Oakland Design Review Manual for the Central ... - City of Oakland

1. Intent1.0The Central Estuary has served as part of Oakland’s industrial employmentbase for over a century. More recent activity has seenanother transformation of the area, in which artistic elements havebrought in adaptive reuse, encouraged live-work uses and installednovel, decorative public art. This evolution came about specifically asthe existing mix of industrial, warehousing, residential, and retail usesmade the area inexpensive, and provided vacant buildings with largefloor plates where artists could stretch their artistic muscles and havethe freedom to insert their own custom manufacturing activities. Thearea is now seeing another transformation in which artisanal industrieshave followed the artistic path. The development of several openspaces and the extension of the Bay Trail have made the area morelivable, and highlight one of the Central Estuary’s defining characteristics,its adjacency to the waterfront.In an effort to create a cohesive district out of the disparate neighborhoods,the following Central Estuary Design Guidelines (and separatezoning regulations) will be used to direct future development.The general intent of the design guidelines is to retain the eclecticmix of industrial, warehousing, residential, and retail uses that definethe character of the area, while encouraging its on-going informalevolution into a unique set of sub-districts that also take advantageof and enhance the area’s waterfront, its historic character, and thefine-grained fabric of streets that define much of the Central Estuary.The sub-districts are referred to in the CE Zoning District chapteras: Embarcadero Cove, Mixed Use Triangle, Food Industry Cluster,Jingletown/Elmwood, ConAgra, Owens Brockway, High Street Retail,Warehouse Wedge, Tidewater North, and Tidewater South (seeFigure 2.1).The Central Estuary Design Guidelines embody the Visions, Goalsand Objectives of the Estuary Policy Plan and the Central EstuaryImplementation Guide, which aim to retain, encourage and support:•A diverse and vibrant mix of uses;•A destination waterfront;•Complete, safe and clear transportation connections; and•Infrastructure to support development.These guidelines define ways to minimize land use incompatibilitiesand their resulting impacts; guide appropriate employment-intensiveand commercial development; and promote the enhancement offrontages along streets and the waterfront.OAKLAND DESIGN REVIEW MANUAL FOR CENTRAL ESTUARY1