Planning Commission meetings keep getting canceled in Oakland

A late-December 2018 Oakland Planning Commission agenda included multiple development-related items, such as mixed-use housing, a cell tower, an Uptown bar, park electrical upgrades, and the Howard Terminal ballpark and housing proposal. The commission met three times that month, with committees meeting twice, and totaled 24 full commission meetings in 2018, or 38 including committees. In recent years, meeting frequency fell dramatically, with last year’s full commission meeting only 12 times and many meetings canceled for lack of items. The commission also advises the City Council on major development-related law changes. Development has declined since the pre-pandemic peak, with developers citing interest rates, stagnant rents, high material costs, and investor caution driven by negative headlines.

"At this late-December meeting, thecommission was considering: a mixed-use apartment complex in West Oakland, a cell tower near a deep East Oakland development, an application for an Uptown bar, electrical upgrades at four parks, and the now-defunct proposal to build a ballpark and housing at Howard Terminal."

"Fast-forward to the present day. Last year, the full commission met only 12 times. Put another way, 45% of commission meetings were canceled, or 63% when you include committees. While this year is not yet halfway through, initial records suggest this trend is continuing."

"Last year, most of the scrapped meetings were canceled for a "lack of items" - nothing on the agenda to discuss. The Planning Commission, which has bylaws requiring a twice-monthly meeting schedule, not counting committees, also weighs in on big changes to city laws affecting development by advising the City Council."

"Housing and commercial developers cite interest rates, stagnant rents, high material costs, and investors scared off by bad news headlines as the primary factors making it tough to build in Oakland. "From 2020 to 2024, from a development standpoint, it felt like there was a red circle around the Bay Area," said local developer Scott Youdall at an Urban Land Institute summit in April."

Read at The Oaklandside