Neighbor Announcements

The City of Oakland has recently released its Draft Environmental Impact Report on the proposed Head-Royce School South Campus Plan Project, an incredibly important step forward in the planning and public review process. We are pleased to see the DEIR concludes that all environmental impacts from the project can be reduced to a level of “less than significant” with standard conditions of approval and mitigation measures. We believe the DEIR’s conclusions point to the thoughtfulness and care that went into developing this proposal.

Learn more about the key findings here.

The release of the DEIR kicks off a 45-day comment period during which people can submit written and oral comments to the City, including at upcoming hearings taking place on December 13, 2021 (Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board) and December 15, 2021 (Planning Commission). More information on each can be found on the City of Oakland website. 

Below are some answers to questions you may have about the City’s Environmental and Planning Review process.

Q. What is a DEIR?

A. A DEIR is a Draft Environmental Impact Report required by the state of California. It is an independent analysis authored by the City of Oakland and its team of environmental consultants with a wide range of expertise. As with all proposed development projects, the City prepared a DEIR to comply with the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) which studies topics ranging from noise to air quality to traffic. A DEIR analyzes what, if any, project generated environmental impacts exist, and makes recommendations for how to mitigate those impacts. The full DEIR document can be found here.

Q. What were the findings of the DEIR?

A. The DEIR found that all environmental impacts from the project can be reduced to a level of “less than significant” with standard conditions of approval and mitigation measures – a positive finding that we believe points to the thoughtfulness and care that went into developing this proposal. You can review a high-level overview of the findings here.

Q. What happens next?

A. A snapshot of the entire process is pictured here. The release of the DEIR kicks off a 45-day comment period, during which people can submit written and oral comments to the City, including during upcoming public hearings. Public hearings have been scheduled at the Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board on December 13 and at the Planning Commission on December 15. Please complete this form if you are interested in supporting our efforts.

We look forward to continuing our conversations about how we can best meet the needs of our students and their families while maintaining a positive quality of life for our neighbors.

Q. Why did the DEIR study Project Alternatives? Does this mean that the school will have to pursue a different version of the project?

A. In addition to studying the proposed project, it is standard for a DEIR to analyze several project alternatives. This is the case even where the proposed project results in less than significant impacts, as with the Head-Royce South Campus Plan proposal.