Dear Neighbors:
Friday October 20th was the 32nd anniversary of the Tunnel Fire which took 25 lives and destroyed 3,000 homes here in our neighborhood, the hills of Oakland and Berkeley above the Claremont Hotel. Recent residents may not be aware that among the catastrophic fires that have afflicted California and the West in recent years one of the deadliest took place right here. Vegetation has grown back; homes have been rebuilt. There is no guarantee that catastrophic fire could not happen again. What can we do?
The City of Oakland has been working for several years on a comprehensive Vegetation Management Plan. The revised version, a detailed study of almost 600 pages, will be formally presented at the Planning Commission on November 1st (Oakland City Hall, 1 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, at 3PM ). If approved, it moves to the City Council. A working group would then be set up to address such crucial questions as how to secure funding to implement its recommendations. Could this mean establishing a special assessment district for some limited part of the city? Writing a ballot measure seeking a tax to be levied upon all of Oakland? Something else? To Be Determined.
The NHCA Board strongly supports approval of this Plan, by the Planning Commission now, and City Council later. There will be numerous opportunities to influence details of the plan and the funding strategy. There are likely plan details upon which opinions differ. Eventually, we the citizens of Oakland will be able to vote on what the City finally proposes. What is important NOW is that the process continues. Failure to undertake work to maximize safety risks a repeat of the deadly wildfire of 1991, an inexcusable tragedy. We must do something! We must urge the Planning Commission and City Council to move forward with the process.
Details of the November 1st meeting of the Planning Commission are at https://www.oaklandca.gov/meeting/planning-commission-meeting-25-3
You can express you support of accepting the plan by attending or writing to the Commission at oaklandplanningcommission@oaklandca.gov
You can see the plan at https://www.oaklandca.gov/projects/oakland-vegetation-management-plan. It is long but is incredibly detailed and includes fascinating maps which feature many aspects of our hills. Even if you don’t read every section, I suspect you will learn and enjoy just looking it over.
The Board hopes you will join us in supporting this worthy effort by our City to keep us safe from one of the major threats to our safety and security.
In peace,
David Kessler,
For the North Hills Community Association Board
