Who we are
Friends And NeighborS of College Avenue (FANS) is coalition of groups in Oakland and Berkeley that share concerns about Safeway's proposal to expand its store on College Avenue. We were originally asked by Safeway to work with them as Stakeholders impacted by their proposed rebuild of the College Avenue Safeway store, but when it became apparent that the community disagreed with Safeway's plans, Safeway abandoned the stakeholder meeting process. We, however, have continued to work together.
We are comprised of various groups including:
Rockridge Community Planning Council (RCPC)
Claremont Elmwood Neighborhood Association (CENA)
Concerned Neighbors of the College Avenue Safeway
Contiguous Neighbors to the College Avenue Safeway
Contiguous Merchants to the College Avenue Safeway
Rockridge/Elmwood Local Architects and Planners
What we stand for
We are a group of neighborhood groups - six in all - working together to prevent Safeway from building a large store that is too big for our neighborhood in Oakland at the corner of College and Claremont Avenues. We are concerned that a store more than twice the size of the current 22,500 square foot store will:
- Adversely impact the small, local merchants, and 'pedestrian comparison shopping' nature of College Avenue that has taken years to nurture.
- Set a bad precedent for 'spot zoning' as the proposal ignores the intentions of the current zoning limits.
- Give Safeway too commercial impact on the community with over 120,000sf of retail space within a distance of 1 1/4 miles.
- Adversely impact environmental issues in the area due to increased traffic, diminished air quality, and additional noise.
We believe the current Safeway store proposal is too big, and that the city has the obligation to explain why a project of this size should be allowed to so grossly exceed the current zoning guidelines.
We are not
- Opposed to Safeway expanding their store, so that it still remains a 'neighborhood' store. This site is not adequately served by traffic arteries to become a regional store.
- Opposed to development of this site within the existing zoning guidelines.
- Opposed to Safeway or neighborhood supermarkets.
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