Thank you all again for signing the petition! 
We have over 600 signatures so far, but we still have work to do. Please continue to share the petition link with your neighbors:    www.change.org/PreserveParking 
We will keep you all posted as to the results of the permit decision.

Last year the State enacted Assembly Bill #2097 which overrides local parking requirements if certain housing and transit conditions are met.
While the law intended to foster affordable housing and perhaps encourage people to give up their cars, the result leaves many in an untenable situation. The parking burden falls most heavily on the disabled, the elderly, and those workers whose long, complicated commutes or late-hour shifts make use of mass transit unworkable, or even dangerous.  Unfortunately, decades-long proximity to transit service has not motivated residents to give up their cars.

Given the override provision of AB2097, we ask you to contact the sponsors of the State law to amend it so as to allow parking requirements where neighborhood conditions warrant it. 

Senator Anthony Portantino
1021 O Street, Suite 7630
Sacramento, CA 95814-4900

Senator Nancy Skinner
1021 O Street, Suite 8630 
Sacramento, CA 95814-4900

Senator Scott Wiener
1021 O Street, Suite 8620
Sacramento, CA 95814-4900

Assemblymember Laura Friedman
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0044

Assemblymember Matt Haney
1021 O Street, Suite 5310
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0017

Assemblymember Alex Lee
1021 O Street
Room 6330
Sacramento, CA 95814

Assemblymember Chris Ward
State Capitol
P.O. Box 942849
Sacramento, CA 94249-0078

Alternatively, emails may be sent to these legislators through their respective websites.

Also, coincidental to Oakland’s review of the proposed building permit at 4185 Piedmont, the City is about to revise the planning and zoning codes that include proposed exemptions of parking requirements.  The City of Oakland invites comments on the Phase I Oakland 2045 General Plan Update Draft EIR during a 45-day comment period that began on March 24, 2023, and ends on May 9, 2023, at 5:00 PM (tomorrow). The City directs comments to be submitted via email to 
generalplan@oaklandca.gov. 

Alternatively, comments may also be submitted in writing by hand delivery or mail to Lakshmi Rajagopalan, AICP, Planner IV, City of Oakland Bureau of Planning, 250 Frank H. Ogawa Plaza, Suite 3315, Oakland, CA 94612 or by fax to (510) 238-6538. Please reference “Phase I Oakland 2045 General Plan Update Draft EIR Comments” in all correspondence

We strongly urge you to make your views known. Our goal is to persuade the City and the State that local neighborhood conditions such as our chronic and acute parking shortage must be considered when permitting new construction. If General Plan and code revisions are enacted that exempt parking, we face the prospect of more buildings like 4185 Piedmont, with negative consequences for our neighborhood. Clearly this is a contentious issue that requires a rational solution, one that provides affordable housing and parking.

Thanks again!