Save Knowland Park

Letter to Editor applauds preservation of our local parkland

admin — Fri, 20 Nov 2015 17:00:17 +0000

Below is an article about a remarkable effort to preserve our valuable local parkland, followed by a Letter to the Editor from a Save Knowland Park volunteer.

One man’s love letter to East Bay park trails

CHIP JOHNSON (11/3/15)

Stan Dodson is an unassuming operations manager for La Farine, a three-store bakery chain in the East Bay, and he decided to produce a movie about his vision of Oakland. It’s spectacular… his focus is on how a single trailhead near one of his bakeries leads to a system of some of the Bay Area’s most beautiful parks and redwood forests... See One man’s love letter to East Bay park trails on Page C1 of Tuesday, November 03, 2015 issue of San Francisco Chronicle

Letters to the Editor

Re: Chip Johnson 11/3/15 Trailhead movie Thanks to Chip Johnson for writing about Stan Dodson's movie, Trailhead, and his experience of our East Bay parks. Like Dodson and many others, I appreciate living in the East Bay, with public parks and abundant wildlife nearby. Preserving rare habitat and public access to the western highlands of Knowland Park were the reasons that Friends of Knowland Park and its allies worked so hard, persuading Oakland’s Planning Department and City Council to insist that the zoo make sensible changes to their expansion project. Unfortunately, Oakland’s shortsighted Council and Mayor gave the public’s precious land away. Now the heart of Knowland Park is shattered, contrary to the Zoo’s PR machine. Bulldozers quickly laid waste to native plants and their supporting soils; chain saws have ripped apart over 50 heritage oaks. People will never again have open access to its breathtaking views, to walk its native grasslands, or wander freely among its unspoiled oak woodlands. Fortunately, there were wiser and more generous people in Oakland’s past who worked to preserve natural places for later generations. We must continue the tradition of preserving and caring for our natural places, ensuring that those who come after us will have trails to follow. (Barbara Kluger, Oakland, 11/5/15) From LETTERS TO THE EDITOR on Page A13 of Thursday, November 05, 2015 issue of San Francisco Chronicle (Look for "Preserve habitats".)

Oakland Zoo's destruction in Knowland Park wildland has begun:

Tree Appeal Decision, Next Step

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 16:54:05 +0000

The hearing officer made his decision: Our appeal against the Zoo's permit to cut down protected oak trees was denied. The hearing officer's decision is a blanket dismissal of all concerns we raised, and it excuses the direct violations of the Municipal Ordinance we cited in our appeal. (You can find the City's documents posted here.) The hearing officer complimented Public Works Dept staff for their "comprehensive and insightful analysis" and complimented the Tree Reviewer for "great attention to detail." The hearing officer didn't think that the City's permit approval showed any "disregard for the preservation of the trees" but "rather a dedication to preserve the Oakland Zoo environment for its intended purpose while moving forward with the construction process." [Note the decision does not say: dedication to preserve the Knowland Park environment for its natural wildlife habitat and its intended purpose as a public park in perpetuity, as directed in the park's deed of transfer to the City of Oakland in 1975.] These statements speak for themselves. This decision by the City gives the Zoo the go-ahead now to mow down 48 heritage oaks and to put 428 protected oaks and other native trees at risk for damage during close construction. NEXT STEP While this is disappointing news, the tree appeal is one piece of the bigger picture. The Zoo's first phase of construction—the big perimeter and wildlife fence—has damaged the park's State-listed rare native grasslands and wildlife habitat in direct violation of its City building permit and its environmental permits from state and federal wildlife agencies.

We've filed a detailed complaint with photographs with the City Planning Dept., and have sent them to the regulatory agencies that oversee environmental compliance for this development project.

You can help: We urge you, our supporters, to contact state and federal elected representatives to help us. Use this simple link to see your list of reps, click through to their website or contact form, and shoot them an email in 30 seconds. Sample message: Dear Representative ______, Please enlist the California Dept of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to enforce environmental protections of Oakland's Knowland Park, halt the Oakland Zoo's unauthorized damage and require that the native grasslands and wildlife habitat be repaired according to its permit conditions, now. As we continue to press forward, we are grateful for your tax-deductible donation to help support our all-volunteer efforts to save Knowland Park and limit the damage to this amazing place. Thanks, everyone, for your support. Save Knowland Park Coalition

JUDGE HEARS OUR TREE REMOVAL APPEAL

admin — Tue, 29 Sep 2015 16:31:07 +0000

We presented our case at a full-house City hearing on August 18. It was based on our written appeal to protest the Oakland Tree Services decision to grant Zoo management (East Bay Zoological Society) a tree "removal" permit. The permit allows the Zoo to cut down 48 protected Coast live oaks and put 428 more oaks and other native trees at risk during the planned zoo expansion into Knowland Park. Save Knowland Park volunteers spoke to six major issues in the Zoo’s permit application. Others in the audience spoke eloquently of the importance of protecting the dwindling number of Oakland's namesake trees. We appreciated how attentive the hearing officer (Judge Joel Golub of Contra Costa County) was, as he gave everyone adequate time to make their point and asked appropriate clarifying questions during the hearing. We must now wait to hear if he will uphold or deny the City’s approval of the Zoo's tree removal permit. The hearing officer’s decision will be announced soon; we'll let you know when we know. KGO-Radio News interviewed SKP Coalition member Jim Hanson of California Native Grassland Association about the tree removal permit and the better alternative to build closer to the Zoo. UPDATE ZOO PERIMETER FENCE VIOLATES ENVIRONMENTAL RULES – SKP FILES COMPLAINT Zoo management recently started installing an 8-foot-high chain-link perimeter fence to isolate the proposed new "California Trail" exhibit site and cut off public access to this public parkland. With this first step of construction barely begun, we are shocked and profoundly saddened at the level of outright and unauthorized destruction, despite Zoo management's ongoing insistence that they would protect the park’s sensitive habitats. (See photos below.) Any hope that we could believe their assurances was dashed as soon as they started construction. Zoo management is ignoring the conditions of their environmental permits and is plowing (literally) ahead. They are making no apparent effort to comply with the legal requirements of their building permit, including specific instructions that crews must hand-carry tools to ensure careful passage in certain environmentally-sensitive areas, and can disturb only a limited area of ground on either side of the fence. Instead, Zoo construction crews, using mechanized vehicles, are tearing up established areas of rare native bunchgrasses and wildflower species that are also designated habitat for the threatened Alameda Striped Racer (Alameda whipsnake). To date, 30-foot swaths of fragile soils have been turned into loose powder, and very old stands of native grasses and forbs that have grown for centuries are being destroyed, and they are irreplaceable. This additionally puts the steep hillsides at risk for erosion, which was never an issue before. Save Knowland Park volunteers are photo-documenting the damage as best we can. We sent a formal complaint to Darin Ranelletti, Oakland Deputy Planning Officer (in charge of the Zoo’s "California Trail" expansion project) with copies to the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and California Department of Fish and Wildlife that approved this project under an agreement that certain environmental promises would be kept. We're asking these regulatory agencies to step in to review the obvious park destruction (both inside and OUTSIDE the designated project area). We have asked the City to stop work until permit conditions can be properly enforced and the Zoo shows evidence they have the secured (non-taxpayer) funds to pay for restoration of the parkland they have damaged. We are also urging the Zoo Board of Trustees and Zoo Foundation Board to halt this unnecessary and unauthorized park damage. Trustees of the East Bay Zoological Society (EBZS) include representatives from a number of Bay Area corporate institutions, including Clorox, PG&E, Wells Fargo, and Kaiser Permanente. The stunning irony is that while Zoo execs are aggressively pushing forward with construction of this $61 million expansion project, partially funded by taxpayers, the Zoo Board of Trustees discussed at their July meeting that they are at least $8 million short of funds to complete the project. They have decided to build only the restaurant, interpretive center/offices and gondola to start, and wait until later when they have more money to add the animal exhibits. In effect, the Zoo is moving ahead with destruction of wildlife habitat and public parkland for a construction project they cannot complete. NOTE: In our last update, we said we could find no evidence of an approved fence permit, and we had submitted a letter to Rachel Flynn, Oakland Planning and Building Director. Ms. Flynn has since responded that her department decided to void the fence permit they've had listed on the City website since January, and they issued a fence-building permit to the Zoo under a different category not normally used. That permit was made effective 7/16/2015 to allow the Zoo to start fence construction. Most recently on 9/4/15, during one of numerous in-person follow-up visits to the City Building Permits office, one of our SKP volunteers learned that the Zoo has submitted an additional permit application for a new “temporary access road” in the park, previously not mentioned. This additional road project is a new concern, though the size, location and reason for it is currently not available to the public. With your ongoing support, we will find out and respond. HOW YOU CAN HELP Add your voice: Careless and blatant Zoo violations of required environmental protections must be stopped.

Use this link to find your state and federal elected representatives.
Click their names to get to their online contact form... sending even one note is better than none.
Customize this sample message:

Dear Representative ______, Please enlist the California Dept of Fish and Wildlife and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to enforce environmental protections in Knowland Park and stop the Oakland Zoo from violating their permit conditions. Require the Oakland Zoo to correct the damage and restore the habitat before they proceed with further construction. Thank you." As we continue to press forward, we are grateful for your tax-deductible donation to help support our all-volunteer efforts to save Knowland Park and limit the damage to this amazing place. Thanks, everyone, for your support. Save Knowland Park Coalition

City Approves Zoo Permit to Destroy Oaks – SKP Files Appeal

admin — Mon, 10 Aug 2015 00:33:03 +0000

Despite our letter of objections that we submitted 6-23-2015 during public comment period, plus over 600 emails from the community asking for permit denial, the Oakland Tree Services division has approved the Zoo's application to cut down 55 protected Coast live oaks and risk damage to an additional 424 protected trees "within 10 feet of construction" to make way for its planned "California Trail" exhibit in the upper highlands of western Knowland Park. Environmental organizations and concerned individuals across Oakland and the East Bay have long objected to the Zoo's choice to locate the exhibit in the heart of this biodiverse gem of public park wildland (the largest remaining public open space in Oakland). We have continually pressed Zoo execs to relocate the exhibit closer to the existing Zoo on already-disturbed available Zoo property. Zoo management has refused in a tragic irony whereby an amazing example of authentic California will be bulldozed and developed to build a Zoo exhibit to honor authentic California. Free public access will be closed off with 8-foot-high chain-link fencing, and sweeping views of the Bay Area would require Zoo admission. This construction will irreversibly damage recognized rare California plant species, and permanently eliminate or disrupt thriving habitat for a range of resident wildlife, including threatened species. The Zoo's "tree removal" application itself contains enough errors and inconsistencies to warrant its denial. Therefore, on 7-28-2015, we filed an appeal of the Tree Services division approval. We just received notice of appeal date on Tuesday, August 18 at 6:00 pm at Oakland City Hall, Hearing Room #1, when we will present our case that the permit should be denied. Please plan to join us for moral support if you can. Thanks for your ongoing support! Save Knowland Park Coalition

Update: Letter of Protest over Oakland Zoo’s Plan to Destroy Park’s Trees

admin — Fri, 10 Jul 2015 23:19:01 +0000

One of the doomed trees

Wow. THANK YOU to everyone who sent in a letter to the Tree Services Division to protest the Oakland Zoo's permit application to cut down over 50 protected oak trees in the heart of Knowland Park. Over 600 letters (and additional phone calls) were sent to the Tree Reviewer by the June 23 deadline, with copies to the Mayor, City Council, and Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission (PRAC). Here's the letter we sent to Tree Services with our objections and questions. STATUS? We were informed that a permit decision will be made some time after Monday, July 6. Overall timing is unclear but we are checking every day. We'll let you know when the Tree Reviewer announces his decision. Save Knowland Park Coalition

Protest Destruction of Protected Oak Trees!

Oak trees are protected in Oakland as the living symbol depicted in its logo. A permit is required to remove them. Red tags have been nailed into the trees and red X's are sprayed on the trunks of over 50 mature oaks on Knowland Park's ridgeline.

Over 400 protected trees are additionally indicated on the Zoo's permit application as "affected"―meaning they will be close to construction and at risk of damage or long-term decline.While Zoo execs downplay the habitat damage their expansion project would incur if they proceed with construction in the location they have chosen, the devastation would have a negative rippling effect on wildlife throughout the park and beyond, including thriving plants, animal and insect populations, and resident and migrating birds.

This was the public notice.

Friends of Knowland Park

111 Shadow Mountain Oakland, CA 94605