An agreement has been reached between the City of Alameda, the City of Oakland, and the Oakland Chinatown community, that addresses concerns regarding the Environmental Impact Report (EIR) for the development of Alameda Point at the site of the former Naval Air Station - Alameda.

The final step in achieving the three-way accord was taken Tuesday evening when the Oakland City Council approved the agreement.

Last year, the City of Oakland and two Oakland Chinatown non-profit organizations, Asian Health Services (AHS) and the Oakland Chinatown Chamber of Commerce (OCCC), sued the City of Alameda over its approval of the EIR, claiming that the report failed to adequately address the adverse traffic and safety effects of the project on the Oakland Chinatown community. Currently, Alameda traffic using the Webster and Posey tubes directly feeds into and from streets in the core of Oakland's Chinatown community.

The agreement ensures that Alameda can proceed with approvals for future development at Alameda Point without further legal challenges from the City of Oakland. It also ensures approval of a first phase of development at Alameda Point without further legal challenge from Chinatown. Phase One includes up to 1,000 single family and duplex units, 100 low- and/or very-low-income multifamily units, and 100,000 square feet of neighborhood commercial construction. In return, the agreement ensures that the City of Alameda will not pursue legal challenges to five major development projects in downtown Oakland.

The commitments not to pursue legal challenges to development in both Alameda and Oakland establish a new, cooperative working relationship that focuses on solutions rather than lawsuits between the cities of Alameda and Oakland.

The agreement provides for $962,000 in traffic and pedestrian safety improvements to be made in the core Oakland Chinatown community. The City of Alameda will contribute $500,000 for such improvements from funds collected from an impact fee imposed on the phase one project. The City of Oakland will contribute the remaining $462,000 for the improvements.

The three entities, Alameda, Oakland, and the Chinatown community, will also establish an advisory committee to study and advise Oakland and Alameda on environmental review issues relating to projects within Alameda Point and downtown Oakland. The City of Alameda will provide $75,000 to OCCC and AHS for establishing the Chinatown advisory committee.

Members of the Chinatown community lauded the agreement for resolving traffic and safety issues in the Chinatown community. While the impacts from the subsequent Alameda Point phases and other downtown Oakland projects may present challenges, a mechanism has been established to bring about the solutions.

Alameda Mayor Beverly Johnson expressed satisfaction that the parties were able to agree to a process that will work to avoid future lawsuits over Oakland and Alameda development. "I think we owe it to the residents of Alameda and Oakland to resolve our differences outside the litigations arena."

Oakland City Attorney John Russo concurred. "Litigation is costly and counterproductive to the important revitalization plans underway in both cities. This agreement benefits all parties. Most importantly, it provides a framework for cooperative resolution of future development-related issues."

All three entities look forward to working with each other to develop the traffic and pedestrian safety solutions necessary to ensure the continued economic growth for the Chinatown community and the two cities.