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Update - 2009

  FOKP is organizing to save the "crown jewel" of Oakland's parks from being fenced off and developed. To help, send your email address and telephone number to: info@friendsofknowlandpark.org

FRIENDS OF KNOWLAND PARK MEET WITH ZOO MANAGEMENT
October 19, 2009
Friends of Knowland Park (FOKP) representatives met with Zoo management and city planning staff at a 3-hour city hall meeting facilitated by City Councilmember Larry Reid. Reid offered to arrange meetings between the community and the Zoo after FOKP met with Reid to express its concerns that the Zoo was treating the community dismissively, changes to the project were not in conformity with previous plans and with Oakland open space planning guidelines, and community opposition was growing. FOKP argued that the Zoo's additions of an aerial gondola ride, 17,000 square foot veterinary hospital, and four story visitor center were unacceptable and that, given changes since the concept was approved in 1998, the proposed expansion should be redesigned with full community input.

FOKP representatives asked the Zoo whether it is willing to discuss making substantial changes to the current expansion plan, including making it closer to the Zoo's existing footprint, while respecting surrounding neighborhoods in terms of noise, light pollution, and traffic impacts. In addition to the Zoo's director and PR consultant, two Zoo board members also attended the meeting; one suggested that community members were "apathetic" and that the Zoo had been doing "regular" outreach to the community about the project, assertions vigorously challenged by FOKP representatives, who argued that the Zoo Board was apparently seriously misinformed about the real nature of the situation and relationships with the community.

FOKP members also asked what a Memorandum of Understanding actually means, since the Zoo had signed an MOU with two neighborhood groups agreeing to establish a Zoo-neighborhood committee and publish a regular newsletter as the plan was developed. Over the more than ten years since the agreement was signed, the Zoo has done neither, has never reached out to involve these groups' representatives in project planning, and the few public meetings it has held to present its plan have been only after strong community demands for information, and minimally publicized by the Zoo. The Zoo director has also asserted that the plans could not be presented until they were finalized, while FOKP has repeatedly asked to have input into the plans at earlier stages.

The Zoo did not respond at the meeting as to its willingness to make substantial changes in line with FOKP's goals. However, it agreed to provide a response within 30 days. Meanwhile, FOKP is organizing to save the "crown jewel" of Oakland's parks from being fenced off and developed. To help, send your email address and telephone number to: info@friendsofknowlandpark.org