lease for a 4,000 sq. ft. building on Grand Avenue.
Virtually everybody agreed that this would be totally inappropriate for Grand Avenue, but the consensus at the time was that nothing could be done to stop it. Why? Because such a facility is fully permitted under current zoning and there was no legal basis for objections.
Contrast this situation with the one five years earlier when McDonald’s was prepared to convert Kwik Way into a high-volume, drive-thru restaurant. To do so, a Conditional Use Permit would have been required and it became quickly apparent that neither the community, the City Council or the Planning Commission was inclined to grant it.
In order to increase community awareness of the issues that are involved and to allow your voice to be heard, Grand Lake Neighbors has scheduled a Town Hall for December 9 beginning at 7:00 PM. It will be held in Barnett Hall, which is adjacent to Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, 3534 Lakeshore Avenue.
For more online information, please visit these sources:
Brief summary describing key features of commercial zones CN-1 through CN-4 with map designating recommendations for Grand Lake district.
Planning Department’s 4-page PDF file with detailed information regarding existing zoning and proposed changes.
Excerpt from Planning Department’s report on residential zoning in “Urban Residential” areas.
Full text of the report on “Urban Residential” zoning as in the area between Lakeshore and Grand.
Full text of the report on “Detached Unit” residential zoning as in Crocker Highlands.
Full text of the report on “Mixed Housing” residential zoning.
Pat Kernighan’s analysis of zoning issues in her November Newsletter.
By David Flack, on September 25th, 2009
The next Grand Lake Neighbors meeting is Thursday, October 1. We will focus on Neighborhood Watch. Here’s the agenda. I hope to see you there.
Grand Lake Community Council
October 1, 2009, 7:00PM
Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church
3534 Lakeshore Ave
| Time |
Item |
| 7:00 – 7:05 |
Introductions |
| 7:05 – 7:40 |
Neighborhood Watch Breakouts by Sector Accomplishments
Ongoing concerns
Common areas of interest
Sector meeting planning |
| 7:40 – 7:55 |
New Neighborhood Watch Block Captain Manual |
| 7:55 – 8:10 |
New Serenader Management |
| 8:10 – 8:25 |
Splash Pad park homeless |
| 8:25 – 8:30 |
Agenda building |
By Ken Katz, on August 27th, 2009
Stephen Duffy’s Grand/Lakeshore Collective Music Series debuted August 8 and is scheduled to continue every Saturday afternoon through October.
In his most recent message to the Grand Lake Yahoo Group, Stephen extended thanks to the following:
The buzz is strong, lot’s of people stepped up. Cheryl and Carlos got the tent thing going, Rachel donated, Amy for the flyers,Maggie has another tent to donate. Once again Hailey Magsig did the rounds making sure everyone was happy. Ken was around spreading good will and supporting the bands. So a huge thanks to everyone who helped out. We always need more people to keep the energy going and I can’t be there for a couple of weeks in September. Anyway I’m sure I’m forgetting some folks so apologies to you.
Schedule this Saturday, August 29 beginning at 1:00 pm includes
Alma Desnuda outside Arizmendi, boatclub outside Vine, That Man Fantastic Trio outside Fords Fine Furniture and Rafael Ramirez spicy Latin trio outside Connies Cantina.
Thanks to Mezze Restaurant and Bar, Arizmendi, Miss Saigon, Fords Fine Furniture, and Connie’s for providing power and food for the bands.
Because of the nature of the event, times are approximate and changes are not unexpected. Please check this site for last-minute updates.
Finally, for an interesting take on the Grand/Lake music series, we’d highly recommend reading a blog posted by Kerbsiders’ Sean Lightholder on his Bay Area Open Mike Calendar.
By Eric Hughes, on August 8th, 2009
On Saturday, August 22nd, 2009, there will be an organized clean up of Grand Avenue common areas. Join us between 10AM and 4PM for any amount of time you can spare (we’ll start at 10 and end at 4) in front of the Grand/Lake Theater. Depending on the number of people who show up, we’ll be sprucing up the following areas:
the triangle across the street from the theater: picking up trash, weeding, cutting back bushes, spreading out that huge pile of mulch that has been patiently waiting for us;
- the public parking lot between Grand and Walker: trimming back (short!) trees, tilling;
- weeding the median strip on Lake Park;
- weeding the exit ramp from 580 to Grand;
- documenting tagging and graffiti anywhere between Lake Park and Piedmont so that we can follow up with clean-up requests.
Tools will be provided, but if you have your favorites, please bring them along. Gloves and vests will also be provided. We’ll try our best to get some donations of doughnuts, water, and fruit, but no promises there. Folks under 18 are invited, but will need to work on the parking lot and graffiti documentation project.
This cleanup is co-sponsored by Grand Lake Neighbors (grandlakeneighbors.org), the Grand Avenue Breakfast Club, and the Grand Avenue Business Association.
Questions? Contact Eric Hughes at eric@foggygulch.com
By David Flack, on August 5th, 2009
The next Grand Lake Neighbors meeting is this Thursday, August 6, 7:00pm at Lakeshore Avenue Baptist Church, 3534 Lakeshore Ave. Come in the front door of the church, veer to the left and come down the hall. Here’s the agenda.
| 7:00 – 7:10 |
Introductions |
| 7:10 – 7:30 |
Lakefest – impressions of the event and the Grand Lake Neighbors booth |
| 7:30 – 7:50 |
National Night Out – capitalizing on the success of the block parties |
| 7:50 – 8:10 |
Grand Lake Neighbors – who we are, how we are different from other groups, what we hope to accomplish |
| 8:10 – 8:20 |
Welcome back Office Kim (he’s been off for a couple of months) |
| 8:20 – 8:25 |
Grand Avenue Work Day – Aug 22 |
| 8:25 – 8:30 |
Other business |
We hope to see you there.
By Ken Katz, on August 4th, 2009
For the last several years, Nick Everleigh (the Chairman of the Grand
Avenue Business Association) has done a marvelous job organizing a
National Night Out celebration on Grand Avenue. Unfortunately, Nick
has moved out of state and no one currently associated with GABA has
assumed the leadership mantle.
No one, however, loves a vacuum and Fred Borcherdt is no exception.
Fred introduced himself to me yesterday afternoon at the Grand Lake
Neighbors booth at Lakefest and handed me a flyer. Fred is a partner
in “Pure 510″–the t-shirt outlet that opened a couple of months ago at
3224 Grand Avenue which is next to General Computers.
Fred has scheduled a celebration at Splash Pad Park from 6 to 9 pm
tomorrow. He has the necessary permits and says he has three bands
lined up and some 15 Grand Avenue merchants are participating in one
capacity or another. If you don’t have your own NNO block party
scheduled, you should be ashamed of yourself but to make partial
amends, please consider joining me in the park.
By David Flack, on August 3rd, 2009
Here’s a list of National Night Out celebrations in our area. All start Tuesday, August 4th at 7:00pm unless otherwise noted. A wonderful opportunity to meet your neighbors.
900 block of Alma Place
300 block of Atla Vista Avenue
1200 block of Bates Road
800 block of Creed Road
800 block of Erie Street
3200 block of Grand Avenue – 6:00pm
500 block of Lake Park Avenue
600 block of Mandana Blvd.
000 block of Mandana Circle
500 block of Mira Vista Avenue – 5:30pm
400 block of Santa Clara Avenue
600 block of Santa Ray Avenue – 6:00pm
700 block of Santa Ray Avenue
200 block of Santa Rosa Avenue – 6:30pm
900 block of Scott Street
1200 block of Trestle Glen Road
1000 block of Underhills Road – 6:30pm
900 block of Vermont Street – 6:00pm
900 block of York Street
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