Upper Broadway Advocates
Our Mission & Goals
Working with the City, developers, and neighbors for smart, sustainable development.
Who are Upper Broadway Advocates?
Upper Broadway Advocates (UBA) was formed by independent, unaffiliated Rockridge neighbors who live and/or work in the upper Broadway area to respond to development plans proposed for the former California College of the Arts (CCA) site at Broadway and Clifton Streets. Our purpose is to work with the City, developers, fair housing advocates, and other stakeholders to ensure that the community has input into what happens at this large, critical site — and others in North Oakland, as in the rest of our City.
Our mission is to:
- Promote neighborhood evolution that is a model of beauty, sustainability, affordability, and density
- Aspire to reflect the diversity of Oakland and the character of Rockridge
- Pursue a substantial increase in affordable housing
- Focus initially on redevelopment of the CCA campus and surroundings
- Continue the artistic heritage of the CCA site and its trees
What are the issues?
Neighbors are concerned that Rockridge is becoming too gentrified, and that we will lose even more diversity if only luxury units are built. Rockridge and the surrounding communities are some of Oakland’s most charming and livable areas; architectural styles and development size must be harmonious and contiguous with existing buildings while also bringing appropriate infill and density — and must be built to modern, sustainable, green requirements.
Go to the Issues & Concerns page, or read about each one directly:
- Affordability
- Design & Aesthetics, Scale & Density
- Sustainability
- Traffic, Parking & Safety
- Historic Preservation & Arts Legacy
- Zoning & City Planning
What UBA wants to see
- Substantially more affordable housing in new construction.
- Building heights in line with the five- to six-story buildings recently constructed on Broadway north of W. MacArthur — no building higher than 75 feet.
- Reduced parking paired with ample space for car shares, bikes, taxis, ride-share, free or reduced bus passes, a jitney to BART, and stronger enforcement of neighborhood residential permit parking.
- Residential permit parking in the surrounding community (where residents want it) so development residents don’t park in adjacent neighborhoods.
- A concrete plan to creatively preserve and re-use more of the existing historic buildings and landscape, and to retain more trees.
- A City commitment to complete a traffic study of the area to increase pedestrian safety and improve traffic flow.
- Coordinated planning that includes the adjacent Ridge site.
What we’ve been doing
UBA follows development proposals across the upper Broadway area of North Oakland. We actively engage with the City and developers, keep the community informed, and bring neighborhood feedback and concerns about possible impacts to the Oakland Planning Commission, the Landmarks Preservation Advisory Board, and developers.
Our continuing engagement has produced results. Two examples: improvement of the draft plans for the CCA campus, after UBA ensured neighborhood voices were gathered and heard; and the defeat of the proposed Home Depot at The Ridge, which UBA sponsored together with other neighborhood groups.
Learn more about our inclusive process on the Community Input page, or see what we’ve done on the UBA in Action page.
UBA’s Steering Committee of Rockridge residents: Janis Brewer, Steve Cook, Joe Johnston, Nicole Lazzaro, Jennifer McElrath, Merideth Marschak, Michael Reardon, Naomi Schiff, and Kirk Peterson. We remember with gratitude our friend and founding committee member Leslie Correll.