Downtown Oakland Specific Plan

Urban Planning Partners worked with Dover Kohl & Partners on the Downtown Oakland Specific Plan and EIR. In addition to management of the EIR, their work on the Specific Plan includes public outreach and preparation of Specific Plan policies and development standards. This project represents a unique opportunity to reinvigorate the central business district in concert with adjacent planning efforts, such as the Lake Merritt Area Plan and the Broadway-Valdez Specific Plan.

In addition to management of the EIR, our work on the Specific Plan includes public outreach and preparation of Specific Plan policies and development standards. With Baseline’s help, Urban Planning Partners assisted the City with policy measures to address coastal flooding and sea level rise, as well as contributing to other policies related to the community health chapter of the Plan around open space and sustainability.

Urban Planning Partners worked with architecture + history, Baseline, and Fehr & Peers on the EIR which was certified in July 2024. The consultant team is working together with the City to develop a Specific Plan and EIR that will enhance the downtown through balancing Oakland’s diversity and uniqueness with economic growth and the increased presence of creative and technology-based industries. The Downtown Oakland Specific Plan EIR was the first in the City of Oakland to use Vehicle Miles Traveled (VMT) analysis for evaluation of transportation impacts.