The View Corridor Study Moves Forward

Two City meetings took place recently to review progress of the view corridor study - at the Landmarks Board and at the Zoning Update Committee. Presentations included photographs of significant views and discussion of basic mapping methodologies in view corridor studies, specifically the mathematics-based methodologies used to calculate building heights on a “rising line of sight” between the view point and the object. These meetings provided the first glimpse of the study and how it might operate to allow for adequate project sizes while preserving views of the Tribune Tower or City Hall from across Lake Merritt, among others. Here’s the staff report, http://bit.ly/9yYE8J, scroll to the links at the end of the report to see pictures and diagrams of view corridors.

The study recommends five views of downtown Oakland from Lakeside Park along Lakeshore Avenue. The Landmark Board endorsed the five views and forwarded their recommendation to the Zoning Update Committee (ZUC).

At the ZUC the following week, the same presentation was given along with the same recommendations regarding the five views. For this meeting, CALM submitted a supplemental set of photos since it was our sense that the photographs in the staff report did not accurately represent the views. Here are the photographs CALM submitted: http://bit.ly/bMGUjy

Rejected View of City Hall

After the staff presentation and public comments, however, the ZUC endorsed only two of the five views. The views are both from the same viewpoint: the East 18th Street Pier, with the ZUC calling the view of the Tribune Tower and of City Hall “separate views.” The esthetic value of the other three views, the commissioners said, is “too subjective” with regard to whether the views are truly unique, and they refused to recommend the other three views for preservation. 

Accepted Views

The commissioners also expressed concern about the legality of view corridors relating to private property.  This is somewhat puzzling since numerous California cities have successfully designated view corridors.  It really seems the legal argument is more of way to obstruct the designation of view corridors by the pro-development planning commissioners.  The ZUC members mentioned the possible loss of "tax revenues" because view corridors will limit project sizes.  This, too, appeared to be an obstructing tactic, particularly so since deliberations on tax revenues are outside the mandate of the Planning Commission. 

Naturally, CALM strenuously objects to the limited approach of the ZUC and will continue to advocate for the designation of all five views.

Rejected View of Tribune Tower

In separate development, City staff indicates they will recommend building heights of 400 feet along the 14th Street corridor. This is significant since, in 2009, the City Council set a temporary 85 foot building height limit along 14th Street between Madison and Harrison Streets. The 85 foot height will remain until the view corridor study is complete. The reason the council did this is two-fold. The first is the same reason as for the view study generally in ensuring views of downtown aren’t blocked. The second is that the City Council expressed concern that the Gold Coast neighborhood, the well-established, low-rise neighborhood abutting 14th Street to the north, would be adversely affected by such tall buildings. The exact expression by one council member was that she did not want the area to end up in a “canyon” surrounded by tall buildings.

The difficulty with staff’s pending 400 foot recommendation is that there is no analysis or discussion of conditions along 14th Street to support such a recommendation. No models, images, or drawings exist depicting 400 foot structures along the 14th Street corridor or how the area would be affected. Closely related to height and bulk considerations will be the shadows created by 400 foot buildings. No analysis exists in either case and no discussion took place at the ZUC or Landmarks Board.

Gold Coast Neighborhood

The unsupported 400 foot building height recommendation is the exact opposite of the very purpose of the view study, which is to reach a studied understanding of the effect of new high-rise construction in the downtown.  It also directly contravenes City Council direction on the matter.  As a matter of fact, it was the same 400 foot recommendation by staff in 2009 that spurred the council to enact the interim height limits.  Staff is proposing the same 400 foot height without any study or new information. CALM has asked, and will continue to ask, staff to provide visual representations and a rationale for the 400 foot recommendation.

January 2009 Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board Recommendations

On January 12, 2009, the Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board finalized major recommendations regarding historic properties and districts in the Central Business District (CBD). While most of the discussion focused on refinements to the Fine-Grain Zoning approach for historic districts and properties, the Landmarks Board did make a recommendation regarding new buildings at the Lake Merritt edge. You can see the staff report here: January 12, 2009, LPAB Staff Report

A significant issue being discussed is the preservation of view corridors into the CBD and views of historic buildings such as the Tribune tower and City Hall. There are numerous policies on preserving views listed in General Plan documents including the 1998 EIR for the General Plan, the Land Use and Transportation Plan, and the Open Space Conservation and Recreation Plan. Each of these documents contains policies promoting the preservation of views and view corridors and each proposes mitigations, including limiting building heights through zoning. The Landmarks Board identified a number of “scenic vistas” to be preserved in the CBD, including views from Lakeshore Ave.


Secondly, because most of the area of Lakeside Drive where building height limits are sought is an Area of Primary Importance, the Landmarks Board addressed the area directly. It should be noted that the Landmarks Board has not made specific height recommendations for any area of the CBD, including along Lakeside Drive. For Lakeside Drive, the Board’s recommendation is to limit the lot area utilized by new buildings. Specifically, new buildings may only cover 50% or 70 feet (whichever is less) of the direction of the lot running parallel to Lakeside Drive. For example, if the portion of a lot paralleling Lakeside is 200 feet long, a new building is limited to 70 feet and must leave the remaining 130 feet open in order to preserve the view corridors into downtown.

The Board’s recommendation does not address building heights which is an issue that still needs to be addressed since ZUC staff is still recommending heights of 170 and 275 feet along Lakeside Drive. We will continue to pursue reduced building heights with the Planning Commission.