...from the East Bay Business Times - 2008

The last big component of the Oakland Zoo's plan to expand into a major East Bay attraction has grown more elaborate - and more costly - than envisioned in a master plan completed more than a decade ago, and has as a result generated new opposition.

The zoo is embarking on the final, $42 million element of its expansion, which will transform an undeveloped piece of the city's Knowland Park into a California animal exhibit and support facilities for the zoo.

The zoo has grown with each element of its multimillion-dollar, multiphase renovation. Attendance last year topped 500,000, up from 300,000 in 1994, and the zoo's annual operating budget has grown to more than $10 million, up from $3.4 million in its 1996-1997 fiscal year. But this final element of the zoo's expansion has already run into opposition from neighbors, and in a tough economic environment may run into financial issues as well.

The plans have alarmed some zoo neighbors, who cherish the hiking paths and unparalleled five-bridge views in Knowland Park, one of the few remaining open spaces in Oakland's southern hills.

Read more at the East Bay Business Times...